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300 Gallon Disaster Reboot


Sascha D.

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On 6/8/2018 at 3:57 PM, jolt said:

There is certainly nothing wrong with your option 1 and then evaluating if you need more or want to proceed to option 2.

If it were me, and I was going to replace the LEDs, I would consider switching to T5 and Reefbrites.  That combo is known to be killer, but maybe expensive I don't know. 

Definitely a solid option. I think raising the lights a few inches will help diffuse the light from the LEDs as well. The lights are currently using the stock hanging kits. I have to build a custom bracket or something to raise them up to the top of the canopy. If I decided to replace the lights later then I would have to duplicate the work. I would like to get a fixture with a digital controller someday, but it's probably best to save the $$ and go with the easiest option first. 

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Thanks everyone for your feedback on the reef lighting! I've been throwing around ideas for several months to weigh the best options for me. I briefly thought about going to the mixed MH/T-5 system Hamilton Cebu Sun after reading about other hobbyists abandoning the LEDs or going to a mixed lighting system. Under no circumstances do I want to run a chiller and that was the deciding factor for me. If I had a rimless tank, then I probably would have gone this route, but my wife wanted to keep the canopy. I also toyed around with the idea of replacing my LED fixtures, but everyone seems to be having the same sort of issues with shadowing and coverage. I've decided to go with @jolt's suggestion and keep my existing lighting and move to a mixed LED/T-5 system by adding two 2x54w fixtures. Other hobbyists in ARC are using a similar methodology with good success.

The final two products came down to the LET retrofit kit and the Hamilton Aruba Sun complete kit. Both fixtures appear to come with good quality components and have good reviews over multiple websites. In the end it came down to time and price. The Hamilton kit comes fully assembled and can be installed right away, while the LET kit has some assembly required and sounds like the instructions may be incomplete. The LET kit with ATI bulbs came in at $139.85 per fixture, while the Hamilton kit is regularly priced at $189.95 and comes with bulbs. Yesterday I found the Hamilton Aruba Sun on sale for $94.98 with a 15% off coupon, bringing the total to $87.40 per fixture! After talking with a good friend I decided to jump on the price and got two fixtures for 54% off regular price or 66% cheaper than the LET! As a bonus LA will donate 10% of the sale to conservation. 

The Hamilton Aruba Sun fixture comes with a small strip of blue LED's meant to mimic moonlight for night viewing. They don't provide any PAR and I don't have any plans to use them. However, it's unclear what the fixture will look like when it actually arrives. The image on LA and DFS is different than Amazon and MD! I guess we'll see when it arrives in the mail! I'm looking forward to seeing the tank with the new lights!

 

Aruba+Sun+V+Series-475.jpglg-78541-61747-fish-supplies.jpg

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Thanks everyone for your feedback on the reef lighting! I've been throwing around ideas for several months to weigh the best options for me. I briefly thought about going to the mixed MH/T-5 system Hamilton Cebu Sun after reading about other hobbyists abandoning the LEDs or going to a mixed lighting system. Under no circumstances do I want to run a chiller and that was the deciding factor for me. If I had a rimless tank, then I probably would have gone this route, but my wife wanted to keep the canopy. I also toyed around with the idea of replacing my LED fixtures, but everyone seems to be having the same sort of issues with shadowing and coverage. I've decided to go with [mention=3460]jolt[/mention]'s suggestion and keep my existing lighting and move to a mixed LED/T-5 system by adding two 2x54w fixtures. Other hobbyists in ARC are using a similar methodology with good success.
The final two products came down to the LET retrofit kit and the Hamilton Aruba Sun complete kit. Both fixtures appear to come with good quality components and have good reviews over multiple websites. In the end it came down to time and price. The Hamilton kit comes fully assembled and can be installed right away, while the LET kit has some assembly required and sounds like the instructions may be incomplete. The LET kit with ATI bulbs came in at $139.85 per fixture, while the Hamilton kit is regularly priced at $189.95 and comes with bulbs. Yesterday I found the Hamilton Aruba Sun on sale for $94.98 with a 15% off coupon, bringing the total to $87.40 per fixture! After talking with a good friend I decided to jump on the price and got two fixtures for 54% off regular price or 66% cheaper than the LET! As a bonus LA will donate 10% of the sale to conservation. 
The Hamilton Aruba Sun fixture comes with a small strip of blue LED's meant to mimic moonlight for night viewing. They don't provide any PAR and I don't have any plans to use them. However, it's unclear what the fixture will look like when it actually arrives. The image on LA and DFS is different than Amazon and MD! I guess we'll see when it arrives in the mail! I'm looking forward to seeing the tank with the new lights!
 
Aruba+Sun+V+Series-475.jpglg-78541-61747-fish-supplies.jpg
Who's your friend? Anybody I know? [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I think you'll be pleasantly happy. That's the exact setup on my old tank.
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31 minutes ago, FarmerTy said:

Who's your friend? Anybody I know? emoji23.pngemoji23.pngemoji23.png

I think you'll be pleasantly happy. That's the exact setup on my old tank.

Sorry, but I can't name names to protect the privacy of my source. Are these the T-5's you ran with your MH setup? Did your fixture look like one of the stock photos? I'm curious whether the LED's are removable. It looks like they're just slapped on there as an afterthought. 

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Sorry, but I can't name names to protect the privacy of my source. Are these the T-5's you ran with your MH setup? Did your fixture look like one of the stock photos? I'm curious whether the LED's are removable. It looks like they're just slapped on there as an afterthought. 
I should say OR LEDs with supplemental T5s was what I ran and I loved that combo. I did a retrofit t5 that I pieced together. I didn't buy the exact fixture but probably would have if I didn't already had a couple T5 ballasts sitting around unused.
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I'm starting to get good coloration and growth, but it could be better. I'm hoping this is the missing link that will take it to the next level. One thing that I'm looking forward to is an even tone of light throughout the tank. Each one of my four fixtures is different enough that I can't match them up perfectly and the light changes in each zone. A light with a digital controller would help match the color and that was the driving factor to replacing the existing fixtures. 

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Good news and bad news. The good news is that the lights arrived on Friday, about five days after ordering! The fixtures look better than the stock photo and every fixture turned on during testing.  It turns out the LED strips are actinic if I need any additional pop of blue! The bad news is that one of the bulbs came in broken and I need a replacement. I called LiveAquaria this morning and they are going to overnight a new bulb! The customer service has been spot on most of the time and I really love that LA has started selling dry goods. The 5% rewards on livestock and dry goods is an added bonus.

I have the vaguest of the vague ideas on how to mount the LED fixtures. I found a picture on this random forum post and my plan was to attempt to recreate something similar. Unfortunately, the Home Depot near my house doesn't have the square conduit and (after hours and hours of searching) I found a C shape piece that I could use. It involves removing the current hanging kit, replacing the screws and attaching the new screws to the conduit. Then I'm going to use pipe straps to attach the 8' conduit to my canopy roof. 

lightstand_6.jpg

There are three ways that I can think to install the T-5's. I'll have to measure again, but I believe the canopy is wide enough to place the fixtures end to end. I can move the LEDs back 2-3" back towards the overflow and place the T-5's fixtures in front, adjusting the reflectors to shine partially on the sand and partially on the rocks. On the flip side, I can move the LEDs forward and place the T-5's so that they shine directly down on the aquascape. Lastly, I can split the fixtures back and front of the LEDs either in the middle like the picture below. This will give me PAR zones to move my low light corals to the ends while keeping the higher light corals in the middle. My end goal is to keep 3-5 nice sized colonies of acros, a few stags, 3 stylos, 3-5 plating and encrusting montipora, 5-10 euphyllias, and however many colonies of cyphestrea and zoas that I can fit on the sand before it looks too cluttered. My angel hasn't touched the duncan or trumpet corals yet, but those may be future snacks when he starts changing. 

Capture.JPG

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Nice Sascha! How are you liking the new color combo?
The color looks pretty good. It has a mostly 10k look in person. All of the LED fixtures have a different color and one side is really blue right now. I'm moving them around to get a blended mix.

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The backyard project is about 60% complete. I have about 1,000 pounds of river rock to dispense and then I'll be able to start on the brick work! I'm going to have to throw a party or something when this thing is finished :rock:. It's been 6 days since I installed the T-5's and everything is doing well. I ran the fixture for 4 hours for 4 consecutive days. After that it was run the full photoperiod between 11 a.m. and 9:20 p.m. 

Remember this Tricolor Valida? I fragged it up in a video posted April 11th and it's recovering nicely. I kept the largest piece and attached it in the previous place. The remaining pieces were added to frag plugs and I'll let them go when they start encrusting. 

ORA Tricolor Valida 4-27-18.JPG

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ORA Green Elkhorn and JF Grape Juice Acropora - The acro looks full and bright. I'm confident that I can start adding more acros and they will do well. 

DSC08059.JPG

Duncan coral - I got this nub from a friend at the last club meeting. The polyps are slowly growing out of the base, but you can definitely see them now. It would be disappointing if the angelfish decided to snack on this after months of waiting!

DSC08061.JPG

Gliter Favia - Love this coral. I wouldn't mind having a large dedicated rock fully encrusted with this coral. 

DSC08062.JPG

Mystery Acropora - This coral was very nearly dead and I clipped a tiny nub to try and save a piece. It's grown over the last few months to about the size of a quarter. It's amazing what life can do. I don't know the name but I'm very excited to see what it'll turn into!

DSC08070.JPG

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On 6/8/2018 at 3:57 PM, jolt said:

There is certainly nothing wrong with your option 1 and then evaluating if you need more or want to proceed to option 2.

If it were me, and I was going to replace the LEDs, I would consider switching to T5 and Reefbrites.  That combo is known to be killer, but maybe expensive I don't know. 

The Reefbrite XHO lights are using 3w LED's and they can be assembled in circuit. For my tank I would need four 36" fixtures for a total of 432 watts of LED power. This is slightly lower than my current fixtures that produce 480 watts. It would allow me to mount the lights to the top of the canopy and reduce some of the shadowing produced by the hanging fixtures. I'm using 50/50 lights at the moment and like the daylight, but I wouldn't mind a little more blue. I promised myself that if my next stock option trade was successful that I would spend the money on new equipment! It's pretty pricey though and I want to do some more research. Does anyone have any experience with these fixtures?

 

ReefBrite_ProductMain_XOH.jpg

 

 

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They are great.  I initially bout SB reef bars.   I wasn't happy with them mounting wise but quality felt OK.  Stepped up the cash for the XHO and never looked back.  They are head and shoulders better and more  expensive.  Every one wants to complain how expensive the hobby is and then they skimp on lights and wonder why they aren't successful raising photosynthetic plants/animals.  SMH.

 

rant not directed at you.

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On 7/7/2018 at 8:52 PM, Reburn said:

They are great.  I initially bout SB reef bars.   I wasn't happy with them mounting wise but quality felt OK.  Stepped up the cash for the XHO and never looked back.  They are head and shoulders better and more  expensive.  Every one wants to complain how expensive the hobby is and then they skimp on lights and wonder why they aren't successful raising photosynthetic plants/animals.  SMH.

rant not directed at you.

Thanks for including that last line! At first I was like :huh:, and then I was like:firefirefire:, but now I'm like :thumbsup:. I never complain about how expensive the hobby is, but I also don't have as nice of a tank as you do. I'm somewhere around mediocre with a goal of slightly better than average and I'm okay with that. LOL! Seriously though, I'm about 40% to my goal with an expiration date of 8/3/18. It's doing okay so far but a lot depends on what gets tweeted between now and then. My landscaping project is nearly complete and then it will be time to start on my list of tank items. 

  1. Lights - The canopy is too short to work in comfortably, so I either need lower profile lights or a new light hanging system.
  2. Plumbing - The new overflow has been working well, but my full siphon stopped functioning after installation. I'm guessing I messed something up? Right now it's working as a Durso and making bubbles in the sump. I need to replace the drain and return lines with flex. I'm waiting to start this project until the frag tank is decided.
  3. Stand - I need to install hinges on the stand and canopy doors for easier access. This one has been on my list for a long time, but it's pretty low priority.
  4. Frag Tank - Trimming corals is just part of the hobby and you can either throw them into the calcium reactor or create new frags. It seems like a shame to waste perfectly good corals.  I would like to add a separate holding tank to my system for fresh cuts to heal before finding new homes. Ideally, I would plumb the tank into the main sump to take advantage of the calcium reactor. Placing the frag tank inside the stand results in the cleanest look, but people would have to get on their hands and knees to see them. To do this I would have to move the aquarium controller and reservoir outside of the stand or replace the sump with a smaller version. Adding the tank on a stand next to the display is the most functional, taking advantage of gravity and allowing easy viewing. The cost is a little bit higher because it requires a separate stand. 
  5. Corals - I've posted about half of my corals for sale on Facebook and ARC. These are mostly duplicate frags and colonies that I need to trim down. Whatever is left at the end of the month will go to the LFS. The remaining corals that I'm going to keep will find permanent homes in the aquascape. 
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Now is a good time to revisit my stocking plan from March 21st to see what's changed and where I want to go from here. I currently have 17 fish with a goal of around 30. I really got this tank to house the Emperor Angelfish and Naso Tang, but also want to take advantage of the space. I've been toying with the idea of a harem of Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish since the beginning and they deserve a spot on the list. I really love jawfish, but I've decided not to add additional sand to house one. The cable guy is coming next week and it would be a good time to make an order :whistle:.

This is my short list at the moment. The dates indicate when I added them to the display. I currently have two fish pending pickup in Houston.

Angelfish

  • Emperor Angelfish - Africa (Pomacanthus imperator) - August 2017
  • Regal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus) - July 2018
  • Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)  - July 2018
  • Rusty Angelfish (Centropyge ferrugata) - July 2018
  • Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish (Genicanthus melanospilos) 1 male 2-3 females

Tangs/Rabbitfish

  • One Spot Foxface (Siganus unimaculatus) - May 2016
  • Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) - December 2017
  • Yellow Eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) - December 2017
  • Blonde Naso Tang (Naso elegans) - Pending
  • Convict Tang (Acanthurus triostegus) - Pending

Wrasses

  • Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus) - May 2016
  • Dusky Wrasse (Halichoeres annularis) - January 2017
  • Red-Lined Wrasse (Halichoeres biocellatus) - March 2017
  • Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - March 2018
  • Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia) - March 2018

Clownfish 

  • Oscellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) x2 - November 2017

Anthias

  • Bicolor Anthias (Pseudanthias bicolor) or Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) x5-8

Damsels

  • Pink Smith Damselfish (Pomacentrus smithi) x2 - January 2017
  • Azure Damselfish  (Chrysiptera hemicyanea) x2 - February 2017 (selling the one that bites)
  • Springer's Damselfish (Chrysiptera springeri) x2 - April 2017

Basslet

  • Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) x1-3

taylor-burning-money.gif

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Cable Man: We'll be there to install your internet sometime before you die. Thanks for your money...

Me: Sounds like a blast, guess I'll take off from work and do a water change. So... I'll be home...at 10:30?

*pulls out liveaquaria coupon I got in the mail*

Day instantly better!
4dc8333265695f1209f1af6c04f12e44.jpg

3cae74af962f4c7c66fdefbe5ff27504.jpg

Little booger started chasing the little guys and got put in time out!
8dcc67cc64d0af7b28687bc6f07aae35.jpg

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Cable Man: We'll be there to install your internet sometime before you die. Thanks for your money...

Me: Sounds like a blast, guess I'll take off from work and do a water change. So... I'll be home...at 10:30?

*pulls out liveaquaria coupon I got in the mail*

Day instantly better!
4dc8333265695f1209f1af6c04f12e44.jpg

3cae74af962f4c7c66fdefbe5ff27504.jpg

Little booger started chasing the little guys and got put in time out!
8dcc67cc64d0af7b28687bc6f07aae35.jpg

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


I was surprised how aggressive my regal can be towards the other angels. I didn't know they had a mean bone in them but maybe I was fooled by their beauty.

Nice collection there sir! They will look great in the tank!
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4 minutes ago, FarmerTy said:

I was surprised how aggressive my regal can be towards the other angels. I didn't know they had a mean bone in them but maybe I was fooled by their beauty.

Nice collection there sir! They will look great in the tank!

This is the first time I've seen another fish act aggressively during acclimation. Everything that I had read about them mentioned how docile and shy they are! The Regal is about the same size as my Emperor, so we'll see how that goes. 

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This is the first time I've seen another fish act aggressively during acclimation. Everything that I had read about them mentioned how docile and shy they are! The Regal is about the same size as my Emperor, so we'll see how that goes. 
They may have a showdown, with the emperor mainly harassing it for awhile is my guess
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The cable company called to say the technician is running late and I decided to head to Aquatek. I haven't been there in a while and the store was looking well maintained today. They had plenty of healthy looking fish and lots of nice corals. Some of their open brain corals were absolutely huge! I traded in about 15 of my coral frags and had a great experience talking with the staff. I'll definitely be going back to that store again!

With about half of my sand bed cleared, it's time to start thinking about putting that fish trap to work! By the end of the month I hope to have the livestock situation under control and I can begin with plumbing. 

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18 hours ago, Sascha D. said:

The cable company called to say the technician is running late and I decided to head to Aquatek. I haven't been there in a while and the store was looking well maintained today. They had plenty of healthy looking fish and lots of nice corals.

Their coral section has been really nice the last year or so. 

PSA:  They are moving to a new location soon.

https://www.facebook.com/aquatektropicalfish/posts/10156110653492486

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