The Reef Central Corner Club Thread
- Thread starter Michael
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Hookup
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14022588#post14022588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Michael
i see your point about shadows, because of the awkward shape its hard to light the whole tank adequately with 1 250 halide, duals would probably be better as the 2 foot depth as well makes more light a requirement i feel over a normal rectangular
I am having shadows, but with the reflectors I've used, I do not see how it is even possible to cram 2 MH systems into the hood-space. Anyone got a photo, or some skill with a basic paint program to draw a diagram of how 2 bulbs & reflectors got mounted?
I'll snap a photo of my lighting system, but it's pretty simple so I'll text-describe it below.
1. MH 400w Luminbright Reflect mounted slightly forward of center, no need to put extra light to the back corner, plus T5s get that spot adequately
2. 24" T5 (two of them) on each "straight side". I created a bracket out of wood that holds the lights on a 45deg angle to the water and use clip-on reflectors to focus/spread the light down the walls and into the center of the tank.
3. A third pair of T5's on a a 45deg angle will be attached to the canopy doors and illuminate the front of the reef.
The hard part was finding the right height for the MH reflector so that most of the light would not get clipped by the over-hanging 45deg brackets holding the T5's up. I found that 18.5" above the LIP of the tank was the right height for the back of the luminbright reflector. With the 45deg brackets mounted at the lip and extending out and up, the light from the MH almost misses the brackets and bulbs.
I went with a 400w bulb because I wanted to get the best penetration and use 20,000k bulbs for max color. Not a fan of growth at any loss of color, color is boss.
My next tank, which is wife-negotiation's will be 6feet long and 3feet front-to-back, but still only 24 or max 30" deep. I will use 400watt 20,000ks on them as well...
well i dont run halides as your aware, but i have seen dual halides combined with t5s and leds available on the market, if hung near the front of the tank they would span the near 5 ft across which the 92 is, i will try to find a link, however hopefully someone will show you a pic of theirs in the mean time
flipsideleo
New member
I'm assuming your tank will be about 24" deep... maybe a bit more, but not much. I would go for the 250w MH with a 14K or 15K bulb, personally. I have a single 250w MH DE bulb on my 92g (15k) and it works great. My hammer and torch are happy with it and I'm already starting to get spots of coraline algae on the back glass.
I'm going to supplement with T5's and PC's, too. I have the 24" PC's ready to go, and they are 460nm or 420nm (can't remember) actinic. The T5's are still a toss for me, color-wise. I'm going to hold up on them for a bit, too. That's the cool thing about lighting... you can always just see how your corals respond to what you have, then add more slowly.Personally, I wouldn't even waste my time with the 150w, scottallert. It might be good in the back corner, if you have a rock stack back there... I guess it depends on how you set your rocks up, and your corals. I plan on putting SPS' on the top of some of my rocks, and the softies toward the bottom.
flipsideleo
New member
It's actually pretty easy to do two MH's under the canopy. Here's a link to a guy that did it:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1368771&highlight=92g+and+build+and+VHO
I was going to do the same thing, but decided that it was just overkill for my goals. There's other types of reflectors out there, too. You can get ones that are significantly smaller.
I'd love to see your lighting when you get a chance. Sounds like it's quite the setup! :bum:
flfireman1
Wrasse aficionado
Not crazy about the looks of that setup......lets just say it isn't aesthetically pleasing. I personally think its overkill to have 2 SE 250w bulbs crammed inside a canopy that small.
I often wonder why people set up aquariums with such high wattage bulbs and then decide to do a softie tank? Dont they know they can keep the same corals under florescent lighting?
Hookup
New member
Kelso1980, without PICs of you're re-scaping I feel like we are on a date and you said you just want to be friends... I need so much more... PIC's pls!
Flipsideleo, thanks for the link.. I'm a visual guy and that helped. I agree with Flfireman1, the look is "messy"... but i'm sure it gets the job done.
I am going mostly SPS with some LPS cause some are pretty neat, so I want a junk-load of light. My Favorite supplier/store has a load of "awesome auzzie acans" he just brought in yesterday. I have to go check these out. Will post a pic of anything fun, and the lighting setup laters.
Kelso1980 - get the pic's online... we all want to see the work you did.
Flipsideleo, thanks for the link.. I'm a visual guy and that helped. I agree with Flfireman1, the look is "messy"... but i'm sure it gets the job done.
I am going mostly SPS with some LPS cause some are pretty neat, so I want a junk-load of light. My Favorite supplier/store has a load of "awesome auzzie acans" he just brought in yesterday. I have to go check these out. Will post a pic of anything fun, and the lighting setup laters.
Kelso1980 - get the pic's online... we all want to see the work you did.
Bernie21
Active member
I agree on the overkill of wattage in lights for certain corals, particularly w these tanks. When you are going to choose your lighting for this tank, be well aware of what corals you want or plan to keep. I have 3 height levels in my tank that I am aware of, low (for rics, zoas, shrooms & cerain softies & LPS), Med (for the LPS that need more light & some SPS), and High (strictly SPS). I run 1 250w HQI w 4 Actinic t-5s. I too see shadows, but remember, just because you have shadows, does not mean that suffiecent light is not getting to the area. For example, non of my rocks touch my glass wall, I like the access to clean the galss & remove anything should I have too, however, this creates a blockage of light from the MH behind the rocks creating a darker shadowy area, however the t-5s are directly above this same area, meaning it is receiving light, its just not the amount that the MH provides. I know I can keep Certain, LPS & softies there. My point is the t-5s dont light as bright as MH so they can create a shadow even though there is light, atleast in my case, Ill place corals accordingly.
Bernie21
Active member
dbrann11 Im glad my aquascaping motivated you to do some reworking, Im extremely anal about not having a "pile on look", creating cave, bridges & overpasses & not leaning on the glass. Now you just need to post some pics of you new look. I hope all is well w that Emergency!!
As far as Ozone is concerned, it supposed to be used inconjunction w our skimmers, it helps create smaller, finer & millions of more bubbles in the skimmer that remove the waste from the water, also waste particles are additonally attracted to the bubbles because due to the ozone, the bubble is electrically charged, kinda working like a magnet for waste. It works great, it removes like 99.9% of waste in the water, the problem is it is deadly to our tank, so we need to take a few extra steps in our sumps to ensure in never gets in to our water, and that for sure we have no room for, maybe those of us that have our sumps in a back room or beneath our floor, etc. I unfortunately am unaware of the ozone removal steps, I have read them before, but I didnt store the info in my head as I know I wont be using it any time soon!!
As far as Ozone is concerned, it supposed to be used inconjunction w our skimmers, it helps create smaller, finer & millions of more bubbles in the skimmer that remove the waste from the water, also waste particles are additonally attracted to the bubbles because due to the ozone, the bubble is electrically charged, kinda working like a magnet for waste. It works great, it removes like 99.9% of waste in the water, the problem is it is deadly to our tank, so we need to take a few extra steps in our sumps to ensure in never gets in to our water, and that for sure we have no room for, maybe those of us that have our sumps in a back room or beneath our floor, etc. I unfortunately am unaware of the ozone removal steps, I have read them before, but I didnt store the info in my head as I know I wont be using it any time soon!!
flipsideleo
New member
YW Hookup! I'm visual too. I definitely think that the lighting is an overkill, and yes it's not my "style," but I was just showing that it's been done.
As far as the shadows go... Where the heck are your cleaner shrimp going to hide if they don't have those shadows?
As far as the shadows go... Where the heck are your cleaner shrimp going to hide if they don't have those shadows?
Bernie21
Active member
Thanks Michael.
Good point flipsideleo, reefs do have brighter & dimer areas, in my case, I have porvided several caves for my shrmps & porcelain crab to hide in, however if you didnt, they would need some dimmer areas as would certian fish, like gobies and anthias. Also you dont really want your tank to look like the sun w so much light either, lol.
Good point flipsideleo, reefs do have brighter & dimer areas, in my case, I have porvided several caves for my shrmps & porcelain crab to hide in, however if you didnt, they would need some dimmer areas as would certian fish, like gobies and anthias. Also you dont really want your tank to look like the sun w so much light either, lol.
loosecannon
New member
I have a 44 gal. ( u.s. ) gal. that is. It`s a pentagon. I just toke it down and cooked the rock. Bad alge problem. The tank look`s good as new. I have 2 65 watt pc on it and 2 20 watt no. It`s a softy tank. Because of the weak a mount of light. I put rock down, then elk horn rock , then a flat piece, and so on till I get to the top. No sump. I have a ps skimmer 160 from aquatreaders a friend mod-ed it for me . With a mag - 3 mash wheel. The corals in the tank are all ones I fraged my self. No fishes in it yet, just c.u.c. .
flipsideleo
New member
LOL! I used-to have one of those tanks, but it was set up for freshwater fish. Wow! You just brought back a lot of "bad" memories for me! I had the hardest time lighting that thing! I'd love to see how you have it set up, if you don't mind posting pictures, that is.
I've been wanting to do a tank solely for seahorses/pipefish (what can I say? I have kids. ) and would love to see how yours looks because I think it'd be perfect for what I'm wanting to do with one.
flipsideleo
New member
Thanks, but I was really just being a smart @ss and trying to justify my laziness for not getting my 2x65w PC's over my tank.
My wife would like for me to get a gobie that she saw at a LFS we go to a lot, and I like those Mandarins. I know both like to hide out in the shade when they get the chance. Now you just got me all hopped up on verbal Mountain Dew, and I'm about to go off on my canopy like a spider monkey. :lol:
