jamesbuf

Do you plan on having it open top or a canopy? If you're building a canopy, make the canopy really tall and you could go with a single MH over the top. Buy a Lumenbright reflector and those allow you to raise the MH 16" or more over the water, and doesn't significantly decrease the PAR that reaches the tank because of how it focuses the light downward. It also decreases the amount of heat transfer since the MH is farther away from the tank. One of the online magazines had a great thread explaining these findings. Do a google search and I'm sure you can find it. Alot of people were complaining about the Lumenbright reflectors not giving a good "spread". I was actually one of them. If you only place it 5-8" off the water like regular reflectors, they don't cover a whole lot of tank with the spread. I tried a single Large Lumenbright over my 92gal (36" from corner to corner) and there was hardly any light that got to the corners. The testing showed that you can raise the Lumenbright reflectors way higher off the water and maintain the par levels of other high end reflectors. Nothing against T5 only. I had T5 only over my old 180gal. It was definitely bright as H-E-double hockey sticks. I had the Aquactinics 14 bulb 72" fixture. But there is that "fake" look with a T5 only tank. No shimmer really stinks. They're great for actinic supplementation, but I've yet to see a T5 only tank with the same color "pop" like from a great MH bulb (like Radiums).

That's the growth you should get out of a 10K bulb. You'll probably get about half that amount of growth from 20Ks.

Hey Johnny, Do you have any fancy clownfish coming in anytime soon? The false percula trio that was in my Riteri is gone, and the Clarkii pair that was in my Purple Long tentacle are gone as well. Looking for something exotic, but that will still host in an anemone. Any ideas?

Can I add on two 48" ATI Blue Plus?

Any new updates?

Awesome. Glad the tank made it down incident free.

BRK is Blue Ribbon Koi. They are a vendor here. It was by far my favorite store a couple years ago. Its still #1 for me now, but now its tied with Aqua Company (even though Aqua Co is currently closed for renovations). I also like roozens, and I love their selection, but there customer service is horrible compared to BRK and AquaCo.

I feel you pain man. My fingers are crossed that you won't lose the rest.

Only good Tues, Wed, Thursday.

Well done. Its making me want to reaquascape my tank!.

Even our tank lights?

So did you go with a 400watt or 250 MH? I'm curious because the MH bulb seems pretty high off the water.

You seem to have it under control yourself. Looks like you just gotta let the skimmer break in, and see what it starts producing.

Looks pretty good thus far. Definitely keep us updated on the new skimmer.

Looks great Chip. Amazing work Bob.

Truly awesome. How long is the tank?

I don't have a gap on mine either. Can't say that I've ever noticed a corner tank have the gap that you are describing.

Be careful if you have any zoas in the tank. He will pluck them in a heartbeat. Mine had yellow polyps, about 5 different types of zoas, and plenty of other stuff scattered around his body. All within 48 hours of being in the tank. Was pretty cool looking, but sucked that most of the corals died off eventually. Now lets see some pics!!!!

If the Reeflo is now on your list of potential purchases, then that is the one I will DEFINITELY recommend for you. I have the 250 and it is a beast. Zoozilla and Bendalat also have the 250, and they will tell you the same thing. The bubble mixture that the Sequence pump creates is like no other. Get that one!!!!

I've known many people in wamas who had the Bubble Master skimmers and didn't like them. If I recall correctly, BRK had one on one of their systems and ended up getting rid of it. I remember them saying they had issues with consistency with them. I used one of the recirculating Octopus skimmers on my Mom's tank, and it worked pretty well for the price. Only reason I sold it was because I got a crazy deal on a Deltec ap600. Can't comment on the longevity of the pumps/skimmer since I only used it for maybe 6 months. I'd certainly try one again though after the experience I had with them. I've used ASM skimmers and they do work pretty well. I've had a ASM 3, 4, and a 5 on my old 180gal. They do work pretty well, but the pumps aren't the greatest. I ended up modding the G5 and made the pumps into recirculating pump, and fed the skimmer with another pump. I saw a HUGE difference in skimmate production. Nothing else changed in the tank. Same fish, livestock, etc,. After the skimmer was modded, it produced more and darker skimmate. That is a big reason why I will never ever buy a none recirculating skimmer again. The bubble producing pumps stay cleaner longer. The first time I cleaned the pumps on the ASM there was snail shells and other crap stuck in between the pins on the needlewheel. That has to cut down on the efficiency of the needlewheel. I've never had that problem with any of my recirculating skimmers. I usually feed my recirculating skimmers with a maxijet that has the slotted plastic cap, to make sure no large particles get inside the main body of the skimmer to clog up the needlewheel. It has worked for me thus far. I like to think I've been around the block in regards to skimmers. Prizm, Red Sea Berlin, ETSS downdraft, ASM, Euroreef, Octopus, Deltec, Grey Seas, DAS, AquaC, Tunze, and Reeflo Orca. I personally think the most important aspects of the skimmer are the quality of the pump, and the recirculating design. My old Deltec 851 and old Grey Seas both used Eheim pumps, and both worked incredible. Both were also recirculating. The Deltec I have on my Mom's tank (AP600) uses an aquabee pump and it is an incredible skimmer. That little skimmer probably pulls out the nastiest skimmate I've ever had, nastier than my other Deltec and the Grey Seas even. Yes, I'm sure minor tweaks in the needlewheel design might account for a small fraction of difference in bubble production, such as between the ASM and Deltec needlewheels, but I still think the overall quality of the pump and the recirculating design have more of an impact on overall quality of the skimmer. I firmly believe that you'd get better production out of the ASM skimmers if they had Eheim pumps on them instead of the Sedra pumps. The bubble production is out of this world from the Sequence pump I have on my Orca 250 I'm running right now. Best ever. I wish I had some experience on the Bubble-magus skimmers. The one for $450 looks pretty good, and they are using Aquabee pumps. Of the skimmers you have listed, I would probably go with the Bubble-magus skimmer with the dual aquabee pumps, or go with a recirculating Octopus skimmer. You could always hold out for a good used skimmer to come along too.

Looking good man. I'm digging the nice open look. Really making me wnt to reaquascape my 92gal.

hahaha. Nice to see you back in action. Tagging along to see updates....

+1 Looking good. Tagging along for updates............

Looking good.

I had a 24" version of the Odyssea single 250watt MH and dual PC actinics. It was nearly identical to the Coralife fixture, except for the ballasts of course. I completely agree with Tom's assessment. I personally don't think the actual light is poorly made. The ballasts are the issue. If you have extra ballasts laying around, then one of these fixtures would be perfect for you. I'm waiting for them to finally replace the power compact actinics with T5 bulbs. I would actually consider buying that light from Odyssea if/when it is available.