New Hood/Canopy build

shaneh said:
Hey Grant,

I plan to only use 1 MH cause i don't want a PGE bill that comes with the MH 250. I could use 150's but i did some reading that 2 24" t5 will look better and use less watts than a 150 MH. So that's why i am doing 250 in the middle and T5 on the side and a VHO in back. also my tnak is a bowfront so only 17 on the sides but 24.5 in the middle of the tank. So i can use the MH in the middle but don't need as much coverage on the sides. I'll just keep SPS in the middle and LPS and others ont he sides...fine with me and less $ to PGE.

I am having a hard time to think of a way to have the MH adjsutable height. But i can not see Dan pic, work blocks all pics on my comp. So back to work.

Dan: i have your bucket for you at the next meeting.
Click to expand...

Have you considered using a LED system?
 
Neonfish I have considered it but in checking into them I like the lack of heat and the energy savings but the narrow light spectrum makes me believe MH is still the way to go.I was thinking of sticking my to in the water by changing to led to light my sump areawith them . Grant
 
If your goal is to save energy then go with all t5 but I think the best combo is halides with vho. JMO. The iwasaki 175 is a great bulb. Remember you only want to upgrade once!
 
LEDs are pricy too to buy but you will save on the PGE and heat. Also LEDs are not figured out yet they have small color choice and the "pucks" burn out and then you can't replace it. I don't wanna spend 3K on an LED fixture.

BTW TOm: did you mean 20K ...I’ve never heard of 50K either.
 
wow that must be really really blue! crazy...maybe I will try one in the future.....it looks like you will still have them a while. I jsut ordered my fans from coolerguys.com for the canopy!!! I'm so stoked my tank is almost done.....the water is running...the fuge is seeding the tank....I just don't have light on it..only room lights. I'll give a preview of the picture book this weekend. working on it every night.
 
Your tank is sounding amazing cant wait to see it. Taking your time to do it right is really going to pay off. you still going to do mixed reef?
 
shaneh said:
wow that must be really really blue! crazy...maybe I will try one in the future.....it looks like you will still have them a while. I jsut ordered my fans from coolerguys.com for the canopy!!! I'm so stoked my tank is almost done.....the water is running...the fuge is seeding the tank....I just don't have light on it..only room lights. I'll give a preview of the picture book this weekend. working on it every night.
Click to expand...

Actually it is not that blue, mor elike white with blue tint but is very beautiful color.
 
Grant Walsh said:
Neonfish I have considered it but in checking into them I like the lack of heat and the energy savings but the narrow light spectrum makes me believe MH is still the way to go.I was thinking of sticking my to in the water by changing to led to light my sump areawith them . Grant
Click to expand...

That maybe the past, mine go up to 20k. I'm using the aquaillumination. Steve Ruddy sold me 2 last year. Got another (next gen) for b-day. it is even better than the 1st gen.
 
neonfish, have any of the pucks burned out on the fixture? Also you have some bucks to spend on lighting, the LED fixture for a 72 inch tank is over 3K!
 
yeah, the up front cost is expensive, but MH+chiller+bulbs will end up costing you a lot more. no pucks have burned out.
 
Hey Dan,

Can you tell me how you attached your lumenarcs to the canopy top? Did you drill the reflector and screw intot he wood? I don't see any way to connect them.

Also i got a light socket holder from steve for the light but it has a very diffrent plug. Never seen it before. Do you guys know what i am talking about? my lumeteck ballast is the male plug with the three prongs.
 
To attatch the reflectors I cut a hole (with Toms help) in the top a little smaller than the reflector.
Next, I put the reflector in from the bottom and used screws That I screwed in to th. Canopy. I used mirror hanger to support the reflector.

If I did it again I would use longer screws and build a cradle for the reflector to sit on. That way I could adjust the height of the reflector a few inches up or down if needed
 
Ok guys it looks like its going to be 2 150/175 MH's with 2 T5's front and back,luminarc mini reflectors for the MH's,plus 4 led blue moon lights.Next questions are the type of ballasts and the T5 units
Grant
 
 
Hey Grant just wondering, do you have your lumenarc reflectors already? I called the company yesterday they said they do not have nay more of the large reflectors and do not know when they will be getting more made. It sounded like the son of the company owner. He told me they are not doing well and need 1000 orders and a $75 deposit for them to even send in an order to have the metal cut and sent back to them for assembly. It sounds like the reflectors may not be around much longer. So i would pick up your reflectors from an online site ASAP.

I called them because the socket holder for the larger reflectors has a very different plug, I'll have to show you guys pics but it has 2 circular plugs with a straight plug (the type that you plug in a wall) they are in a weird arrangement. I have never seen this plug before. I called Steve Ruddy and he said it is specific to lumenarc only and i would need to hard wire it to the ballast.....great! After paying good money for a reflector you would think i could just plug it into my ballast. I have a lumetek ballast which has a 3 pin type of plug. I'll have to show you guys some pics to get this figured out. Maybe when I get my T5 from Steve I can meet up with someone who is good with electrical to show me how to wire it....don't wanna fry any of my new expensive stuff.

I'll put some pics up this weekend of the tank status and electrical stuff.

Dan: thanks for the info I'll make some type of adjustable reflector holder
 
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