Koden's 98 Gallon Custom

[proraptor]

Everything looks nice but I think You are kind of Ghetto rigging your lighting

[kinetic]

Everything looks nice but I think You are kind of Ghetto rigging your lighting

 

i just edited it:

250watt hqi, 55 watt actinic, 55 watt 7100K, + moonlights.

 

I have the 110watts of PC already. Should I get new lamps to 10000K?

[kinetic]

I have some new livestock plans:

 

Ocellaris Pair (the one I have now)

Randalli Goby + Randalli Shrimp

BlackRay Goby + Randalli Shrimp

Yasa Goby + Randalli Shrimp

 

(unrelated, I may get a watanabei or kole tang later on)

 

The ocellaris I have are very peaceful. They never attack my blackray, nor do they go after each other or the flame angel. So they won't be aggressive, especially in the 82 g.

 

I will be placing three PVC tubes, all buried horizontally, under the substrate. Both ends will have 45 degree elbows, the back will have the elbow pointing to the side, the other straight up. two PVC will be on both sides of the tank, one will be on the center, these are running width wise. The 45 degree tubes will come out of the substrate. The tubes will be filled with substrate. (I hope I don't get any crazy worms). I'll place a small piece of LR rubbel on top of the tube just enough so it gives it a bit of a cave/shade area, leaving the tube wide open.

 

My current blackray goby, I'll be buying a single randalli shrimp. I'll put both of them in a specimen container before introducing, with a piece of plastic covering the top. The container will have drilled holes on the top for flow, but not enough to let them out. Turning the container upside down, I'll remove the lid and they'll be stuck inside. The container, however, will be placed right on top of the pvc. The two should adopt each other and the shrimp should burrow into the pvc pipe.

 

I'll buy a randalli goby shrimp pair, and a yasa shrimp pair as well, and do the same for the last two tubes. Now they have two entrances to a nice burrow that has enough support for actual burrows, rather than loose sand.

 

This way I can house 3 goby's nicely, and have the openings to their tubes very visible to the display. Providing LR at those places help them feel safer.

[proraptor]

Your 7100K bulbs will work good...No need to change to 10K's

 

Im running 2 8800K 65 watt PC's and I really like them as do the corals. I was thinking of adding 2 more 65 watt PC's for actinic but think Im going to add 2 more 8800K bulbs instead..

[reefin300]

why supplement with all the PC lighting guys? Isn't the 250w HQI enough? I've been running with no actinics and no PC supplementation whatsoever and my corals love it. 14k BTW.

 

I bleached too many Yumas on my sandbed to think that halides aren't penetrating good enough. My tank is 24.5" deep.

[kinetic]

why supplement with all the PC lighting guys? Isn't the 250w HQI enough? I've been running with no actinics and no PC supplementation whatsoever and my corals love it. 14k BTW.

 

I bleached too many Yumas on my sandbed to think that halides aren't penetrating good enough. My tank is 24.5" deep.

 

I also agree that I think 250watt hqi might be more than enough.

 

I remember my old 250 hqi pendant. it was so bright that I couldn't help but shield my eyes whenever I was in the room. Right now I have a 70watt hqi in my 18" high tank, and it bleached an orange digitata (now moved to more shade), and it bleached my open brain coral (which I had to move into a cave). I think 250 will be plenty. I may just keep a 250hqi and one 55watt actinic blue and see how that goes.

 

I'm thinking of deciding against a canopy, since it's hard to get into the top of the tank to maintain / feed.

 

Anyone know of a good hanging pendant? I just need a shell to retrofit my lighting into since I'll have the parts. Or if there's a pendant that includes a 250watt hqi w/o bulb.

 

THanks

[reefin300]

Good deal on the open top tank!! I prefer them too

 

Why not go with the Aqua medic fixture? You can get them from marine depot with the Aqualine 20k bulb kelvin rating that you want and it's included in the price. I'm thinking about going with a 20k soon too.

 

you can always supplement with the self ballasted T5 lights, which come with reflectors and IMO are better than PC supplementation. Commodity axis still has them on sale right now and the amount of light that they put out are incredible.

[Sebea]

Hmm... Good pendants:

 

I recommend the Reef Optix because it has one of the best reflectors. (Proraptor disagrees though. )

 

Theres also the aquamedic ocean light pendant, geissman ($), ice-cap mini. These are all pretty much good pendants for what you are looking for.

[kinetic]

will these pendants also hold a PC? I don't think I'll need a t5 with the 250watt hqi already. I just want some actinic 03 lamps, one or two. I already have two 55watt PC setups, but one daylight lamp and one actinic 03. So I'll use those since they're still fairly new.

[reefin300]

The aquamedic definitely doesn't hold any pc or extra lamps. But with 20k I doubt you'll need it IMO. It's a plus if you already have some PC lights anyway. What I was thinking is the T5 is self ballasted and puts out more light for the act 03 suppl that you wanted and it's on the cheap tip right now.

 

Which reflector does the reefoptix come with?

[proraptor]

Im running an aquamedic ocean light with 130 watts PC and still want another 130watts....Why am I running PC's? Cause I got them free...

[Sebea]

The reef optix has a U shaped pendant instead of a V or a trapezoid. This increases the light output.

[kidphc]

Good deal on the open top tank!! I prefer them too

 

Why not go with the Aqua medic fixture? You can get them from marine depot with the Aqualine 20k bulb kelvin rating that you want and it's included in the price. I'm thinking about going with a 20k soon too.

 

you can always supplement with the self ballasted T5 lights, which come with reflectors and IMO are better than PC supplementation. Commodity axis still has them on sale right now and the amount of light that they put out are incredible.

 

I have the aqua medic lights and love them. Don't the Aquamedic AB 10k lights come with built in Actinic supplementation? I thought I read that somewhere, of course now I can't find it.

 

I just keep reading that clams like the 6500-10,000k range. If the AB's have actinic suppmentation built in he could ditch the 7100k PC and 55 watt actinics PC. Then maybe do something on the lines that I'm doing and run a 250 watt HQI with 10,000 for the clamsn and another 250 or 150 watt HQI with 20,000k for the SPS.

 

Just talking out of my but right now.

[reefin300]

It's more of the kelvin rating on the bulb in this case the 20k, that brings out the flourscent colors that actinics would do - without the need for act03 suppl.

[kinetic]

It's more of the kelvin rating on the bulb in this case the 20k, that brings out the flourscent colors that actinics would do - without the need for act03 suppl.

 

Neat, so I won't need an extra expensive ($300-$600) pendant to hold extra bulbs.

 

If I get the Reef Optics (btw where to find these online?) will it cover 30" pretty easily? I remember my old 250watt hqi could easily cover 4 feet.

[Sebea]

Excellent prices on the Optix pendants from Reefgeek.com

 

Mine covers the length of my tank well. (30")

[reefin300]

Some people supplement to "POP" the colors and some don't find it necessary. It's more of personal preference.

 

Back to Koden- LOL, did you ever get a price on the wantanabe?

[kinetic]

Some people supplement to "POP" the colors and some don't find it necessary. It's more of personal preference.

 

Back to Koden- LOL, did you ever get a price on the wantanabe?

 

I've only done research on watanabei's. I got a quote on bellus for about $45 per. I was going to be getting a pair for $80 (before tang police notified me my 32 gallon m-tank was ridiculously small and gave me a good beating). I think watanabei should be somewhere near that price range. Though I've seen them for over $100 easily for one. If you're looking for one, I can ask again. He's some kind of distributer. May not be a good selection though, and it's a bit risky since it's not from a LFS and you can't have them hold it nor refund =( But I'm not planning on a watanabei until at least 6 months after the tank has cycled, and the tank won't be setup for awhile longer so I haven't been shopping, mostly researching.

 

I think I'll do a search on people's 20K hqi's to get a feel for it. I had a 14K phoenix on a HQI and that was pretty blue already. I think maybe it was because it was a phoenix. I think 20K and no actinic would be sufficient. I'll do some more research.

 

Thanks guys.

 

btw think a maximum 6" watanabei would fair well in my 82g? I'm thinking of increasing the length to 32"

 

is this the right one?

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categorie...ing/104520.html

 

any other 250watt hqi 20K pendants you guys suggest that I can compare to?

 

Here are the ones I'm considering:

AquaMedic AB Ocean Light:

http://www.hellolights.com/ocli25hqiame.html

 

Sunlight Supply Reef Optix III+ Pendant:

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categorie...ing/104520.html

[kinetic]

The reason why I got rid of my 250hqi fixture before was it flooded the entire room with it's light. Now I've figured out what I will be doing to solve this problem:

 

I will build a canopy, with an open top. Basically it will be a 4 sided box, without a bottom or top, which sits the entirety of the top of the tank. If I hang the pendant just enough so it dips below the lip, all the light will be contained within the canopy and not flood the entire room. Neat thing is, I'll still have an open top for easy access. This means I'll need a short stand.

[kinetic]

I've allocated "slots" for my fish livestock:

 

slot 1: small pair of fish

slot 2: goby

slot 3: goby

slot 4: angel/tang

slot 5: small fish of some sort

 

Here's the current lineup:

 

slot 1: ocellaris pair

I love the ocellaris! I'm planning to put the pair I have now into the new tank. These guys have the best personality, are very curious, and non aggressive towards anything.

 

slot 2: blackray goby + pistol shrimp

I already have this guy. I like the clear cut stripes, the yellow nose, and the blue florescing white/clear fins. This guy is a scaredy cat, but he seems to be a little more bold these days. I will try to pair him with a pistol shrimp when I move him over to the new tank with the whole buried PVC pipe with 45 degree bends on the ends.

 

slot 3: randalli goby + pistol shrimp

I always loved the look of the randalli. I'll be on the lookout for this guy.

 

slot 4: still researching

I want to put a tang (kole or tomini), or a Genicanthus angelfish. I'm leaning more towards the genicanthus since the other two tangs aren't as appealing to me. Here are the ones I'm interested in:

 

Female Blackspot angelfish, Genicanthus melanospilos (up to 7 inches)

 

Female Watanabei angelfish, Genicanthus watanabei (up to 5.9 inches)

 

Female Bellus angelfish, Genicanthus bellus (up to 6.8 inches)

 

At the moment I'm leaning towards the watanabei, then blackspot, then bellus. I hear the bellus are the hardest to keep, especially since they're found more than 100feet under the surface.

 

slot 5:

unsure. may have nothing. I was thinking a group (4) of small blue/green coral chromis.

 

 

 

on marinedepotlive they have the watanabei female for $92 and the blackspot was going for $46. not too shabby =)

[proraptor]

Hey reefin Tongs has watanabei angels but I didnt see how much they were.

 

I also have a somewhat open top on my tank and you will still get light coming out of the top but its looks nice I think. With my hood I left the back of it open so I could put in 3 clip on fans...I dont have a chiller and my tank runs 78-80 all day long

[reefin300]

fountainvalley? (you said a bad word. LOL) I normally don't go to tongs but I might have to take a trip out for that angel! I'd rather buy it at a store where it's been there for some time than online order. It would be sad for it to die on me.

 

I like the open look too. One thing I was going to mention if you go with halides and choose to put a canopy up top make sure you have some fans because you will definitely get some heat. When I ghetto riggedmy tank before putting the aqua medic on my tank hit 85 and I lost a frogspawn

[proraptor]

Clip on fans work wonders for me...Im running 4 or 5 clip on fans and no chiller....

[reffer9391]

Nice Koden Nice Man VERY nice scaping plans

[kinetic]

I'll get some clip on fans. Proraptor, I saw you had small elite ones. I'll probably do the same. Do you get insane water evaporation though?

 

I also like the open top, but hate the crazy glare the pendants have. I'll surround the edge of the tank with just enough "coverage" leaving the top still open.

 

yesterday with my viaaqua 80gph running in my small fuge in my 32gallon the temp skyrocketed to 82.4 degrees! the pump went nuts. since i turned it off i'm at a steady 80.1 to 80.5.

 

thanks for the input!