Formosa Forest II

[DarthOcellaris]

sweet!

[crvz]

6110? Did you mean 6101? I've got the controller on a pair of 6100s, it's pretty sweet. I'm tempted to get a couple more, but my wallet (thus far) has convinced me otherwise.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Yes, I mean 6101 of course With this 4 streams I'm sure I will have enough (random) flow in the new tank.
Crvz, which flow setting do you prefer? And do you also use the moonLED?

Leonardo

[gwaco]

good deal leo ! as far as the moonlight goes , its a novel idea that would work better if it included more than one l.e.d. . the single led doesn't really light much of anything , which is a shame since the moon cycle would be great to actually use and see .
as far as the flow patteren goes i found having the settings on max power and using interval mode one set at about 45 seconds to work the best for me .

[fish.freak]

Leo, I think you need a nano.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Thanks for the input Gary. Maybe if I aim the LED into a reflector the lighting would be better visible. But I'll have to test that later.

Fish.Freak, a Nano?

Leonardo

[fish.freak]

Originally Posted by Leonardo's Reef

Fish.Freak, a Nano?

Leonardo

Yes a nano for the Build-off.

[crvz]

Originally Posted by Leonardo's Reef

Yes, I mean 6101 of course With this 4 streams I'm sure I will have enough (random) flow in the new tank.
Crvz, which flow setting do you prefer? And do you also use the moonLED?

Leonardo

I just had to go check... I've got it on the interval 2 setting, which cycles the two units from between 100%-30% and then to 30%-100%. Basically one on one off back and forth, cycling every 15 seconds or so.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Thanks for the info Chris

Leonardo

[Leonardo's Reef]

This post is about the most difficult thing to put together when you start a new tank, lighting.

The new setup must consist the following features:

- Optimal spread of light (tank will be 40" wide)
- "Glitter-lines" caused by point lighting
- Accepable power usage
- Enhance fluorescent look of the corals
- etc.

My original plan was to go with T5 only. But when I look at my propagation tank (T5 only) I'm not happy. I keep having this brown, slimey algae (only in this tank, hmm) and the tank looks flat.

I decided that I'll build my own pendant again, combining T5 and MH. It will consist 2 Lumenarcs with 400 Watt MH SE (Aqua Connect 14.000 K) on Coralvue E-Ballasts, combined with 2 ATI Sunpower pendants with 4x80 Watt T5.
Light spread will be great, power consumption acceptable, and I combine the best of both lighting methods.

I'll construct a light-weight aluminium frame where I connect the reflectors and pendants to. I will also add a very thin layer of Tempered glass (0.11") under the MH to prevent corrosion of the Lumenarc reflectors.





Leonardo

[reefgeek84]

Originally Posted by Leonardo's Reef

This post is about the most difficult thing to put together when you start a new tank, lighting.

The new setup must consist the following features:

- Optimal spread of light (tank will be 40" wide)
- "Glitter-lines" caused by point lighting
- Accepable power usage
- Enhance fluorescent look of the corals
- etc.

My original plan was to go with T5 only. But when I look at my propagation tank (T5 only) I'm not happy. I keep having this brown, slimey algae (only in this tank, hmm) and the tank looks flat.

I decided that I'll build my own pendant again, combining T5 and MH. It will consist 2 Lumenarcs with 400 Watt MH SE (Aqua Connect 14.000 K) on Coralvue E-Ballasts, combined with 2 ATI Sunpower pendants with 4x80 Watt T5.
Light spread will be great, power consumption acceptable, and I combine the best of both lighting methods.

I'll construct a light-weight aluminium frame where I connect the reflectors and pendants to. I will also add a very thin layer of Tempered glass (0.11") under the MH to prevent corrosion of the Lumenarc reflectors.





Leonardo

Looks like a great plan, I agree all t-5 lit tanks, tend to wash out the corals and make everything look flat...halides and t-5's I think is a great option, can not wait to see all of this come together.

[fish.freak]

80 watt T5s?

[reefgeek84]

Originally Posted by fish.freak

80 watt T5s?

Yup, 6 ft. bulbs... http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Bulbs/ scroll to the bottom you will see them...

[Mizer67]

I have thought about MH \ t-5 if I ever get a big tank. A question for anyone who has a setup like this, does the T-5 wash out the glitter lines? That is my only concern with a setup like this.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Hello Mizer67

It will not wash out the glitter lines that much when you don't add too much T5. I have 4 x24 Watt T5 combined with 2x250 Watt MH on my tank right now (see Formosa-Forsest thread), and the glitterlines are still very visible.
I just held my 6x39 Watt T5 pendant next to the MH to test your concern; the glitterlines were not visible anymore.

I will lose some glitter lines when I'm using 8x80 watt T5, but I think the 2x400 Watt MH in Lumenarcs will be strong enough to provide some glitter. It depends on the balance between T5 and MH.
For me, increased lightspread and many supplementation options are worth the reduction that will occur.

I think I will use 4x80 Watt KZ Fiji Purple, 2x80 Watt Aquascience Special (15.000K) and 2x80 Watt ATI Blue+ (20.000K) I think this colorscheme will look incredible with the Aqua-Connect.
Especially the Fiji Purple is unique, no MH can bring out red and pink so much.

Leonardo