Basement Reno And In-wall 205g Reef

Poseidon

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Location
SW Ontario
It's true, if I ever started a coral tank again mh would be top of the list , if you really want to save money your in the wrong hobby ;)
 

curiousphil

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
Brandon ended up snagging most of Darryl's stuff.

I agree that 400 watt halides just seem to be a "win button." All of the tanks that I look at that I want to emulate, I look into their strategies and 90 percent of the time they are 400 watt halide users.

Don't know if I'll use Radium's or XM 20k's. I was looking at Sanjay Joshi's bulb comparison data over on Manhatten Reefs and they seem to be pretty much on PAR. Pun not intended lol. I'll probably go XM just because Paul can get them in for me through Big Al's and I try to give him my business whenever possible.
 
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curiousphil

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
if you really want to save money your in the wrong hobby ;)

That's my opinion too lol! Nothing in this hobby is cheap, so no point in cutting corners on things that matter like lighting. I went LED originally only because I thought it would be a fun project to build the fixture, not because of any kind of concerns about cost savings. Arguably, going LED costs more upfront and the running costs are negligible if you run enough fixtures to get similar spread and PAR as MH. My LED fixtures were using a 500 watt power supply!

So yeah I'm going balls out this time. I'm debating whether or not I will need a third reflector as the Lumenarc 3s are supposed to have a 36 inch spread.
 

J_T

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Website Affiliate
Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Website
www.jtcustomacrylics.com
Hmm, you could run the 2 400's on the end with a 250 in the middle or something depending on how you arrange your aqua scape

This is the layout i would go for.

Also, i too am a 400 halide user :) LED look nice, and i may still add some for pop when company is over. But 14k color is where i like my tank!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

curiousphil

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
Thanks Paul, Aaron, Tony and Cam for your help. I would say that the move went incredibly smooth!

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Plumbing will begin this weekend along with the storage area framing (hopefully). I've decided to do a 2 inch sandbed of Seaflor Special, which is now on order.
 

curiousphil

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
Beth has convinced me to leave the concrete exposed and spray that rubber paint around the seams where the walls meet the floor. So the fish area floor will still be sealed off but the majority of the concrete floor will be able to breath.

Seems like a decent idea. She isn't nearly as concerned about potential leaks as I am so I dunno maybe I'm being overly paranoid.

It's definitely too late to lay pond liner though. I can slide the tank across the floor but I can't lift it on my own and it would be impossible to slide it across pond liner.
 
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