New T5 Lighting

[cameron]

sammy33;127824 wrote: Are you using any shield for the lamps/reflectors? My flow was so high near the top that I would get lots of splash on my lights even with them about 5" off the water. Yours look much closer.

No shields, but if splash gets bad in the next few weeks I will likely try some light high quality acrylic for a shield. I may also lower the water level in the tank some and move the powerheads down. I will may just clean the lights and reflectors every few weeks. All depends on how bad it gets.

BTW the placement of the lamps was out of necessity. I would have jacked them up more if the canopy allowed.

Nice rack! Seriously thats a nice light setup. Who built it? You.

No. A local reefer helped me out with the project and virtually did all the work except wiring it up. It is his design and hard work.

I would like to see some par numbers also.

I can probably get some in a couple weeks when a PAR meter is back over my house.

Its tough to tell from the pics, but it looks like a nice white with a touch of blue. Very nice setup.

It is VERY white... too white for my liking. Brighter and whiter than my 250 XM 10ks. Looking for something more in the 14k area.

 

[cameron]

donnyholland;127966 wrote: I had similar problem with a retro I did in the store. I changed the gfci out like 3 times and then it just stopped tripping it all of a sudden not sure what caused it. I have a real good repor with icecap though so if you need to swap it out let me know I will take care of it for you.

Haven't seen the problem connected through my AC3. Must be something strange with the ballast and the plug in GFCI I was using. I am keeping my eye on it though.

 

[dannybradley]

In pic #4 is it as dim as it appears to be in the left corner, or is that just the picture? I'm looking forward to seeing these in action.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Looking great man... Seriously... Hope the better half in the house does not miss the glimmer of the halides but the overall brightness looks much better. I can tell it would be a bit white for your liking but that can be fixed. I can not wait to see it up close and in person. Awesome job as well "Fellow Reefer"!!!

 

[cameron]

DannyBradley;128043 wrote: In pic #4 is it as dim as it appears to be in the left corner, or is that just the picture? I'm looking forward to seeing these in action.

Its dark, but I can fix it easy and will tomorrow night.

 

[cameron]

The LunarSim module from Neptune is AWESOME. The moonlight shimmer is incredible. I will see if Nancy can whip out her fancy camera and get a shot without flash to demonstrate.

 

[gwhiz]

Cameron;128034 wrote: No. A local reefer helped me out with the project and virtually did all the work except wiring it up. It is his design and hard work.

You're not giving yourself enough credit. It was a collaborative design--I've got the PM string to prove it!

 

[cameron]

I was trying to keep you incognito George to save you from the massive amount of PMs you will likely receive because of this incredible work.

Anyway, I hate to argue with you on this but I think the PM string went something like...

Cam: I am looking for a rack of sorts to mount my T5 lighting. Any ideas?

George: How about this? [he includes a fully mocked up design in sketch pad about a minute later]

Cam: That is perfect!

George: Yeah I was already thinking the same thing for my tank so I already designed it. Could you send me measurements. Also, do you want plastic or metal sliding rails?

Cam: Sent CRAZY measurements of my tank due to all the bracing in it. Oh and asked if a wood piece could run down the middle for mounting moonlights

George: [couple days later] Hey I am done. When do you want to install it.

You do great work and I am very happy I sucked you into all my strange projects. If my tank ever gets on the Tour of Tanks, I think people are going to be mighty impressed with your design and finish work.

 

[roland jacques]

Cameron;127756 wrote: As for the moon lights, there are two seperate LED systems. One is the moonlights (not what you see in the pics lit up) and those are the LunarSim lights from Neptune. I haven't seen those yet as it isn't night time and I just got it plugged into the AC3. The lights you are seeing are for shimmer (which no suprise is getting completely washed out by the T5s) and for sunrise/sunset. With just those on, the tank looks great but they don't put out any PAR so you can't really grow anything with them. <u>If I was doing a FOWLR, I would consider buying a few for a tank.</em></u> They are really nice and actually shimmer better than an MH light. They just aren't nearly as bright as an MH light.

Do you really think these are bright enough for a fish only tank?
This sound interesting. are you talking about these

 

[cameron]

They are VERY blue and probably not as bright. I can tell you that the Current USA Powerbrite bars if you buy enough of them would look awesome in a tank. I have three in my 6' and would probably need 3 more, but they put out some nice light and it shimmers like crazy. Current USA I think recommends one for every 20" which is probably enough.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~CU01645.html">http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~CU01645.html</a>

There are cheaper places to buy these as well.

 

[chull13]

Nice Build Cameron. Do you think that drawer glides would work to slide the light rack back and forth or do you think that they will rust over time? I am about to start building my canopy and was thinking of something similar to what you have done.

 

[gwhiz]

chull13;129434 wrote: Nice Build Cameron. Do you think that drawer glides would work to slide the light rack back and forth or do you think that they will rust over time? I am about to start building my canopy and was thinking of something similar to what you have done.

I'll be able to tell you in time. I used stainless steel full extension drawer slides on mine 'cause I've got 18" of clearance behind the tank and they allow me to push the light rack all the way off the tank. I expect that they'll rust and I'll need to replace them periodically--I just don't know how often.

 

[chull13]

Thanks George,

After seeing what you did with cameron's light rack I have to say that I trust your judgement. I may be contacting you for guidance along the way.

 

[cameron]

The plastic works well enough, but it isn't as smooth as the rails. I don't really regret not going with the rails, but at this point the rails seems like a better choice. The rust part though could make them a part that has to be replaced annually though which would increase the hassle factor greatly. If rails can make it 2+ years without a problem, they are worth it IMO.

 

[cameron]

Oh as a quick update, many corals are really coloring up. I have a great selection of acros from Rits tank prior to the problems and they are all looking MUCH better under the new lighitng setup. They are also growing at a nice pace. The frags are about 10" under the water column and all have shifted away from brown into various greens, blues and purples.

 

[emilese]

Very nice build! I was thinking about doing the exact same lighting for the tank I'm setting up.

What reflectors did you use?

Miles

 

[cameron]

Icecap reflectors and ballast. It did require some DIY and I had to supply some parts since Icecap doesn't make a 60" reflector. Worth it though since Icecap reflectors are 1/2" less in width and allow for more to be packed in.

 

[roland jacques]

Cameron;130827 wrote: Oh as a quick update, many corals are really coloring up. I have a great selection of acros from Rits tank prior to the problems and they are all looking MUCH better under the new lighitng setup. They are also growing at a nice pace. The frags are about 10" under the water column and all have shifted away from brown into various greens, blues and purples.

Sounds great, Its cool hear the corals are coloring up all ready. What lamps are you switching from?

I did order a Power Bright Bar, can't wait to see how they look.

 

[cameron]

Previous setup was 2 250w MHs. The ballasts were IceCap, spider reflectors and I ran several bulbs. The Hamiltons were my last and towards 8 months and have a coating of salt on the reflectors and bulb they were throwing horrible PAR. The XM 10ks were nice though, but too white for my tastes. I also ran 4x24" T5s and 2x36" T5s for supplement lighting on Advanced Ballasts but the MHs washed them out.

The Power Bright Bar looks awesome, but my T5 lighitng washes it out. When those are just on though it looks pretty cool.

 

[cameron]

PAR numbers below. I am VERY happy with these numbers. I expected the surface/top numbers, but my PAR not falling below 200 at the sandbed was a very nice bonus.
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