700g+ T5 & Sunlit Reef System

[SMOOTHIE]

The pretend feeding video is hilarious! "Puppies" was the first word that popped into my head

 

[StripestheEel]

Pretty cool! Is that second one the T-5s I'm seeing or is there an additional reflector attached to the Solatubes that I forgot about?

Yeah just the T5's, nothing else.

Do you get any benefit from the solar besides the lighting of the tank during the day?

Um... reduced electricity costs, natural moonlight, reduced heating costs

awesome tank... love everything about it. how much is your electric bill per month with all those t-5s? and how do you keep so many fighting conchs alive with a blue throat trigger?!? lol thats amazing!

Not alot Tank is pretty good on power. The blue throat is a model citizen, the puppy dog of the tank.

like what? isn't that enough?

keep up the good work.

Carl

Thanks Carl, I also wasn't sure what else the solatubes are supposed to do. :lmao:

The pretend feeding video is hilarious! "Puppies" was the first word that popped into my head

Yeah everyone always comments on how "friendly" my fish are. I hate seeing someones tank where all the fish hide!

 

[asacopoo]

magnificent

 

[dragenfire0]

amazing set up nice job

 

[elijaher]

Wow tank look awesome.

 

[nycreef]

I was considering putting the solar tubes over my tank but it would have had to be on the side of the house as the tank is on the main floor and I have 2 more additional floors over the 1st floor. I would not have benefitted enough but for only the afternoon sun which would have been nice too. I just thought of putting 5 holes in the side of my house, it would have looked strange and when the tank is lit at night i would think the metal halides would reflect out of the sloar tubes making it look like the circus is in town. Part of me still feels I should have done it but heck, I have yours to look at when i feel that way. Nice job and clean build.

 

[ReefWaters]

Beautiful set up and well designed! You may have mentioned it already, but what are you doing about humidity in the house? I would imagine you have a massive amount of evaporation from that beast!

 

[jefathome]

Just read through... Great thread and awesome tank.

I'm in the middle of a 150g "tube" build. I was a little concerned that I didnt' have enough light, but upon calculating I saw that 1 14in tube (355mm) has TWICE the surface area of a 10in (255mm) tube. So if you have 4 10in tubes, that is about the same amount of NSL (Natural Sun light) as the two 14in tubes on my 4ft x 2ft tank... that should be MORE than enough light. My tank is 30in (.9m) deep though, so I'll need it.

I'm going to supplement with just two (maybe 4) T5's for a total lighting wattage of either 110w or 190w (2x55 and 2x40) Not bad for a reef tank!!


Here is a link to my build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17062895#post17062895

 

[thor32766]

beautiful tank. love the video!

 

[pico-reefer]

fantastic tank!!!! good job!!

 

[Makin'Waves1]

This tank is AWESOME!!!!!!!!

 

[n0rk]

I need to bring my camera over sometime for this tank, Matt. Or actually come and see it in the flesh, lol. Interesting reading through the threads on different sites man. Either way, I love this system

 

[Broder]

Wow... I love this tank. Thanks for the inspiration. Now that it's been up and running for a year and a bit, is there anything you'd change in hindsight? Such as the height of the stand or any other dimensions?

I'm amazed to see how quickly the emperor changed colours in the end. Always thought it would take longer than it did. It's a real stunner. Mine's only a year or so old and already behaving like royalty. Love his colouration now, but also looking forward to the change. Catching an emperor is a bonus.... it's like getting 2 fish in one!

 

[Elliott]

your tank is looking great, thanks for the video, great job! :thumbsup:

 

[champs215]

I have always been dying to get an emperor but have been scared for my coral! lol, is he still enjoying a CORAL FREE diet!? lol

 

[SunnyX]

You have a great looking setup, congrats!!

 

[StripestheEel]

magnificent

amazing set up nice job

Wow tank look awesome.

Thankyou so much!

I was considering putting the solar tubes over my tank but it would have had to be on the side of the house as the tank is on the main floor and I have 2 more additional floors over the 1st floor. I would not have benefitted enough but for only the afternoon sun which would have been nice too. I just thought of putting 5 holes in the side of my house, it would have looked strange and when the tank is lit at night i would think the metal halides would reflect out of the sloar tubes making it look like the circus is in town. Part of me still feels I should have done it but heck, I have yours to look at when i feel that way. Nice job and clean build.

Thanks for the kind words. You should see my house from outside at night, it's like I am beaming up to the aliens asking them to visit me :lol:

Beautiful set up and well designed! You may have mentioned it already, but what are you doing about humidity in the house? I would imagine you have a massive amount of evaporation from that beast!

The tank is situated in a very well ventilated room, winter is nearly over here but I was losing around 30 litres a day which is a little over 7 gallons. During summer it drops considerably.

Just read through... Great thread and awesome tank.

I'm in the middle of a 150g "tube" build. I was a little concerned that I didnt' have enough light, but upon calculating I saw that 1 14in tube (355mm) has TWICE the surface area of a 10in (255mm) tube. So if you have 4 10in tubes, that is about the same amount of NSL (Natural Sun light) as the two 14in tubes on my 4ft x 2ft tank... that should be MORE than enough light. My tank is 30in (.9m) deep though, so I'll need it.

I'm going to supplement with just two (maybe 4) T5's for a total lighting wattage of either 110w or 190w (2x55 and 2x40) Not bad for a reef tank!!


Here is a link to my build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17062895#post17062895

Great build, are you glad you ended up going with solatubes?

beautiful tank. love the video!

fantastic tank!!!! good job!!

This tank is AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Thanks again, it's kind words like this that make you continue striving to improve.

I need to bring my camera over sometime for this tank, Matt. Or actually come and see it in the flesh, lol. Interesting reading through the threads on different sites man. Either way, I love this system

No one hates me here mate. :lol:

Wow... I love this tank. Thanks for the inspiration. Now that it's been up and running for a year and a bit, is there anything you'd change in hindsight? Such as the height of the stand or any other dimensions?

I'm amazed to see how quickly the emperor changed colours in the end. Always thought it would take longer than it did. It's a real stunner. Mine's only a year or so old and already behaving like royalty. Love his colouration now, but also looking forward to the change. Catching an emperor is a bonus.... it's like getting 2 fish in one!

I'd run an internal skimmer to allow for more room in the space behind the tank. I have actually gone as far as to order a new skimmer. Arrives in a few weeks. I have gone with the Alpha Vertex 300, apart from that I am happy with most of how the tank has worked out! :love2: Re: Emperor it was a very quick transition, after about 5 years, within 6 months he has gone from juvi to adult. Love him to death.

your tank is looking great, thanks for the video, great job! :thumbsup:

No worries, I have just uploaded some new ones so please check them out.

I have always been dying to get an emperor but have been scared for my coral! lol, is he still enjoying a CORAL FREE diet!? lol

Coral free since 2005 :bounce3:

You have a great looking setup, congrats!!

Thanks Sunny. I haven't updated in a while so here's a few things that have been happening.

 

[StripestheEel]

Firstly I get asked why my fish are always out in the open due to this vid..

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My answer is, they are happy, healthy, have plenty of room to swim and they all get along. Once you have too many fish, they cannot exhibit natural behaviours.

Secondly I opted do downsize my current x2 ATI 10 bulb Powermoduls to x2 ATI 8 bulb Powermoduls to allow more spread from my solatubes.

Also took that opportunity to change over all my bulbs.

Threw some of the new ATI Purple Plus' into the mix as well, boy am I impressed.

ATI released this bulb as demand has been very high for a direct competitor to the KZ Fiji Purple and at first glance is exactly that.

For those familiar with ATI bulbs I would say it is a mix of the Blue Plus and Pro Color.

Unsure on PAR outputs vs Fiji Purple at the moment but will try to get some ASAP.

Taking photos of lights directly is hard however here is a Blue Plus (R)and Purple Plus (L).

Current bank of one of my ATIs to show colour comparison over complete ATI range. (AS, BP, PC, AS, BP, PP, AS, BP)

Tank shot with all bulbs running (x6 Blue Plus, x6 Aquablue Special, x2 Purple Plus, x2 Pro Color)

Tank Shot with 1 Purple Plus and 1 Blue Plus

The PP brings out the fluros in greens SIGNIFICANTLY. It has the draw of an actinic bulb without the oversaturation of blue.

For those looking to replace their KZ Fiji Purple I would recommend it, especially if you are wanting to keep all your bulbs the ATI brand.

Apologies for the terrible iPhone photos.

Here's what a bulb change looks like at my place. Both ATI units got new bulbs. For those unaware I downgraded from the 10 bulb units to 8 bulbs recently to allow for more spread from my solatubes.

Brodye loves the fish! Another reefer in the making!

I took some more crappy iPhone videos tonight.

Video #1 - All new T5's on and fish showing off. My emperor is finally a man as well!

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Video #2 - Tank going to sleep, only 1 ATI unit on and only 2 of those bulbs on (x1 Blue Plus, x1 Purple Plus) lights are about to go off. I love the depth this gives. It looks like it goes on forever!

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Also got some B&W Clownfish, here they are being acclimatised!

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And lastly, as I just mentioned I have purchased an Alpha Vertex 300 Internal Skimmer, should arrive from overseas in a few weeks.

Will update once it arrives.

Thanks for looking

 

[denash24]

Awesome tank, very inspiring:thumbsup:

 

[j-dizzle]

what a build and a beautiful outcome