180-Gallon Upgrade Starts NOW!!!

[Ziggy953]

looking at it enlarged that is one gorgeous tank! so for the center brace a MH wouldn't be able to penetrate enough to support any coral or just the sps?

would possibly four smaller and less powerful MH work better? i'm just trying to gather info because i know LEDs are expensive, but who knows maybe down the road the price will drop so i could light the whole tank with em!

LEDs are expensive and they are very new to the scene. MHs generate a lot of heat, burns a lot of power and the bulbs have to be replaced every 8-18 months. LEDs will last for years and not shift spectrum. They just lose lumens over time but even then it is minimal compared to MH.

I think because they haven't been used long term yet we don't really know how to compare the number of LEDs needed to replace a Mh bulb. I have my LEDs over a FW tank and it looks to me equal to that of a 250w bulb. My unit has 24 LEDs and burns about 86w of power.

 

[ryshark]

looking at it enlarged that is one gorgeous tank! so for the center brace a MH wouldn't be able to penetrate enough to support any coral or just the sps?

would possibly four smaller and less powerful MH work better? i'm just trying to gather info because i know LEDs are expensive, but who knows maybe down the road the price will drop so i could light the whole tank with em!

Thanks again. I did not go with a third MH because of heat issues over the center brace, that would probably void any kind of warranty. My first choice for now, would have been a third halide. My LEDs put out no heat towards the tank/center brace. I didn't want T5HO over the center because they would need to be mounted too low and get in the way. So, LEDs with optics to help penetrare light from up above were my best bet. They seem to be pretty powerful, even going through the thick brace.

 

[ryshark]

LEDs are expensive and they are very new to the scene. MHs generate a lot of heat, burns a lot of power and the bulbs have to be replaced every 8-18 months. LEDs will last for years and not shift spectrum. They just lose lumens over time but even then it is minimal compared to MH.

I think because they haven't been used long term yet we don't really know how to compare the number of LEDs needed to replace a Mh bulb. I have my LEDs over a FW tank and it looks to me equal to that of a 250w bulb. My unit has 24 LEDs and burns about 86w of power.

I've got 36-LEDs (3w each and some are the XP-G) on my unit and I'd like to think it is as powerful as a 400w halide. I have it tuned down a bit to not be brighter than my 250watt-halides, but to blend in best as possible. I don't have any way of comparing for now, except for the frag experiment.

 

[Ziggy953]

I think the frag experiment will tell you more than a par meter or any other type of measuring device you could find.

 

[ryshark]

I did not plan on buying a frag today, but when I went into an LFS today the green rim on this acro caught my eye. I haven't seen many acroporas with a ring around the base. Up close within the green ring, the corallites are turquoise/sky blue. I wish I could capture it with my camera. One of these days I'm going to have to suck it up and get a macro lens.

 

[maxst2]

That looks awesome. 180gal is in my future, and that is a great reason

 

[ryshark]

That looks awesome. 180gal is in my future, and that is a great reason

Thank you. Make sure to make a build thread on here when you get your 180

 

[Jimbo7]

I'm going to unsubscribe from this thread. You get the coolest stuff and it makes me hate you.

That being said, thats an awesome piece and its going to be a sweet colony. By the time all your sweet stuff grows out to lots of frags, Ill be ready with a bigger tank to take them all of your hands for you.

 

[ryshark]

I'm going to unsubscribe from this thread. You get the coolest stuff and it makes me hate you.

That being said, thats an awesome piece and its going to be a sweet colony. By the time all your sweet stuff grows out to lots of frags, Ill be ready with a bigger tank to take them all of your hands for you.

Thanks, sounds good

 

[ryshark]

an FTS to make us jealous then? i'd love that, and maybe some coral growth?
how's the achilles doing too? i can only assume well!

Here you go, Growth Shots!

ORA RED PLANET (I just relocated this piece, I brought it down a bit to see if I can get some of the green to show up)

LE PONAPE BIRDSNEST

ORANGE/RED CAP

ROSE PROSTRATA

 

[ryshark]

LE ROUGE MILLE

RED/YELLOW/BLUE

LE MONTIPORA SETOSA

ORA HAWKINS ECHINATA

 

[ryshark]

LE PINK LEMONADE

 

[ryshark]

Looking back at these side by side, I think my favorite before and after is the Red Planet on page 53.

 

[cmor1701d]

Hard to pick, they're all gorgeous.

 

[iDream]

LORDY! those corals are darn happy! jealousy i asked for and jealous i got!

 

[Ziggy953]

Awesome growth on those corals!!! I am super impressed!

 

[ryshark]

Hard to pick, they're all gorgeous.

Cmor- thanks for the compliment... There are a couple with good growth which I did not post, those 2-are not as gorgeous. The Palmers Blue Millie is a tough one for me to fully color up in my tank.

 

[ryshark]

LORDY! those corals are darn happy! jealousy i asked for and jealous i got!

Thanks

 

[ryshark]

Awesome growth on those corals!!! I am super impressed!

Thank you. This was the first forum I found after setting up my tank and your 72-bowwas the first predominately SPS tank I saw and thought to myself....... Wow, that is nice, I wan't to setup something like that. Do you still have any pics of that tank from its hay day? The 120-upgarde was nice too, but my first impression was with the 72-bow.

 

[Ziggy953]

Here are a few shots of the old 72