Kayak/HoneyB 92 Corner Official Tank Build!

[acroholic]

kayakATL;477965 wrote: I have a ton to get right before I make that step. You know this hobby is no help with trying to save money either.

Think of a Reef Tank as the coral equivalent of that Tom Hanks movie "The Money Pit."

 

[smoothie]

Acroholic;477969 wrote: Think of a Reef Tank as the coral equivalent of that Tom Hanks movie "The Money Pit."

I think of it more as my never ending always growing fort I always made better and upgraded as a kid.

 

[acroholic]

Regarding lighting. The pic of the 3 x 175 watt halides would work for sure, but the Spiderlight reflectors leave something to be desired. A great option for your tank would be a single 400 watt bulb in either a Lumenbright reflector or Lumenmax reflector. But I would look closely at the CoralVue 400 watt Dimmable e-ballast. I use three of these on my 210, and the dimmability of this ballast (-35% to +10% overdrive) is a great thing to have. You would not believe how blue it gets when you dim it down a bit. Pair the CV ballast with a Radium 20K SE bulb and you have combination of excellent PAR and nice blue color.

If you have a shorter canopy and want the reflector inside the canopy, go with a LM Elite, but what you cold also do is buy a CoralVue Lumenbright
finished pendant (black), and cut a hole in the top of your canopy and just sit the LB on top of the canopy.

I have three LB mini pendants hanging from the wall, which is my preferred method. I don't use or care for canopies, personally.

 

[smoothie]

+1 one on a large reflector and a 400w dimmable.

 

[johnr2604]

Acroholic;477973 wrote: Regarding lighting. The pic of the 3 x 175 watt halides would work for sure, but the Spiderlight reflectors leave something to be desired. A great option for your tank would be a single 400 watt bulb in either a Lumenbright reflector or Lumenmax reflector. But I would look closely at the CoralVue 400 watt Dimmable e-ballast. I use three of these on my 210, and the dimmability of this ballast (-35% to +10% overdrive) is a great thing to have. You would not believe how blue it gets when you dim it down a bit. Pair the CV ballast with a Radium 20K SE bulb and you have combination of excellent PAR and nice blue color.

If you have a shorter canopy and want the reflector inside the canopy, go with a LM Elite, but what you cold also do is buy a CoralVue Lumenbright
finished pendant (black), and cut a hole in the top of your canopy and just sit the LB on top of the canopy.

I have three LB mini pendants hanging from the wall, which is my preferred method. I don't use or care for canopies, personally.

I agree. a good reflector goes a long way. The 400w would end up being cheaper up front and over long term.

 

[smoothie]

johnr2604;477975 wrote: I agree. a good reflector goes a long way. The 400w would end up being cheaper up front and over long term.

There will be no question of the "punch" either. Everything will recieve great light.
Another thing- with the curved front on these tanks flow gets directed everywhere. It's a beautiful thing

 

[acroholic]

johnr2604;477975 wrote: I agree. a good reflector goes a long way. The 400w would end up being cheaper up front and over long term.

Especially when bulb changing time rolls around, besides the upfront costs John mentioned. 400 watt CV dimmable ballast: $150, CV finished LumenBright Pendant: $135-$145 (depending on if you buy mini, regular, or wide model), Radium 400 watt 20K SE bulb: $70-$80. About $360 to get going with one of the nicest halide systems available, IMO.

 

[kayakatl]

That sounds like a much betteer plan. Dimmable sounds like a good idea both for color and acclimation to a 400W MH from a 4 bulb T5. That sounds like a good route to me.

 

[ricksconnected]

im going with 2 250MH over my 120.

 

[honeyb627]

Acroholic;477969 wrote: Think of a Reef Tank as the coral equivalent of that Tom Hanks movie "The Money Pit."

ROFL, wow I haven't seen that movie in FOREVER!!!! CLASSIC!

 

[kayakatl]

CoralVue ballast or Lumatek? What are the pros and cons of each? Lumatek claims up to 50% dimming. I will trust the bulb selection. It seems to be favorable to the majority. I really should quit mapping out prices of this build.

 

[acroholic]

kayakATL;478238 wrote: CoralVue ballast or Lumatek? What are the pros and cons of each? Lumatek claims up to 50% dimming. I will trust the bulb selection. It seems to be favorable to the majority. I really should quit mapping out prices of this build.

Someone can correct me on this if I am wrong, but I don't think the Lumatek ballasts are dimmable like the Coralvue Ballasts are. I think the Lumatek ballasts will run diffferent wattage halide bulbs (250 or 400) by clicking a knob. In that sense they are dimmable, but not like the CoralVue. CoralVue ballasts come in one wattage only (250 only, 400 only, 1000 watt only), but their dimmability is like a dimmer switch on a lamp. You can dim down a 400 watt bulb to about 260 watts to full 400 watts or anywhere in between. The +10% overdrive is a "click" feature, so you can only go from 400 watts to +10% only.

 

[kayakatl]

I think you are right Dave. I looked deeper into it. I had just done a quick Google for dimmable 400w ballast. I got those 2, but I believe that the coralvue is the only truly dimmable ballast. Your Numbers seem to be about spot on. Sponsors feel free to shoot me prices for that ballast, bulb or an appropriate reflector.

 

[kayakatl]

Picked up my light today! Sunpod 36" duel 150W MH w/ 14k Phoenix bulbs. It fits the tank perfectly. I think it will light the very very well. Due to the placement of the tank I think I will be doing a conversion on the fans. They are pretty loud (specs say 26dBA). I found some SilenX fans I am going to replace them with. I will have to get a transformer to convert from the 120V input to 12V but I think it will be very well worth it. Uhh yeah, excuse the silicone all over the bottom of the tank, I told you that was the ugly, I am just fixing that part.

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[kayakatl]

Ok, Sooo. Got the sun pod, and decided to gut the stock 120v fans in the thing (might as well have been a leer jed idleing) with some whisper quiet (by that I mean absolutely silent) SilenX fans from frys. Just a few pix, I will be doing a write up on this for DIY.
Old fans.

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New ones during installation

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Complete

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[kayakatl]

Oh, and thanks to Chris at FishScales I have a sump now too. We decided on a multi level sump made of 3 10 gal tanks. The top one is bottom drilled with a stand pipe to keep water level just below full. This will give me a 10 gallon fuge. It drains into the lower level (another 10 gal) that will house my skimmer and return pump. I know this is not the preferred order of operations but it will have to do considering my space restraints. I also have a 3rd 10 down there. At the moment I plan on this being an ATO holding tank. I may end up plumbing it to to the other 10 gal depending on my space restraints for a return pump and skimmer.

 

[marko22]

Looks awesome. I'm glad you were able to figure out which direction to go with the sump. I can't wait to see the finished build. Good luck.

 

[kayakatl]

MarkO22;480989 wrote: Looks awesome. I'm glad you were able to figure out which direction to go with the sump. I can't wait to see the finished build. Good luck.

Thanks Mark, It was good to meet you yesterday! I owe the sump idea to Chris.

 

[marko22]

Same here. Next time your up this way give me a shout and we can grab a beer at the house. I'm always looking for another set of eyes to come up with ideas for my own system.

As for Chris, yeah, coming up with designs, ideas and custom setups really is his specialty. I think he can figure out a way to make anything work.

kayakATL;480991 wrote: Thanks Mark, It was good to meet you yesterday! I owe the sump idea to Chris.

 

[kayakatl]

Here is the Sump setup. Someone was dying to see it laid out so here it is.

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