Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[dave.m]

Okay, another dumb question from me: why are you using Metal Halide lamps on mangroves? MH use an exorbitant amount of electricity and produce far too much waste heat. If the mangroves need full spectrum lighting, wouldn't you do better with one of those plasma lamps?

Dave.M

 

[swissgaurd]

actually the mangroves will do just fine with LED,s
ive grow many under PC bulbs wich work very well,

vic

 

[chingchai]

Here's a pole for all of you...

1) Bond the rocks with D&D two part epoxy putty.
2) Bond the rocks with water-proof grey expanding foam.

I strongly recommend this product or something similar:
http://www.alteco.com.sg/products_epoxy_a&b_epo_putty.shtml#
The first time when my friend suggest me to use this, I say no way.
Because it is too cheap and takes too much time to settle.
But once it is settled, you have to use hammer to break it off.
Slow but sure it is.

 

[nineball]

I know but people are lazy and clicking links is too much to ask with some. I like having the image up so you can find it quicker when you go back to look something up.

I can see the images now when I use my computer, but they don't show up on my phone?

can you put up the detailed drawing you did for the mangroves on the wall? I found it very usefull. I would also hope that my teacher friend in Cal would chime in on the design.

I was thinking I would take some pics of the paint and glue etc....do you want me too or should I wait?

Peter

 

[nineball]

I strongly recommend this product or something similar:
http://www.alteco.com.sg/products_epoxy_a&b_epo_putty.shtml#
The first time when my friend suggest me to use this, I say no way.
Because it is too cheap and takes too much time to settle.
But once it is settled, you have to use hammer to break it off.
Slow but sure it is.

Thanks Chingchai, that is exactly what I want to use....... We are going to try and source it. It doesn't appear to be available in Canada so I may have to get it from the US.

Thank you very much for the link. Your fish by the way look incredible. I hope very much that the move to the display goes smoothly. Don't rush it Chingchai, take your time, it will be worth it.

Your friend,
Peter

 

[chingchai]

Thanks Chingchai, that is exactly what I want to use....... We are going to try and source it. It doesn't appear to be available in Canada so I may have to get it from the US.

Thank you very much for the link. Your fish by the way look incredible. I hope very much that the move to the display goes smoothly. Don't rush it Chingchai, take your time, it will be worth it.

Your friend,
Peter

Peter. You are always welcome.
If you can't find this kind of product, just let me know.
I am more than happy to courier them to you.

Thanks for your concern on my fishes.
Really appreciated it.

 

[mr.wilson]

Okay, another dumb question from me: why are you using Metal Halide lamps on mangroves? MH use an exorbitant amount of electricity and produce far too much waste heat. If the mangroves need full spectrum lighting, wouldn't you do better with one of those plasma lamps?

Dave.M

Not a dumb question at all. I completely overlooked the technology because the low kelvin daylight bulbs are not appropriate for reefs. For that reason I put the idea out of mind. You are absolutely right, that we actually need a daylight bulb for the mangroves and this is the one of choice. The other reason I thought of MHL is I have a brand new 400 watt fixture still in the box that I have to use in the next two years before it is obsolete

I'm not happy with the two 24" T5 lights for our refugium, so maybe we will buy one or two for the mangrove wall and one for the refugium. This is the only one I could find in mass production and available for sale.
http://www.straylightoptical.com/product-details.jsf?productId=2
http://www.polar-ray.com/Plasma-Lighting_c_141.html

The coverage is 3' x 3' so we would need two for the mangrove walls which are 4' x 5' and 4' x 4'. I can get the parts from China and make one, but we are trying to keep the equipment mainstream with the project and the off the rack model has a nice digital controls built-in like an Iphone app. http://glassbox-design.com/2009/diy-plasma-light-aquarium-luxim/

 

[nineball]

I'll do that then. I lost all of my gallery here on RC when they had the problems last year so I have been reluctant to trust my images with someone else.

I have some knowledge in this arena and I highly recommend Phanfare. They adapt well to Reef Central, they have an unlimited plan, they back up every image in the cloud, they will even take RAW files, they are mac and pc friendly and even have an ipad specific program, they have an excellent security program and you can even order mugs with your own pictures like say.............Peter's fish room gurls. You can set up a program where they will send you backups of your albums every month or quarter on cd. Their functionality and flexibility in my experience runs well to my preference for services that use best practices. They are highly recommended as an effective service that works well with Reef Central.

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter. You are always welcome.
If you can't find this kind of product, just let me know.
I am more than happy to courier them to you.

Thanks for your concern on my fishes.
Really appreciated it.

Thanks for the tip. I have used two-part epoxy putties from different companies over the past 15 years. I don't like any of them. Is this stuff that much better than D&D for example. I was at an epoxy specialty store yesterday and he didn't even want to sell be any epoxy putty because he agrees that it is useless.

 

[mr.wilson]

Thanks Chingchai, that is exactly what I want to use....... We are going to try and source it. It doesn't appear to be available in Canada so I may have to get it from the US.

Thank you very much for the link. Your fish by the way look incredible. I hope very much that the move to the display goes smoothly. Don't rush it Chingchai, take your time, it will be worth it.

Your friend,
Peter

I would get on that soon if we are sticking to our deadline. These epoxies are regional so I would take Ching up on the offer. How many tubes do you need for 2000 LBS of rock? It sounds like it will cost as much as the rock did

 

[nineball]

Not a dumb question at all. I completely overlooked the technology because the low kelvin daylight bulbs are not appropriate for reefs. For that reason I put the idea out of mind. You are absolutely right, that we actually need a daylight bulb for the mangroves and this is the one of choice. The other reason I thought of MHL is I have a brand new 400 watt fixture still in the box that I have to use in the next two years before it is obsolete

I'm not happy with the two 24" T5 lights for our refugium, so maybe we will buy one or two for the mangrove wall and one for the refugium. This is the only one I could find in mass production and available for sale.
http://www.straylightoptical.com/product-details.jsf?productId=2
http://www.polar-ray.com/Plasma-Lighting_c_141.html

The coverage is 3' x 3' so we would need two for the mangrove walls which are 4' x 5' and 4' x 4'. I can get the parts from China and make one, but we are trying to keep the equipment mainstream with the project and the off the rack model has a nice digital controls built-in like an Iphone app. http://glassbox-design.com/2009/diy-plasma-light-aquarium-luxim/

Ok if Dave's question wasn't dumb then let me try for the prize. Why wouldn't we try LED's. I am assuming the light requirements would not be as demanding as the display tank with corals but plants should be relatively safe to work with. I'm sure we will see something in orlando............. Here again if we were to try and determine the best practice would there be an immediate solution presenting itself???

Peter

 

[chingchai]

Thanks for the tip. I have used two-part epoxy putties from different companies over the past 15 years. I don't like any of them. Is this stuff that much better than D&D for example. I was at an epoxy specialty store yesterday and he didn't even want to sell be any epoxy putty because he agrees that it is useless.

I hate D&D. It is not well worth to buy. TLF is better.
So no more comments. You are much much more knowledgeable guy than me.

 

[nineball]

I would get on that soon if we are sticking to our deadline. These epoxies are regional so I would take Ching up on the offer. How many tubes do you need for 2000 LBS of rock? It sounds like it will cost as much as the rock did

I'll call them on Monday. .........

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

I'll call them on Monday. .........

Peter

I sent them an email, but you can do the follow-up call.

 

[mr.wilson]

I hate D&D. It is not well worth to buy. TLF is better.
So no more comments. You are much much more knowledgeable guy than me.

I trust you if you say it works. If you told me that D&D was great stuff, then we would have a problem

Every time Peter told me that you used epoxy putty for all the rock work I thought "the poor guy in the tank". Now I can say, "the lucky guy in the tank"

Your opinion is valuable to me. You can read technical articles until your hair falls out, but you can't beat experience and getting wet Most of my aquarium knowledge has been gained from listening to others and learning from my own experiences (read as "mistakes").

 

[dave.m]

Hi,

The plasma arc lamp used by the Monterey Aquarium was by Luxim. They are a little short on the very bluest end, but still a much more natural looking light than LEDs (which I frankly think look like a freak show, but that's just my ignorant opinion plus the way some people have implemented them).

I have used two-part epoxy putties (the type that comes in a roll with one part inside the other). They were rubbish and crumbled with little provocation in my application (home plumbing).

djm

 

[nineball]

Hi,

The plasma arc lamp used by the Monterey Aquarium was by Luxim. They are a little short on the very bluest end, but still a much more natural looking light than LEDs (which I frankly think look like a freak show, but that's just my ignorant opinion plus the way some people have implemented them).

I have used two-part epoxy putties (the type that comes in a roll with one part inside the other). They were rubbish and crumbled with little provocation in my application (home plumbing).

djm

Thanks Dave, we are concentrating on the plant life here to meet the needs for the mangrove wall. I agree with you on the outstanding issues related to aquariums focused on coral but thats a much bigger discussion that we are sure to have in the very near future. :thumbsup:

I am a huge fan of the EPO epoxy that Chingchai used as I literally watched it put and hold his rock work together even when it was applied under water by his team. If you look closely at his design there could not be a better recommendation as his sculptures are almost four feet high and they are (forgive the pun) rock solid. Chingchai's tank also moves a lot of water and the formations have not showed any signs of stress. His coral is vibrant and healthy so I'm convinced that the bonding agent is both unique and truly representative of a best practice that has been demonstrated and tested in the real world. It probably is not the only product that will work but it is the only one I can find that I have actually seen documented so well. :dance:

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

Hi,

The plasma arc lamp used by the Monterey Aquarium was by Luxim. They are a little short on the very bluest end, but still a much more natural looking light than LEDs (which I frankly think look like a freak show, but that's just my ignorant opinion plus the way some people have implemented them).

I have used two-part epoxy putties (the type that comes in a roll with one part inside the other). They were rubbish and crumbled with little provocation in my application (home plumbing).

djm

I agree with your opinion on the appearance of LED. They make me feel like I'm in Shopper's Drug Mart (or Walgreen's for our American friends).

RC blocks that site. I try to link the manufacturers site if they provide it within the article.

Apparently PAR is lost when the plasma are dimmed down to a blue colour. As you pointed out, mangroves don't need blue, they need PAR. We also have the advantage that we aren't filtering the light through yellow water so colours are true blue, not yellow+blue=green.

We will make sure you get the credit for suggesting plasma and Peter gets the bill, which in the long term will be lower.

 

[Elliott]

Thanks Dave, we are concentrating on the plant life here to meet the needs for the mangrove wall. I agree with you on the outstanding issues related to aquariums focused on coral but thats a much bigger discussion that we are sure to have in the very near future. :thumbsup:

I am a huge fan of the EPO epoxy that Chingchai used as I literally watched it put and hold his rock work together even when it was applied under water by his team. If you look closely at his design there could not be a better recommendation as his sculptures are almost four feet high and they are (forgive the pun) rock solid. Chingchai's tank also moves a lot of water and the formations have not showed any signs of stress. His coral is vibrant and healthy so I'm convinced that the bonding agent is both unique and truly representative of a best practice that has been demonstrated and tested in the real world. It probably is not the only product that will work but it is the only one I can find that I have actually seen documented so well. :dance:

Peter

the only thing that makes me a little nervous is "It is also resistant to chemicals and fungi" from their website, I've seen silicone with antifungal properties slowly poison reef tanks causing livestock loss

 

[mr.wilson]

the only thing that makes me a little nervous is "It is also resistant to chemicals and fungi" from their website, I've seen silicone with antifungal properties slowly poison reef tanks causing livestock loss

I didn't read that far. That is a bad sign. Anti-fungal agents are a big problem. They attack "good" and "bad" bacteria indiscriminately, along with other organisms that get in the way. I will check with the manufacturer. They probably have a "pure" epoxy version.