Project 150 gallon had officially started

[CMcNeil]

Chris that would be great if you could grab that part for me.we can figure out how to get it to me later.if i need some help on the stand ill pm you.i think im going to try and go without a chiller and see how hot it gets,ill go with 4 fans in the hood and one down in the sump.

 

[CMcNeil]

todays work consisted of cutting some cross beams for the bottom of the stand,trimming the plywood to fit the inside of the stand and drilling my temporary coral tank.i need to do some sanding to the frame before i add the plywood skin,but the frame is all done.

my new holding tank

 

[Emster]

Hey Chris, this is just my opinion but if I was you I would run three 250 watt reeflux 10K's instead of the aquaconnects. Don't get me wrong I love the aquaconnects I have them on my tank and I believe they are one of the best bulbs out there but at $120.00 each compared to the reeflux its not worth it. I think the reeflux are like $60.00 each!! And people are getting silly growth out of them on Ice cap ballasts. The only reason I don't run them is because I have hamilton ballasts and they burn them with a little yellow. In the future I'm going to get the IC and run the reeflux, they have great color on the Ice caps.

 

[CMcNeil]

hmmmmm..... id like to see the reeflux with my own eyes,i hear you on the price $120 a pop isnt cheap.ive seen the aquaconnects in person and they do look great,ill look into the reeflux bulbs and see what i can find out.

 

[lazaro torres]

hey checkinhawk,all my tanks,if you remeber,have reeflux.I think about that red stag everyday man(I can't sleep).

 

[Emster]

One other thing you might want to consider is going simple. This is another option I might do. This will cost you more up front because you will have to buy new ballasts(HQI ballasts are not cheap) but you can usually find some nice used ones. This is what I have on my frag tank, 250 watt phoenix 14k DE bulbs($55.00 each!!!!!) ran on true HQI m80 ballasts. These bulbs have lots of par and last a verylong time( maybe like 14 months) on HQI ballasts, but the best thing about them is you don't have to run any actinics IMO because they do have some blue to them on HQI ballasts. So you will save some money on bulbs and power. Like I said I have one on my 40 gal breeder and it looks great and so far has great growth. You are wecome to stop by and check out the color if you are interested in this setup. Hope this helps

 

[CMcNeil]

arent my icecaps "HQI" ballasts?i kind of was under the impression you can run any SE or DE 250w bulb with the icecaps.i really cant go buying new ballasts and plan on just getting one more icecap.thanks for the info emmit,i might try and stop by and check out the color.

 

[boydx6]

Chris, you are correct about your IceCap ballasts. They will run any 250 wt bulb according to IceCap.

 

[Ah64av8tor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10270080#post10270080 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
arent my icecaps "HQI" ballasts?i kind of was under the impression you can run any SE or DE 250w bulb with the icecaps.i really cant go buying new ballasts and plan on just getting one more icecap.thanks for the info emmit,i might try and stop by and check out the color.

Chris,

I got a 250 watt Phoenix 14k DE from Ralf last week. I'm running it side by side with a XM 10k on IC ballasts, the color of the Phoenix is a little blue but mostly white and the XM is quite yellow. The PAR is definitely more with the XM (Sanjay says 20% more PPFD).

I like the color of the 14k well see how the growth turns out.

 

[Ah64av8tor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10270326#post10270326 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boydx6
Chris, you are correct about your IceCap ballasts. They will run any 250 wt bulb according to IceCap.

I can tell you they will run any bulb.......but they don't like the XM 10k!!!!!!

The Phoenix fires right up every time and the XM is noticeably harder to fire than the Phoenix.

 

[CMcNeil]

well one thing good is that i have time on my side and can go look at some of these bulbs in person.im still leaning toward the aquaconnects and the reeflux are next on my list.

 

[Emster]

Yes your ice cap will run the phoenix but it is a totally different bulb when run on the ice cap and will not last as long( they are bluer on IC). There are people that run 10K hqi for two years with good results on hqi ballasts although I would not do that with the 14K. Really the SE bulbs were not designed to be run horizontal but vertical. When you look at your se bulb you have been running for awhile check out the deposits inside the bulb (black splatters) these cut down on out put and par( atleast mine had them). The HQI bulb run on the HQI ballast it was designed to run on was made to run in the horizontal position and has no splatters because it is high pressure. I would not run the phoenix on the IC.

 

[CMcNeil]

ok the work has started up again.i got the hole saws i needed from work and drilled all my closed loop holes as well as the holes for the dursos.

closed loop intake holes,let me tell you....drilling 15/16" thick acrylic is not alot of fun

this is the closed loop outlet,my OM copy will thread onto the pipe

one of the dursos

here is what the overflow box looks like now

 

[DaddyJax]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10260303#post10260303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
hmmmmm..... id like to see the reeflux with my own eyes,i hear you on the price $120 a pop isnt cheap.ive seen the aquaconnects in person and they do look great,ill look into the reeflux bulbs and see what i can find out.

You have been to my house as well and seen my tanks. They are both ReefLux!

 

[LuisC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10305920#post10305920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaddyJax
You have been to my house as well and seen my tanks. They are both ReefLux!

The tank is looking sweet.

What reflectors do you guys use with the reeflux bulb?

 

[CMcNeil]

you can use alot of different reflectors with the bulb.

 

[CMcNeil]

some closed loop fittings ready to be glued

 

[kolokefalo]

along for the ride

 

[CMcNeil]

here is the closed loop intake.two 2" lines from the tank feed into one.i will add in a ball valve and union to the bottom of the assembly right above the pump.

 

[MORAY]

Hey Chris, cool thread. You have a lot of patience in doing this.