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PetesFolly

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Everything posted by PetesFolly

  1. Sounds like I missed a great meeting... I missed out on "Lasers"...seriously...! Bummer, but just had too much going on that day.
  2. Great write up! Looking forward to see how this progresses! I'm fairly new myself and am still researching and learning. Just learned that it is a good idea to turn off the flushing/cleaning mode of my RO/DI unit before leaving for vacation...:-(. Thanks to TankNovice and his wife and daughter for rescuing my basement!!
  3. Same here, usually when I over feed or if I my water level is too high.
  4. I will definitely try that the next time. That may be why they were fine the next morning once the lights had gone down.
  5. I added a coral beauty and a flame angel to my 125g recently. The flame angel was actually the second one as the first died within a week. Not sure why since I added a diamond goby, a firefish, a flame angel, and the coral beauty at the same time. The others were just fine. When I added the replacement flame angel, the coral beauty turned into an absolute tyrant for the first 12 hours. Kept attacking the flame angel no matter where the flame angel went. I was sure the flame angel wouldn't last the night and I would find a dead flame angel the next morning. Amazingly, the next morning everything was fine and they are both getting along well. It has now been about two weeks. I really enjoy the added colors of both to the tank. They both leave my corals alone.
  6. Well, I am happy with them because they do work well. I "think" that I would like to add some more, but in reality...my corals are doing just fine with what I have. If I stay with what I have, my $1100.00 is working just fine. Do I have some additional "wants"...sure! Who doesn't in this hobby? Would I have been able to convince my wife to drop two grand on another set up....no. Can I ease into it...probably. This was not sold as "complete package". I chose two 52's despite the specifications and recommendations to use three. Having said that, I can constantly second guess any decision that I have made in any hobby I have been involved in. I bought a used BMW Z4, wanted something bigger and bought a used BMW 650i, then I missed the roadster feel of the Z4 and went back to a Z4...now I miss the larger elbow room and trunk space of the 650i. So, the Hydra's performance meet my needs at the present time. So I am happy with them. The tank looks great, I turned up the blue's and messed with the other channels since my last post and found a balance that I really like, corals are doing great, I like the lunar settings, I have good shimmer, dimmers are working great without having 4 timers hooked up like my previous set up, I can adjust the lights any way I want from my iPhone or macbook, if I want more red for an hour during the sunset...I have more red (aesthetics count too). My tank is bright, I can make it just as bright as I could with 8 T5's and 3 150W Halides...even though I haven't been able to find the perfect balance to make them look like halides (pics in my gallery from February before last adjustment). The ends of the tank could use a little more light, but then again I can place corals there that need less light and flow which will give me more variety in my corals versus having the same amount of light everywhere. I also mentioned the "blue" aspect and on that day I was frustrated with balancing the lights. Specifically, balancing the white and blue. I certainly overstated that I have to turn the whites down to the point they are useless, sorry about that. Being new to this hobby I do make stupid comments from time to time. I was able to turn up the white channel to 65% and still have a good balance with the blues (90% - keep in mind the white LED's outnumber the blue LEDs so my tank does not look blue), royal blue (85%), violet (85%), UV (65%), green (55%), and red (60%). The lights are about 6" above the water and 24" above the sand. My tank has a center brace so I basically have two three foot sections. I also like the fact that these have a compact design and look good over the tank. Are the Orphek Atlantik lights a good option? I am sure they are...lot's of good reviews and may have given me a better spread of light given my tank is 6' long with two 3' sections. However, the title was Radion or Hydra and I was just trying to give honest feedback on my experience with my Hydra 52's given my specific situation. Two Hydra 52's for a 6' long tank...the recommendation based on the specifications was to use 3. I didn't want to spend the money at that time and bought two. Like I said, it is working and I am "happy" with the purchase. However, I do realize there are other excellent options beyond Radion or Hydra...but that wasn't the question I was answering.
  7. As I was thinking about this some more, I do have one more item to mention. The one con about the Hydra 52 lights that I have is that the number of white LED's outnumber the other LED's to the point in which it makes it difficult to balance the lights. If you want to have more blue to bring out the colors of the coral, you have to turn the whites down so much that they are pretty much useless for coral growth. IMO. I haven't borrowed the PAR meter to check the levels at different settings, I should probably do that. When I see Jeremy's main display tank at Modern Aquatic, I want to mimic the color of his Halides but have not been able to find the right settings yet. Since I know that I would like additional lighting, I am considering purchasing the Kessil Tuna Blue's to add to the set up...or something less expensive. Maybe two more Hydra 26's would do that as well. IDK... Maybe the AI Sol Blue?
  8. I have the hydra 52's (two of them) over my 125g tank and am very pleased. However, while the coverage that AI lists is accurate pay attention to the par as you get away from the center of the lights. I put two on my tank due to a center brace and I have low PAR areas in the center (under the brace) and towards the end of the tank. I did know that ahead of time since I put tape on the front of the tank and measured out the approximate PAR levels based on the specs. I am thinking about adding two Hydra 26's for better coverage. Overall, the lights have been great and very easy to play with...er, customize to the needs of the tank.
  9. I have the AquaMaxx EcoMaxx EM-200. It's very quiet and I haven't had any issues with it. I have been using it since the fall of last year. Easy to clean and I it seems to get the job done.
  10. I believe the last two pic's are the EcoTech Radion hanging system and the AI EXT rail system.
  11. I have seen some pics of utilizing a brace on the wall in which you could attach arms to that could hang over the tank and then hang them from there or straight from the wall. You can paint the brace to match the wall. It did look pretty good and would give you the option to adjust the height of the fixture. Here are some pictures that I found to give you some ideas. The last two pic is the option of customizing an existing mounting fixture so that it works with the lights that you choose and attaches to your tank. The 4th pic looks like it is made entirely out of wood and then stained. Might be a great option to give you the most flexibility to hang your lights.
  12. I absolutely agree!! Just went through the process of getting 4 damsels (or devil fish) out of my tank a couple of weeks ago.
  13. If your tank is located under a vaulted ceiling, it may take longer cables to reach your tank depending on where your tank is located. Even so, IMO, on the plus side of hanging your lights it looks cleaner, you don't have to worry about accidentally knocking your lights off of legs or breaking them, you can adjust the height of the lights to your needs, with legs (I used those in my previous set up as well) it may make it difficult to work in your tank without removing the lights each time, hanging kit will also give you more options on what lights to go with, and you won't have to reach around to the back of your tank to mount brackets to hold the lights. When I decided to go with LED lights, I initially used the brackets from my previous light set-up. It just didn't look right. The brackets and bars hanging over the tank looked bigger then the LED lights. For my set-up, I like my lights much better with the ceiling hanging kit. It looks much cleaner. Most of the kits come with lots of cable, but if that isn't enough, Lowe's and others sell whatever size you need. It took some measuring to center the lights, but after that it was not difficult at all.
  14. I know that some have been very impressed with the price and performance of these Ocean Revive lights. Tank novice has 3 of these over his 220g reef tank and they do look very good. If you want to spend less, you can get them with the dimmer and purchase use your own timers for the two separate channels for $175 apiece. You will still have to figure out how to hang them though. I think you could use some of the kits from other brands and make them work for the lights you choose. Or you could take the plunge and go with the higher level lights (yes, the ones with the bells and whistles) since they also have the accessories to put them over your tank without having to customize them to your needs, but this option as you already know is more expensive. I am sure you have done plenty of research already. I just went through this myself; although, I did have the ability to hang them. There are so many options that it can drive you crazy; however, it really does come down to what you want to spend and how much you are willing to DIY. I know that some on this site have even built their own... In the end, it is really going to come down to what your needs are, what you prefer, how much DIY you are willing to take on, and obviously your budget. The EcoTech LED's while expensive do have a nice option for placement over the tank. The bracket attaches right to the tank, may fit other lights as well. You can purchase the brackets separately. The same may work with Kessil Gooseneck Adapters, they also have 90 degree options. Also, Aqua Illumination has a rack system or rails that go over your tank, you may be able to customize these as well. I tried to post the pictures from their sites, but just to tedious... Hopefully, someone with more experience than I will chime in as well.
  15. PetesFolly

    Tank Update Feb 2015

    Update on my 125G Mixed Reef set-up.
  16. No problem, I don't want to end up with a anemone only tank! :-)
  17. Thanks! Yeah, my Nem split in two and are growing like crazy! A little scary, really don't want them overtaking the tank.
  18. To speed this up, since I have been commenting on other threads on other issues I faced, I just get to the final chapter of the set-up: Here is what I ended up with for my 125g reef: 1. Two Jebao (JW-8 and JW-15) wave makers. 2. Eshoppe dual drain overflow ES-PF-1200. 3. Jebao return pump DC-9000 4. Trigger Systems Ruby 30 sump/refugium: purchased at Premium Aquatics garage sale for $75.00! Just had to make some minor repairs. 5. AquaMaxx EcoMaxx EM-200 protein skimmer 6. Two Finnexx 300w all metal heaters (one for the main tank and a back up in the sump). 7. Two Hydra 52 LED lights with the AI Director. Need to add two Hydra 26's or maybe two Prime's to get better coverage over the 6' tank. 8. RO/DI unit from BRS supply: 6 stage 150GPD with the water saver feature. 9. BRS dual carbon and GFO reactors. 10. AutoAqua Smart ATO And here are the pictures as of yesterday: http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Petesfolly/slideshow/February%202015
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