A Low Country Reef Tank....one more final upgrade - Page 5

SPotter · 12/05/2013, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex T.

So it's settled then...

Totally!

Mike S · 12/05/2013, 08:15 PM

Hows the Marco rock compare weight wise to the pukani? It looks nice rock. What was that rock that you had in the old setup?

SPotter · 12/05/2013, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike S

Hows the Marco rock compare weight wise to the pukani? It looks nice rock. What was that rock that you had in the old setup?

The marco is definitely denser than the pukani. I loved the way the pukani looked but I wasnt going down that route again. Plus I got the marco on their cyber monday deal and it was only 1.39 per lb. The rock I used when I pulled the pukani out of my old tank was Totoka live rock.

SPotter · 12/07/2013, 08:12 PM

The rest of my black friday purchases arrived today and this will be it for purchases other than the tank for a while now. We got word from our builder that they are a little behind and we should expect to close in early March now.

Anyway....let there be light.

owenspackman · 12/07/2013, 08:16 PM

awesome!!! I haven't had MH in forever, how often will those bulbs have to be replaced?

SPotter · 12/07/2013, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by owenspackman

awesome!!! I haven't had MH in forever, how often will those bulbs have to be replaced?

I hear conflicting time frames ranging from 6 to 14 months. I am planning on buying a par meter so I regularly can monitor the bulb efficiency.

owenspackman · 12/07/2013, 08:26 PM

you'll be running 4 at a time? Any other lighting along with the MH's? Sorry if you've mentioned it before!

BTW, sorry about the build delay on your house….Considering how long you'll have waited by the end, this little extra should fly by!

Alex T. · 12/07/2013, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

I hear conflicting time frames ranging from 6 to 14 months. I am planning on buying a par meter so I regularly can monitor the bulb efficiency.

You're GTG for 10 months to a year with the ballast/bulb combo you've got as long as you always stay in the HQI setting. People running 250 Watt Radiums in standard electronic ballasts generally underdrive the bulbs which is just as bad at shortening the lifespan of the bulb. With 400 watt Radiums, a standard electronic is really the closest we can get here in the US because the bulb is specced at just over 360 watts...not 400. Those that overdrive the bulb on a 400 HQI or Superlumen setting on the more new electronic ballasts are the one needing to replace them at 6 months.

SPotter · 12/08/2013, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by owenspackman

you'll be running 4 at a time? Any other lighting along with the MH's? Sorry if you've mentioned it before!

BTW, sorry about the build delay on your house….Considering how long you'll have waited by the end, this little extra should fly by!

I am going to start with 3 since the stated coverage of the cozumel reflector is 30x30 and hopefully need to add a 4th because I have had tremendous success and the corals need more light

I will supplement the MH with VHO actinic. I thought about using leds to supplement but the cost to do it will be significantly more than vho.

I bought 4 mh bulbs because reefgeek was selling them for 54.95 each and thats a huge savings on that bulb that they normally sell for $74.95.

Adamc1303 · 12/08/2013, 04:23 PM

Hey what's in the box under the Hamilton boxes?

Adamc1303 · 12/08/2013, 04:23 PM

How long are the VHO's going to be?

SPotter · 12/08/2013, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamc1303

Hey what's in the box under the Hamilton boxes?

The 3rd reflector. I guess Hamilton didn't have the original box for it. All the boxes were in pretty bad shape and I was amazed that nothing was damaged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamc1303

How long are the VHO's going to be?

Not sure on that configuration yet. That will be determined when I see how the canopy will look.

Lavoisier · 12/08/2013, 05:29 PM

Not sure how I missed your new thread but subscribed and following along. Have your ordered your tank yet? Why not go 48" instead of 36"? A lot more flexibility in your aquascaping! Love your lighting choice.

SPotter · 12/08/2013, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lavoisier

Not sure how I missed your new thread but subscribed and following along. Have your ordered your tank yet? Why not go 48" instead of 36"? A lot more flexibility in your aquascaping! Love your lighting choice.

Lol....48" width would not fly with the powers to be. I'm perfectly happy with the 36" width especially since it will be up against the wall and my only access to the tank without getting in it will be from the front and the sides.

Lavoisier · 12/09/2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

Lol....48" width would not fly with the powers to be. I'm perfectly happy with the 36" width especially since it will be up against the wall and my only access to the tank without getting in it will be from the front and the sides.

Ah, yes!

nightOwl · 12/10/2013, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

I hear conflicting time frames ranging from 6 to 14 months. I am planning on buying a par meter so I regularly can monitor the bulb efficiency.

Man this was great to catch up on. Man do not buy a meter I can loan you your meter whenever you need it...lol. Glad to see things are coming along and hopefully when the weather breaks they can catch up on the house building.

SPotter · 12/10/2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightOwl

Man this was great to catch up on. Man do not buy a meter I can loan you your meter whenever you need it...lol. Glad to see things are coming along and hopefully when the weather breaks they can catch up on the house building.

Hey Henry....buying actually meant borrowing from you

I just didnt want to put it out there that you lend out your meter. Fortunately weather hasnt been too much of an issue for us...my kids were in the ocean on Saturday. The builder is blaming the delays on the town and town is saying that they dont have a backlog with inspections. Good news is that the insulation went in and we should be dry walled by the end of this week or early next week. It will be nice to see some significant progress rather than seeing an electrical outlet or hvac register being moved.

Newbie Aquarist · 12/10/2013, 09:25 AM

Would one 36" and 48" bulbs on each side of the MH work. That way they wont overlap on the end caps and save space?

SPotter · 12/10/2013, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

Would one 36" and 48" bulbs on each side of the MH work. That way they wont overlap on the end caps and save space?

That will definitely work and I am sure it will give me plenty of coverage. I was thinking about using 46.5" bulbs because I kept getting drawn into the "I need more wattage" debate in my head. I am sure that I would get more than enough coverage with 36" bulbs and the difference in wattage is only 60 watts. The great part about using the vho's is if using 36" doesnt give me the look I want I can easily make some adjustments with the endcaps and go with bigger bulds. I considered using leds strips and going with buildmyled actinic strips but after doing a cost comparison using start up costs, annual energy costs and bulb replacements....it would take me almost 5 yrs to break even on the higher initial cost of the leds.

Newbie Aquarist · 12/10/2013, 09:50 AM

You could do the bulb arrangement like this also

36" - 48"
MH - MH - MH
48" - 36"

I cant draw so i though i give it to you that way.

albano · 12/10/2013, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

I'm perfectly happy with the 36" width especially since it will be up against the wall and my only access to the tank without getting in it will be from the front and the sides.

I can tell you from experience... Even on a 36" front to back tank, it's a looong way if you have to place something on the bottom! I needed to put supports across the top of the tank, to support myself, to be able to place live rock and corals near the back... BUT...it's worth it!

SPotter · 12/10/2013, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albano

I can tell you from experience... Even on a 36" front to back tank, it's a looong way if you have to place something on the bottom! I needed to put supports across the top of the tank, to support myself, to be able to place live rock and corals near the back... BUT...it's worth it!

Yeah this has me concerned. I am thinking about just having two large rock stuctures on the ends and keep the middle open. Hopefully it will allow me to reach whatever I need to get to from the front or the sides.....hopefully.

What would you suggest for overflows? External is not an option and I orginally thought about a single trapezoid overflow in the middle of the tank but the more I think about it, I am now thinking that I should have one in each corner to make it easier for any kind of maintenance.

Newbie Aquarist · 12/10/2013, 01:46 PM

Can you trapezoid the corners? When I had my tank built they were doing it on another tank being built.

SPotter · 12/10/2013, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

Can you trapezoid the corners? When I had my tank built they were doing it on another tank being built.

I can discuss it with them.

Adamc1303 · 12/10/2013, 01:55 PM

What's trapezoiding corners?

12/07/2013, 08:12 PM	#104
SPotter Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC Posts: 5,691	More Black Friday Deliveries..... The rest of my black friday purchases arrived today and this will be it for purchases other than the tank for a while now. We got word from our builder that they are a little behind and we should expect to close in early March now. Anyway....let there be light. __________________ Steve Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank?????? Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux

12/08/2013, 04:23 PM	#110
Adamc1303 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 964	Hey what's in the box under the Hamilton boxes? __________________ Metal Halide Connoisseur!

12/08/2013, 04:23 PM	#111
Adamc1303 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 964	How long are the VHO's going to be? __________________ Metal Halide Connoisseur!

12/08/2013, 05:29 PM	#113
Lavoisier Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 1,030	Not sure how I missed your new thread but subscribed and following along. Have your ordered your tank yet? Why not go 48" instead of 36"? A lot more flexibility in your aquascaping! Love your lighting choice. __________________ "...for it is not necessary that these hypotheses should be true, or even probably; but it is enough if they provide a calculus which fits the observations..."--Introduction (attributed to Andrew Osiander) to On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Sphere by Nicolaus Copernicus. Current Tank Info: 600g DT, 140g sump, 200g Cryptic, 90g Refugium, 3-400w MH, 2 Reeflo Barracudas, and 3 MP60s

12/10/2013, 01:55 PM	#125
Adamc1303 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 964	What's trapezoiding corners? __________________ Metal Halide Connoisseur!

12/05/2013, 08:15 PM	#102
Mike S Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 387	Hows the Marco rock compare weight wise to the pukani? It looks nice rock. What was that rock that you had in the old setup?

12/07/2013, 08:16 PM	#105
owenspackman Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 835	awesome!!! I haven't had MH in forever, how often will those bulbs have to be replaced?

12/07/2013, 08:26 PM	#107
owenspackman Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 835	you'll be running 4 at a time? Any other lighting along with the MH's? Sorry if you've mentioned it before! BTW, sorry about the build delay on your house….Considering how long you'll have waited by the end, this little extra should fly by!

12/10/2013, 09:25 AM	#118
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	Would one 36" and 48" bulbs on each side of the MH work. That way they wont overlap on the end caps and save space?

12/10/2013, 09:50 AM	#120
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	You could do the bulb arrangement like this also 36" - 48" MH - MH - MH 48" - 36" I cant draw so i though i give it to you that way.

12/10/2013, 01:46 PM	#123
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	Can you trapezoid the corners? When I had my tank built they were doing it on another tank being built.