270 Gallon SPS tank for JBNY
- Thread starter JB NY
- Start date
JB NY
Active member
So right now I am trying to figure out how to get my lighting setup working better.
First I found that having my VHO lights slightly above the bottom of the LA3 reflector was dramatically cutting the amount of light getting in the tank. So I redid the light rack to lower the VHO bulbs. But, although that fixed the light spread for the VHO, the bulbs were too low and I can not get into the tank easily. So now I am having to re-think the setup.
I wanted to have three VHO lamps in addition to the MH LA3 reflectors. But it seems that with the size of the reflectors, even having a 36" wide tank is not enough room.
My mistake is that I did not take into account the 4.5" glass euro bracing around the parameter of the tank. With the bracing, I lose a total of 9" off my 36" deep tank. It's fine for light penetration but not for access to the top of the tank with the lights in place.
I think I might remove one of the VHO lamps and just work with two.
Any other suggestions you might have, I'll take.
First I found that having my VHO lights slightly above the bottom of the LA3 reflector was dramatically cutting the amount of light getting in the tank. So I redid the light rack to lower the VHO bulbs. But, although that fixed the light spread for the VHO, the bulbs were too low and I can not get into the tank easily. So now I am having to re-think the setup.
I wanted to have three VHO lamps in addition to the MH LA3 reflectors. But it seems that with the size of the reflectors, even having a 36" wide tank is not enough room.
My mistake is that I did not take into account the 4.5" glass euro bracing around the parameter of the tank. With the bracing, I lose a total of 9" off my 36" deep tank. It's fine for light penetration but not for access to the top of the tank with the lights in place.I think I might remove one of the VHO lamps and just work with two.
Any other suggestions you might have, I'll take.
SVTour
New member
I'm thinking when my MH's come in, I'll be running 2 VHO's in the front, MH's in the middle and 1 VHO in the back.
My tank is not as deep as your's, thus my pendants will be smaller than the reflectors you have...but is this an option for you?
My goal was to have all the lights on 1 track that would slide back out of the way for maintenance...
My tank is not as deep as your's, thus my pendants will be smaller than the reflectors you have...but is this an option for you?
My goal was to have all the lights on 1 track that would slide back out of the way for maintenance...
tacocat
Premium Member
You may be able to run some 36" VHO bulbs between the Lumenarcs. Orient them perpendicular to the tank's length. It will be tight, but you will have extra room in front of your Lumenarcs.
Another option is going over to T-5. UVL Super Actinic bulbs look almost as nice as their VHO counterparts.
Another option is going over to T-5. UVL Super Actinic bulbs look almost as nice as their VHO counterparts.
Douglas LEHMAN
Premium Member
Hello from Chicago, Joe
What I plan to do with my 180, is to side mount a pair of drawer slides to the canopy. Then fabricate some hardware to mount 3~6' VHO's that will slide under the 3 Lumenarc's, when I need to get into the aquarium...
What I plan to do with my 180, is to side mount a pair of drawer slides to the canopy. Then fabricate some hardware to mount 3~6' VHO's that will slide under the 3 Lumenarc's, when I need to get into the aquarium...
invincible569
New member
T5's? Or one T5 and 2 VHO's?
AcroSteve
Make my Funk a P-Funk
Joe, I have my VHO's very close to the tank. So much so that I have to raise the canopy to get into it for anything other than feeding.
My canopy is hinged on the back wall for access.
I have some wooden props to hold it up out of the way.
These pics are my old canopy, but the idea is the same, and I am using the same "props". The screws drop into holes in my plastic trim.
My canopy is hinged on the back wall for access.
I have some wooden props to hold it up out of the way.
These pics are my old canopy, but the idea is the same, and I am using the same "props". The screws drop into holes in my plastic trim.
250G
New member
I have 4 actinics on my 36" wide tank with lumanarcs. I do however how one of them partially blocking some of the light coming down from the lumanarc at the front and back (VHO is under the lumanarc). Not a huge deal IMO.
At the same time, I find the very front of my tank to be a bit on the shaded side when I look at it frmo the side. I am going to change the front bulb to an actinic white today, rather than the actinic blue and see if this changes anything. You can get the idea below. Tank is 36" wide, lumanarcs mounted essentially dead centre.
At the same time, I find the very front of my tank to be a bit on the shaded side when I look at it frmo the side. I am going to change the front bulb to an actinic white today, rather than the actinic blue and see if this changes anything. You can get the idea below. Tank is 36" wide, lumanarcs mounted essentially dead centre.
JB NY
Active member
So my Icecap 660 shorted out this morning. 
It had been on an working fine for the last week. This morning around 8:30 after it had been on for about 45 minutes. Suddenly I heard a series of loud electrical pops. It took my about 10 seconds to shut the 660 off. When I checked out the ballast, there was white smoke coming out of the unit and a very strong smell of burnt electronics.
I don't know what happened. The unit is about 7 years old. I checked all the wiring, and all of it was securely twisted using wire nuts. I don't know why that happened like that, in past if I ever had a short or something wired wrong the unit would just turn off. Not self destruct like it did. Lucky I was home when this happened.
I'll be calling icecap on Monday.
It had been on an working fine for the last week. This morning around 8:30 after it had been on for about 45 minutes. Suddenly I heard a series of loud electrical pops. It took my about 10 seconds to shut the 660 off. When I checked out the ballast, there was white smoke coming out of the unit and a very strong smell of burnt electronics.
I don't know what happened. The unit is about 7 years old. I checked all the wiring, and all of it was securely twisted using wire nuts. I don't know why that happened like that, in past if I ever had a short or something wired wrong the unit would just turn off. Not self destruct like it did. Lucky I was home when this happened.
I'll be calling icecap on Monday.
piercho
New member
A lot of power supplies use electrolytic capacitors which don't last many years. That may not be your cause but it is a not uncommon cause of power supply failure. The main thing is to protect your stand and/or house from catching on fire. I put a line fuse on each of my fishtank power supplies, hopefully this cuts off the load before it knocks out the whole circuit by tripping the CB at the panel. And a 3 or 4 amp fuse will pop long before the 15 or 20 amp CB lifts. There are also arch-detecting CB comming available, but I have not researched or used these myself.
Scary story: a reef keeping coworker had an old 55G he was lighting with VHO. While the family was away, the ballast in the stand caught fire and the stand caught fire. The fire spread from the stand to the house and would have taken the whole house except that the fire cracked the tank and the spilling water put the fire out. He came home with his wife and promptly discovered the damage due to the soaked floor and smoke-blackened wall. To show you how resiliant this guy is, he promptly sent the wife out to buy a replacement tank to try and save some critters while he cleaned up the mess.
So Marc is right, you may have gotten very lucky.
Scary story: a reef keeping coworker had an old 55G he was lighting with VHO. While the family was away, the ballast in the stand caught fire and the stand caught fire. The fire spread from the stand to the house and would have taken the whole house except that the fire cracked the tank and the spilling water put the fire out. He came home with his wife and promptly discovered the damage due to the soaked floor and smoke-blackened wall. To show you how resiliant this guy is, he promptly sent the wife out to buy a replacement tank to try and save some critters while he cleaned up the mess.
So Marc is right, you may have gotten very lucky.
piercho
New member
Square D® Arc-fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI)
The Truth About AFCIs I should point out these do not serve the same purpose as GFCIs, which are intended to keep you from doing the 60HZ shuffle. AFCIs are designed to detect arcing and open the circuit before a fire can start.
An inline fuse inside the ballast enclosure. The little black item with the red wire going into it is an in-line fuse housing. It would open the hot 120V circuit lead if the ballast starts pulling more current than it should. You can get the housing and fuse from radio shack. BTW, the tape you see is not on twisted wire, its over an insulated wire nut. I add the tape in boxes that vibrate, like magnetic ballasts or cieling fans.
Switch and Fuse. One has the fuse cover closed, one open. You can get these at Lowes. They mount in a standard handy box, and come prewired. I've also installed these right on the ballast enclosure. The fuse just screws out for replacement.
The Truth About AFCIs I should point out these do not serve the same purpose as GFCIs, which are intended to keep you from doing the 60HZ shuffle. AFCIs are designed to detect arcing and open the circuit before a fire can start.
An inline fuse inside the ballast enclosure. The little black item with the red wire going into it is an in-line fuse housing. It would open the hot 120V circuit lead if the ballast starts pulling more current than it should. You can get the housing and fuse from radio shack. BTW, the tape you see is not on twisted wire, its over an insulated wire nut. I add the tape in boxes that vibrate, like magnetic ballasts or cieling fans.
Switch and Fuse. One has the fuse cover closed, one open. You can get these at Lowes. They mount in a standard handy box, and come prewired. I've also installed these right on the ballast enclosure. The fuse just screws out for replacement.
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