DDiver

Change of plans.After reading 40+ pages on RC about setting up the AI Vega Colors,I decided against going that route , reason being I just can't afford to be messing around with the fixture while trying to get the restaurant going.I'm gonna go with what I know which is halide/t5 an LEDs only as supplements.Maybe down the road when I accomplish stability with the restaurant, I'll rethink LEDs as primary lighting.

This "Bleeding Rainbow" acan WAS my favorite piece but i sold it to fund the 300g....sigh.........

Hopefully in March, Darren.

Wow Steve, it was only a few months ago I was over there with Bob talkin about this...glad to see it come to life so soon.Lookin awesome..

Trench has been cut for the emergency floor drain.

Thank you Andy.You won't be too far so i hope to see you once we open.

you might have to fight Evan for it Laura...

Oh cut it out Dave, you're making me blush ... It'll definitely have it's ups and downs as reefing does but I when I get into something, i take it to the extreme and take great pride in what i do.So i don't doubt it'll be a big hit Dave, thank you.

I might have to take you up on that Bill, it'll probably be another few weeks until i get to the lighting but i will definitely get in touch with you on that.Thank you.

Great food for thought...Thanks Bill

Whoa! What happened there?..lol Thanks Nam, I'll post pics as the project moves along.

Lookin great bro.

Thank you guys for the kind words.We both appreciate it very much.We try our best to educate ourselves and share our knowledge with others.Wamas played a big role in making us the reefers we are today and for that we're grateful. Billy

Yea i'm pretty sure they only have one rail kit, just different lengths..It'll definitely be height adjustable no doubt about that...

Will do Doug, thanks.

Sam, i plan on getting the rail kit that AI offers.I will probably have them at 8" max awl.

Evan, i actually just heard about those recently and haven't looked much into it but it's on my list of things to do.

I have about 250/300lbs of Marco/Fiji/Tonga that will be going in the tank.I plan on having a shallow sandbed of Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ "black sand".Those of you that have seen my tank knows that i'm a big fan of black sand because of the contrast it gives to the colorful LPS that will litter the sanded. I feel 1 MP60 to supplement the 6 returns off a Snapper/Dart will be sufficient in terms of flow.More than likely it will sit on the overflow wall so its not on any of the viewable sides.I will be implementing the Beananimal overflow method.

I originally planned on running 3 400w halides supplemented by T5s but realized that being in a restaurant, heat was going to be an issue.Then i started thinking about power consumption and bulb replacements, well you know where that led me.My buddy was able to convince me to give LEDs a shot.I've always been a firm believer of the tried and true methods but i'm also willing to expand my horizons and try the different things this hobby has to offer.I really wanted the Radions but considering the cost of lighting up a tank of this size i had to look for a cheaper and comparable alternative.I did a lot of research on the many fixtures that are out today and decided that AI was the route to go.At half the price of the new Radions, it was a no brainer. I will be acquiring 4 AI Vega Colors as soon as the tank is ready for lighting.I'm holding off until the last possible minute to buy them to ensure that they have worked out as many of the kinks they possibly can.I will have 4 running perpendicular straight down the middle of the tank and will frame the outer perimeter of the tank with retro T5s to cover the rest of the area not covered by LEDs.It will be a peninsula mixed reef tank so I think this will be sufficient lighting to keep all the different types of corals happy. The tank will have 2 dedicated circuits , 1 to power just the lighting and the other to power the pumps and other equipment.I know thats overkill for running the LEDs but i designed it so that if the LEDs don't work out it'll be able to handle the originally planned metal halides.And since we are doing ventilation work for the kitchen, i figured i might as well do ventilation for the canopy to take care of any heat and humidity. The door opening you see still standing in the picture is going to be a closet attached to the backside of the tank.The closet will give me access to the overflow side of the tank and will house 2 55 gallon drums for water.The door of the closet will be undercut for make-up air.Inside the closet will be a spicket to supply the RO unit that's going to be hanging on the wall.There will also be a floor drain in case of any accidents.

I'm sure that's bound to happen..

Thank you.I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Demolition started this past week and so it begins...

Thanks David, appreciate the offer.

i most likely will Rob, TIA...

hmm, i'll have to have a chat with the acrhitect and see what we can do...you're right though, i'd rather have it look just like a regular wall , it didn't show in the rendering but there will be cabinet style doors on the front and backside for access...