YES! I have official began my build. I am upgrading my 75 gallon. I will post some pics of the room that I am partitioning off and what the plan is. -I ordered the tank today. Will be here on Friday (I know, quick huh) -Will get a hundred pounds or so of live rock on Sat. -Bought an...

So i got this new light over the weekend. Sunday the MH fired right up, but Monday the MH glowed in the center but never really fired off. Does this mean that they are burned out and need to be replaced?? Am i gonna find the best deal on MH on ebay?? Again the MH glows in the center but does not...

What is everyones opinion about the effectiveness of reflectors. If I go without a nice reflector I can fit in a 400w and a 250w mh. Would I be better off having a nice reflector and just the 1 400w bulb burning. Anyone done any tests with lux meters? May be a good task for the think tankers

well after putting MH on the 29 and seeing how much I like it.. i'm thinking i am going to convert the 75 over th MH from T5... I'm thinking 2X250 MH with XM 20K bulbs with no actinics. Sooo. if anyone is interested in a 4X54 T5 Retro I may be willing to swap for a 2X250 MH fixture...I am...

In another thread someone reccomended I read the PAR from my lights. How do you measure PAR? With a lux meter?

You know - I am still debating on the 28G Nanocube or a bigger tank. I know I wil lget bored of the Nanocube eventually since it can only house maybe 2-3 small fish and a few corals. I confirmed the electrical issue will cost allot to do and its probably out of the question. With a TV, DVD...

Anybody in the club have a PAR Meter? If not, is there even enough interest in one to even make it feasible to try to get together as a club and buy one so that the members can use it? The one I priced was 250 dollars.

I'm looking to upgrade my lighting in the future . Just curious how 300w of t5's be compared to 400w of pc that i'm running right now . I know t5's a better light but my question is would 300w be as effective as 400w of pc my tank is 23 inches high 72 gallon bow this is the light i'm...

I know,.. I know. I said I wasn't getting involved, but then I got this idea :doh: The situation is that I have a 10G that's in my wall and has been empty since June when I gave away all the plants that were in it. I will enter if: 1. I have everything I need laying around. 2. I can design...

It seems with all the different technologies in use, it sure would be nice if we could compare light output in a standard way (since we all know watts doesn't compare apples to apples) Is anyone using a lux meter to measure actual output? You can get fleabay lux meters for under 30 bucks...

OK I now get why we do this! I love looking at others pictures and hope you will all indulge me with some pics :) I got my first sps amonth ago and have been mesmorised with them ever since. They were all frags from friends and I am amazed at the growth in just one month. I am sure no one else...

I'm in the process of building a 150gal reef tank. I'm working on the lighting fixture and the top cabinet. The question that I have is, is there a general rule on how high above the tank I should mount the lighting fixture. The fixture itself is 2- 250 watt mh, 10000k, with 2 48" vho super...

Well, I'm starting to realize I made some big boo boos running my MH bulbs. I was running Hamilton 14k's much longer than I should have and then replaced them with XM10k's for about a month or so. Then I pulled them out and put my old Hamiltons back in there. What I'm realizing is I need to...

Good Morning Stooges!:wavey: Title says it all Whiskey!:)

I was wondering if it would affect anything if I put a peice of acrylic between my lights and my tank. I am going to raise my lights 1 inch. I have 4 HO T5s, which are covered in salt dust/spray. I want to put the acrylic in between to prevent the salt from getting on the lights. It wont be...

As many of you know I have a Lux meater and T5 bulbs over my 50G tank. When I bought the bulbs I took some readings, and have been tracking their light output over time,.. this is an update as to where we are now. For these tests I am placing the Lux meater's probe on the tank centerbrace...

as usual... i have no real idea of what they are, what the difference is and what are 'normal' levels anyway i was thinking of getting one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-LCD-LUX-light-meter-50-000Lux-4-Camera-Photo_W0QQitemZ280110501119QQihZ018QQcategoryZ88669QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem but i...

I'm sure this will fuel a fiery debate....:doh: I've been told PC's are the best and I've been told T5s are the best. Whos right? BTW I know MH are truly the best! This question pertains to fluorescents. I have a 75g (w/canopy) so when I set it up I got 2 96w PCs (retro) I was going to get...

I love to come home and find new things when i get there! Im going to try them out & see the dif.. between my Orbit 4 x 65 watt, these are for my 75 gallon, i will still be running 6 x 65 watt Orbits with them, if i like them im going T-5 all the way Will see :) Brent.

After much deliberating to figure out how to work lighting with my cabinet, I think I've decided on 1 400w MH retro (probably 13-14k), complemented by some T5 retros. I need the 400w to penetrate the 30" tank, but 2 is out of the question for energy bill and heat reasons. The options for the...