Englishrebel's 260 Gallon System Build

[EnglishRebel]

Well...... the LED bulbs have gone back for a refund. I was not 100% happy with the bulbs and on one unit the screw that locks the bulb and stops it from rotating stripped the hole in the extruded heat sink (not enough thickness of aluminum). They were bright but somehow I was just not happy -- can't put my finger on it.
Now..... what to use in their place. Am thinking of an Aquatinics 24" 150 watt single MH/dual T5 fixture with a remote ballast. I like this fixture because it's a low profile (5" tall) that can be placed directly on the tank -- which you can't do with most MH fixtures. It's a little pricey but about what I paid for the two LED bulbs and mogul bases. Only problem is that it appears that the MH and T5s can only be switched manually with toggle switches on the ballast box. This means that my RKE can only switch all the lamps on and off at one time.
Would welcome any thoughts.

 

[JRF]

Alan, you may want to up that to a 250, or at least a 175...

 

[spsfreak]

I agree, probably 250 - but that is just preference a this juncture.

 

[JRF]

and if its the electric bill you are concerned about, you will barely notice one 250 W MH.....my latest Duke Power bill is $98, that is with 2 - 400 W MH's running 7 hours a day and all the pumps, ect...and the rest of the house!

 

[tonyf]

Sfiligoi do MH that is capable of dimming ...

http://www.sfiligoi.it/home_en.htm

Watch out for the price

 

[tonyf]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15059073#post15059073 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRF
and if its the electric bill you are concerned about, you will barely notice one 250 W MH.....my latest Duke Power bill is $98, that is with 2 - 400 W MH's running 7 hours a day and all the pumps, ect...and the rest of the house!

Is that a week or a month? Our power is charged per quarter and I think that mine's not too bad at just >$1k for 3 x 250W and 1 x 400W MH plus the plethora of pumps and things.

 

[RGibson]

Alan i would use Iwasaki 175 watt metal halide lamps,with 175 watt ice cap ballast.Have used this lighting set up for many years and have had good result.
Ralph

 

[JRF]

That is per month...

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15076919#post15076919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tonyf
Sfiligoi do MH that is capable of dimming ...

http://www.sfiligoi.it/home_en.htm

Watch out for the price

Yes I know (and that price really hurts )

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15077544#post15077544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRF
That is per month...

Mine's $165 on their equal payment plan. :eek2:

 

[EnglishRebel]

Well I just lost my first fish. I had a Black Cap Jaw fish that went in last Saturday. Yesterday he was MIA and I found him on the Eurobracing dry as a bone. I would have though that he would have flopped around and dropped back in as he was right by the edge. Oh well.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Sorry to hear that Alan. Sounds like you need to make a tank cover. Eggcrate works well.

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15083809#post15083809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Sorry to hear that Alan. Sounds like you need to make a tank cover. Eggcrate works well.

Tom
Thanks. I'm thinking of going to Lowes and picking up one of those lighting fixture egg crates that looks like it's chromed. It reflects the light better than the regular white stuff and I believe that the slats are tapered to do this. Here's some interesting information on light transmission through different egg crate panels (the prismatic has the tapered slats):

PRISMATIC (Clear): 90%
PRISMATIC (White): 68%
EGG CRATE (White): 70%

 

[WaterKeeper]

Yeah Alan I know.

Even nylon window screen like I've used puts a hit a the total lux output of the lighting.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Well after the LED bulbs went back I mused over what to get. I finally settled on one of these.Aquatinics. I ordered the 24" single 250W MH/T5 actinics combo. I saw a 48" one at a fellow reefers house last weekend and it's very well made. The ballast box must weigh a ton and has separate power leads for the MH and T5s. The cable from the box to the fixture has those round multi-pin screw in connectors on each end -- very nice, sort of like one of these.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Here's an update on what I've been doing lately. I finally got around to making the surround to go around the top of the tank to hide the lights. Here's a picture that I posted a few pages back.

I decided that it was too awkward to keep taking off and putting back on so I hinged it. Much easier (if I remember to not keep hitting my head on it).

I also made up some panels to close in the sides to hide the overflow. I decided not to hinge them but glued rare earth magnets to cleats that are screwed to the wall and glued steel washers to the panels. Works well.

Here are some shots of new tank mates for the clowns that my granddaughter picked out while she was visiting with my daughter over Easter.

Orange Striped Prawn Goby -- cute fellow.

Purple Firefish

I did have a Black Cap Jawfish but he decided to sunbathe on the Eurobracing.

 

["Umm fish?"]

Sorry to hear about the blackcap. But your tank is looking mighty nice!

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15102963#post15102963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Sorry to hear about the blackcap. But your tank is looking mighty nice!

Thanks Andy. I didn't know that the Jawfish were jumpers, but I should have because I read somewhere that any fish that's shaped like a torpedo are potential jumpers. I love reading about your fish spawning activities. Your tank must be a hotbed of romance.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Looking good Alan. Did you have any luck tracking down the voltage leak? A few volts showing up on a running tank is normal but that is induction currents. When a GFCI trips it means something is directly leaking current into the tank. The GFCI is just a type of Wheatstone bridge/galvanometer and detects the electric current flowing in from the hot leg to the neutral leg and, if their is an imbalance, it trips the circuit. Defective heaters, submerged pumps, and occasionally sensory circuits, like a level switch, can cause a trip and that can be checked by merely unplugging items one at a time until the GFCI stays on when the water is connected to a grouding probe. Don't need to get shocked by that brand new tank now that it is set up.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Tom
So the Fluke didn't cause the trip but something else that was leaking electricity into the tank? Connecting the Fluke completed a circuit?
Thanks

Edit
My mistake. When I connect my Fluke to ground on a receptacle and the water in the sump, I get no reading. What I mean to say that if I connect to ground and hot on the receptacle it trips the GFCI. I guess you can't test a receptacle that hooked to a GFCI.