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me too :) I'll never get to see the "real" thing. Just the thought of putting on a snorkle gives me a panic attack.
 
Whichever reflectors you used would have to be mounted pretty high for 2 to cover a 6' tank.

This may help. It's Sanjays latest reflector test.
Product Review: Analyzing Reflectors: Lumenbrite III, Lumenmax Elite, Lumenmax, and Lumenarc III | Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine
"The reflectors seem to fall into 2 separate groups, Group 1, the Lumenarc and the Lumenmax and Group 2 comprising Lumen Brite and Lumenmax Elite. The Group 1 reflectors seem to be better at providing a wider coverage, whereas the group 2 reflectors tend to focus the light slightly more creating higher peak values and smaller spread."

"The Lumenarc III and the Lumenmax reflectors provide a large area of light coverage and hence are more suitable for tanks wider than 3 ft. The reflector will be able to provide a higher intensity deeper in the tank, thus making it a better choice for someone looking to light a wide tank that is deeper than 30", or for providing the ability to grow higher light corals lower in the tank."

"The Lumenbrite and Lumenmax elite are more suitable for tanks 3ft or less in width. They tend to provide a more focused coverage and higher peak values than the Lumenmax and Lumenarc reflectors. This can allow for better use in taller tanks, as more light can reach the bottom, or allow for higher placement of the lights thus reducing the heat dissipating in the water, or allow for higher light values to be obtained lower in the tank."

Yeah, I don't think 2 is going to cut it for a 6' tank. I am going to get some LEDs for the middle.
 
After being gone for a week, everything in the tank is still looking good...whew. I hired somebody from an lfs to come by a few times to change out the top-off water and I setup my Neptune Apex device so I could remotely access my tanks parameters from my blackberry. Both were worth the extra piece of mind.
Before I left I also got a Vortech battery backup, an auto-feeder and a backup float switch... all of these helped with piece of mind too.
 
How bout some pics, tank and vacation.

Here are a couple from the vacation, I love the color of the water in these tropical places our fish and coral come from. It makes me like aquaculture even more.....
view from the condo.
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Did you have an underwater camera? Nice sunset. :D

No, I thought about it and should have done it. As far as fish goes I saw tons while snorkeling, but was able to identify:
Achilles Tang
Yellow Tang
Sailfin Tang
Lavender Tang
Convict Tang
Kole Tang
Moorish Idol
Auriga/Threadfin Butterflyfish
Ornate Butterflyfish
Spotted Puffer fish
Some other puffer fish
Assorted Wrasses
Assorted Damsels, mostly Sgt. Mjr Damsels
A pipefish
Blenny or Goby, not sure which it was

The coral I saw was a little disappointing, mainly Pocillopora and Porites.
I went to the Waikiki Aquarium and saw some coral there. They had some staghorn acropora, but said that the islands don't have staghorn. I didn't know that.
 
Jimbo and Aquarium1, thanks, I had a great time. However, I now have a year and a half old baby and that was definitely rough. I could not relax as much as I typically do. My wife and I had to constantly monitor him. And the plane ride there ooohhhhhhh just be glad you were not the ones sitting in front of us. That was a long 6-hours.
 
Jimbo and Aquarium1, thanks, I had a great time. However, I now have a year and a half old baby and that was definitely rough. I could not relax as much as I typically do. My wife and I had to constantly monitor him. And the plane ride there ooohhhhhhh just be glad you were not the ones sitting in front of us. That was a long 6-hours.

lol, but didnt you know, 6 hours is like a 24 hour ride to him with crabs pinching him at the same time. A 10 min ride in the car by itself was a nightmare with my nephew.
 
I found this while you were gone and made a thread about it, but it seems we are the only two SPS nuts around these parts. I'm thinking you definitely have room in your tank

I chose to pretend i didn't see it. It is easier that way.

Very nice as always ryshark.
 
I found this while you were gone and made a thread about it, but it seems we are the only two SPS nuts around these parts. I'm thinking you definitely have room in your tank :D
Acro76's Red and Blue Tabletop!*::*Acropora frags*::*Small polyp stonys*::*Cherry Corals

I didn't realize I had responses on my thread....sorry for the late delay.
WOW, that thing is AWESOME. Blue acro with Red polyps, I want it!!!!!
I'm going to find and read the thread you started on it.
 
I know I need to stop talking and start doing when it comes to adding a 3rd main light source in my tank. Every day it is getting more and more apparent as my corals in certain areas are brown only on one side where they are not getting direct light from that angle.

My dilemma is that I have a 3/4" x 10" acrylic brace in the center of my tank so I cannot put a 3rd halide in the middle of my canopy because of heat on the acrylic. So I have decided to get LEDs. I was hoping to get something that was retrofit and plug'n'play, but unfortunately, I can't find anything like that which will be good for my situation. The retrofit Reef Brites are very nice, but I need something with optical lenses to provide the extra punch to penetrate through the acrylic center brace.

So I am going to have to DIY a LED set up. Mike at Rapid Led has provided very good customer service by quickly answering emails. Here is what we have come up with for my scenario. PLEASE feel free to comment any ideas, suggestions, concerns etc.

I need to cover a 24"x24" area in the center of my 72"x24"x24" tank. My canopy measures 16" from the underside of the canopy to the surface of the water. To fulfill these needs I am thinking:

2- 5.9"x9" heatsinks which I would probably put together, essentially making 1- 12"x9" heatsink.

I will put 12-LEDs in each heatsink for a total of 24-LEDs

I am leaning towards:
12 of the cool white XP-G with 45degree lenses and
12 of the royal blue XR-E with 40degree lenses.

I am going to get dimmable drivers

What do you think?
 
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sounds good to me, how far above the tank will it be and how close are you going to have the LEDs? You might want to do some trig to make sure you aren't getting too much spotlighting.
 
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