new MH's 2x250 & ventilation setup

[spoon25]

ok well i finally have my metal halides, the color is awesome in my tank, but i really need a professional eye to either reccomend a lower k bulb or keep what i have , im using 15k and its looks very good, very appealing, but i am wondering if i should go lower for growth, so mo when you read this you need to come see it and give me some suggestions on what i should do...now i had it runnin all day yesterday and my water temp actually dropped 2 degree since i removed the PC's, maybe because i had the PC's 1 inch from the water, and now the MH's are about 8 inches away from the water...now i worried aboout splashing so i put acrylic guard about 3 inches width above where possibly water could splash from my spray bar locatedd at the very top for top water current movement...now i heard so much about how hot these type ballast are, and i actually put a thermometer on top of the ballast and after all day i looked it read 82 degrees, now that cool, the ballast was warmer than room temp but not much, it was very cool, and there is no fan on the unit itself just vents on both sides...now ii also ran a ventilation system ran about 20 bucks total at lowes, for the styrofoam, the ventpipe and 2 -4" reducers, now i am gonna install vent covers in case i need to stop air flow to the tank and can run it to the room for this summer when it gets hot, or i could run both outlets one to the tank one to the room, this should be easy and very cheap...now i put a mesh screen on the reducing going to the tank so debris and dirt and anything else coould possibly contaminate the tank...now i am very pleased with the MH's they dont make any noise they dont flicker they dont dim, they dont shut off when get too hot, but there designed too shut off when get too hot then they restart, there is no need cuz they dont get very hot due to all my fans and expecially now the a/c is venting also...so thats cool....i am gonna add some pics in case you have any suggestions... hey BMAC...go go gadet fishtank....lol...hey if its saves me $500 on buying a chiller, then so be it, now all i need is a double temp control switch, one for the heater and one for the a/c...anyone have one, let me know, cuz i need one....
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[zooqi]

I thought you were taking just a little from the AC to the hood when is hot around. This looks like you are planning to cool the tank and sit in a warm room in the summber. Lights looking good and now you should be able to start getting frags in the tank.

 

[spoon25]

well i have to install a vent on the box i made so cool air cools the room also...havent got there yet....also im gonna have a shut off valve type on the vent to the tank so in case i dont need to cool the hood i can just shut the flow off...

 

[zooqi]

I have few ideas that you can do and something you can get from Wal-Mart for few dollars that will do the job or Low's. I have to see it to let you know which one.

 

[spoon25]

cool...is it a fan or something, i seen vent fans at lowes for 25$ for that purpose, but im sure there is a cheaper way, who knows....i love suggestions

 

[bmac]

Looks good spoon....good idea........Go, Go, Gadget.......lol

 

[spoon25]

hey everyone, sanjay just PMed me back, he said he has them but hasnt tested them yet, and it will be posted when he does...does anyone else have any ideas where to find out if Reef Grow bulbs are good, there 15k 250watt, any links that compare or anything?

 

[fishesRdelicious]

looking good, any pics of the tank

 

[zooqi]

spoon check this

 

[spoon25]

it doesnt allow me, since im not member, thanks anyhows

 

[Stephany]

Sweet setup. How are you going to disguise the metal air duct?

I gotta get you to hook me up with your canopy skillz.

 

[spoon25]

its just temporaily till i get the chiller....and to tell you the truth when standing here, its not really that noticable since the stands sits 4 feet off the ground, the tanks goes another 4 ft with canopy and on top unless your like 6'4 or something...i can always run it inside the canopy on one end but its gonna b e temp so im not worried about it too much..ill have the chiller next month

 

[spoon25]

tank is 3 ft sry to top of canopy, u notice thats my ceiling another 1.5 ft above canopy

 

[spoon25]

ok everyone did some minor changes today...i removed the dryer ventpipe, and i put in a 6"induction fan, it really works well, it takes all the hot air out, now i added a fan to the other side and now i have fans blowing on reverse sides of canopy on which blow all hot air towards the center and up and out the 6 inch vent....works good, looks goodill post pics soon

 

[spoon25]

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threw iin some few extras still acclimating to the new 250's

 

[spoon25]

ok, i finalized the go go gadget setup, the venthose is fairly hidden and blows directly on top of water and also split to vent straight to overflow in case of emergency cooldown, untill i get my chiller, now since i installed the 6 inch vent fan the temp stays at 78 with the lights on all day, and then this morning i came out to check the temp, and with the lights off all night, the temp read 77 degrees, now thats a constant temp all day all night...mission impossible solved....now i made the a/c compartment with adjustable vent so i can cool the room and tank at the same time for this summer, also have i shut off on the ventpipe going to tank so in case i dont need to cool the tank and run the a/c all day w/o cooling tank....so i guess for the money i cant beat it, now i can sleep and go away in peace knowing my tank wont overheat...ever....any more suggestions, will gladly listen....my mission is to have sound proof, light proof tank...and its workin fairly great, no noise from overflows, no lights shine through the canopy to the room, and pumps are all quiet...it just irritates me to hear the fans, there quiet, but still annoying, gonna have to get used to....i am good to go....
ill post more pics when photobucket works....this way you can have an idea if you have any more suggestions...i need more smart a**comments this way ill fix it...whatever it is....yes steph i know im using dryer vent, do you have any suggestion on something other than? cuz personally i would like to change that