L.A. in wall 800 gallon system!

kinggeorge818 said:
What made you choose t-5s? Do you get the same growth out of t-5 lighting? Is it expensive to change out a ton of bulbs twice a year? And can t-5 reach to the depth I have at 30"?
Click to expand...

T5 have better color choices, don't get as hot, and don't use as much power. They are typically changed as often or less often then MH. T5s work fine with 30" SPS dominated tanks.

Here is more information about T5 vs MH.

http://www.rimlessreef.com/1/post/2009/04/mh-vs-t5-lighting.html
 
othercents said:
T5 have better color choices, don't get as hot, and don't use as much power. They are typically changed as often or less often then MH. T5s work fine with 30" SPS dominated tanks.

Here is more information about T5 vs MH.

http://www.rimlessreef.com/1/post/2009/04/mh-vs-t5-lighting.html
Click to expand...
I read the article on T5 that you gave me and it is very informative! If I did go with a T5 set-up what amount/brand/strength light would I need for a 120"x36"x30" tank need? What would the budget on that look like?
 
kinggeorge818 said:
...and an area to hide from my wife when she finds out how much all this is costing! just kidding...love you hunny :)
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are we talking about costs? as far as my wife knows, costs are running between $50 and $150, the olnly exception was the tank, about $300, am I right? :D :crazy1:

kinggeorge818 said:
3) I'm going with M/H for illumination for now with either t-5s or vhos (you guys can chime in with your opinions! I'm not going with LED lighting for now to save on the enormous cost, because I don't feel you get the same growth, and I believe in 2-3 years I will upgrade to LEDs when the technology has matured more.
Click to expand...

i'm facing the same problem with the 'MH's growth feeling', it's hard to decide between the technologies... about the costs, LED's prices fell on last month.

just to compare:
Ballast : Galaxy "Select-a-Watt" 250-400 Watt Electronic - 150
Bulb : 250W / 400W Hamilton 14K - 90
Pendant : Coralvue Lumen Bright Large Reflector - 140
final prince: $380 + running costs (electricity bill+6-mth replacement)

LED : Let's say Aquaillumination Sol SuperBlue 12" Module - 399.99
final price: $399.00 + running costs (electricity bill goes down+3yrs replacement)

but you know, we have no 3yrs+ LED TOTM... that is the 'MH's growth feeling'...

kinggeorge818 said:
4) As for circulation I'm going with two separate ocean motion units each with it's own 5000-6000 gph pumps (you guys can give me your opinions on those pumps as well) As well as a third pump from the sump pushing the same amount. I'm also thinking of putting in 2-4 mp60s (vortec)
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I hella like ocean motions, i also have two plugged on Reeflo Super Dart pumps (this combination works!). there're some concerns about drill the bottom glass, but this does not bother me, some thought here?


kinggeorge818 said:
5) Protein skimmer looks like it might be the reef octopus xp 8000, it's said to be rated for up to 1,500 gallons and looks sharp...what do you think?
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this is a great skimmer, have you looked in some alternatives? ATB, Bubble King, Skimz?
 
Metal Stand and Stuff came in!

Metal Stand and Stuff came in!

The Metal stand that I had made was brought today! It's made with 2"x2" tube steel! It's been metalized and powder coated to make it rust proof!

I had a 1"x1" tube steel made for the 112 gallon quarantine tank which is coming soon!

I had a 1"x1" tube steel made for the steel shelves for the garage where the sump will sit on the bottom shelf and the reactors and skimmer on the upper shelf!

and lastly I had a 1"x1" tube steel made for a shelf that will hold the chiller outside!

Crazy Day my friends and the begining of dream come true ;-)
picture.php
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kinggeorge818 said:
I read the article on T5 that you gave me and it is very informative! If I did go with a T5 set-up what amount/brand/strength light would I need for a 120"x36"x30" tank need? What would the budget on that look like?
Click to expand...

To get to the 30" depth I believe you will need the ATI fixtures, but even then their longest fixture is only 60", so you would need two 60" fixtures and I would go with the 10x80W fixtures which run close to $1400 per fixture (doesn't include bulbs). It is very possible that running the MH lighting even with the heat and power consumption would be better especially since at 30" you are at the max depth for T5 lighting.

There is one successful large aquarium that is running the Orphek LEDs. Even though they cost $900 for one 24" fixture they make up their cost in bulb replacements, power consumption, and heat dissipation. They are running 120 degree optics on the lights over the rock and 90 degree optics on the lights over the sand.

You can see the other tank here, but search for Orphek since the thread is really long:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811725

David
 
Hi George, I have the ATI 60" 10 bulb on my tank. 72x30x30 w/ 2" deep sand bed and I get 320 par on the sand bed, so a 36" deep tank would be no problem. just a heads up in case you choose to go with the ATI T5 fixture
 
Sorry for the Huge delay

Sorry for the Huge delay

Euler Kernighan said:
working a lot, uh? :hammer:

did you have the opportunity to see the post #24, about illumination upfront costs?
Click to expand...

Hey Euler,

Sorry to take so long to get back to you but I have been on Vacation for the last few weeks! (I was snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef!!!)

To answer your question...I have been researching and thinking alot about the cost vs benefit of alot of different lights and I am really sad to say that LEDs do not impress me from the growth perspective of SPS and It would take a whole lot of T-5s to cover and 10ft x 3ft tank!

So I'm going with M/H lighting for now and maybe in the future when LED really prove that they can not only sustain SPS but grow them then I will be ready to move to that.

Thanks :spin2:
 
caliking said:
Hi George, I have the ATI 60" 10 bulb on my tank. 72x30x30 w/ 2" deep sand bed and I get 320 par on the sand bed, so a 36" deep tank would be no problem. just a heads up in case you choose to go with the ATI T5 fixture
Click to expand...

Hey caliking,

Sorry to take so long to get back to you but I have been on Vacation as you might have read...for the last few weeks! (I was snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef!!!)

I'm really tempted by T-5s but the cost of changing a million bulbs every six months is too daunting a task and cost!

:eek1:
 
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