Aquaph8's 225 Build

yeah hows that match making going Brett glad to meet you in person and see your set up very awesome in person
 
Thanks Everyone, after a little chasing at the beginning they are coexisting peacefully. I wouldn't call them a pair but at least things are peaceful.
 
Here's an awesome update:

I came back from my annual fishing trip to find a large package sitting in front of my tank. My new lighting has arrived, I picked up a used Sfiligoi Genesis 8x80 T5 with 3 rows of cree LED in the middle and is fully dimmable. This light will be replacing my 12x54 Stealth fixture. The old light was only 4' and didn't cover the tank all the way. Here's a few pics of the new light, please excuse the frag racks and acclimation box.

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Please give me your recommendations on what setting I should start at % wise while ramping the lights up to acclimate everything and how often I should make changes. Im so paranoid with big changes like these.
 
Sweet Lights Brett!

Will you post a FTS of your tank in frame? It looks beautiful!


Thanks Dan. Ill do my best but I gotta get all the junk off the front glass first. I dont have the best camera but Ill take a bunch real soon and hopefully Ill get a couple nice ones. Ive been doing a lot of spring cleaning trying to get this dang bubble algae under control lately so everything is kind of a mess. Im looking forward to the local auction this month so I get some stuff cleaned up.
 
Really nice build ! As for the lights I have a Sfiligoi T-5 12x80w stealth that has only seen a little more than a year of wear and it now has 5 dead ballasts. If your light is new hang onto that warranty. I couldn't even get help with mine. Is yours with the dimmable T5s ? I like the T-5/led combo, should be nice.
 
Nice fixture!I would start the leds at 30% and work my way up!

All the best!

Thanks, I took your advice and started the LEDs at 30% and the T5s at 60%, I figured the T5s would be OK since Im coming from a 12 bulb fixture. Think that will be OK. Do most people ever work the LEDs all the way up to 100% or stop somewhere before that. Keep in mind Im almost entirely SPS now due to fish choices?

That fixture looks really nice.
LEDs gonna give a pop to your corals :)

Im loving them already man, I absolutely love T5s but the LEDs certainly give it a little more pop. The blues alone at the end of the light cycle is a really cool effect Ive missed since I used to use VHOs.

That light is sick! :thumbsup:

Thanks Brett, I always thought that grey fixture looked weird over my black tank. Im loving the look of the black fixture.

Really nice build ! As for the lights I have a Sfiligoi T-5 12x80w stealth that has only seen a little more than a year of wear and it now has 5 dead ballasts. If your light is new hang onto that warranty. I couldn't even get help with mine. Is yours with the dimmable T5s ? I like the T-5/led combo, should be nice.

Thanks, yeah it has the dimmable T5s. I had a 12 bulb stealth fixture before this too and did have some ballast issues. I changed them out myself and it wasn't too bad. After switching them out I never had anymore issues though. That was a lot more simple fixture to work on though, hopefully this one wont give me too much issues. Hope you get yours fixed.
 
Kind of O.T. but what's on the table to the left of the display?

Those are my two QT tanks. They are usually a little dirty looking cause I dont clean them as often as the DT and I dont mind a little algae growth in them. My wife has been trying to kick them out of the house for years, LOL. We finally came to an agreement and Im gonna build a room in the garage for a nicer QT setup and hopefully a water mixing station. I would love a fish room to back my tank up to but its just not possible with the layout of the house so having a QT room is the next best thing. Maybe Ill even start up my live food cultures again.
 
I think your corals will tell you how much they can handle!

In any case just go slow and give them the time to respond if they don't like it.

I would suggest running @ max 90% just for keeping your diodes a bit cooler

All the best!
 
The new light looks very sleek over you tank!
Congrats on the addition of the Mitratus BF. Would love to see some pics of him in your DT.
Mind sharing your current stock list?
 
Thanks Ed. How are all those butterflies? The Mitratus is doing awesome and is pretty well behaved so far. Only thing he nips is hydroids which is awesome. I hoped he would clear up the aiptasia but no interest so far. I'm working on pics, my kids jacked up all the settings on my camera and I'm not real good at stuff like that so I gotta figure it all out again. I'm searching for a replacement for my muelleri bit no luck yet. I saw a Leonard's wrasse on DD today though so collection may be getting close in that area. I got my fingers crossed.

Current stock list

Blue tang
Lavender tang
Mitratus butterfly
Green chromis
Green mandarin
Bangaii cardinals (2) they refuse to be a pair so far.
Threadfin cardinals (2)
Earlei fairy wrasse
Rhomboid fairy wrasse
Orange stripe prawn goby
Circus goby pair
Kuiters leopard wrasse
Occelaris clown pair (one misbar and one phantom)

I think I got them all LOL
 
All the fish in the DT are doing well, the QT are being a bit picky now that I started medicating. Great to hear all your fish are doing well, and you are definitely building quite an impressive collection there. I like the lavender tang, highly underrated tang. And your wrasse collection is just awesome!
 
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