Lighting Update...
I had been going back and forth on lighting for months. I could write pages and pages about all the research and thoughts I had, but I will try and keep it as short as possible. I have been running exclusively LEDs for over 2 years in a mixed reef with great success. I had 2 BWB what people call "Chinese LED" fixtures and 2 AI sols over my 180. Believe it or not those Chinese fixtures put out some serious light and par (yes I measured) with great spread.
Moving onto this build, I wanted to do an all in one LED fixture that was nice and enclosed and could be hung over the tank for aesthetics. Unfortunately, hard to find a 6 footer that I liked that didnt cost over $5 grand. So I then started to think about a floating canopy. My inspiration actually came from this build here...
http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/cont...-display-tank?cck_pager_field_gallery_image=8
I called it a bit of a reverse canopy, since it is finished underneath and all. I think it looks amazing. I will be doing something very similar but will be finishing it all the way up to my ceiling. More details on the floating canopy and skin to come. So back to the lighting choice. I then started thing about how many more Ai SOLS I would need to get the coverage and it got a little expensive for tech that I knew would be replaced quickly, and already has by the AI Vega.
I then started researching more of the worlds best SPS tanks since that is my new direction and focus and most were running halides with 20k Radium bulbs. So since I could not make up my mind between all LEDs and all halides again. I DID BOTH. I landed on 2 x 250 watt 20k Radium bulbs, fired by 2 new LuxCore adjustable ballasts by CoralVue (as they have a 250 HQI setting to properly run these bulbs), and 2 x LumenMax Elite reflectors. From Sanjays testing these were the best reflectors for my tank and use. Not the prettiest but very effective, but wont natter now because they will be covered. Not that I am growing money, but a few bucks more in electricity and yearly bulb changes were actually secondary on my list of concerns with this one. I want to create the best looking and aesthetically pleasing reef I could.
These halides will be straddled by 2 AI SOL super blues on either end and a new AI Vega color in the middle. The cool thing is the 3 AIs will give enough coverage to light the tank leading up until the halides kick on, then they will be tuned down to match the color temperature of the halides. I felt it was necessary to add back the halides (that I swore I never would go back to) because the LEDs did grow the heck out of some coral (namely zoas), I felt they lacked the color enhancing properties in the red and purple corals. Green and others were great. Just my experience. Don't hang me. Don't want to turn this into an LED versus halide and spectrum discussion. Trust me, I have read hundreds of threads and thousands of pages on this already.
Back to topic. So while I have been waiting to figure who was going to do my skin and canopy (now resolved) I wanted to get the framework mocked up and hung so I could make sure it would achieve my goals. I went with a hanging canopy that is 14" off the water to get proper spread and penetration for both haildes and AIs while at the same time allowing the most important thing to me... ACCESS. I also decided to mount this floating canopy on pocket door rails so that I could slide it back and forth if I needed the extra room. Found some studs and a pocket door kit and got to work...
Made a few mistakes along the way with what to suspend it with...
Those were a pain and didn't allow for adjustments, so I then went chains and did the final mock up and made my cuts...
Been running this rig for a couple weeks now and boy am I satisfied. Being only 250 watters, heat is a non issue. No chiller needed. They produce a great crisp blue color even for 20ks. Reds have come back with a furry and my tricolor is coloring up well with blue and purple tips. The LEDs are a nice offset and controllable feature that I love. Just waiting for my Vega to arrive to stick in the middle (9th in pre-order line). If it looks good, Ill prolly upgrade my 2 SOLs on the ends. However they look just great right now.
Also picked up an Apogee MQ-200 par meter as well. I figure hobbyist spend thousands on lighting, hours and hours debating par and effectiveness, debates over lights useful life and par shifts. Why not spend a little on a meter and monitor yourself and get truly accurate coral placement. I love having it so far.
So that is where I am at on lighting. Thanks for checking in and following along. I am super excited because I finally found a builder to do my skin and canopy. More details to follow on that.
