125 gallon build

[mr_X]

You don't have a lot of rock, and you won't, even at twice that amount. It's part of your filtration and a place to put corals. You will run out of real estate real fast this way.

[redsea]

Originally Posted by Tobykourtney

I picked up a breeding pair of snowflakes clowns for a decent price today. Here they are in quarantine.


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Nice, they look great! I have a Black Ice Snowflake (I think? ). It can sometimes get confusing with all the different kinds. I am pretty sure though. Clowns are the best! It is fun the variety you see in them these days.

How have they been doing in QT?

[Tobykourtney]

Originally Posted by mr_X

You don't have a lot of rock, and you won't, even at twice that amount. It's part of your filtration and a place to put corals. You will run out of real estate real fast this way.

I have another 40 lbs in the sump to take take care of filtration. I'm not worried about the real estate since it'll probably only be running for a few years before I have to break it down and start over.

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[Tobykourtney]

Originally Posted by redsea

Nice, they look great! I have a Black Ice Snowflake (I think? ). It can sometimes get confusing with all the different kinds. I am pretty sure though. Clowns are the best! It is fun the variety you see in them these days.

How have they been doing in QT?

They are doing pretty good. My main tank got ich when I was out of town and I lost my clownfish. I still had my 20 gallon set up so I went and got these guys and they will reside in the 20 gallon for the next 10 weeks. The only thing I had new was some live rock in the tank that got ich. I didn't even think to quarantine rock. Stupid mistake on my part I guess.

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[Toffee]

I would at least go 1ib for 1gallon of water for rocks. I stock 1:1 in my DT and 0.5 in my sump.


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[huma-huma]

Originally Posted by Toffee

I would at least go 1ib for 1gallon of water for rocks. I stock 1:1 in my DT and 0.5 in my sump.

your DT and sump are connected, so you cant split the ratio like that... if you go 1:1 in the dt and .5:1 in the sump, then you'd be at a fraction below 1:1 for the entire setup.

[Tobykourtney]

Finally got the livestock in after 10 weeks in qt. 2 snowflake clowns and a starry blenny. That it for this year. I'll probably add more after I get back from my deployment.

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[Tobykourtney]

Pic from august. When I get back from this deployment I'm going to add some t5's or maybe halides to the mix.

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[Sniperhank]

Skip the halides. Stick to either t5 or go led. The halides will crank the heat and your electric bill.


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[Tobykourtney]

I've kinda got my heart set on a 4x80 watt ati sunpower

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[mr_X]

T5's will put out nearly the same heat as halides will. It's just spread over the length of the 4 lamps, and not in one small area. Both will need replacing every 9 months or so as well, which can be pricey.

[Tobykourtney]

Originally Posted by mr_X

T5's will put out nearly the same heat as halides will. It's just spread over the length of the 4 lamps, and not in one small area. Both will need replacing every 9 months or so as well, which can be pricey.

Heats not really a concern. I keep my house at 65 degrees.

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[mr_X]

The possibility of making the tank water temp fluctuate is the concern.

[Tobykourtney]

Originally Posted by mr_X

The possibility of making the tank water temp fluctuate is the concern.

What I'm getting at is with the house at 65 and my aquarium at 80 degrees. I don't think it's possible with either lighting to exceed the 80 degree mark. Metal halides maybe if you put them close enough to the water but then you wouldn't get the spread of light needed to evenly light the tank.

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[mr_X]

Halides and t5's heat the water about the same in my experience. How about at night...what does the temp go down to when the lights have been off for 8 hours? Are your heater(s) keeping it at 80 still?

[Tobykourtney]

Yes I have 2 300 watt heaters. They maintain it within .2 degrees

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[Tobykourtney]

I'm thinking definitely t5 led combo now. A 4 bulb ati sunpower in conjunction with my buildmyled 14k.

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[mr_X]

Ok. Any reason why you think you need T5 or halides in conjunction with your LEDs? I've ran tanks solely on LEDs for years with no problems, as did/does many others, and could grow anything. It's just that T5 and halides are now obsolete, and I'd like to spare you the wasted cash. Are you not getting something out of your current lighting?

[Tobykourtney]

Honestly I've gotten okay growth out of leds. I've just gotten much better from other lights especially halides. And your right about halides becoming obsolete I'm seeing a significantly smaller selection lately which is what deterred me from them. Which is why I'm going for a t5/led hybrid. The color from t5 is unmatched in my opinion and they are far from obsolete and it's still easy to get replacement bulbs. I'm deployed for 3 more months so I've got that time to figure it out I guess. If I do end up going with another led it will be another buildmyled. I've seen several others and bml as the best color blending by far and none of the the disco ball effect.

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[mr_X]

Well, what I meant by obsolete is that they use a lot of electricity to achieve a goal which can be achieved with much less energy now, not to mention that those easy to get lamps are expensive. If you like the color better, then there's an excellent reason to use them.
Some guys still think metal halides look and perform best.
I've seen similar growth and coloration out of all three sources, so I chose the most energy efficient.