I got my shipment of new goodies from MarineDepot.com and HelloLights.com I will post pictures of these items when I get a chance to edit them. From MarineDepot: - Magnetic Seaweed clip (oh yeah!) - AlgaeFree Magnetic Powerhead mount (take that evil Maxi-Jet!) - Mag 7 pump (new refugium return pump) - Tom's AquaLifter pump (to keep refugium overflow siphon box primed) - Tom's AquaLifter filters x2 (they were cheap and I needed one) From HelloLights: - 250watt Single-Ended metal halide electronic retro kit x2 (yeah 2) - ARO 250 watt electronic metal halide ballast x2 - Spider reflector with mogul socket x2 (these things are HUGE) - power cord x2 (duh!) - wire 18ft x2 (didn't want to track it down myself, but only used one) - 250 watt Iwasaki 6500K x2 (yellow like the shallows of the reef!) I prepared Sunday night for the metal halides by building the canopy extentions to raise the halides high enough to keep from boiling the water right out of my tank. I got them installed, but it was too late to go to town and get the additional hardware I needed to adapt my VHOs to the new canopy design. I fired up the right light and the glitter lines were the most wonderful thing I have ever seen in my tank!!! :mrgreen: I then finished wiring the left light to it's ballast, and fired it up. The fish were cussing me because the tank had been without light for about 2.5 hours and then suddenly the brightest light ever was suddenly beating down on them. 8) I have had an A/C cooling fan riding around in my truck for about 3 months now and finally used it. I mounted it with metal brackets I had, and positioned it to blow from the back corner it was in to the opposite front corner. I reset the min/max values on my thermometer to monitor the temp extremes tomorrow. I will add the pics to the thread I started about my tank earlier.
Sounds like quite the haul of loot! So this is to go on your 75 gallon? I am sure it will be great when you are done, can't wait to see the pics of it in action.
How high above the water are your halides going to be? when everything is set up you need to drop by and pick up the clubs PAR meter and take some readings.
I took a few pics last night of the loot right after I opened the boxes, but I was so excited that I did not take any construction pics BUT, I did take some afterwards. And I warn you, don't expect to be amazed by the wood work. This is just to get me by until I get to order the big tank. I might go a head and stain it so it looks halfway nice though :roll: My lights are (if I measured correctly) about 10" off the water. I still need to get the VHO's back in there though. But I am teaching school tonight and will not be able to make it to Home Depot until tomorrow. I would like to see what my PAR values are though. I am running 6500K's... you know the ugly yellow ones everyone calls them. I personally think I can blue them up with some supplemental light if I want to. I am eager to see what the temp has done today, I for got to break out the webcam so I could take a look at it through out the day. I don't run a chiller you know.... :wink:
Back when I was in research mode I remember the 6500 Iwasaki's were highly recommended as promoting the best growth, especially for clams and SPS. You guys ever stumble onto this guys website? http://www.cnidarianreef.com/ There is lots of good stuff. Under "Links" on the right side of the page he tested 250 watt SE MH bulbs and has pics of how each looks over his tank. Pretty cool.
This is the reason I chose this bulb, my next choice was the 10000K XM, but I did a little more reading and contemplating and decided on the 6500K Iwasaki. I want the most growth potential because that is what corals are supposed to do, then of course reproduce. As you can see in my signature, I have joined the DIBS (Desirable Invertebrate Breeding Society) to start captive breeding the invertebrates aquarist (spell?) want/need the most. Grazing snails, sandbed critters, and CORALS. Not fragging but genetically diversifying by inducing spawning and settling of coral planulae, then growout. Anyway, if you are interested, the website is http://www.projectdibs.com Ok, I forgot the SD card in the truck with the pics on it. I will bring them in and get them edited and posted.
They are just now getting into corals. They are going to do Pocillepora damicornis, Manicina areolata (a Caribbean species). There biggest (and most successful) efforts are on Gastropods, and Echinoderms. one of the P.damicornis I am getting is a baby produced from sexual reproduction. This is so cool. But I will get back on topic (it was my fault to begin with) of this thread. See next post for pics.....
Now two of the greatest inventions ever!!! AlgaeFree Sure Grip magnetic powerhead holder another angle... H2O Life Magnetic Seaweed clip... another angle... more in a second
Now the new items for the fuge. Danner Magdrive 7... Tom Aqualifter pump... Aqualifter pump filter (to keep particulate out)... Well that is all I got from Marine Depot. Next will be the Hello lights order.
Now the *sparklely* stuff! The HelloLights order... 8) by the way, there was a ton of packing peanuts in this box! It was very hard for me to not just dump it all out on the floor... :shock: the box. I know it is dumb, but it is not like I had to pay to get the pictures developed. :wink: The stuff... The reflectors... The Ballasts... The wiring... And the Bulbs... This is what I have wanted for a long time! :mrgreen:
I think I will post the pics of the lights on the tank in my other thread just to keep this forum on the topic of discussing equipment. To see the rest of the pics go here: http://www2.razorbackreef.com/old/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=322&start=15 Feel free to comment on any of the goods here if you like though.
