Tank Journal Archive

[Joshwaaaa]

It does cost to change bulbs every 12 months which is a pain but its an expense of our hobby if you want healthy corals. Fwiw my bulbs are nearly 14 months old and still kicking ass :D. I will be changing them very soon though.

This was exactly my train of thought when swapping from LED to T5, in the grand scheme of running a reef tank it's not that much more money to swap bulbs once a year and it's a small price to pay for having a tank which still wow's you every time you walk in the room.

I'm loving that I made the swap :) and I only went with a 6x54w sun power

 

[joey13]

I just received my 4FT ReefBreeders Photon48 LED Light unit and have it running since Thursday and all I can saw is WOW! Majorly impressed with this light unit and I really don't think it can be matched at it's price point and I would even go as to say that it would give the higher end lights a good solid run!

Cost me $610 delivered to my door with an Australian Plug. Do some homework on these on ReefCentral. They are all the rave at the moment and have been reviewed and tested against Radions and produce the same if not better PAR readings. On board control is extremely user friendly. Loving every bit of it at the moment.

I've only got the blues running at max 30% for an hour and a half at the peak sunrise and it is plenty with 70% still to go!

Just my 2c.

 

[leodb89]

Looks like I would need the 8 tube.

3ft 4 Tube:
General Sizing Guideline:
- Tank Size: 80-120 gallons.
- Recommended Tank Length: 36-48”.
- Recommended Tank Depth: up to 36" with proper placement of corals.
- Recommended Tank Width: up to 24" with proper placement of corals.

3ft 8 Tube:
General Sizing Guideline:
- Tank Size: 120-180 gallons.
- Recommended Tank Length: 36-48”.
- Recommended Tank Depth: up to 36" with proper placement of corals.
- Recommended Tank Width: up to 36" with proper placement of corals.

 

[leodb89]

Can I ask what bulb config you guys go for on the t5s? I like a lot of blue in the spectrum so I'd assume I'd need a few blue plus and purple plus?

I am open to ideas on how to mount the unit, I've purchased Elos light poles but now realised I don't wanna screw into the stand, where I am I'm not sure ceiling mounting is an option but its not off the cards, anyone know of a free standing light mount system or if I could build some form of frame to put the light stands into rather than into the cabinet?

 

[vpreef]

@Sarg done some custom mounting on his 3ft, you could hang them off the ceiling which would look nice and sleek.

Bulb combo currently, 4 x blue plus, 3 x Aquablue special and 1 Actinic.
New combo im going to is 5 x blue plus, 1 x Actinic, 1 x purple plus and 1 x KZ new generation. (If too blue will swap out one of the blue plus for an extra KZ new gen) I found with the 3 x Aquablue specials that they wash out the colour alot when all on.

 

[thepubenator]

I use 1 geissman actinic rest are kz 1 Fiji purple 2 new gen and 4 super blues

 

[leodb89]

Would it be too much to ask you guys for a pic of what it looks like with all tubes on your current config? With or without the LEDs?

 

[leodb89]

@Sarg got a link to this custom stand you made

 

[thepubenator]

]
all 8 + led

4 + led

led, with bugger all white on

 

[leodb89]

]
all 8 + led
View attachment 38297
4 + led
View attachment 38298
led, with bugger all white on
View attachment 38299

Thanks mate looks so natural and amazing I hear t5 photos well too lol. What are your dimensions? Love that tank

 

[thepubenator]

im not the best photographer so pics not 100% accurate.
its 150x70x50cm

 

[vpreef]

All the T5's are on here with Led's as i mentioned in Previous post ;)

 

[Sarg]

8 tubes and both LEDs at 30%. Tubes are actinic, coral plus, 3 x aqua blue special and 3 x blue plus.... not in the same league as those tanks ^^^ though lol

 

[leodb89]

im not the best photographer so pics not 100% accurate.
its 150x70x50cm

Nice dimensions I wish I had the room for extra length to get a couple fish I've always wanted

 

[leodb89]

View attachment 38303

All the T5's are on here with Led's as i mentioned in Previous post ;)

So beautiful ...I guess its not just the lights though you all put a lot of effort in need to get your routine cycles...I'm a bit fan of more blue though I think the fish I'm after will appreciate it too...do you guys think it slows down growth having less white

 

[leodb89]

8 tubes and both LEDs at 30%. Tubes are actinic, coral plus, 3 x aqua blue special and 3 x blue plus.... not in the same league as those tanks ^^^ though lol

View attachment 38305

Thanks for that sarg it's beautiful, no tank is the same and each have their own strengths and uniqueness ...whats your dimensions on your tank?

Have you got pics or a link to show how you mounted your light?

 

[Sarg]

I'll get a pic tomorrow. Nothing fancy just timber stained to match the cabinet.

Tank is 1200x600x500. I'm thinking of rebuilding my cabinet and if I do that I may accidentally make it 750 wide, as I'm a crap handyman, then ill have to have a tank built to suit ;-). ..... not likely that the boss will fall for that so I'm stuck with what I got atm lol

 

[dalua_australia]

Yes I am running two Blaze - they are the original S model with 1: 2 1blue 2white ratio . That ratio was replaced by 1:1 blue white. At the time when my reef was created the 20cm legs had not been invented, so using 12 cm legs at that depth did not give enough light spread. That's why I have two lights. With 20cm height you could cover the 60 cm width with one Blaze.
I also run them at about 75 percent .

Led In general have many limitations in terms of light spread.
Leo- my two cents worth on your tank if it was me I would choose T5 and forget LED.

Hey Leo if you wanted some 20cm legs i am happy to send them free of charge mate. You could then also sell the second blaze as a 2nd hand model. There's also some great Illumagic Blaze updates with spectrum too.

Great pics above too!

Good luck with everything

 

[leodb89]

I'll get a pic tomorrow. Nothing fancy just timber stained to match the cabinet.

Tank is 1200x600x500. I'm thinking of rebuilding my cabinet and if I do that I may accidentally make it 750 wide, as I'm a crap handyman, then ill have to have a tank built to suit ;-). ..... not likely that the boss will fall for that so I'm stuck with what I got atm lol

Lol I guess you could try that if you had 8 hours at home on your own with a couple extra hands do a complete swap over and have a buyer/storage for the old one then you can play the optical illusion card lol

 

[leodb89]

Hey Leo if you wanted some 20cm legs i am happy to send them free of charge mate. You could then also sell the second blaze as a 2nd hand model. There's also some great Illumagic Blaze updates with spectrum too.

Great pics above too!

Good luck with everything

Hey guys thanks for the offer, I think its @slin1977 who is running the 2 illumagics at the moment maybe he might be interested in taking you up on that offer if it stands.