Dave's 90gal build

hmm, now that were on the lighting subject, wouldn't the combo fixture be better? "best of both worlds"

I like the idea of the moon lights built in.

What is everyone's feelings on these combo fixtures?
 
i pile silcone on! LOL! it doesnt matter and gareentees a good hold for sure.lol. looks ugly. i think vin spoke of in the past about using the back of a plastic spoon as it gives it the proffesional look>
 
Firstly I have moonlights in my currently fxture....never used em :(

But to speak of the best of both worlds.....Light penitration and low heat are the best of both worlds imo. Plus if you overdrive the bulbs you get more watts for your buck too :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8507215#post8507215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by archer8681
hmm, now that were on the lighting subject, wouldn't the combo fixture be better? "best of both worlds"

I like the idea of the moon lights built in.

What is everyone's feelings on these combo fixtures?
Click to expand...

I guess it really depends on what you want. If you are doing sofities, LPS, SPS, or mixed reef. I started off with softies and now am pretty big into LPS, i personally dont care for SPS, except for the occasional Monti Cap, being that you are a newbie, SPS are Far off, if at all. I personally havent had either MH, or T5's, just power compacts. In planning my 90 i have done tons of research, and you can too by just looking at the lighting forum.

T5's will keep just about anything Metal Halides will keep. Some positive things of T5's are less electricity, dont heat up water as much (so you probably wont need a chiller, which are electricity hogs), Bulbs only have to be replaced every year and a half to two years. Negatives, no glitter lines.

Metal Halide positvies are you can keep anything, however, you might want actinic supplementation (Like your combo fixture). People love Metal Halides because of the Glitter lines which i dont beleive you get with T5's. I think it might be better growth rates, but T5's are also excellent. Less bulbs to replace, however, more expensive and have to change them more often. Negatives include more electricity, heat up water.

Its kind of like comparing Ford to chevy, You can do what you said and get the best of both worlds, but i know i dont want to drop a grand on lights. You probably will be really happy with the fixture, im sure i would to, its just that i think its just too much for what i want, thats the main thing, what do you want to keep. You might also want to look at powercompacts, that should keep many softies and LPS, just no clams or SPS.

Hope this helps.

Jeff
 
Losta food for thought. Thanks.

There is also a 'toned' down version of the same light fixture with 2x 150 HQI instead of 2x 250 HQI with the same T-5's and the leds. Its about $170 cheaper. Looks like that may also be an option.

I'm not 100% sure what I will want exactly. I do really like clams, and there are some SPS that I like too. I know I would be upset if I saw something, but couldn't have it if my lights weren't good enough. Considering that I was seriously looking at the Solaris which was over $2,200. Maybe the other Current Outer Orbit Pro Series HQI/T-5/LED Light that I mentioned here would be a good start. It's less than half of what I was going to spend, and I could use the money to stock my tank when its ready. It's the same link as the one I listed before... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15486&N=2004+113175

Would this fixture be sufficient to keep anything I would ever want?

Dave
 
jallard i agree . t-5 are awsome! i m getting good results with acros from this lighting! when thinking about not wanting to be like awe i can get that. heres proof! ive have acros! growing well under pc's. (under 2 inches from surface). also clams did great but had issues with worms. not lighting. in my oppinion pc's let you keep the softies and the sps. just plan ahead. creat a many high ledges when aquascaping your tank. high ledges are perfect for sps. heres my sps iunder pc;s in my tank growing my the month! this was not acros but montiporas.
DSCN1623.jpg
 
Nice pics David!

I'll look at the T-5's a little more. I really would like the moonlights built in. My tank is being setup in my office, and I usually spend some time in the evening in here. Having the moonlights wouldn't be wasted as I would get to enjoy see the tank often with them on. The tank sits about 4 feet away from me parallel to my desk. So I will have alot of time to enjoy it!

Dave
 
FWIW I bought a clam and a few acro frags in the summer thinking I would have my new setup by September. (DOH!) I've had a squamosa clam happily surviving under PC light in sub optimal conditions for Almost 4 months.

Moonlights are nice I never get to enjoy mine as I am never around my tank in the dark but they look cool.
 
Thanks for the input!

I do spend alot of time in my office both day & night. Having moonlights will only add to my enjoyment of my tank.

Dave
 
collecting some picture of the tank as of today. its amazing to see it now compared to those pictures. i will be setting up a thread within the next week or so. im glad matt mentioned the clam ...aslong as you keep you bulbs well new and replace in a timly manner your pc's can do wonders!
 
Well I ordered most of my equipment, the ASM G3, 2x Tunze 6060, Eheim 1262, Typhoon III RO/DI, and some other misc stuff. Everything should be ready for LR, LS, and SW mid-late next week.

For salt I was thinking about Reef Crystals. Any comments or suggestions? I have heard that you should pick your salt and stick with it, not change to a different brand.

For LR I like the look of the Marshall Island or the Tonga Kaelini. The 2 websites I was looking at are Premium Aquatics http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Liverock and The Marine Center http://www.marinecenter.com/rocks/liverock/ Has anyone ordered from either of theses, and could comments about the quality?


Getting back to the lighting issue, I'm trying to decide on a 48" combo fixture. I definately want moonlights, and I dont want to be limited on what I can put in the tank. I'm really trying to get my setup done correctly.

I have looked at the Current fixtures which seem like they will give me everything I want. There are 2 that I'm looking at. The tank is 48x18x24

1st choice is their Outer Orbit shown on this link in 48"

http://www.current-usa.com/outerorbit.html

2nd choice is their Outer Orbit Pro shown on this link in 48"

http://www.current-usa.com/outerorbithqit5ho.html


I want the light fixture to stand on the tank, and not hang from the ceiling, and I like the idea of not having external ballasts.

I'm am open to other suggestions, however, I do not want to use a retro kit in a canopy.

I don't really need them immediately, but it's like an early Christmas getting all mt things now, so I would like to order lights soon, maybe within the next few days.

Dave
 
For fixtures I personally like the Hamilton's ... A bit pricey but they have a great name and dont seem to have many problems...

I myself have a Hamilton Retrofit in my canopy, 2x250 10k halides and 2x96 power compact 03blue antintic's, I couldnt be more happy with it.. The shimmer is amazing and the color is crisp, and everything seems to be doing very well under this lighting...

:)
 
I just looked at their website. Nice fixtures. Not out of my price range.

Do they use external ballasts?

I also didnt see any fixtures with moonlights. Did I miss something?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8517031#post8517031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by archer8681
I just looked at their website. Nice fixtures. Not out of my price range.

Do they use external ballasts?

I also didnt see any fixtures with moonlights. Did I miss something?
Click to expand...

No moonlights here either...

IMO, they are just for looks... :)

My hamilton runs external ballasts yes which I think is the way to go... :)

Buy a hamilton, you'll be happy... you can always buy some moon lights to fit in down the road I guess
 
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