Lighting for 90g 24" High

[SirLight1337]

I went with their TB1 design and just moved the fuge up to the front, and skimmer in the back.

I got an overflow box in the back right hand corner. Didnt do the external this time. If i get a diff take many years from now, maybe ill do the external.

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Sump.jpg this is my old sump and everything. big *** 8-2 skimmer before i put the needlewheel impeller in it.

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Front.jpg

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Tankstocked.jpg

 

[IsaaX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7698865#post7698865 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SirLight1337
I went with their TB1 design and just moved the fuge up to the front, and skimmer in the back.

I got an overflow box in the back right hand corner. Didnt do the external this time. If i get a diff take many years from now, maybe ill do the external.

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Sump.jpg this is my old sump and everything. big *** 8-2 skimmer before i put the needlewheel impeller in it.

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Front.jpg

http://members.cox.net/darnoc1/90 Gal/Tankstocked.jpg

Cool! Thanks for the pics! Now I can't wait! What light is hanging above? Also are you using a Stream 6000? How is it in there? I also have a 6000 waiting to be installed and was wondering if this would be the only power head i would need in there (which is my plan).

I actually was going to do a modified TB1 that I had sketched up but I think I won't be doing it. I wanted a section for a removable filter sock/live rock area instead and be able to float chaeto in the return area. I don't want detritus cycling down into my sump and back out to the display ever again. Also this foot print will allow me to still have room for a CA reactor inside the stand.

Still not final though. My build starts on the 17th and will be complete that same week. So plans may change lol

 

[WarDaddy]

here is the lighting om my 90...

4 t-5 and 2 VHO

I have acros on the sand bed. milli about 1/2 point. A tort near the bottom... all going great.

 

[SirLight1337]

Yep, just a single Tunze 6000 is what i had. Id highly recommend getting the magnetic holder as the stock plastic one really limited my options. Also, you may need to dial it down just a hair. or you may make a nice pile of substrate

I have a single 250watt SE 14K hamilton bulb on a PFO dual 250watt ballast in a reefstart pendant setup, as i didnt want to go with the giant lumenarc reflector. I could throw another pendant up there just need another bulb, but for what i wanted it works fantastic. have a few sps at the top, some softies and blastos in there as well about halfway - bottom.

Thats a pretty nice sump setup. I just went for the skimmer in its own little section, then dumping into the return area, and the fuge in the front dumping into the return area. Im just going to split my drain in 2 and that should work just fine. Im not really worried about the whole filter sock thing, I overskim the crap out of the tank. Im just hoping the fuge and cheato growth will bring my nitrates down. Ive done massive water changes to only have the reading come back 20-40 PPM

 

[IsaaX]

Yup, I already have the magnet holder. IMO they should include it instead of using the erector set of a mounting system.

yeah I can easily change my sump to be a refugium, we'll see.

 

[PsychoKnight]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7696917#post7696917 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastin1
I think Sanjay's tests are not very useful without long term data. Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see any tests after say 6 months and 1 year. What good is a high par bulb if 6 months later, it's half the par of another bulb? For example, the silverstar headlights is a lot brighter than normal bulbs but at the expense of a much shorter lifespan.

IF the more efficient bulb drops 35% par w/in 6 months, you are still brighter than the lowest par bulb/ballast combo, and if you replace the bulb every 8months (not likely to be that short a lifespan, otherwise we'd already hear about what a lousy bulb it is on the boards), you still are financially ahead of replacing 2 bulbs every 10 or 12 months. Do the math, you win in every scenario by going with a 50% more efficient bulb/reflector/ballast combo.

Plus you save a lot on initial purchase buying only 1 ballast & reflector instead of 2, and the electrical consumption savings means permanent, long-term savings that should further outweigh the use of a double bulb system. Not to mention the savings in air conditioning during the summertime, or reducing the need for a chiller buy eliminating both a ballast and a bulb. My study room increases temp by 12F just w/ the tank lights on for several hours.

If I only needed one silverstar instead of two regular headlights, and had to change it at 65% of the life-period of a regular bulb, I would definately do it. I think most people would, it makes sense.

 

[IsaaX]

I just sold my other fixture and am now on the market for the lighting for my new tank. I'll have a $600 budget. Advice on what exactly to buy in a 250w MH Pendant or MH/T5/PC combo fixtures would appreciated. Here are my criterias.

1) It will be an open top tank. No canopy. Lighting will be hanged either as a pendant or a fixture.
2) If a MH/T5/PC combo it would have to be in a all in one hangable fixture
3) Save as much energy/heat as possible without much degredation in PAR/intensity. I'm sick of my chiller turning on
4) Price! It has to be at or absolutely below my budget! If I can get by with one pendant that has a reflector that can well cover a 36"x24" area then I'm all for it!
5) I prefer DE MH's

I'm such a newb at what's out there when it comes to MH products since I've been using PC's for the past 5-6 yrs and would like to start raising whatever I would like in my tank. CLams and SPS especially.

I was actually thinking about this fixture.
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=AQ1821

Opinions?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7696581#post7696581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by john37
this reflector will cover a 3x3 area depending on how high you place it. only problem is that it's not that pretty or slim. but probably one of the best reflectors on the market.
lumenarc III

this is the ballast i use.
blue wave III hqi

as for the single end bulb, the 10K xm has the best par but for added color you should add VHO actinics. if you dont mind a blue look there is the 20K radium. these are the single ended bulbs.
radium
xm 10k

dont know much about the new lumenmax III reflector but i think some guys here are using it and it looks better than the lumenarcs. lumenmax III
this reflector uses double ended bulbs.(i dont know much about DE bulbs but i think gcarrol(he also uses the lumenmax III i believe) or some of the other guys use them so you should ask them)

good luck and dont rush yourself.....figure it all out first.

 

[lastin1]

That's the thing though, he didn't do a long term study. We don't know how well each bulb holds up in long term usage. Without test equipment, you won't be able to see a difference because you get used to a gradual decline.

The silverstars have a rated life of 150 hours versus 1000 hours for a regular bulb and costs 3 times as much. I don't know about you, but even if you can use 1 bulb instead of two (each silverstar is not equivalent to 2 standard) it still comes out a lot more expensive. Sylvania no longer lists the rated life for the silverstars.

All I am trying to say is that the tests aren't nearly as useful as it can be without bulb lifetime data. Some bulbs probably are crap. I don't debate that at all. It's just that you have to thoroughly read a study and allow for limitations of the test methodology. And in this case, a very important part is omitted.

 

[lastin1]

Why do you prefer DE's? The only reason why it's brighter is because it's overdriven and/or it's measured without the required UV shield that an SE have built in. I've been following the DE trend since it first got popular and never understood why it would be better. FWIW, I think people are starting to go back to SE's.

 

[ScotchMaster]

Ill never go back to SE's....I love my DE