Otty Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Use a Long Sweep 90 elbow and you will be ok on gph loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalare102079 Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 You think those 250w are enough for your tank? I am still a little on the fence about going with 250w or 400w MH. You tank is 30" tall right? How far off the water are the lights? Are they SE or HQI? I am too lazy to read up. I have 3- 250 HQI and 2 - 150 HQI over a 30" deep tank and have no problems growing SPS on the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I was looking at reg bulbs not HQI, which ones do you have? Why the 3 250's and the 2 150's instead of all 250's? Thanks Scott I will keep that in mind, but right now I think I am going to just run the pipe through the fuge under the sand into the return section so its a straight shot, its only one extra hole to drill and will be in a baffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocky Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I don't have much in my sand bed due to having the stingray in there still, but I do have a derasa clam down there that is doing just fine on the 250's. Lights are about 10" off of the water. I would like to go up to 400's for a brighter look with 20k's, but I really don't want to deal with a chiller if I don't have to. As it is right now, my tank never comes below 79 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalare102079 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I was looking at reg bulbs not HQI, which ones do you have? Why the 3 250's and the 2 150's instead of all 250's? that is way the unit is sold, plus I don't want areas to be over-blue. just enough to pop the colors! Aqua Medic Oceanlight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Interesting I have not looked at that light before. Whats the purpose of having two different wattages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callen0942 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 here is a fts with lights. i made my own hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plantguy Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Interesting I have not looked at that light before. Whats the purpose of having two different wattages? So they can sell you two different lamps for one hood! Seriously, Andy has the idea right, the 250's are the grows, the 150's are the shows. Most people run the high par lamps in the 250 sockets to get the growth, and the higher kelvin lamps in the 150s to get the look they like. It also allows a little more gradual light increase if you are using burst lighting schedules. IE: The 150s can kick on first (300 watt) then the middle ballast ads another 250, then the outer lamps add another 500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Callen thanks for the pic, your tank looks very well lit. I see on the different wattages now, I guess you would just have to place the corals accordingly with the different bulbs? Found some 1" sea swirls that I might use on my returns, anybody like or dislike these? I dont think I will be running as much flow as they are rated for but I assume that doesnt hurt them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocky Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Callen thanks for the pic, your tank looks very well lit. I see on the different wattages now, I guess you would just have to place the corals accordingly with the different bulbs? Found some 1" sea swirls that I might use on my returns, anybody like or dislike these? I dont think I will be running as much flow as they are rated for but I assume that doesnt hurt them. With that lighting combo, the lower wattage lights are just for color, not growth. The higher wattage lights cover the entire tank area so that you can grow equally everywhere. I run a seaswirl on my tank and it is great. It adds some randomness to the flow and has been super reliable for me. You don't have to run max flow through them, it's just a pipe that moves. Keep in mind, though, a 1" outlet is pretty big and if you're running low flow through them, you're not going to be adding much (if any) current to the tank to warrant having the sea swirls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 As of right now I think I am going back to the idea or running the dart, I can throttle it back if I need to or just run excess back into the return zone. I think the sea swirls should mate up well with that. Hopefully the guy gives me first dibs on the sea swirls, someone else is asking about them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Started cleaning up the tank today, just did a side panel and its looking really good. I am going to try to get the rest after work. Crossing my fingers that there are no big scratches. I will post pics once I am done. Right now I am just doing a quick clean to check for scratches, after that I will do a more intense clean with some bleach and more scrubbing to make sure nothing remains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwsindy Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 As of right now I think I am going back to the idea or running the dart, I can throttle it back if I need to or just run excess back into the return zone. I think the sea swirls should mate up well with that. Hopefully the guy gives me first dibs on the sea swirls, someone else is asking about them now. I run the Dart on my 125 and as you said I just throttle it back a little but so far it's been a good pump. It is quiet and cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I run the Dart on my 125 and as you said I just throttle it back a little but so far it's been a good pump. It is quiet and cool. Ah ok cool. Got the sea swirls, they are on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Ok I got some cleaning done, after about an hour and a half of bending over and smelling vinegar I was over it so I will have to finish the rest another time. I got the front and both sides 95% clean and the back about 80% clean but its looking much better. I did find a few scratches but nothing I cant live with so far. Before. After. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Willy Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Just a lil FYI you can create a gallery here on this forum to use for photos. I believe there is NO file size restriction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalare102079 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 WOW she cleaned up good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks its def. getting there. Willy, thanks I have just always used photobucket but I will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Sea Swirls are awesome. I've have both Sea Swirls and Tunzes--if I had to choose between the 2, I'd pick the Sea Swirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otty Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 You get the new top brace ordered??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 You get the new top brace ordered??? Thats next on the list Scott I wanted to clean it up a little and make sure it wasnt scratched too bad before I spent the cash on the new brace for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Thinking about making a glass eurobrace for the tank instead now. Do we have any resident eurobrace experts? I am thinking two 84"x 2" by 1/4" thick across the front and back then the two offset 2" wide braces across the depth of the tank and 2" wide pieces down each side to close it in. Been searching on RC for pics and see a few different ways to do it. I called the glass store to confirm that they can cut glass to those dims and they can and its REALLY cheap I would probably have under $50.00 in materials including silicone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otty Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 I would just bite the bullet and get the brace. The last thing you want is this tank to bow when you fill it full of water. Watch cutting corners...it can bite you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstoner Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Scott when I first thought of doing this I was looking at it like an upgrade, the cheaper cost was just a bonus. I really didnt think it would be that cheap. I got the old trim off in about an hour tonight, went pretty easy actually. Not sure what I will end up doing but I want to explore this idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otty Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Wish you the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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