ADA 120-P + Elos Mini dual NPS tank journal

[Aquabacs]

So I've had this idea of combining mangroves and NPS corals/sponges/tunicates in the same tank, with the mangroves providing shade for the corals as well as "substrate" for the corals to attach to. TBH I thought it was totally unnatural but conceptually would work very well and could create a well balanced ecosystem. I found out that this actually does occur in nature and Matt Wandell posted some links in another forum with amazing photos. This is going to be the inspiration for my ADA tank:

More pics here:
http://blogs.panda.org/coral_triangle/2010...-of-raja-ampat/
http://www.naturalscenes.net/Sponges.htm

Mike, you know when you posted those links I had to visit the starfish section, then caves, then finish it off with over/under

Mike

 

[uhuru]

Some progress pics with the ADA:

Primed stand

Painted stand

Extra tall light hangers to give me max flexibility with lighting options, and mangrove growth

I got a DIY retro T5VHO setup for a great deal, so tonight I'm gonna try to build a "hanging canopy" for it to suspend above the tank.

 

[Aquabacs]

Nice job Mike! Color of the stand looks pretty cool. Is there a coating you put over the paint to protect it or did you use Marine/Industrial paint?

Mike

 

[uhuru]

Thanks! I used 2 layers of Miniwax spar urethane coating to protect the paint. For the inside I just left it white.

 

[Aquabacs]

Cool. Now get on with the fun stuff

Mike

 

[uhuru]

Well the sun is back out so I think I better mow the lawn before it rains again...

I might be picking up a mini fridge this week as I believe my tank has really been suffering from dosing of too much rotting food. I'm actually amazed at what it has been able to handle, but I think the tank should be doing a lot better than it is.

 

[uhuru]

Good lawd this thing is bright!

4 x 39w GE 6500K bulbs overdriven by Icecap 660. I also added fans on the label end side of the fixture.

 

[GreshamH]

Is there really any creditably to the "label end"?

 

[uhuru]

According to our resident T5 expert Grim Reefer:

"Some, but not all of the lamps have a dedicated cold spot which is at the label end. On other lamps regulating the temperature at either end will give you top performance but it is good practice to just cool the label end of all lamps to remove any doubt."

 

[GreshamH]

So other then a guy saying it, there really is no paper or credible source that states this? Not that Grim is not credible, but on something like this I prefer to have some one state it that does not hide behind a screen name Off to talk to Sanjay.

 

[uhuru]

let us know what you find out please

 

[Aquabacs]

How's the frig coming along?


Mike

 

[uhuru]

Things are progressing slower than expected, but getting there. I am saving the fridge plumbing for last - which should be tonight and tomorrow. I plan to have water in the tank by this weekend. I'm going out of town for most of August so I really need to get this going.

 

[GreshamH]

Not that you guys are "hiding" behind a screen name

>removes foot from mouth<

 

[uhuru]

No worries Gresham I don't think anyone takes offense.

I finally got the light hung tonight. Going to finish the plumbing tomorrow, then it's gonna take me at least a day for all the controlling and power supply stuff.

And even though I won't be keeping any NPS stuff in this tank, here are some pics of my seagrass tank that I'm also working on:

I added another top layer of sand which came from the elos NPS tank. I added water a couple days ago and its just starting to clear now.

 

[GreshamH]

let us know what you find out please

Waiting on permission to repost but the two people I spoke with said there is truth to that and backed it up with a PDF.

 

[uhuru]

That's good to know. Look forward to seeing it.

 

[GreshamH]

Full credit for finding this PDF goes to Jose Dieck.

http://www.peerless-lighting.com/info/pdfs/HOT-5+_WebDocument.pdf

It’s all about the Cold Spot
While it is customary to speak of the ambient temperature’s effect on lamps, it is not the entire story. To be technically precise, what ultimately determines the light output of the lamp is not the ambient temperature, but the cold spot temperature (see Figure 1). The cold spot of the lamp is the location on the lamp surface where the temperature is coolest. Normally, cold spot temperature of a lamp rises or falls in lock-step with the ambient temperature of the lamp. For T5 and T5HO lamps, the cold spot temperature is 10 oC higher than the ambient temperature. Hence, the 35 oC optimal ambient temperature will translate to 45oC optimal cold spot temperature. Unlike a T8 or T12 fluorescent lamp where the cold spot is in the middle of the lamp, for T5 or T5HO lamps, the cold spot is at end of the lamp where the company’s label is printed on the glass, and is located on the metallic end cap about 2 mm from the glass envelope.

 

[uhuru]

thanks for that

 

[Matt_Wandell]

And even though I won't be keeping any NPS stuff in this tank, here are some pics of my seagrass tank that I'm also working on:

What's the mucky stuff? Looks fun...