Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank) - split

[nineball]

Peter. Do you have any idea about this one?
http://orphek.com/led/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
Thanks.

Hi Chingchai, its late.....you should be asleep by now. Oh I forgot, Andy told me that no one ever sleeps in Bangkok!!!!!

I have seen an earlier version of this light Chingchai and I was impressed with what I saw and these new lights are supposed to be better. I do have nine units of the new configuration with the addition of red and UV lights and so far I am pleased with the results. I have a total of 27 units over the display tank and eight units in the fish room. I am about to take the plasma lights that are over the mangroves and replace them with the 100 watt Orpheks. The Mangroves are doing extremely well (I have almost 200 trees) but If I can replace the plasmas with the Orphek pendants I will save electricity/heat and bulky size. I have observed through 3 separate tests over the refugium that I do NOT get any nuisance algae with the Orpheks that I do get with either the plasmas or other brands of LED's. We have done these experiments 3 times just to be sure it wasn't our imagination. My only complaint is that I don't want 35 controller boxes to program but there are not too many customers like me with so much coverage so there is not a lot of motivation by orphek to simplify my life.

My advice Chingchai, would be to do what I did in my tank. Take the left side of your tank and do it with the pendants and leave your current configuration on the right side. In six months you should be able to verify the impact on overall coral health and vitality. My tank is only 30 inches deep but I have been experimenting with sps on the bottom with great results. The pendants you are looking at are significantly stronger so it will require some experimenting to get the right coverage for your tank. I would be very careful in the beginning and run full coverage without any dimming or channel alteration for at least 9 or 10 hours. This will ensure maximum spectrum for the health of the coral. then for two hours before and after you can 'play' with the lights to get the best aesthetics that you enjoy without compromising on the health of the coral. My favourite 'scene' is 10% white with 100% blue, UV and red. Its amazing but not healthy all the time. Finally I give 100 % all blue (no white) with a final 10% just before the fish go to sleep.

Mr. Wilson may want to supplement what I have suggested if he gets a chance later today......but its a long weekend holiday here and there are not very many sober Canadians right now!!!!!

Peter

 

[nineball]

Also also, if I may point it out, there is a galvanized vent pipe over the main display and a large fan that sucks the air over the tank back into the fish room. The fan maintains a negative pressure over the DT so its temperature and humidity do not affect the house. This plus the separate, dedicated HVAC system keeps the DT and fishroom isolated and easier to maintain at a steady temperature and humidity level.

Walking into the fishroom is like entering a greenhouse. I think this has something to do with the success of the mangroves. It is quite tropical in there.

Dave.M

I forgot about the fan Dave......good catch. It certainly has a major impact on cooling the entire system. John from DQI has just told me that he has found a new model that is totally silent.........I wonder if it possible to have a tank that is too quiet!!!

Peter

 

[nineball]

Great video and I look forward to many more and the knowledge they will bring.

Thank you Timothy, .......soon very very soon, I hope.

Peter

 

[sfsuphysics]

Interesting Peter, I guess when you up the ante with size things tend to work a bit differently. Tons more water (literally ) and there's that much more thermal mass to stabilize temperature.

My 200+g doesn't quite have that considering the basement it's in, so I do burn a lot of electricity just to keep it warm, and my halides are actually a beneficial source of heat during the day (heaters work that much less ). Oh well, when I get around to getting my 8' x 3' tank installed in wall, with insulation and all that good junk hopefully the electric bill will go down.

 

[nineball]

Interesting Peter, I guess when you up the ante with size things tend to work a bit differently. Tons more water (literally ) and there's that much more thermal mass to stabilize temperature.

My 200+g doesn't quite have that considering the basement it's in, so I do burn a lot of electricity just to keep it warm, and my halides are actually a beneficial source of heat during the day (heaters work that much less ). Oh well, when I get around to getting my 8' x 3' tank installed in wall, with insulation and all that good junk hopefully the electric bill will go down.

You are kidding right Mike? Your avatar says San Francisco. SF has never seen snow or temps below 70F, right? Just open the window Mike and smell the ozone.............but if all you are doing is working up a backgrounder to justify your next tank to your wife then ........aaah yes I see. Yes Ms. Mike bigger is more cost effective.

OK that didn't work for me either....

Peter

 

[sfsuphysics]

You are kidding right Mike? Your avatar says San Francisco. SF has never seen snow or temps below 70F, right? Just open the window Mike and smell the ozone.............but if all you are doing is working up a backgrounder to justify your next tank to your wife then ........aaah yes I see. Yes Ms. Mike bigger is more cost effective.

OK that didn't work for me either....

Peter

HAhahaha, never seen temps below 70F? More like temps above 70F... during the summer time we get a few nice days though If you're talking averages between 50-70F any day of the year, so yeah we have that aspect the temperature not changing much, not cold as in Canadian cold, but you have a room that's maybe 25' x 12' at 55°- 60°F with a 200G heater set to around 75°F you're going to burn through energy.

I'm sure if I just boxed up my tank with a tiny room I could save even more money... but I have the 8x3 tank in the garage already, it just needs some TLC to make it nice

 

[Azazael13]

Peter. Do you have any idea about this one?
http://orphek.com/led/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
Thanks.

I know that this was already answered, but I wanted to chime in also. I replaced some T5's and MH over my tank with DIF-100. Within 2 week I could see a difference in the corals. I have been very satisfied with this light. It also provides the perfect area of light for my 2' cube

 

[chingchai]

Peter. Thank you so much for your answer.

 

[Kipps]

The video really sums up this build - professional and best practices - the envy of us all....

 

[danfeig]

Dialyseas

Dialyseas

Peter:

At one point you were looking at a Dialyseas unit for your system. What did you decide? If you ended up purchasing one, can you please tell me your experience with it.

I was just about to pick one up for my new 1,400 gallon build and I am looking for as much information about the units as possible.

Thank you.

Dan

 

[Tmoriarty]

Very informative build with excellent corals/fish/tank health.

I had read quite a few pages back that there was a small issue with nuissance red algae in the mangrove tracks. Perhaps turning the plasmas down to 70-80% would help to reduce this issue while still maintaining good growth. What I have noticed with plasmas is that they shift exponentially to red after around 60% power. If you are seeing a lot of nuissance maybe a shift in spectrum by turning the plasmas down a bit would help?

Obviously what you guys have been doing works wonders just was thinking of ways to contribute constructively.

 

[ccuk]

hi Pete
i have just started doing acrylic tanks over the pond in the UK.
how do you find cleaning the acrylic , the visibility by far out seeds
glass but people worry it scratches a lot easier than glass , its not
widely used in the uk and iam trying to advise people that its the
why to go if considering a custom marine build ,,
you tank is a true inspiration to us all
kindest regards
stewart

 

[Tanu]

Any updates Peter and Shawn? Just came by Episode 1 you made, I'm really looking forward to watching the next episode!

Tanne

 

[mr.wilson]

hi Pete
i have just started doing acrylic tanks over the pond in the UK.
how do you find cleaning the acrylic , the visibility by far out seeds
glass but people worry it scratches a lot easier than glass , its not
widely used in the uk and iam trying to advise people that its the
why to go if considering a custom marine build ,,
you tank is a true inspiration to us all
kindest regards
stewart

Removing scratches is an art in itself, but a skill set that can be easily acquired. I use micro-mesh pads for interior scratches and a buffing wheel on a drill with jewellers ruby paste on the outside. Smaller micro-scratches on the outside are easily dispatched with Novus three step liquid polish.

http://www.novuspolish.com/
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=62127&cat=1,42500
http://www.delviesplastics.com/mm5/...re_Code=DPI&Category_Code=Buffing_Accessories

Now with glass, you have no avenue to remove scratches, and they certainly do occur. The clarity improvement from starfire glass to acrylic is the same as standard glass to starfire. Acrylic is the best option for tanks over 36" tall and it affords the ability to create unique shapes and designs.

 

[mr.wilson]

Any updates Peter and Shawn? Just came by Episode 1 you made, I'm really looking forward to watching the next episode!

Tanne

Peter and his videographer have finished two more videos that will be published shortly. One is about the maintenance involved while the other is a more widely appealing eye candy video. It's a lot more relaxing and entertaining than the stock fireplace video on your local cable channel

 

[dave.m]

Peter and his videographer have finished two more videos that will be published shortly.

That's great to hear. One hates to nag, but it has been a while ... :bounce1:

Dave.M

 

[mr.wilson]

We used the good looking guys on the next video

 

[dave.m]

Hmmm, there must have been a hidden camera ... :artist:

Dave.M

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter:

At one point you were looking at a Dialyseas unit for your system. What did you decide? If you ended up purchasing one, can you please tell me your experience with it.

I was just about to pick one up for my new 1,400 gallon build and I am looking for as much information about the units as possible.

Thank you.

Dan

I was/am against the idea of the Dialyseas device. We have a water change system in place and use other cheaper methods of reducing excess nutrients.

Having to rely on the accuracy of a salinity probe is a position neither Peter nor myself want to get into. Furthermore, salinity shifts and ionic imbalances is a chemistry lesson/exercise we want to avoid.

Ken Feldman did a thorough review. He bought one for water changes, not water quality, due to limitations with the landlord.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/pr/index.php

 

[ballenreef]

Truely inspirational and absolutely beautiful!!!