Mike and Ashley's 150g reef tank (our first)
- Thread starter WCKDVPR
- Start date
Yes, tubing looks nice these days. Had to color match with the sump......because the colored tubing does not cost extra. I went with black for the returns, seeing the sump is red/black.
I have the BRS 6-stage which is supposed to deal with chlorine/chloramines (per their literature/specs).
Best regards,
Mike
There are probably 7 hours work in those 3 lines.................I don't think the return with manifold is going to take any less either. Hopefully only doing it one time (besides the time, plumbing is expensive!).
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
Hey anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If you get it looking the way you want, and it works flawlessly then the time you spent doing it is a drop in the bucket.
Newjack
Guest
Couldn't have said it better! Sweet plumbing, you definetly have a good eye for detail. I can appreciate that in people's work. I just hate it when i see things slapped together. It's gonna be great build. Keep up the good work.
Funny, I am enjoying this as much for the research, the learning, the parts selection and building, etc as I am for the "finished" product. So no real hurry to get some fish in the tank, I am enjoying the process and trying to do it to where I will look at it and be proud of it. If it takes longer than anticipated, so be it.
Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice/information/parts. I know I will have tons of more questions as we get closer to putting fish in the tank.
Best regards,
Mike
Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice/information/parts. I know I will have tons of more questions as we get closer to putting fish in the tank.
Best regards,
Mike
Hi All,
Just ordered my MarcoRocks, emaco, Dr. Tim’s one and only, and Carib Sea Sand per recommendations. Thanks all.
Seeing this is all “Dead” and I am starting up a new tank, after washing everything, can I put it all in the tank together at the same time, put in saltwater and Dr. Tim’s, and cycle it all together?
Regarding lighting, does anyone have a Giesemann Aurora up and running (or know where one is) that I can come over and look at? Given the price of sufficient LED units, the Aurora is in the ballpark on cost so I should at least look at it.
Thanks,
Mike
Just ordered my MarcoRocks, emaco, Dr. Tim’s one and only, and Carib Sea Sand per recommendations. Thanks all.
Seeing this is all “Dead” and I am starting up a new tank, after washing everything, can I put it all in the tank together at the same time, put in saltwater and Dr. Tim’s, and cycle it all together?
Regarding lighting, does anyone have a Giesemann Aurora up and running (or know where one is) that I can come over and look at? Given the price of sufficient LED units, the Aurora is in the ballpark on cost so I should at least look at it.
Thanks,
Mike
Coral reefer
Past President
Yes to your first question
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
Not sure of people with the Aurora up and running, but I do know that is one EXPENSIVE fixture. If you're in the mood to spend high end money on lighting you might want to see if some members will let you look at their GHL Mitrax setups or G4 Radion setups, I know there's at least a few in the area with those.
Thanks Guys,
I wasn't aware of the GHL Mitras lights - they look nice on paper. I would like to look at those if someone has them mounted and running. I have seen the Radions and those are nice. This is what I am thinking, I would likely need 3 LED lights to cover the length of the tank properly, xr30W pro's are $800 each, Hydra 52's are $600 each and now the Mitras are $750 each or 2 Kessil AP700 at $900 each plus mounts for each light. The Aurora costs $2300 and that I would ceiling hang, so they are all roughly in the same ballpark with mounts, etc that I should really investigate all of them.
Almost finished the plumbing last night.......
I wasn't aware of the GHL Mitras lights - they look nice on paper. I would like to look at those if someone has them mounted and running. I have seen the Radions and those are nice. This is what I am thinking, I would likely need 3 LED lights to cover the length of the tank properly, xr30W pro's are $800 each, Hydra 52's are $600 each and now the Mitras are $750 each or 2 Kessil AP700 at $900 each plus mounts for each light. The Aurora costs $2300 and that I would ceiling hang, so they are all roughly in the same ballpark with mounts, etc that I should really investigate all of them.
Almost finished the plumbing last night.......
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
I think you probably could get away with 2 Mitras on your tank, the problem about comparing dollar amounts is you need to compare what you're getting with those dollar amounts. With the Giesemann you're getting 220 watts of LEDs and about 220 of T5s, I think the Mitras tops out at 195 watts on a single unit. But that said, it is fairly apples to oranges since the Giesemann is a hybrid fixture with T5s thrown in.
Also take into account you're comparing a 48" fixture versus others which can cover the same area with 2 fixtures.
Also take into account you're comparing a 48" fixture versus others which can cover the same area with 2 fixtures.
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Thanks Mike,
Yes, to me the whole lighting selection thing is much more of a challenge as opposed to most everything else (which is reasonably straight forward based on rating/performance). With lights, it is coral growth, disco ball, shimmer, shadowing, heat generation, etc. and a number of these work against each other - single point light source gives a lot of shimmer but can/may create more shadowing unless running a bunch of point sources. How much shimmer is natural? I've seen and don't like the disco ball effect, so I at least have a start on narrowing the selection.
Good to know 2 Mitras may work.
I've found some videos on line of the various lights including the Mitras, but that isn't like being there as videos of lights isn't very accurate.
Yes, to me the whole lighting selection thing is much more of a challenge as opposed to most everything else (which is reasonably straight forward based on rating/performance). With lights, it is coral growth, disco ball, shimmer, shadowing, heat generation, etc. and a number of these work against each other - single point light source gives a lot of shimmer but can/may create more shadowing unless running a bunch of point sources. How much shimmer is natural? I've seen and don't like the disco ball effect, so I at least have a start on narrowing the selection.
Good to know 2 Mitras may work.
I've found some videos on line of the various lights including the Mitras, but that isn't like being there as videos of lights isn't very accurate.
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
yeah videos make it really hard to get a feel for what lights will actually look like, and unfortunately GHL fixtures aren't exactly ones that many LFS keep in stock. Good luck on finding someone to show off their tank to you.
Ibn
Guest
Scuzy as well as Boun has mitras over their tanks.
If you're spending that kind of dough, you might also want to take a look at the ATI Powermodule hybrid. The 48" Aurora powers 4x54W T5s with 3 clusters (220W combined). The 48" Powermodule comes in two configuration, 4x54W or 8x54W T5s, both with 3 clusters (225W combined). The 4x54W is close to the Aurora and comes in at ~$1819 and the 8x54W comes in at about the same price as the Aurora at ~$2,107. The Powermodules are very proven hybrids and you can hang the fixture like you would the Aurora. There's also enough T5 bulbs in the fixtures to offset the disco effect that you're mentioning. You can grow just about anything with the T5s alone and the LEDs will add the extra pop in the corals.
I've seen the Mitras in action and they're really dispersed lighting where the disco effect is not noticeable at all. It's a great option if you don't want to pay out the nose to replace T5s. T5s are usually replaced every 6-9 months and at $20 each, the costs add up.
If you're spending that kind of dough, you might also want to take a look at the ATI Powermodule hybrid. The 48" Aurora powers 4x54W T5s with 3 clusters (220W combined). The 48" Powermodule comes in two configuration, 4x54W or 8x54W T5s, both with 3 clusters (225W combined). The 4x54W is close to the Aurora and comes in at ~$1819 and the 8x54W comes in at about the same price as the Aurora at ~$2,107. The Powermodules are very proven hybrids and you can hang the fixture like you would the Aurora. There's also enough T5 bulbs in the fixtures to offset the disco effect that you're mentioning. You can grow just about anything with the T5s alone and the LEDs will add the extra pop in the corals.
I've seen the Mitras in action and they're really dispersed lighting where the disco effect is not noticeable at all. It's a great option if you don't want to pay out the nose to replace T5s. T5s are usually replaced every 6-9 months and at $20 each, the costs add up.
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
I met Scott at MACNA, he was a really nice guy, although Royal Exclusiv (his company) was sharing a booth with GHL (whole lot of sexy high end products in one oversized space) but I don't know if RE and GHL are in any way related... that is to say not sure if he's sponsoring the light on his build and as a result got them at discounted pricing. Lots of youtube videos it's really hard to see the difference between "this product is well worth the money" and "hey this is pretty good because I didn't pay for it" mentality