DuffyGeos March 30, 2015 Author Share March 30, 2015 Here is what I have for lights at the moment. 48" ATI T5 8 bulb. Still have to lower it a bit and do some wire management. Right now it covers the QT frag tank and half the main frag tank. Debating on switching out to T5 MH combo on the frags tanks....still not sure. Any input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef March 30, 2015 Share March 30, 2015 It looks pretty and bright... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 30, 2015 Author Share March 30, 2015 It looks pretty and bright... Thanks, it will be brighter when I lower it. I just need an extra set of hands and my son has not been available when I want to do it. Afraid to drop in on the tanks.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 Be afraid! It looks nice! Need a hand, can always swing the ladder back your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airidal March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 The room many of us dream of that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 The room many of us dream of that's for sure. Yep. Looks great Duffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 Thanks, it will be brighter when I lower it. I just need an extra set of hands and my son has not been available when I want to do it. Afraid to drop in on the tanks.! 2x4s and 2 5 gallon buckets dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 31, 2015 Author Share March 31, 2015 Be afraid! It looks nice! Need a hand, can always swing the ladder back your way. I am going to watch it, learned from you! The room many of us dream of that's for sure. Thank you for the nice compliments, It is something I have thought about for a few years, and have spend many hours going over other builds and looking at WMAS builds in person to figure out what I wanted, and how I wanted to do it. I think talking to members helps so much. One of the questions I have always asked each member when I am at their house is "what would you have done differently if you it did it again"? I have made some of my decisions based on their answers. Yep. Looks great Duffy. Thanks again, now go get a frag tank! 2x4s and 2 5 gallon buckets dude Is that for a ladder or scaffold? I would like to see you up on 2 -2x4's on top of 2 5g buckets....check you insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 I mean place 2 5gallon buckets on top of 2x4s to lower the ATI light. . I can never find my son when I need him so I have use this method. Have not gotten a light wet yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 31, 2015 Author Share March 31, 2015 I mean place 2 5gallon buckets on top of 2x4s to lower the ATI light. . I can never find my son when I need him so I have use this method. Have not gotten a light wet yet. Ok, that sound a little more doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 Lol. Call me of you need me to look over your life insurance before attempting that balancing act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 (edited) Keep that ATI. You will regret switching to anything else. And I would leave it where you have it. 8 bulbs are extremely powerful, and with the shallow frag tank you will bake things. Edit - it looks like you are running 5 blue+ and 3 aquablue special. I would change that up by adding a purple plus, and True Actinic somewhere in the mix, and taking out all but maybe 1 of the aquablue specials. Basically, dump the aquablue specials. Edited March 31, 2015 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 31, 2015 Author Share March 31, 2015 Keep that ATI. You will regret switching to anything else. And I would leave it where you have it. 8 bulbs are extremely powerful, and with the shallow frag tank you will bake things. Edit - it looks like you are running 5 blue+ and 3 aquablue special. I would change that up by adding a purple plus, and True Actinic somewhere in the mix, and taking out all but maybe 1 of the aquablue specials. Basically, dump the aquablue specials. My only worry is that I plan on running 4 250W MH on the DT and am worried that the transition from T5 to MH might be a problem. Any one do this successfully? I am debating on putting the 4' ATI all the way to the right over the QT frag tank and half the grow out tank. Then add a MH to the end of the growout tank so I can move them down and transition to MH. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK3 March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 (edited) My only worry is that I plan on running 4 250W MH on the DT and am worried that the transition from T5 to MH might be a problem. Any one do this successfully? I am debating on putting the 4' ATI all the way to the right over the QT frag tank and half the grow out tank. Then add a MH to the end of the growout tank so I can move them down and transition to MH. Anyone? My understanding is that the transition between T5 and MH (going to or from) is not as big a problem as going from one of those to LED. In general, if you plan on running MH on the DT and you plan on growing out many of these frags to eventually place in your DT, it might be best to just go with MH over the frag and grow out tanks to begin with. Plus, I've always had the absolute best growth under MH, which is what you want in the frag and grow out tanks anyways, right? Edited March 31, 2015 by PK3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 I think you'll be just fine. I prefer the color from the T5 and the crispness over any other type of lighting. JMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos April 1, 2015 Author Share April 1, 2015 My understanding is that the transition between T5 and MH (going to or from) is not as big a problem as going from one of those to LED. In general, if you plan on running MH on the DT and you plan on growing out many of these frags to eventually place in your DT, it might be best to just go with MH over the frag and grow out tanks to begin with. Plus, I've always had the absolute best growth under MH, which is what you want in the frag and grow out tanks anyways, right? That makes sense, I am still going to have to figure out the lighting over the frag tanks.I love the look of the ATI fixture, but I am also still short on the length of the light for the 6' total frag tanks length. I think you'll be just fine. I prefer the color from the T5 and the crispness over any other type of lighting. JMO. I love working in the room with the T5 lights on, it is such a nicer light to work under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 We are coming upon the 30 day itch STATUS ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 Any plumbing issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford May 10, 2015 Share May 10, 2015 Any plumbing issues? Gets his tank up and running and forgets about us little people now that he's in the big leagues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy May 10, 2015 Share May 10, 2015 Its spring Duffy has to work and make money to pay for this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford May 10, 2015 Share May 10, 2015 I have no doubt he's busy, but around here without pics....~ Its spring Duffy has to work and make money to pay for this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos May 17, 2015 Author Share May 17, 2015 We are coming upon the 30 day itch STATUS ? Oh come on!!!! it has now been more then 50 days!!!!! Status- see below... Any plumbing issues? THAT IS ONE OF THE ONLY THINGS THAT HAS BEEN GOING RIGHT!!!! everything is running smooth, just have not had much time lately. Gets his tank up and running and forgets about us little people now that he's in the big leagues NO WAY!!!!! Not in the big leagues. I don't really even look at other forums (really check). I keep it local, WAMAS is my peeps. Tank has water and is running, no rock, sand, fish or coral. Its spring Duffy has to work and make money to pay for this stuff. BINGO!!!!!! someone at least knows what I do for a living!! thanks Walt. I have no doubt he's busy, but around here without pics....~ No need for new pics, nothing has changed. Except for the algae I just sucked out of my frag tank and 16g IM tank, that has the messed up light, and put me in a bad mood about 50 days ago. BTW- look at the free Air Hockey Table I am about to post, then I will go over the last 50 days. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos May 17, 2015 Author Share May 17, 2015 Soooooo......... Based on the comments above I have some splain' to do. Since this had been a journal of my tank build, and as most people know a brief diary of everyone's day to day life when it comes to reefing and what goes with it. I will give a brief synopsis of the last 50 days. My loving wife (yes we are still married) was not too happy when it came to my deadline of " One year to finish the tank or else". Well I had it full of water, running (Thanks Rob!), fish in the QT tank, with corals, but nothing in the main tank...... This tank also looks upon the gym where she faithfully spends as least an hour every night, so you can see how this gets to be an issue. You don't? Well then you are married to more of a saint then my wife (and she is amazing, and your wife is then next in line to be Pope) or you are not married. it probably was not the tank issue, but the collateral damage that my kids rec room took. Our storage room became a "temporary tank room" which meant our rec room became a "temproary storage room and overflow tank storage room"... I was also on a buying mission in 2014 to see as many tanks as possible by buying used equipment......You have not met me? well did you did not sell anything in 2014 Don't worry, I am getting ready for a selling spree...if you need something, I bet I have it, or 2-3 copies of it. MH lights? which one of the 20 setups do you want? So the last month and a half have been about making my wife happy. Ripped out the temporary fish room in the storage room, removed everything from the storage room and reorganized it. Went to Florida for a week for Spring Break, my brother-in-law watched my tank (may have been the beginning of the down fall) Went through 90% of the items that I bought- cleaned, vinegar bath, and polished everything. I was spending 3-4 hours a night in the fish room for a couple weeks utilizing my new sink. Then I had the LED light on my 16g IM tank go out........I was not happy. Then my busiest time of the year for my work started to kick in, no time to square things away. Then my favorite irony of the year threw a whopper at me. I am a Landscape Architect and I have horrible allergies to dust and pollen...HAHAHAHA ....yea I know, but I had already got my degree and started my company when it all kicked in 26 years ago. So for the last 2 weeks I am laid up from about 2-8 at night with some bad symptoms. Not much happening with reefing........Then I hit my first "I don't care about reefing phase in 2 years.....I think it happens to most people with anything you get into. Maybe a little too into it... maybe it becomes too difficult....corals are dying, water parameters are not what they used to be......@*&^$ light dies and I have 20 choices for 300g systems but none for a 16g tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So life has been going on, and the tank build has not. Then Spring kid sports have started, I have a car project I have been working on since last Fall that I am trying to wrap up working on that has also been taking my time, and I just don't have the time to get it all together!!!.....Now I feel better, a little venting, wine tonight, pollen count is lower, and actually spent some time working on things today. Time to get the rock in the tank along with the sand....... This site is like therapy sometimes. Thanks WAMAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds May 17, 2015 Share May 17, 2015 Need pics of the car if the tank hasn't changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime May 17, 2015 Share May 17, 2015 Welcome back! Cant wait to see what happens with the tank. I'm sure the wife will appreciate it when it reaches all it's glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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