Yoccm's 300G DD In Wall Build

[yoccm]

fwiw i would look at the leds.... the way you drew it is causing an "assumed" higher amount of light on the glass you may look to use 20 deg optics on the edges to cut down your glass scraping maintenance chores. also I have read and seen several of the aqua illumination competitors boxes of similar size be used in a 24"x24" area just fine singly. if you are looking for more light to account for them being less then 400wmh then that makes sense as well.. but you should call AI and talk to them... you may be pleasantly surprised.

the name of the other company that i have seen/ heard of being used in a 24x24 is "evolution led"

they offer the 1g which is this unit (picture taken off my local board, not mine)

Thanks for the info - I have also been told by george at ReefGeek that each AI unit can cover a 24x24 area if mounted 12 inches above the tank. The challenge is the 36" depth. I will definitely give AI a call - I would love to have to purchase less than 6 units but want to make sure I don't have dark spots and underlighted areas on the tank. I will also do some research on the evolution units you were showing as well.

 

[yoccm]

Looks like your off to a good start. I'll be tagging along to keep an eye on a fellow 300dd owner.

Welcome - I have been following your build for awhile now and glad to have you along for the ride. I am sure I will be asking your advice during the process.

 

[yoccm]

Will be ordering my 300d.d. today, lighting it will be the challenge. Have you looked into the ecoxotic cannons? Not sure how they penetrate compared to A.I.'s The 100w cannons are said to light a 24x36" section, $500 a piece

I have never looked at these fixtures before. Just scanned them on a couple sites and they look interesting. Not sure they would be much less in total cost than the AIs and they don't seem as controllable and the color mix options in the AIs look better. I will do a little more research on these but still leaning towards the AIs.

Nice!! Gotta love those 300dd's!! As you said, take your time and have fun, especially with the rock scaping, there are so many great examples out there. Looks like another great build.

mark

Thanks Mark. Yeah I am really excited about the extra depth on this tank and hoping I get a more dimensional look from the rockscape. As I said above I have been out of it for 11 years and the hobby has come along way from the old rock wall days of my past!!!

 

[d3hree]

I am interested to see what PAR you would get from an LED unit at 36" depth, have you been given any figures?

 

[yoccm]

I am interested to see what PAR you would get from an LED unit at 36" depth, have you been given any figures?

Hey d3 - sorry for any confusion but the tank dimensions are 72"L x 36"W x 27"H so the depth of the tank the lights have to penetrate is 27 inches.

Everything I have heard says I should have no problem at that depth and I plan to use lower light LPS on the bottom so should be good.

BTW - I checked out your build thread ... wow quite the project. Looks like an awesome plan and a huge undertaking. Your graphic skills are amazing and looks like you have really planned it out well. Good luck!!!!

 

[d3hree]

Hi yoccm, sorry I mis-read your tank dims. At 27" an LED will be nice, what is often left out of the conversations regarding LEDs and their lack of punch is that most of the time the real light loving corals are high up in the tank anyway.
Thankyou for you kind words, I look forward to following your build, good luck to you also!

 

[yoccm]

Can't wait to see this build....will be tagging along.

Thanks, pack your patience because it might be a bit of a slow go. They are telling me it will be about 12 weeks beofre the basement is finished and I can really get in there and start working on the tank. I am continuing to order equipment in anticipation but really can't wait to get going on it!!!

 

[yoccm]

Hi yoccm, sorry I mis-read your tank dims. At 27" an LED will be nice, what is often left out of the conversations regarding LEDs and their lack of punch is that most of the time the real light loving corals are high up in the tank anyway.
Thankyou for you kind words, I look forward to following your build, good luck to you also!

Yeah - most of the PAR readings I have seen show a quick drop off once you get deep. I think I will be good at 27 inches. My biggest concern is getting the right light coverage with such a wide tank - I will probably be switching out all the optics to 70s to get broader coverage and less spotlighting.

 

[yoccm]

The good news is.......... We have tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yoccm]

The bad news is ......... We have CRACKED tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can see where the carboard packaging covered it up

3 guys from the LFS that I ordered it from brought it over to deliver into my basement. As we were removing the packaging to start the move we noticed the crack. There is a clamshell above the bottom trim and a crack that runs down to the bottom seam. It looks like the crack happened during construction before the bottom trim went on but who knows ... could've happened during shipping.

The LFS guys took it back to the store and a new one is being delivered next Friday. :mad2::mad2::furious::mad2::mad2:

Oh well what are you going to do??? The LFS guys were great and immediately called the distributor to resolve. I was assurred they would stress the importance that the thing get inspected with a fine tooth comb before leaving the warehouse and again before coming here from the LFS.

I am ultimately ok with it since the basement won't be finished for 10-12 more weeks. It was hard to watch the tank drive off tho after having it here. It really is a sweet looking tank - the black silicone looked awesome and the polished edges looked great. Patience right :fun2:

 

[preef40]

How are the contractors making out?
good thing you had the LFS deliver

 

[yoccm]

How are the contractors making out?
good thing you had the LFS deliver

Walls started going up today - I am hoping to have the stand built during next week - unfortunately I have to be in Denver next week and won't be here when it is coming together.

Yeah - I paid $250 to have the tank delivered to the basement. Best $$$$ I spent. Not sure I would have caught the crack if I had picked it up then it could have gotten a bit sticky. My LFS is great and the owner is a stand up guy so I am sure it would have worked out but this was clean - no fuss, no muss!! Never came off his truck.

 

[d3hree]

What a shame, still good that you noticed it and that it worked out as it has done. Like you say you are waiting for the basement anyway.

Yeah - most of the PAR readings I have seen show a quick drop off once you get deep. I think I will be good at 27 inches. My biggest concern is getting the right light coverage with such a wide tank - I will probably be switching out all the optics to 70s to get broader coverage and less spotlighting.

I am probably wrong but wouldnt 120 optics work better for you with 36" front to back? I remember reading about the orpheck(sp) ones where they had used 90 optics on them I think to get more punch but because of that the spread was sacrificed. I understood that the higher the number on the optics the larger the spread...like I said though there is a good chance I have that wrong.

 

[yoccm]

What a shame, still good that you noticed it and that it worked out as it has done. Like you say you are waiting for the basement anyway.

Thanks d3hree - yeah I was bummed...kinda hard not to be when you it's right htere in front of you but like you said better to notice now then later
I am probably wrong but wouldnt 120 optics work better for you with 36" front to back? I remember reading about the orpheck(sp) ones where they had used 90 optics on them I think to get more punch but because of that the spread was sacrificed. I understood that the higher the number on the optics the larger the spread...like I said though there is a good chance I have that wrong.

I think you are right - the larger the optics the greater the spread. From what I understand AI only has the 40 and 70 optics available. There has been some good research done on this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841197
that shows the PAR readings using the 70/40 combo optics vs using all 70 optics.

I just looked up the Orphek units - interesting, I have never seen 90 and 120 optics. Seems like the 24" x 6" units would cover quite a bit of tank surface ... more that the AIs. I will do a little more research on them.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Bummer..must've been hard to watch that beauty be taken away. Good news they're rein-bursting you with a new tank! Should be a sweet build. :fish1:

 

[launchnukes]

Bummer about the tank but at least youre not in a rush.

 

[yoccm]

Bummer..must've been hard to watch that beauty be taken away. Good news they're rein-bursting you with a new tank! Should be a sweet build. :fish1:

Thanks - yeah it was rough but the distributor in New York has like 50+ of these in stock according to my LFS so should only have to wait one week. In fact, they had so many they were running a special on them - got the tank for $1500 so i guess i can't complain too much.

 

[yoccm]

Bummer about the tank but at least youre not in a rush.

I was glad it was such an obvious crack - freaks me out a little .... what if it had been smaller and hidden by the frame or silicone :worried:

I will DEFINITELY be looking the new tank over with a fine tooth comb!!!!!

 

[prop-frags]

I was glad it was such an obvious crack - freaks me out a little .... what if it had been smaller and hidden by the frame or silicone :worried:

I will DEFINITELY be looking the new tank over with a fine tooth comb!!!!!

Glad to hear the crack was easy to spot and not hidden until water went in. Also good to hear that you will have a replacement so quickly.

 

[sasharotty]

That stinks about the crack but lucky you caught it before dragging that monster down stairs. I know mine was around 400 lbs dry sucker was heeeeeavy!