bullitr
broke but happy
Peter if your planning to go to the Philippines check this resort out!
http://bellaroccaresorts.com/index.php?file=kop1.php
http://bellaroccaresorts.com/index.php?file=kop1.php
Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)
- Thread starter nineball
- Start date
- Status
gmneil
New member
Mr wilson, i live in buffalo ny about 5 mins from the airport, i spoke with peter when he first started the thread, let me know if you guys need me to help with any of the coral shipments. I can also direct you to some of our great local fish stores that may be able to help you as well, with the size of the orders im sure you guys will be placing.
I'm from Philippines. I have no dis for bellaroca resorts but i like this resort better: http://www.elnidoresorts.com/
it is situated in the heart of Philippine coral reserves. The resort is also near the world renounce tubahatta reef. It is included to the natural wonders of the world. It is also near Coron palawan where 7 Spanish Ship wrecks are located. Each ship wreck holds different kinds of corals. A great scene to be watched!
Peter you deserve the best place to tour around. I hope i did share a piece of our country to you.
By the way the bellaroca is a great place to stay as well but after you have a trip to El Nido, Tubahatta reefs and Coron Palawan.
Hope that helps.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Thank you very much for the offer neighbor. Fortunately, ups on packard rd in Lewiston will hold shipments for five days so I don't need a US address in most cases for drygoods. I tried to order a fish book recently through Amazon but they won't ship to me in Canada because the book is too big/heavy. I could use a hand there. Don't worry, the book isn't from Colombia
I try to get down to Ransomville to pick up drygoods from Mike at Fedko when I can. Any money I save in shipping, brokerage and fish & wildlife permits goes right back into the Walden Galleria & local shops, especially with our strong dollar these days
I do have one important question. Duffs or Ancor Bar? I went into a cute little neighborhood bar in Tonawanda one time to experience the local atmosphere one time. It was just like Archies Place from All in the Family with the neon sign and old decor. The people were very friendly and welcoming. The highligt of the trip was supposed to be Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap/draft but all they had was Labatt's Blue from Canada
I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Wow! It doesn't get any nicer than that.
SaraB
Coral Killer
Nice, now I know what to serve you for your visit ... I might have to kick it up a notch and get the Schlitz bottles instead! :beer:
bullitr
broke but happy
I am going to palawan next year so I agree with you but the proximity to Mindanao for a foreigner concerns me!
Russter
Northern Reefer
I do have one important question. Duffs or Ancor Bar? I went into a cute little neighborhood bar in Tonawanda one time to experience the local atmosphere one time. It was just like Archies Place from All in the Family with the neon sign and old decor. The people were very friendly and welcoming. The highligt of the trip was supposed to be Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap/draft but all they had was Labatt's Blue from Canada
A bar with PBR on tap! It was too good to be true.
gmneil
New member
Thank you very much for the offer neighbor. Fortunately, ups on packard rd in Lewiston will hold shipments for five days so I don't need a US address in most cases for drygoods. I tried to order a fish book recently through Amazon but they won't ship to me in Canada because the book is too big/heavy. I could use a hand there. Don't worry, the book isn't from Colombia
I try to get down to Ransomville to pick up drygoods from Mike at Fedko when I can. Any money I save in shipping, brokerage and fish & wildlife permits goes right back into the Walden Galleria & local shops, especially with our strong dollar these days
I do have one important question. Duffs or Ancor Bar? I went into a cute little neighborhood bar in Tonawanda one time to experience the local atmosphere one time. It was just like Archies Place from All in the Family with the neon sign and old decor. The people were very friendly and welcoming. The highligt of the trip was supposed to be Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap/draft but all they had was Labatt's Blue from Canada
duffs all the way. even president obama mad a stop there when he was in town.. lol, and if you guys ever need anything just shoot me a pm, i hope to get up there sometime to see the tank as well.
neil
dave.m
Active member
Surely you have to get through the border with your purchases (?). Maybe you could let us know what is involved in importing both wet and dry reef supplies. Not everyone is in a position to become a full-blown commercial importer, either from the US or abroad, but it would be interesting to know what's involved should some here want to take the plunge.mr.wilson said:
Did you try ordering it through amazon.ca? Then the shipping goes through different channels. That "sometimes" works for me.mr.wilson said:
[QUOTE="mr.wilson]Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap/draft but all they had was Labatt's Blue[/QUOTE]
Too much like making love in a canoe in both cases.
Dave.M
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
I agree with Duffs. There's one near my house but it isn't the same. They don't even put butter on them. You might as well have a salad
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
I clear my goods through the commercial office. Sometimes it only takes 30 minutes other times it takes 3 or 4 hours. Last time it was three hours. They have a computer terminal where you submit your entry. They don't inspect the goods very often. If your paperwork is poorly done, they are more likely to take a look.
For personal items they flag you for inspection. You show your receipts and they charge you tax and duty accordingly. The wait won't be three hours but it might be long if they are strip searching a whole bus :wavehand:
Yes, Amazon.ca is easier but it was an old book out of print. The Canadian site doesn't get the same range of specialty books unfortunately.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
What, no 40 of Colt 45?
SaraB
Coral Killer
Nope, not quite my style ... but I'll place your bottle of Schlitz in a paper bag if you'd prefer. :spin1:
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Here's a post I made in the Orphek LED thread. Peter & I weren't crazy about the Orphek light fixture. It may be a good choice for a smaller tank but it doesn't look like an option for Peter's tank.
I would like Peter to report his personal evaluation on here, as he has been staring at the tank non-stop for three months now.
I would like Peter to report his personal evaluation on here, as he has been staring at the tank non-stop for three months now.
I finally got the test light up over the tank. Here are some pictures of it in full and blue only mode...
There is a little bit of shimmer on the outer margins, but not much. This will be minimized by neighboring lights. It looks like the narrow spread requires the light to be spaced about 4" apart from each other. The fans are audible, but not excessively loud. Unfortunately they are the only sound you can hear coming from the 1350 gallon tank. Orphek recommends 15 lights for the tank but it looks like it will require at least 26. The idea of 52 fans isn't comforting.
Here it is in the middle, with a 400 watt MHL 12,500 K to the right. The PAR values are high as promised reading 300-350 on the substrate of the 30" tall tank. The spread of the light however is limited pretty much to the footprint of the fixture (24" x 6"). You can see the LED's light cast on the middle of the arch.
Here's a view from the flip side. One concern is the PAR just below the surface is 900 (325 on the bottom below the lights footprint, but quickly dropping off to 50 within 2 inches of the light's footprint), while our 250 watt MHL is only 600 (150 uniform across the 36" wide bottom). The concern is that the LED may burn corals near the surface or cause nuisance algae.
The other end of the 24' long tank has 250 watt HQI MHL (Phoenix 14K with actinic T5). The light is much more uniform with a steady 150-200 PAR across the bottom with no hot spots. There is lots of shimmer and shadows are less dramatic than with the Orphek.
Despite the high LUX & PAR readings, the Orphek still looks dim in comparison to the other lights on the tank (150w MHL, 250w MHL, 400w MHL, 290w plasma). The light doesn't look physically bright enough with the naked eye. It looks brighter in the photos than it does in real life. It shows nice colours on the live rock, but the sand looks a little blue like the light LED flashlights or car headlights produce.
I haven't given up on the fixture though. I would like to try wider optics on the outer emitters. I also think it may work well with a smaller tank. I will be testing it over a 30"L x 30"W x 26"H tank tomorrow. The tank currently has a Giesemann 250 HQI fixture with actinic T5. I think it might be a good light choice for this application. I will post pics tomorrow.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Here are some photos of the other LED light we tried that uses Luxeon Rebel emitters. The PAR values were much lower at 50 vs 325 with the Orphek, but to the naked eye they look the same. Coverage was wider with the old fixture.
To clarify, the LED was placed over the arch while testing both fixtures.
To clarify, the LED was placed over the arch while testing both fixtures.
dave.m
Active member
Bummer. I was hoping the Orphek would show more promise. What would happen with the Orphek if it was placed higher above the tank? Would the Orphek, with such high PAR readings, be a more suitable candidate for a deeper tank? Would you say that the Orphek in person will always be too blue?
Thx,
Dave.M
Thx,
Dave.M
yourbedormine18
New member
I love your rock work :inlove:
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
I don't think the light is too blue, but the sand is in the hot spots.
Unfortunately the tank has very little room above it so placement is limited. It is quite possible it would have better coverage if it was mounted higher. That's why I'm trying it out another tank tomorrow.
I'm admittedly biased against any LED as I don't like the look of fluorescent or LED. It looks clinical to me, but that's just my personal opinion. The live rock looks really good under it. I also think it is refracted by detritus less so the water appears to be clearer. I will get Peter to confirm this.
I can't give Orphek a bad report card based just on Peter's unique tank, but tomorrows test will convince me if they are worth using for future projects.
CalmSeasQuest
Active member
Very interesting - Orphek apparently used very tight optics to produce large PAR values. This however resulted is a very small coverage area. Very few tanks would need (or want) 350 PAR on the substrate (and that's at 30"!) That amount of PAR confined within the footprint of the module is all but unusable unless the light was elevated much higher above the tank (not possible on Peter's build), was refitted with wider lenses and/or had dimming capability (sadly not available on the Orphek.)
The fixture is clearly a PAR monster - That 900 PAR measurement recorded near the surface is likely ~20% greater due to PAR meters underestimating the bluer light output of LEDs.
Assuming you like the quality of the light, you'll need to stick some "coke-bottle" lenses on that thing Shawn
You may also have a challenge in balancing PAR, coverage and aesthetics. At equal PAR, LED light appears much "less bright" in comparison to MH or T5. Wider optics will increase the coverage area and more evenly spread PAR - but it may appear unacceptably dim from an aesthetic point.
The fixture is clearly a PAR monster - That 900 PAR measurement recorded near the surface is likely ~20% greater due to PAR meters underestimating the bluer light output of LEDs.
Assuming you like the quality of the light, you'll need to stick some "coke-bottle" lenses on that thing Shawn
You may also have a challenge in balancing PAR, coverage and aesthetics. At equal PAR, LED light appears much "less bright" in comparison to MH or T5. Wider optics will increase the coverage area and more evenly spread PAR - but it may appear unacceptably dim from an aesthetic point.- Status
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