Brian Ward

This thread isn't going anywhere. Closing.

Awesome. Thanks for the insight! I think I'd be better off to do a denser array with no optics as opposed to using optics. I got budget approved based on expected electric bill savings and decreased heat in the basement I'm planning to do the lights over my main tank first and then I'll do the ones over my frag tank. What are people using as splash guards? I'm thinking about building an open-top box with clear acrylic on the bottom and black acrylic around the sides. The board with the LEDs would sit at the top of the box with the heatsink sticking out of the top.

Based on what I'm hearing, I don't think optics are necessary at all. I think you'll get more than enough PAR and better color blending without optics. What do you think?

OK. If I decide to go ahead, I'll definitely look at someone's setup. I got to that number based on the 2-3" spacing that was recommended to avoid spotlighting. Any fewer and the spacing is greater than 3". See the following 6x6 array resulting in a total of 36 diodes: x--3"--x--3"--x--3"--x--3"--x--3"--x | 3" | x | 3" | x | 3" | x | 3" | x | 3" | x Does this make sense or do I just need to look at some people's setups?

OK. What's your opinion on density? Do you think 36 is too many in that space?

Thanks. I'm going to have to spend some time with the other linked threads to avoid asking redundant questions, but I'm trying to get an estimate so I can get budget approved So to replace 1 of my lumenarc pendants, I'll need to cover a 15" x 15" space. I think with no optics I should be OK and I'll keep my existing actinic supplementation. If I do a 5:2 white:blue ratio that should give me about a 14k color. If I do 6 on a side spread across 15" that would be a total of 36 diodes. At 3W each, that's a total of 108W of LED light which is way more than the 72W that are estimated as needed to replace the 250W halide. Do you think this would be OK?

awesome. If you get a chance, can you share the dimensions of the board you used? 1900 is really high, so I'm betting you could have taken the same number of bulbs and spread them out more to get more even lighting and still have acceptable PAR?

Any chance you took some PAR readings? I'm trying to figure out what density would be ideal. The heat in my basement is starting to crank up so I'm thinking about replacing a couple of my lights this summer

If that's accurate, it's technical enough for me. One thing many may find interesting is that the rapidled kit is $95 and (what seems to be) the same thing pre-assembled from ecoxotic is $99: http://www.ecoxotic.com/products/modular-led-lighting/panorama-led-modules.html Anyone know if there is a significant difference in performance between the rapidled kit and the ecoxotic module?

Reviving this thread a bit .... I see the recommendation is for the XP-G Cool Whites and XR-E Royal Blues. Cool White also comes in XR-E. Is this only a form-factor difference (XP-G being smaller) or are there other fundamental differences? I'm having a very hard time deciphering the spec sheets.

You should also check out AWI. If their shipping is super expensive, call or email them to see if they'll send it to you USPS First Class - that should only run you $0.44 and I've found them to be very accommodating.

Don't confuse aquaculture with mariculutre. If they're decent size colonies then they were probably mariculture.

They are for extremely experienced people only. If you can get them past a few weeks 9 mos is the next milestone. Many drop dead there. If you're extra lucky you can get them to 2 years. Over 2 years is extremely rare. They do not adapt to captive life well.

Ca and Alk should always be added in equal parts. You usually need to add Mg as well. Most everything else is replenished during water changes. As was suggested, be sure you're testing both Alk and Ca (never add what you're not testing for) to be sure they're balanced.

If you're only adding calcium & essential elements, they your alk and ca are probably out of balance. Your Ca may also be low.

Don't forget that he's out there educating and publishing; it's up to all of us to "fight for our rights" by demanding livestock that is sustainably collected, aquacultured, or maricultured. The reason many types of butterflies, moorish idols, and other similar animals are either not collected or are collected in such few numbers now is because the consumers (us) stopped buying them - which makes the LFS demand that the wholesaler not ship them - which makes the wholesaler demand that they not be collected anymore. Ask your shop where things came from and only buy things that come from "good" places. You'll pay more in the short term, but less in the long-term.

In this hobby nothing is cut-and-dry. Everyone has opinions and while none of them are wrong they all come with their own biases. A drilled tank is easier than a non-drilled tank because overflow boxes can fail. However, many people have tanks with overflow boxes that work perfectly fine, they just require preventative maintenance to ensure that the U-tubes don't clog and the aqualifters don't fail to restart the siphon. Skimmers that run in a sump are definitely better at their job than HOB skimmers but a HOB can provide plenty of filtration for a FOWLR tank or even one with some softies. I would avoid any hard corals without a good skimmer and refugium. You can't drill tempered glass - that is definitely a fact. The glass will shatter; we've demonstrated it in the past. Usually you're OK to drill anywhere on a tank EXCEPT the bottom. The bottom is always tempered. That being said, there was a rumor that AGA started tempering all 5 sides but I don't remember it being substantiated. I bought a new 40L not that long ago which I drilled successfully. So if AGA started tempering they must've only done it for a short time. Drilling a 55 can be a little tricky due to the thinness of the glass. Be sure to space out your holes and keep them at least 1"-2" away from the edges. Once you get the bulkhead in be very careful about putting lateral stress on any plumbing coming out of it. Finally, be sure you're around when you leak-test the tank. I've had a tank crack just as it gets full due to the additional stress - this causes a very slow drip, not a gush of water so there's time to get the water out of the tank before disaster strikes. As far as the direction you go, that's your call. Take people's advice with a grain of salt and do what you think is best. IMO, the filtration you get in the nanocubes is about as good as a HOB filter. So I would do the 55 with a HOB filter and skimmer (look for a used MCE300), do the HOB overflows, or take the chance and drill the tank. If you break it, you should be able to find another one on craigslist for not too much money. Definitely check out glassholes.com - they have some great overflow kits.

Based on the description provided in the article and the potential to become a predator, I think since you've caught him, I'd banish him. Generally I like bristle worms but they stay much smaller than that.

Thanks to all that came out! We do the work for YOU and it's gratifying when we can fill the room for the speaker. Please keep making time to attend the meetings. They are primarily what your membership dues go toward. ... and if you have ideas for topics or speakers, please feel free to speak up!

Nice! Party at Sam's place.

The 125 tanks were sold the day of the breakdown. The 265 and the 29 are remaining.

Topic title edited, as requested.

I think since they are harvested in the Caribbean, he's referring to eliminating the population.

I didn't know you needed to do anything special. You get some in your fuge with the macro and they just multiply.

My understanding is that the good ones hold temp pretty well (that's what Alton Brown tells me anyway). You have to attach a candy thermometer to the side and be sure not to add too much at once. But having a large volume of oil and doing very small batches of fish should minimize the variability of the temperature and provide a good fry.