personally i dont like DE bulbs
"I will be running an aquaconnect 14k + 4xT5 HO on my 70g it should look something like this:"
175 watt?
since im going to have actinics should i run a lower kelvin or stick with the 15 k im just worried because of 15k being higher on the kelvin = lower par.

also im thinking ice cap ballast for both MH and Actinic?

The aquaconnect 14k is a 250w SE HQI bulb, I believe ushio makes a 175w 14k bulb which is SE HQI I'm thinking of trying it in place of the iwasaki once my corals fill out the tank better.

If you run iwasakis I believe they do best on the ARO brand e-ballast from hellolights.

why are you trying that bulb more color?
"I believe ushio makes a 175w 14k bulb which is SE HQI I'm thinking of trying it in place of the iwasaki once my corals fill out the tank better."

If you are going to run T5's for supplementation with a higher kevlin bulb and you are worried about par, check out the Blue+ bulbs.

The Grim Reefer at RC posted par numbers for most T5 bulbs. The regular atinics were like 120 and the blue plus was over 300!

Last night I switched from a 10K reeflux bulb to a Phoenix 14k. My tank is supplemented with 2x39 T5 (atinic and blue plus). I didn't go this route at first cause I thought it would be too blue. I absolutely LOVE it. The t5's don't make the tank more blue... the just make it brighter.

i like the blue look and how the sps colors are under bluer lighting thats what im worried about if it will be blue enough.

up

Heres my tank with 5 x T5s you can see how blue it is next to the iwasaki + pc lit tank. I think it's too blue for my taste, but at the same time the iwasaki + pc's are too white for my taste. I want something in between both tanks!

Heres my 40B with a fish room
-rock was added on Dec. 8th

Display


fish room


fuge

Yea i would like something in between also Man we have good taste lol. and i just found this great deal on a brand new ice cap 660 with 12 Vho waterproof endcaps and standoffs you think that will be good for my actinics? what electronic ballast did you use for ur 175 watt? Oh yea im getting the brand new icecap 660 with 12 t-12 icecap waterproofendcaps and standoffs for 125 shipped imo i think thats a sick deal don't you?

some people seem to swear by VHOs I'm sure you're good to go there

I'm using an ARO ballast from hellolights for the iwasaki - it gives the best performance for that particular bulb

Hey your aquascaping looks similar to my. I like I like

Here's mine I picked up today.....I love my wife.

NIIICE!!!

Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Just a matter of getting the right mixture / spectrum of bulbs , I agree to blue for my taste , but you can achive a ballance by trying different bulb combo's .

I'm also looking into the 40Breeder range, but instead of doing all kinds of plumbing and such....I'm thinking of the Ecosystem filter with skimmer once again. I've had amazing results with my 40L, and the 29 I had that used to ecosystem method. A simple overflow and return for plumbing and then slowly work to upgrade the lighting. Any thoughts...or am I one of the few who've tasted the greatness of the ecosystem. ( Well, mostly the mud)

Although there system itself is highly overpriced in my opinion...a DIY ecosystem....might be my method of choice.

Soon, I will have pics to post... lol

hey supressive, where are you getting an ic660 for 125?!
im about to start a 40br, just waiting on a few things
that pvc overflow is SICK! deffinately gunna be doing that now
i was planning on doing a 40br with 30br sump but thats gunna change because of stand issues
so now its probably going to be 40br with 55 sump and im thinking i MIGHT do a dump bucket right next to it since ill have a 1' of stand space
lighting - current outer orbit 2x150w mh and 4x39w t5's, also changing out the ballast for the t5's to a ic660 and the mh bulbs to phoenix
return pump - velocity t3, but that may change to something with lower wattage and maybe internal
skimmer - etss reef devil
closed loop pump - velocity t4, but that may also change
chiller - current tower 1/3hp but looking for a smaller quieter one
controller - ac3, need something with internet controlability
ato - tunze osmolator

livestock will be a golden dwarf moray, bonnet clown pair, 1 onyx and 1 picasso clown pair (1 of each not a pair of each), helfrich firefish and a dracula goby pair with shrimp
also an orange carpet nem, assorted softies, lps and LOTS of sps
so yes im planning on having a KICKASS tank
i have most of the livestock right now but need to get this freakin tank setup!

current makes an MH + 4xT5 fixture?

yup, either 4xt5 or 2xpc
http://www.current-usa.com/outerorbithqit5ho.html
main reason im going with current is they look nicer then most fixtures
i was thinking about going all t5's but the tek fixtures look just ugly and then i thought about giessman but i cant get giessman wholesale so all i had left was current
my lighting schedule will probably be 10 hrs t5, 4 hrs mh and then the leds when all other lights are off

Here is an update back from page 2:

Not too shabby!

Bump for those that may want to update FTSs.

you read my mind!!

Here's my most recent FTS, lots more pics in my 40g thread.

[/img]

And heres my recent FTS

Fantstic FTSs guys.

Here's an updated FTS of my tank:

Sweet yasha and pistol i love my pair (2 gobies one shrimp)

I've added some fish and a couple of corals, I'm where I want to be with the fish load but obviously need to start adding corals now

Nifty aquascape, bare bottom?

awesome tanks, cant wait to get mine in here

I second that! I am dying to get mine going, so I can officially join the club!

Yay I get to join now!

FTS updates please!

Hey... I didn't realize there was a 40BDR club!

Here's my FTS:

Here's mine as of about a week and a half ago.

[/img]

grow frags, grow!!

Here is my before and latest , couldn't resist turning to a Buterfly Reef , although my coral selection is limited to what the Butterflys won't chow down on .

Awesome pics!... Love the tonga branch + butterflies

Thanks.......I've always been a big fan of Butterfly Fish , but with my reef tanks it was not possible . So when I started this tank it was fish only , but being addicted to coral i started adding pieces and if they attacked them to much I would put them in one of the other reef tanks . As it stands now they leave alone the monti caps , green ricordia only , along with green and blue mushrooms . Toadstools are out , red mushrooms are out , GSP is out , and all other colors of ricordia except green . It's wierd to see what corals they like to eat and which ones they could care less about .

lol ive been part of the club for a lil while now and i still dont have an fts!
yay, well i do but its only with the cam phone

I suppose I can play along:

Amazing!

Thanks Kraylen!

Will a yellow tang be ok in a 40BR? NO im not thepolice, i like em and i am doing a 40 and would like to know for reference

If you get a small one it will be OK for awihle, but you'll need to do something with it after it grows.

Here's a bump for the thread and a pic I can finally add of mine cycling. Yayz












Update on 8-26-08: Now with dual 150w MH, 14k Phoenix bulbs and fish, still awaiting coral

WOOT!

I'm thinking of setting up a 40breeder in the near future and am wondering if I could have a mainy sps tank and use 2 two bulb tek retos for lighting. Also, what would you guys recomend for bulb choices? I perfer quite blue lightng.

I am doing a 40br SPS dominated tank using HOT5. I am using a 6x 39w HOT5 fixture with an individually contoured reflector.

Here are the bulbs I am using:


Here is how it looks:



You can find more pictures of this setup here

Wow, very nice tank tj and thanks for the help. I'm assuming that you're using the current nova extreme pro? Also I saw in your thread that you made your own sump, how difficult is it to get the baffles in and to the proper hight/placement? This may be in your thread, but are you running a fuge?

edit: I saw that you're just running a skimmer.