Beeker's 200DD Par38 Reef-New Pics 3-10-11!

[adam87]

Your tank is so nice.

[MrIcky]

That tank is insane. I think my favorite part of the lighting is how distinct the shadows are.

[beeker]

soon to have 4 custom PAR38 bulbs over it along with the original lighting setup

 

the 4 custom bulbs are 4 cool blue(470nm) and 1 neutral white leds with 60 optics, should have pics up by next thursday or friday after i get them setup

[brokenoffroad]

LOOKS GREAT !!!

 

[TinyGiant]

where does one get a par meter? and what do the run price wise?

[beeker]

I borrowed the PAR meter from my local reef club, typically i think they cost about 400 dollars but they are well worth it

 

Update! i got the tracking # and should be getting my 4 custom bulbs tomorrow, so pics should be up by friday, stay tunned!

[spanko]

OMG beek. I just love the shadows in this picture.

[beeker]

thanks spanko! i get my new custom bulbs tomorrow it should be epic, i'll have pics up by friday i promise so everyone can see how 4 cool blue with 1 neutral white leds with 60 optics looks along with my 12k 40 optics

[beeker]

got my custom 4 cool blue led and 1 neutral white led 60 optics PAR38's

 

here's the pics, this is with the 4 customs and 8 12k bulbs, color in person is incredable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my main red planet colony, starting to get it's green back and the new custom bulbs should also help out a lot with color

 

 

 

[beeker]

 

 

 

[gabe_j]

thats amazing! but you still need a new fts.... please?

[beeker]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last pic is the FTS

[spanko]

Nice beek. Are you still waiting for more lights to come in from nanotuners for the left side of the tank?

[jakeh24]

come to the dark side

 

looking great!

[beeker]

Yes still have to order another 4-6 to fill the left side out, still debating will probably go with 2 more custom blue bulbs and 4 20k 40 optic PAR38's

 

the new bulbs are in the center of the track on the right side and i have one of the customs on the left side angled towards the front rock along with a 12k

 

So far i'm loving the custom bulbs, Cool blue and the neutral white seem a perfect blend of flourescents without being too over powered in blue, this combo with the 12k works out great, the 4 customs use 60 optics since i wanted a filler color and some accent color to enchance things and improve some of my sps colors as well

 

now to wait a month or so to see the results of the added blue that will be the fun part, lol

[evilc66]

Looks like your camera skills are improving there beeker

[gabe_j]

beeker that is awesome!!!!!!!! this tank is making me want to march into my bosses office and demand a raise immediatly!

[beeker]

lol gabe, you tank looks pretty good as is man, i'd just add a koralia or two to get rid of the maxi jet kroalia's flow better and look nicer :]

[spanko]

What's new Beek?

[beeker]

new pics will be up in the next week been having some issue's with stability and have been trying to get it back to normal before i take the pics

 

also placed an order for 8 more PAR38's

 

4 20k's with 40 optics and 4 custom all royal blues with 60 optics hopefully i will get them in the next 2 weeks and this should be the last set i need for color fill and to light the left side some

 

So a lot of things are comming, i got a vortech mp40 about a week ago as well

 

stay tunned

[thewire]

wow...you have 16 PAr38 and you are ordering another 8 sets to bring total of 24? crazy...

[beeker]

No right now i only have 12 PAR38's over the tank, 8 12k PAR38's and 4 custom PAR38's

 

then i'll be adding 4 all royal blue PAR38's along with 4 20k PAR38's

 

though i still may get more bulbs 20 should be enough to cover the right side rockwork completely and atleast 1/3rd of the left side, still have to decide where how i'm going to place and angel the bulbs when i get them

[yoshii]

WOW. This tank is insane!!

[illuminano]

Beeker! Nice tank, I'm really impressed at the level of commitment towards LED technology. If you don't mind me asking why did you choose all PAR38s? Going by what you said about PAR levels and various coral growth than aren't you overdoing it by alot? Wouldn't it be more economical (both cost-wise and light breadth) to have two HQI's and accent with say 6 Blue spotlight PAR38's?

 

I'm not sure I totally understand what you're going for with this tank in terms of aesthetic... Why no sand if you're trying to go for that realistic ocean look with the spotlighting? Why have that background there detracting from all the beauty of the display? You have a lot of room to play with and many beautiful corals whose placement, in my opinion, lacks direction.

 

AH! I'm running my mouth, i'm sorry, hopefully you don't find my comments too annoying that you don't reply I'm just trying to offer some constructive criticism.

 

Final Thought: Amazing tank, amazing level of commitment toward forward thinking I can't wait to see it grow out! Sub'd

 

D

[beeker]

Haha, well first off i'm insane mentallity wise

 

Second this was my dream setup :]]

 

before i went with the PAR38's i looked into every available led fixture that was available, i decided on the PAR 38's becuase of their ability to spotlight only the rockwork i wanted and their ability to be configured however i'd like them to be angle wise and led combo wise

 

if i want more Royal blue i can swap out leds, if i want more Cool white or Cool blue or neutral white i'm able to get any color combo that i want with this setup, if i want to completely change the entire look of my tank i have that ability, i'm not limited

 

Also the ease of use is my primary concern, with all the spots if one goes out or has an issue i can always replace it and not leave 100% of my tank unlit like a typically fixture would do if something were to happen and you needed to fix or replace it, that could leave your corals high and dry which would be bad

 

Honestly the background was already on the tank when i got it, so i didn't want to waste my effort and time removing it, IMO the background when it's all said in done will blend right into what i'm going for

 

Now i know you say that it lacks direction and honestly this is true for any tank that i've done, it's direction is choosen piece by piece, cause when i place and mount corals i'm looking for the best spot to place the best looking corals, so in the end i give the best placement to the corals that IMO look the best Visually, this in the end works out though, i always try to keep green corals away from other greens and red corals away from other reds, in the end this works out to having the best overall look

 

Also the tank really won't have direction until my coral colonies grow into something bigger and i change the placement and start the trimming/gardening process

 

I honestly hate sand, i like its look don't get me wrong but all the bad issues that come with keeping sand prestine and maintaining water quality at the same time isn't an easy thing to do, so i will keep it BB becuase BB allows for me to be 100% focused on water quality and it allows me to get 80% of the waste out of the tank everytime i do a water change

 

My sand will be scoly's, chalice, and Zoa's as well as other various LPS so it will honestly look better in the end

 

My whole goal with this tank was to save electricity and bulb replacement as well as having a dream tank to call my own, something that noone else has had or done and honestly i think i'm off to a good start

 

i will have pics up tuesday or wednesday so stay tunned

 

In the next few years you'll see what i'm going for, what is planned out in my head is already complete but my tank will take years to get there but when i does you'll understand :]] lol