Our 375 Gallon project

[sidewinder770]

asnatlas- First I should say I am no T5 expert but so far I think the color and output of this setup is fantastic!. Second I have to say your 600g project looks to be a great tank. Of course with your 48" width that tank will look great and I don't think you will nedd to worry too much about moving the MH's more forward- you will have great depth no matter what! I think with 80w per bulb on the T5's and the 4 MH you should have some great coverage and excellent mix of light for growth and color.

I am planning on doing something similar with the T5's on my display tank as well. I only have 30" of width so I am planning on using 4 T5's along with the MH- probably 2- 24" and 2- 36" or just 4- 24"- I get pretty good coverage now but I just want to "fill in the gaps" and try to spruce up my coral color a little.

I also have to thank Fliger for all his help with my light selection on the T5's- he has a lot more experience with them and I followed his recommendations and have to say I am very happy with it. Now all I have to do is make sure it's not to much light and don't have any coral bleaching issues.

Here is one more pic of the frag tank-

 

[alien9168]

I've been following this tank for a little while now--you know, the subscribe to this thead button-- and I just gotta say that you are doing an incredible job withthis tank.

As time progresses, this will continue to be an awsome project!

I love the proposed lighting idea and the L3 reflectors seem to do an awsome job on everyones tankS(that I have seen them on)!

I calculate 1432 watts. Now, for my 30g--I i think all of my water would instant ly evaporate! lol

But I do have a question about lighting big tanks asnatlas(you obviously have expireince in this area):

I do however want to preface my question by saying that I think this tank is awsome and that I dont challange your expertise.

When I looked at lighting for my tank--30g---not a massive tank at all---I was told to look at watts per gallon. Just for the heck of it, I calculated that you have just over 2 watts per gallon on your tank. Is there a difference in the power needed to light a large tank as opposed to lighting a small tank? Does the watt rule not apply?

--Again, I dont meen to challange your choice in lighting, it is certainly way mor than I have. Just an honest inquiry to expand my knoledge base.

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

I cant wait to see the finished product!

-Alien

 

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6671370#post6671370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidewinder770
asnatlas- First I should say I am no T5 expert but so far I think the color and output of this setup is fantastic!. Second I have to say your 600g project looks to be a great tank. Of course with your 48" width that tank will look great and I don't think you will nedd to worry too much about moving the MH's more forward- you will have great depth no matter what! I think with 80w per bulb on the T5's and the 4 MH you should have some great coverage and excellent mix of light for growth and color.

I am planning on doing something similar with the T5's on my display tank as well. I only have 30" of width so I am planning on using 4 T5's along with the MH- probably 2- 24" and 2- 36" or just 4- 24"- I get pretty good coverage now but I just want to "fill in the gaps" and try to spruce up my coral color a little.

I also have to thank Fliger for all his help with my light selection on the T5's- he has a lot more experience with them and I followed his recommendations and have to say I am very happy with it. Now all I have to do is make sure it's not to much light and don't have any coral bleaching issues.

Thank you for your reply sidewinder770, not really sure if any of us can claim to be an expert with anything with this hobby other then to say that we have had experience with this or thatââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ That is the beauty of this hobby is that you can do so many different things different ways... I just wanted to get some other views to see what was said as I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want overkill, but I want to make sure I have enoughââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

 

[sidewinder770]

alien9168- Your question is definately a good one but there are so many factors to take into consideration- The types of lights typically used on a 30g tank are so much different than the type of lighting most people use on a 180g+ there is almost no comparison. To give you an example- look at the picture above that shows my fuge above the frag tank- that has 2 36" PC lights- then the frag tank which is using 4 36" T5 lights. MH does the same thing and it varies by what type of fixture, what type of ballast, color spectrum of the bulbs, etc etc. My main display has 4-250w MH and I think the coverage is pretty good- but I am using 250w DE fixtures- if they were 250w SE fixtures I don't think it would look the same at all. I have about 2.6w per gallon on the display and when I add my T5's to the display it will bring that up to about 3w per gallon- but once again it's hard to compare when there are so many types, styles and wattages of light to choose from- some people may have 2w per gallon and it works just fine for them and some may need 5 or 6w per gallon depending on what type of lighting they are using- MH is a very different light 'spread' than T5, VHO or PC's and the WPG is just a guide but it really depends on the type of light. Anyway- I am no expert and I don't pretend to be but you do have a good question and you are in no way challanging my expertise since I'm not an expert

 

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6671425#post6671425 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alien9168
I love the proposed lighting idea and the L3 reflectors seem to do an awsome job on everyones tankS(that I have seen them on)!

I calculate 1432 watts. Now, for my 30g--I i think all of my water would instant ly evaporate! lol

But I do have a question about lighting big tanks asnatlas(you obviously have expireince in this area):

I do however want to preface my question by saying that I think this tank is awsome and that I dont challange your expertise.

When I looked at lighting for my tank--30g---not a massive tank at all---I was told to look at watts per gallon. Just for the heck of it, I calculated that you have just over 2 watts per gallon on your tank. Is there a difference in the power needed to light a large tank as opposed to lighting a small tank? Does the watt rule not apply?

--Again, I dont meen to challange your choice in lighting, it is certainly way mor than I have. Just an honest inquiry to expand my knoledge base.

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

I cant wait to see the finished product!

-Alien

When you run T5's with IceCap ballasts it "over drives" him a little... So the 54w would be more like 80w... I will have about 1640w during my peak lighting sched as I will be running a dusk to dawn and only having the 4x 250w MH's on for about 6hrs or so in the middle of the lighting sched...

WPG is a ruff way to measure PC's, VHO's, and T-bulbs... When you get into MH the WPG rule does not apply as they are more of a "direct" source of light that is focused downward rather then over a wider area like the other Fluorescent type of bulbs...

I believe that the WPG does not apply for T5's either as the light output is far greater then other Fluorescent type of bulbs... That is why T5's are lighting more and more of our tank (and has been lighting tanks over seas for years) because they are very small, put off very little heat and give off alot more light then you would expect...

NOTE: the WPG is not an "official" measurement just something someone came up with to kind of measure lighting over tank and to give guidance to people...

 

[sidewinder770]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6671500#post6671500 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
Thank you for your reply sidewinder770, not really sure if any of us can claim to be an expert with anything with this hobby other then to say that we have had experience with this or thatââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ That is the beauty of this hobby is that you can do so many different things different ways... I just wanted to get some other views to see what was said as I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want overkill, but I want to make sure I have enoughââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

I definately agree- there are so many different ways to do everything in this hobby and no one way is correct. I personally think you will have awesome color and plenty of light with the setup you are proposing. I don't think it will be overkill but I don't think you will have to add any light either .

 

[rams]

very impressive, love the sump area. :thumbsup:

 

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6671593#post6671593 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidewinder770
[BI personally think you will have awesome color and plenty of light with the setup you are proposing. I don't think it will be overkill but I don't think you will have to add any light either . [/B]

One more question ... Would you go with Ham 14k's SE or XM 10k's SE with the 8x T5's I am planning on running ??

 

[Poppy828]

Frag tank lights turned out nicely Scott. Great work and choice.

Where did you get your plumbing parts? Local store or order from Savko? I need to get mine ordered so I can get this started. I ordered 3 cans of the pond foam yesterday. I did not plan on covering my overflows as you did. I want to salvage as much room as possible inside and the overflows take up 6" or so without foam on them. I am debating on whether or not to go true union ball valves for the 2" intake for the Dart and then (4) 1" true union ball valaves for the oceans motions and the 1.5" for the dart outlet. I planned on using 1" spa flex for the outlets to the tank and already have the 2" spa flex for the intake. Never realized how quickly the plumbing parts add up. Oopsss

Thanks again for your time and help,

Todd

 

[sidewinder770]

asnatlas- Well, Not sure I can help you out much there- I've only used the 14k Phoenix bulbs on this setup. I have seen the Hamilton and they are very similar but they were DE not SE. It also depends on the ballasts as to what the final color would turn out like. I would hate to suggest something that turns out to be the wrong look for you in the end. Maybe check in the lighting forum or make a new thread and see if anyone can post some pics of the bulbs you are considering to give you a better idea of what they will look like in the end.

Poppy828- Thanks for the compliments- I think they turned out pretty well- I just hope it's not to much light and bleaches the corals . If it is to much light I will probably replace the 660 with standard ballasts and use the 660 on the display tank T5 lighting. As for the plumbing- I got a lot from HD and Lowes but I also spent a good chunck of change at Savko- they sell some great stuff and people always spend a lot when they order from them- these big tanks requre big money- even on plumbing. I think you have the right idea thou- make sure you can remove the pumps and OM 4 way for servicing without losing any water. I didn't go with the tue union stuff but only because I had plenty of room to put a seperate valve and union- if space is an issue I would get the true unions.

 

[Poppy828]

Yeah space is and isn't an issue really. Well at least not to me. Wife may feel differently though. I like the clean look fo yuor plumbing. Looks well thought out. I have priced most of the stuff at Lowes and it was within a couple dollars to savko and I would have it now as opposed to waiting for shipping. I can't remember if I saw a valve between your pump and 4 way? Did you put one there? I am debating on whether or not to put one there or just plumb it directly to the pump.

Thanks,

Todd

 

[sidewinder770]

No- there isn't a valve or union between the pump and the 4 way- didn't see much point since the pump has both as well as the outputs of the 4way- I just have a 1.5" to 2" coupler between the pump and 4way since the Dart output is 1.5" and the 4way input is 2". The pump also has a drain plug which makes it easy to drain the 1/2 gallon or so of water that is in the 4 way and pump. I can actually pull all the plumbing and pumps from under the stand in less than 15 minutes if I needed to since every conection to the tank has a ball valve and union. I think some of the parts Savko makes are better quality wise but for the price I can buy 2 replacement ball valves from HD and it's really easy to change them out if I need to.

 

[Poppy828]

I did forget that the Dart has that drain. Thanks for the reminder. Looks like I saved myself $10 or so. Small in the whole scheme of things, but it all adds up I am finding out. I am looking at $150ish for my plumbing on a 120g. I can only imagine what your plumbing cost. Much more I am sure.

Thanks for the tips and advice. I hope to have mine going here shortly.

Thanks,

Todd

 

[sidewinder770]

Nothing exciting but here is a picture of the sump room I snapped the other day. I posted it on another thread as well but figured I might as well throw it in here to.

 

[waynesworld]

Nice

 

[alien9168]

Thanks for the clarification sidewinder and asnatlas! I appreciate your distinction between small tank light and HUGE tank light!

-alien

 

[kamil5000]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6679685#post6679685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidewinder770
Nothing exciting but here is a picture of the sump room.....

To me that sump room is Nirvana :smokin:

BTW is the lighthood and actuator completed yet ? would love to see some pics once its finalized.


Kamil.

 

[Detritivore]

i have a quick question regarding the ACIII. how do you control your lights? since it seems like the tank is quite a distance from the equiment room?

thanks

 

[clkwrk]

Ice caps can be wired upto 33 feet I think .

 

[sidewinder770]

kamil5000 - the lightrack is done except for the T5 fixtures and the actuator is up and running but I wanted to wait till I got the canopy skinned before revealing all my secrets . Hopefully that will be done in the next few months- we are still trying to determine exactly what we want the finished product to look like.

Detritivore- Chris (clkwrk) is correct- the ballasts will work up to 30' away but I have mine running off x10 which can work a lot farther away than that. The ballasts are on top of the canopy- not in the equipment room. The ballast in the equipment room is just for the T5's over the frag tank. I will probably be changing the x10 stuff soon to the Neptune DC4 or DC8 so I don't have to have my homemade x10 'powerstrip' on top of the canopy any more - it works great but it doesn't look so good and I need to add another ballast so I might as well get the DC4. And while Neptune doesn't "officially" support the DC4's or 8's at a distance greater than 20' they said it should work fine- the distance I will be going is about 70'.