62 replies to this topic

[Neakit]

could you turn the sump around and use the inlet as the return section? the bubble trap will still work as normal, only issue will be if you want to keep things from swimming from the middle section to the inlet section in its current setup. My other thought is you wont be happy till its right so you may as well take the time now while its dry to fix it before you have to do it full of water.

could you turn the sump around and use the inlet as the return section? the bubble trap will still work as normal, only issue will be if you want to keep things from swimming from the middle section to the inlet section in its current setup. My other thought is you wont be happy till its right so you may as well take the time now while its dry to fix it before you have to do it full of water.

[Paddy]

Will def be a problem if it is left as it is, bubble trap will not trap all the bubbles if water is flowing over the top

[gilz]

all sorted.
i decided after going to as much effort as i have i'd be stupid to lelave something not quite right.
i cut the piece out and took a couple of cm off.
sump is working great now.

now i have to get it inside and sort out the plumbing to and from the tank.
should have water in very soon =]

[gilz]

made heaps of progress today.
tank is now running with a couple of kgs of live rock and 300 litres of salt water from pet magic (that was heaps of fun to carry around)
tanks running really well so far. havent had any problems with the sump
or matching the inlet with the outlet.
ill take some photos tomorrow and put them up

im probably going to try the tank on one 150watt mh to start with and upgrade to 2 if need be.
now whats better 14k or 20k bulbs?

[Neakit]

20k is very blue where as 14k is closer to white.

[Riggers]

8 t5s will be fine for any corals even sps. Sump the tank you will be happier when you do it

I agree with running a sump there an excellent idea for most systems, if you need some holes cut let me know I'll come cut em for ya

T5's will maintain most corals depending on what size tank obviously but you may have a hard time with acro's

20k is very blue where as 14k is closer to white.

Other way round 20k full spectrum
14k blue I run a 20k 400watt MH

[Riggers]

Hahahahahahahahaha I've just realised I've all ready cut your tank

[Neakit]

T5's will maintain most corals depending on what size tank obviously but you may have a hard time with acro's
Other way round 20k full spectrum
14k blue I run a 20k 400watt MH

Dude i speak from experience 20k is very blue the less your k rating is the whiter/ yellower the globe is.
I have seen fully blown sps tanks running 8 t5 so id be very careful what you start to recommend to people.

[Riggers]

Point one- read a colour temperature chart, 10000k is similar to cloudy sky, 5600k is sunlight, 1700k is candlelight, 20000k full spectrum, if you look at my tank you can see for yourself it's white not blue......
Point 2 - I did say HARD corals such as acro's don't do so well with t5 but I have seen many people keep successful tanks under t5 lights I myself grew lots of soft corals under t5 with no dramas

So neakit I'd be very careful about checking your facts before correcting someone else, I don't have a problem with anyone correcting me, as I said I don't know it all but if your gonna have an attitude about it you can stick it up your overflow pipe!!! And keep in mind there are different ways of doing everything, your way may be right for you but it isn't the only way.......So take a chill pill sit back and relax and let's just get along, I'm happy to sit down with you any time over a couple of frothys and talk tanks till the cows come home if your looking for someone to debate with?

[Neakit]

Dude chill, my facts are solid.
Here is some charts plotting out the spectrums given for a 20k bulb and a 10k bulb. I have the link if you want it.


Basicly the higher the k rating the more blue you get, and the less of the other spectrums you will get.
The globes you have might have a different colour rendering index than other globes. Another issue comes into things is how you drive your bulb, A magnetic ballast on a mh has to be matched to a brand of globe or it will drive the globe badly either too hard or not enough and in some cases the globe will not even light up. However now with electronic ballasts nearly any globe can be used on a e ballast.
While you colour may look "full" spectrum are you sure your driving your bulb correctly? A true 20k bulb is very blue.
As for experience i used to have 2 400w and 6 t5 over a 4x2x2 a few years ago, i did spend a bit of time playing with bulbs to get the look right.
Also there is a difference in magnetic ballasts between double ended globes and single ended globes.

[Riggers]

Mate if I was any more chilled out I'd be dead!!!

Yeah I too have colour charts like that..... There are so many different lamps that do different things, I'm not knocking your experience but I think 5 years as a film lighting tech I should know something about colour temp.....realistically there lights, they produce light and make our tanks look nice....... Need we say more?

Edited by Riggertron, 09 June 2011 - 04:32 PM.

[Riggers]

I just had a read through the Hamilton tech website and found this

http://www.hamiltont...m/shop/?cat=115

We are both right, there are different globes available for MH's, these ones are a 10000k but claiming to be a full spectrum light, but they also do a 14k which they call ice white blue.... I dunno I'm over it you work it out.....

[Neakit]

I never said they aren't full spectrum, they have all the spectrum's in varying levels, As i have said before the lower kelvin ratings are generally yellow, 10k is considered to be a whitish blue and any globes after 10k are just getting bluer.
i gave the charts to show that the spike in the blue spectrum was bigger in the 20k globe than the 10k globe and that the other spectrums in the 20k globe were also lower in amount.
The only lighting i know of that actively misses spectrum's are leds.
In the whole scheme of things its what your trying to achieve will depict what globe you use, for example a 20k globe has lower par than a 10k or a 6k globe but it may look better to some people.
I myself am using a 250w 10k globe and have 4 t5 to get the colour i want. If i didn't have the t5 supplements i may choose a different k rating, Realistically im going this way for higher par output from the mh with the lower k globe and im achieving the colour i want in my aquarium with the extras.

In the big picture you need to know what you want, If your looking for fast growth and you have the water right a low kelvin globe will give you the output you may desire, if your looking for looks and aren't concerned too much about how fast things grow the range between 12 and 20 k will suit your needs more.

[Riggers]

Yeah agreed mate, pick whats right for you and go with it.. see now that's what we like constructive comments now let's get back to the business of creating sweet marine environments...... I'm over talking about lights, like I said it's all I did for 5 years I'm starting to feel like I'm back at work......
But still keen for a beer hey there's an idea, Fish and beer nights!! Hahaha


EDIT.. added info

Ok so after a little more research heres what i have found.......

Different manufactures produce different globes for different applications, In the film industry its all about "the look" so we aim to use lamps that output a "white" (another topic all together) light or yellowish light thats similar to sunlight in varying situations.

Ok so im totally not denying the fact that when you reach the upper end of the Kelvin scale your into cooler colours and "blue hues" and the lower end is your reds and yellows, The statement 20000K is blue where as 10000K would look white is a General rule and yes the upper end is generally blue.. Osram produce a range of lights with a TP coating on them to improve certain areas of the colour spectrum and so this throws the Kelvin rule out the window.... So basically what im trying to say is if we are comparing lights they need to be the exact same globe, lamp, ballast etc to give any sort of comparison. but there are so many other things to consider like does my globe have a tri phosphor coating and what is its CRI?

The answer to the last to questions are yes and its a high CRI globe. the High CRI in my globe gives it a wider variety of colours in the spectrum to utilise hence giving a more white appearance. however there is also the spectral power distribution to take into account which is the visible light spectrum the lamp produces and this can also affect the way the light looks in terms of colour not to mention the PAR of the lamp.. Confusing isnt it....

So basically what you need to take into account when choosing a light is the PAR of the unit, Is it going to give my plants corals etc what they need? Your looking for something in the 670NM range which is needed in the formation of chlorophyll, resulting in continued growth of a plant, algae, zooxanthellae and the ability to "feed" and propagate.. Generally you will get the desired PAR from a 6500K but i believe most people go with 10000K or 14000K as it helps to penetrate deeper or more dense tanks allthough loosing a little from the 670NM spike. all this will do is slow coral growth slightly.. the problem with a 6500K is "generally" they look more yellow and its not so appealing for an aquarium...

All this said ive learnt something today, there is so much to lighting that its important to think about what your trying to grow/keep and what you want to achieve.... i was focused on purely the look of my tank without considering all the other factors...


References
*WHY IS WATER BLUE"

*FACTS OF LIGHT- Color Temperature (Kelvin)"

*THE KRIB- Aquarium Light intensities comparisons "

*AQUA BOTANIC- A Comparison between Light Sources Used in Planted Aquaria"

*AQUARIUM LIGHTING-By Carl Strohmeyer

Edited by Riggertron, 13 June 2011 - 07:22 PM.

[Paddy]

Desired PAR is mostly achieved through wattage, kelvin range primarily determines colour, always kept 20k here

[gilz]

hey guys.
i'v had 30kg of live rock in the tank for 3-4 weeks now. seeing a huge amount of life in there already. live rock came straight from a fully established tank and i got the 300l of salt water from pet magic. now i did all that before exams and promised myself i wouldn't do anything more until there over. so now they're finished and i got the water tested today and the results were.
ph 8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
kh 8

im planning on getting an auto doser to take care of alkalinity magnesium and calcium.
however the question i have is after 3-4 weeks how could i still have 0 ammonia nitrite and nitrate. unless the cycling process hasnt begun???
anyone have any idea what would be going on here?

anyone know what this is?


this is the tank at the moment.


sump is a little different to this. the live rock has been moved into the far right chamber where the water from the tank enters. however im thinking ill move it out because ill need the protein skimmer in there. basically want to leave the center as just a deep sand bed.

[Neakit]

if you want the center as a dsb then you will need to add more sand, the coral in your pic is either a corillamorph or a plating fungia.

[Riggers]

Mate that's certainly come a long way since I last saw ya it looks fantastic!! I really like your sump maybe you could leave it like that and have a seahorse or 2 your plumbing looks great and it seems like it running really nice, good work

[Paddy]

Seahorses are a PITA!

[werdna]

+1 to seahorses being a PITA

edit: double post

Edited by werdna, 22 June 2011 - 02:05 PM.