Renton's Upgrade
- Thread starter Renton777
- Start date
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
Ha! I feel like it will never be complete and it will be ever evolving as corals grow. I am happy to have it functional now and cycling. We have water, flow, heat and lights. Just have to wait for a bunch of bacteria to grow!
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
I really liked the Orphek over my frag tank. I have had it for several years and it has colored up and grown all the varieties of corals that I have put under it. I also like the wider distribution of LEDs on the panel. Additionally, it would have cost at least twice as much to fully cover the tank with Radions and I am not sure how much I like their gen 5 (I did like the gen4).
travisstewart
New member
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
Well, they do cover a relatively large area. Anyways, haven't you noticed, just about everything in scope and scale on this system is nuts? I have repeatedly questioned my sanity both in the planning stages and during the actual build. I have no good argument against anyone who sees the aquarium and says "Your nuts", I just kind of have to agree with them, lol. I was also fortunate enough to get a much better price on them.
travisstewart
New member
I mean well done man! Can't wait to see corals in it!
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Fish4udog
New member
I have the giesemann VerVve have had good luck with.had these lights a few years always looking to improve coral color and growth.the bottle brush colony I got from you is changing colors . New growth is purple with bright green coralite tips .
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Renton777
Polyp Nipper
Well, I have only ever had two lights, AI Sols and Orphek Atlantiks. I know what works well for me and the only other light I had considered was the Radion G4s as they have a proven track record as well. I do think quality lights are a necessary component to accomplishing what I want to do with my system.
With everything else involved in this build and trying to find the time to do it, I ruled out attempting to build my own lights. I will happily pay a professional to build a proven, polished quality light and spend my time an energy elsewhere.
With everything else involved in this build and trying to find the time to do it, I ruled out attempting to build my own lights. I will happily pay a professional to build a proven, polished quality light and spend my time an energy elsewhere.
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
Glad to hear the bottle brush is doing well, it had grown into shadowy regions in my tank, I am sure it happy to get some more direct light!
brad
Active member
I really like how the Orphek includes 410,420,430,440,460,470 instead of the usual 2 different blues of AI, Radion and most DIY solutions. I'd definitely do this in my DIY build if I could find quality 410,420,430 for less than 3 times the price of much better 440's. From my experience 380nm doesn't do much.
I understand the time. Building electronics is something I enjoy so much more than scraping algae or fixing leaking plumbing. It is a tradeoff between time and money, but the Orphek is not a zero-time solution. You have time invested building canopies, electric, warranty claims if anything goes wrong, etc. And I jump quickly to greener grass on the other side of the fence. I went through 4 commercial solutions before going DIY.
How much PAR do you plan to run? What is the total wattage? From the pictures, it looks like 5 units, although I imagine you aren't running full power, which would put you over 1000 watts.
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
I am shooting for 350 to 400 PAR at the top of the rocks. I plan to put a lot of PAR hungry SPS up there that really color up at that level par.
I will run the lights at whatever % gets them to that target. I will also have 2 more Atlantiks over the frag tank so at if they are all set at 100% that would be 1,645 watts.
I will run the lights at whatever % gets them to that target. I will also have 2 more Atlantiks over the frag tank so at if they are all set at 100% that would be 1,645 watts.
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
A few tasks completed this weekend.
Got a light up over the new frag tank. The light over the current frag tank will be added once the tank is shut down
I added check valves in my never ending quest to limit drainage to the sump in the case of a power outage
I also noticed a lot of pods on the glass that must have been brought in form the bio media cubs and water added from the old tanks. I was happy to see them!
Got a light up over the new frag tank. The light over the current frag tank will be added once the tank is shut down
I added check valves in my never ending quest to limit drainage to the sump in the case of a power outage
I also noticed a lot of pods on the glass that must have been brought in form the bio media cubs and water added from the old tanks. I was happy to see them!
Renton777
Polyp Nipper
Do you even have a build thread bro?
BKREEFBABY
New member
What power heads do you plan on using for this beast?
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Renton777
Polyp Nipper
On the display there are two closed loops each powered by their own Vectra L2 that seem to be pushing a lot of water. I still think I will need to add a power head or two and I have a couple tunze 6105s and a couple rossmont that really push some water. So it will be one or two of those to start.
Wspangler
New member
I have a tread. It's about the opposite of a build thread.
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