Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 There are metal halide mounted in there currently. Having said that, I have not had the canopy on the tank yet and it's currently sitting right beside. Is it just a matter of height? How far above the water would the halides be with the stock canopy? You seem like you may know the answer. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 (edited) If I remember correctly, the distance from the inside of the wood of the canopy to the surface of the water is only 9.5". So I was looking at the shortest MH fixtures I could find. This one at 4" was probably the shortest. But 5.5" was just too close for comfort. I didn't want spotlighting, lots of heat, or water splashing on the light, etc. Ideally the MH's need to be like 10-15" above the water anyway right? So that's one of the main reasons I went with the radions, which are only 1.5" thick, leaving about 8" of clearance from the water. If you have some MH's already mounted, depending on what fixture they are, they may or may not work? I'd measure the distance from them to the 9.5" mark I mentioned. If it's something like 3-6" of clearance, I'd leave that up to you, but that seems too close to the surface of the water for my comfort, personally. If you wanted your MHs to be 10" from the surface or something, you'd need to either cut holes in the top of the canopy or lift the sides all around I suppose. Oh, and another thing. The stock marineland stand (as you have probably noticed) is super short! So you could also consider making an extension platform to put underneath (if you have the room) to raise the entire tank up. Andy had a 9" riser platform made for his tank and stained to match the stand, and it really makes a big difference. Edited June 20, 2012 by Ryan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 I'm not much of a cabinet maker and I'm not sure I would want the halides sticking out of the top of the canopy. Now I can wait to get home to put the canopy on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 I'm not much of a cabinet maker and I'm not sure I would want the halides sticking out of the top of the canopy. Totally agree. You could go with T5s. I considered them as well. DIY T5s with tek reflectors drilled into the canopy would only take up an inch or two. You'd have the annual bulb replacement costs, which I am not a fan of, but a bunch of 4' staggered T5's in the canopy would grow anything you wanted, and with enough bulbs you could customize them for the exact coloration you want. Just another idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 Never really played with T5, just with T12. Why are they such a big deal? I'd rather get 110 watts from a 4 ft bulb. Anyone else have any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 A couple more pics of the move. The major obstacle in this part of the situation was the proximity of my deck to the back of the house. The tank is 28 inches high and we had about 32 inches of clearance. Hence only two people could carry the tank through the space between the house and the deck and position it to move inside. All without putting the tank down. And it weighs 460 lbs empty. So naturally I made the hired guys do it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 (edited) man it really is a brand new tank....i woulda pulled that truck up over the curb. i say cut some holes in that canopy for the MH (thats a tall tank) or take it apart and just replace the top piece of wood with one that works. reflectors sitting on top of the canopy would be a little futher than 10 inches but would work just fine i bet also t5 vs t12, pretty sure t12 is the older style ballasts etc and is less energy efficient. also heard a rumor t12 production was goign to be phased out in 2012 but i could be wrong on that. i think t5 also puts off less heat and has a more consistent spectrum...but im not really sure just think i remember researching it a while back Edited June 20, 2012 by Der ABT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 That would also probably help dissipate some of the heat load out of the canopy and out of the system. I'll have to take a look at it later tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 Moving the tank into place in it's final position. The bottom pic is my favorite one!!! I Love this tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 yes it would, i was thinking that you should look into lumenarc/bright...whatever reflector you prefer and look at the ones with the a/c vent...just get a duct fan (HD has them to boost the flow in your ducts) and cooling will be very good. also i added some stuff above about t5cs t12 in case you didnt see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Weaver June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 Yeah Evan most T12's are being phased out in July. I learned that because now there are lighting replacement companies going around trying to get everyone to buy their T-8 replacement fixtures and they hit my company up. http://www.p-2.com/helpful-information/blog/394-t12-phase-out-in-july-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Weaver June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 I can't wait to see this tank up and running, it's my favorite size. Congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 Thank you very much! I can only hope it turns out as good as my last tank. Time will tell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 So awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 Never really played with T5, just with T12. Why are they such a big deal? I'd rather get 110 watts from a 4 ft bulb. Anyone else have any thoughts? It's an efficiency issue. The t8s and t5s have higher lumens per watt. (plus you can fit more of them in a given space!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 I Love this tank! Hahaha! I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 It's an efficiency issue. The t8s and t5s have higher lumens per watt. (plus you can fit more of them in a given space!) Ahh, gotcha. As soon as the wife says ok I'm going back to LEDs baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 June 20, 2012 Share June 20, 2012 (edited) Are you going to paint the back? I would recommend a sticky vinyl product like this: http://www.metrorest...loss1080g12.htm It has invisible air holes so it is easy to smooth out, and beats the heck out of painting if you ever want to take it off... Plus you could use a straight edge and razor knife to cut a piece to cover the overflow box. OR, wrap it around the edge for a seemless look... Would be sharp. I know it cost a fair bit more, but the convenience is worth it imo. Edited June 20, 2012 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 20, 2012 Author Share June 20, 2012 I don't think that I will paint the back as that seems a bit..... final. Hopefully i'll have a nice coralline covered background sooner or later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 21, 2012 Author Share June 21, 2012 Just pulled the trigger on 200 lbs off BRS fiji rock. It will be a pain to cycle and get a base growth on, but at those prices how could I not?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 21, 2012 Share June 21, 2012 Just pulled the trigger on 200 lbs off BRS fiji rock. It will be a pain to cycle and get a base growth on, but at those prices how could I not?!? good buy! definitely cook it before putting it into your tank. really worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc June 21, 2012 Share June 21, 2012 Nice looking tank man! the stand is a bit low for my taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 21, 2012 Author Share June 21, 2012 Thanks Flooddc, I'm planning on putting an overstuffed couch about 4-5 feet from the tank so it will about at eye-level. It's going to be my stress-mitigation room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 June 21, 2012 Author Share June 21, 2012 Speaking of cooking rock, what exactly is the process for that? I was planning on just soaking it in RO water for a couple of weeks while periodically flushing it to get rid of phosphates. Anyone have any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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