730g In-Wall Display
- Thread starter tgreene
- Start date
tgreene
Reefer
Yes! It's somewhere in that range... When we repaint next year, I'll probably have them warmed up a bit to more of a Cappiccuno color.Great Project!
What colour paint are your tan/taupe walls?
tgreene
Reefer
tgreene
Reefer
My "Granite Guy" stopped by yesterday and it's official, we're going to completely frame in the tank with granite on all 4 sides of the inset rather than just having it on the bottom. We'll then have matching casing around the outer edge that matches the rest of the house... It's just money, right..? 
BTW: This past weekend I blew so much more $$$ on upgrades, that any chance of a downpayment on the Gixxer is long gone. I guess I'll just buy buy a new handgun today, to ease my grief...
-Tim
BTW: This past weekend I blew so much more $$$ on upgrades, that any chance of a downpayment on the Gixxer is long gone. I guess I'll just buy buy a new handgun today, to ease my grief...
-Tim
I like the build, and here's a few things i would suggest. Rather than replacing your bulbs so often you should invest in a par meter the MQ200 by apogee is a good one http://www.apogee-inst.com/quantummeter_options.htm. That way you know when the par is actually starting to decrease. The 20K bulbs you're getting aren't going to give you a very good par value, and i would suggest that you switch to 10k bulbs. Your corals will be much happier with the higher par value. Here's a comparasin of what it looks like going from 20k to 10k with actinic supplementation. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1613934&page=22 I work on this tank with reefaquariumnut, and the par values increased a lot. An inch below the surface was 900 with 20k, and by adding the 10k it went up to 1400. The par increased significantly at all depths.
tgreene
Reefer
I have a very good LUX Meter already and while I do appreciate your suggestions, I know exactly what I'm doing which is why I have 9 fixtures rather than the 6 that are over the tank that you linked.
What so many people don't quite understand is that while PAR values are obviously very important, so is Spectrum... In fact, in all of my research over the years, my data and results have clearly shown Spectrum to be more important due the energy transmissions contained within specific wavelengths. I owned and operated an Aquaculture Facility for a few years, and due to the coral growth & coloration that I had as opposed to what other regional reefkeepers had was night and day. Fully realizing that the 20k bulbs have diminished PAR values (as I stated a few posts back even), I know that I have to use more light fixtures than if I used 10 or even 14k bulbs. I also have to change them out more frequently, just like I've been doing for the past several years.
-Tim
What so many people don't quite understand is that while PAR values are obviously very important, so is Spectrum... In fact, in all of my research over the years, my data and results have clearly shown Spectrum to be more important due the energy transmissions contained within specific wavelengths. I owned and operated an Aquaculture Facility for a few years, and due to the coral growth & coloration that I had as opposed to what other regional reefkeepers had was night and day. Fully realizing that the 20k bulbs have diminished PAR values (as I stated a few posts back even), I know that I have to use more light fixtures than if I used 10 or even 14k bulbs. I also have to change them out more frequently, just like I've been doing for the past several years.
-Tim
dahenley
New member
what changes after 90 days. i know they slowly degrade but how much difference is there in o days, 90 days, 6 month and 1 year.
i run 400w 20k bulbs as well, but being a college student, i want the best i can afford, but cant replace them ever 90 days...
thats is good info to know.
i run 400w 20k bulbs as well, but being a college student, i want the best i can afford, but cant replace them ever 90 days...
thats is good info to know.
tgreene
Reefer
The revolver just underwent a hammer-ectomy a few minutes ago to make it a safer concealed carry weapon for my wife.
-Tim
tgreene
Reefer
Higher spectrum bulbs lose their engineered wavelengths much more quickly than bulbs with lower K* ratings. Most people tend to run them for 6-9 months at a shot, but I've learned over the years that somewhere around 120days or so the bulbs begin to take on a slightly noticable diminished look...
Are they diminished enough that most people can see a difference..? Not at all, but as I mentioned above I've done extensive research and testing in regards to just this issue so I personally do see it and know what's going on.
-Tim
tgreene
Reefer
The tank is now in place, and we only had 1 major casualty... I had two friends that are both contractors show up with their crews, and the foreman for one crew got his finger caught and nearly ripped from his hand while we were removing the tank from a 16' flatbed trailer after being off-loaded from the semi. I had my riding partner who is an ER Nurse rush the guy to the ER immediately, and while nothing was broken, he did require 11 stitches... He then returned to continue supervising his work crew!
Also, the tank actually weighed closer to 1500 pounds rather than the 1100 pounds that I had been told, and that made a huge difference and explained why 11 of us could barely lift the thing. After the accident and losing 3 guys, it ended up being 8 of us that did everything. What I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy a pair of $200 scissor-jack tables that are rated to 1000 pounds each, and also used a pair of motorcycle jacks to stabilize the opposing edges since the jack tables were only wide enough to extend about 2/3 the width of the pallet which was 12 feet long and 4 feet wide.
When we eased the palletized tank off the trailer, we had (4) furniture movers' dollys that we used to spin the tank into position, then we used the motorcycle jacks on each end to raise the pallet just enough to be able to push the lift tables all the way under, then gently raised the lift tables being very careful to raise them equally. Once the pallet was equal to the height of the stand, I crawled under the pallet and screwed it to the front of the stand so that it wouldn't shift position. From there, we just slid the tank straight across... Once the tank was positioned exactly where it needed to be, we all got back on the sides of it with the giant suction cups and lifted it straight up a couple of inches so my wife could slide a sheet of 3/4" foam board under the tank. Foam board is required for leveling and to cushion the glass.
Now the real work begins!
-Tim
Also, the tank actually weighed closer to 1500 pounds rather than the 1100 pounds that I had been told, and that made a huge difference and explained why 11 of us could barely lift the thing. After the accident and losing 3 guys, it ended up being 8 of us that did everything. What I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy a pair of $200 scissor-jack tables that are rated to 1000 pounds each, and also used a pair of motorcycle jacks to stabilize the opposing edges since the jack tables were only wide enough to extend about 2/3 the width of the pallet which was 12 feet long and 4 feet wide.
When we eased the palletized tank off the trailer, we had (4) furniture movers' dollys that we used to spin the tank into position, then we used the motorcycle jacks on each end to raise the pallet just enough to be able to push the lift tables all the way under, then gently raised the lift tables being very careful to raise them equally. Once the pallet was equal to the height of the stand, I crawled under the pallet and screwed it to the front of the stand so that it wouldn't shift position. From there, we just slid the tank straight across... Once the tank was positioned exactly where it needed to be, we all got back on the sides of it with the giant suction cups and lifted it straight up a couple of inches so my wife could slide a sheet of 3/4" foam board under the tank. Foam board is required for leveling and to cushion the glass.
Now the real work begins!
-Tim
Last edited:
tgreene
Reefer
130" long x 37.5" wide x 36" tall -- Starfire front
tgreene
Reefer
Yes, I've bought all my custom tanks from them.
