jokersnightmare

I'm all for LED lighting but as a recommendation I would go with the first option. There may be better priced vendors out there so I would check around. The problem with the strip lighting is 1) You have to supply power and signal to it so that the remote works 2) If you cut it you have to worry about sealing it to the elements so you don't get any electrical shorts. 3) *specifically for the costco ones* they do not specify waterproof. They would have to be completely encased. Also, you can get similar lighting for much cheaper $15ish from ebay or aliexpress. Short end of the story is do lots of research and look around for your best possibilities. If you decide to go with the strip lighting, make sure you know someone with some electrical soldering skills or practice on your own.

Are you just toying with the idea of a PH monitoring system or everything being controlled by a micro? I have thought of driving my freshwater setup with a micro for a while but don't have the knowhow of how to do it yet. Being an electronics engineer student at NAIT we're just getting into interrupts and stuff but we deal mainly with TI products and not arduinos. The MSP430 launchpad may actually be able to satisfy your needs for sligtly cheaper and if you're familiar with C, then it could be easier to program. They don't charge for shipping and the value line starts at $10US. Anyways, I am definitely interested in seeing the outcome of your project and am willing to give any insight I can along the way. Good Luck!

I may have to move in a hurry and may have to give up my aquarium and fish. This could probably go into Buy and Sell. Anyways, the story is that my lease might not get renewed on my current residence. If I cannot find a fish friendly building, I would like to have an experienced fish person take ownership of my tank. It's a 110 Gallon. 5'x2'x30". It would come with everything including the fish. These fish aren't supposed to be together but they get along and I fear that they wouldn't in another thank. It has the lights with new ballast. 4x48" T8 ligths that are 32W each. Stand 600 GPH pump with home made filter system. Air Pump and accessories Substrate, Lava Rocks as Ornaments and Real Plants. Several Species. -Fish- 4 Large goldfish Loads of guppies (they breed well) One gold barb 4 Ottocinclus One Yoyo loach One Rainbow Shark 2 different species of small snails. I will know better closer to the end of the month but for right now I am looking for possible experienced volunteers that could possibly house this tank and everything in it. For now please just reply to this post and be sure to leave your email. I will be contacting those that inquire as the date comes to a close.

I would really like to get some cheap lighting, and I don't mean to discourage you, but it can done more safely. While it is true that the bulbs you have picked up do not require ballasts to power the bulbs that you have, there is internal wiring to convert the AC power from your outlet to DC to power the small LEDs within those bulbs. I would highly suggest using wire nuts (maretts) to connect everything together, and once it's connected and going into a humid environment, use silicone to seal the end of the wire nuts. Also looking at your drawing, you mention using a USB fan. USB powers fans at +5V DC. If you plug it into the wall like the rest, it will not run, or you will burn it out extremely fast. Find yourself a fan that runs off AC, and you can add a rheostat if you wish as well to change how fast it turns. Since you are mounting everything inside aluminum, remember that aluminum is conductive. You have to keep your wiring far enough away from the aluminum to prevent arcing. Be sure to install grommets on all sharp edges that wires go through. The last suggestion I have for you is to enclose everything on the bottom using a piece of plexiglass so that no humidity can enter where the wiring is. All of this is may seem miniscule but is actually quite critical especially if you're planning a salt water tank. All the free-flowing ions in the water are a potential for a short in your system. The 15A breaker in your box isn't meant to save you or your fish, it's meant to stop you from drawing too much amperage and costing the power company money. It's also technically supposed to stop a house fire by preventing hot spots in this wiring. Each junction in your wiring is a point of higher resistance - a point at which it heats up more. As your junctions expand and contract with heat, they may loosen and create arcs which will in turn create fires. To make sure that breaker actually activates if there's problems, use a 3 prong cord and attach the ground to the aluminum frame. Drill and tap, use a pemsert, or just a bolt with a lock-nut to keep everything secure. And before I get asked these questions, no I'm not an electrician, but I have done my own wiring. I am also an electronics engineering student at NAIT. If you need any more guidance, I'll be happy to help.

Welcome to AA. When you go to post pictures, I recommend that you use an external server. You are limited to 100kb on here as far as I can tell and if you have large quality pictures, you might not be able to upload them. I also have interests in highly planted tanks and If you check my recent posts, you'll be able to see mine. I've only been dealing with aquariums for about 2 years total so I'm only a beginner. Anyways, always glad to see new members.

It does look small which is why I want to upgrade. But yes, it was bought as a 55ga starter kit. 48x12x18. Came with a power filter which I later upgraded to the U4.( I know it takes away from the water space but the performance and noise level is much better.) It also had a heater which ended up being replaced because of a recall. The tank is just dwarved by my stand which I made high. The stand is actually about 4ft high. If anyone has had power filters, underwater filters, and canister filters, can you please compare the performance vs noise level to me.

Now for the pictures I promised. http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u665/Pete_Wellman-Maurice/IMG_6632_zpsbc92c017.jpg My Yo-Yo Loach. He's shy, even to me. He normally stays in his cave mostly unless it's feeding time. I only got him this winter and nearly all the water leaked out of the bag during the trip home. He was barely moving when I got him home but he's been a great addition to my tank. http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u665/Pete_Wellman-Maurice/IMG_6630_zpsff207d4b.jpg Everyone swimming around waiting for food. Except for the Ottocinclus who are perched on the air line. Even the Guppy fry are out. http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u665/Pete_Wellman-Maurice/IMG_6629_zps044513bc.jpg[ Feeding Time http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u665/Pete_Wellman-Maurice/IMG_6627_zps7cc8352d.jpg My custom made stand. Complete with light inside to see your supplies, and built-in plugins.

Hi, I've had an aquarium for about 2 years now. I started with a measly 10 gallon with a bunch of golfish. I still have some of them but I've upgraded in size to a 55 gallon. I've got a mix of fish that defies all logic and from what I'm told should not be together but they don't bother each other. I have 4 common goldfish 1 yoyo loach 1 rainbow shark several guppies (I've even gotten them to breed with these other large fish around) 4 ottocinclus and probably 10+ small various species snails. I built the stand myself and I will be posting pictures later. I'm looking forward to the auction coming up. I'm hoping to grab a larger setup or possibly trade with someone who needs one my size. My hope is to eventually get a well planted tank that is fully self-sustaining... minus the water changes and so forth that I need to do to keep it going.

I don't know about Edmonton for sure but there's a place called Accurate Screen in Calgary that specializes in all sorts of screen. As for selling to private customers, I'm not quite sure if they do that, but you might be able to ask them about a place in Edmonton where you can pick some up. Hope this helps. All else fails, I think you can pick some up at Home Depot in the window section.