Need some input

[Mikef1]

I have recently decided to start up my 90 gal again since I have not had it running in a while. Unfortunately I sold some of my equipment and will have to buy some things. So this is the setup
90 gal all glass tank drilled with mega flow
2 400w 20k radium’s
2 110w VHO's
Aqua c ev-180 or 120 not sure yet

I used to run this tank with a chiller but sold it along with my skimmer during its down time. I live in Florida so it gets pretty hot here although I keep my house at 75 at all times. When the tank was running before I had the lighting enclosed in a canopy but this time I am going to purchase a pfo hood that will be suspended over the tank which will hopefully reduce the heat. Do you think I can get by without a chiller? I already have a calcium reactor I just need to purchase a new co2 regulator and solenoid. I am planning on staring it up within the next couple weeks with a live sand bed and possibly live rock also. Do I need to purchase a skimmer ASAP or can I wait until it is done with its cycle? Also, I used live sand last time and it worked great but was wondering if there are any other suggestions? As far as for a sump I used a Rubbermaid container last time but am considering something better this time that will still fit under the stand without being to tight. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Len]

Hey Mike, good to see ya back.

With an open top and a room kept at 75, my guess (it's only a guess ) is that you won't need a chiller. You may need some fans blowing across the top of the tank though.

You can wait until your tank is cycled before you install the skimmer. I do not run my skimmer until after my cycle (after my first big water change, actually).

I'm still a big fan of sand, but there is many people going bare bottom these days or using materials like starboard. But if you ask me, nothing beats good sand

I use acrylic sumps because I can customize it very easily. They're going to be a lot more expensive then rubbermaids though. There are also some manufacturered PE tanks that are reef safe. For example, there's a bunch of sizes here to pick from

 

[Mikef1]

Len, thanks for the input. I was thinking of doing an acrylic sump for the same reasons. I guess my biggest concern though was the chiller situation. I am hoping to get by with some fans over the sump and the top of the tank because the chiller was not only expensive to run but extremely hot.

 

[fungia]

you can always add a chiller later on but i dont think you will need it if you air condition the house. thats what i do in the summer

 

[wetworx101]

I have a buddy with a 150g who used radiums... a 400 in the center, and 250s at the ends... with VHO actinics!!! Needless to say... the tank was blue... too blue.

He was searching for ways to reduce his wattage, so I suggested 250wattDEs and T5 supplimentation. He bought a maristar, using 250wattDE ushio 14,000Ks and blue+ T5 bulbs. The combo is not 'deep blue sea' like the radiums, but a crisp day-blue that the corals love. FWIW, he had a few corals bleach out under the new lights because they were so bright.

400watt Radiums are not 400s... they are 360watt bulbs. This is why they last for such a short period, even on electronic ballasts. IMO, its not worth the cost. There are so many better bulbs out there.

I used to be a fan of halide-only setups, but not so much anymore. You have to pick a main bulb and you are kinda stuck with it. Halides also arent as good at making blue light as phosphor based bulbs like VHOs and T5s... a 20,000K is often half the ouput of a 10,000K, but with T5s, the output of blue+ bulbs rivals that of the day bulbs. With T5s, you can mix and match to your heart's content. And IME, the best looking tanks are those with MH+T5 combos. The blue output of the T5s suppliments even the yellower 10,000K bulbs to make them look great, and with such an efficient full spectrum of light, the corals really 'pop'.

Dual 400s will run about 800-850 watts. Dual 250wattDEs will be 550-600ish, last alot longer, and rival the radiums for output, and with 2x54wattT5 bulbs, they will look crisp white/blue (corals really seem to love it) and you will have slightly less watts (about 100) with more light. The coloration of the corals since JD's switch has greatly improved.

 

[Mikef1]

Thanks for the lighting input but I am kinda stuck with what I have. I already have a dual 400w PFO HQI ballast and a 110x2 VHO ballast from when the tank was previously set up.

 

[Mikef1]

PFO also makes a 400w DE in 20k or 10k bulb which I could run off of my pfo ballast. The only problem is they only make pendants for these do I wouldnt have a place to put my VHO's. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lig ... sp?CartId=
Although the 400w DE would run cooler than a SE correct?
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[wetworx101]

No, stay away from 400wattDE bulbs at all costs. They are a scam. 250wattDE and 150wattDE bulbs are the accepted format for HQI bulbs, and the SE versions (175 and 250) are USUALLY the lower quality probe-start (there are some 250wattSE HQI bulbs like the Radium). So a few companies decided that if they packaged cheap US probe-start bulbs in a DE package, people would buy them because they looked like HQI bulbs of lower wattages. It didnt take long for the truth to come out though. The true HQI 400s are SE, because the international standard for HQI 400s is still in the Mogul form. The list is short, but sweet for 400wattHQI...

Ushio/BLV nepturion (non-CWA models) 10,000K, 14,000K, 20,000K, the Aquaconnect 14,000K, Aqualine 10,000K, and the full line of Giesemann 400s are pulse-start/HQI 400s.

The 400wattDE bulbs are a sham. Many die within 6-9 months due to poor QC... Happy Reefing already went under. PFO and IC are the only mfg's left, and their bulbs are nothing more than a socket swap with the probe-start, low-pressure US 400watt bulbs. They run them on e-ballasts because on a true HQI ballast these bulbs would die very quickly.

 

[Mikef1]

Thanks, I think this is the setup I will go with then http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lig ... sp?CartId=
It seems this would be the most temp effective setup and would allow me to incorporate my VHO's. I have not purchased new bulbs yet so I guess I could always go with something 400w in 10k or 20k. I am in the process of ordering sand at the moment and just ordered new filters for my RO/DI unit. I am thinking of going withy a mixture of live sand and aragonite. Any opinions on how much for 90 gal? I think I used about 80lbs last time I set this tank up.

 

[bleedingthought]

No, stay away from 400wattDE bulbs at all costs. They are a scam. 250wattDE and 150wattDE bulbs are the accepted format for HQI bulbs, and the SE versions (175 and 250) are USUALLY the lower quality probe-start (there are some 250wattSE HQI bulbs like the Radium). So a few companies decided that if they packaged cheap US probe-start bulbs in a DE package, people would buy them because they looked like HQI bulbs of lower wattages. It didnt take long for the truth to come out though. The true HQI 400s are SE, because the international standard for HQI 400s is still in the Mogul form. The list is short, but sweet for 400wattHQI...

Ushio/BLV nepturion (non-CWA models) 10,000K, 14,000K, 20,000K, the Aquaconnect 14,000K, Aqualine 10,000K, and the full line of Giesemann 400s are pulse-start/HQI 400s.

The 400wattDE bulbs are a sham. Many die within 6-9 months due to poor QC... Happy Reefing already went under. PFO and IC are the only mfg's left, and their bulbs are nothing more than a socket swap with the probe-start, low-pressure US 400watt bulbs. They run them on e-ballasts because on a true HQI ballast these bulbs would die very quickly.

Ha! That's good to know!

 

[bleedingthought]

Thanks, I think this is the setup I will go with then http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lig ... sp?CartId=
It seems this would be the most temp effective setup and would allow me to incorporate my VHO's. I have not purchased new bulbs yet so I guess I could always go with something 400w in 10k or 20k. I am in the process of ordering sand at the moment and just ordered new filters for my RO/DI unit. I am thinking of going withy a mixture of live sand and aragonite. Any opinions on how much for 90 gal? I think I used about 80lbs last time I set this tank up.

Try this: http://www.garf.org/calculators/SandBedCalculator.asp .

 

[Mikef1]

Is anyone familiar with the PFO hood systems? If so whats the best way to install them?

 

[Len]

I had a PFO pendant and my LFS has one of their hoods over a 180 gallon. They rested the hood above the tank via some wood blocks. Not the most elegant solution, but it worked. These full hoods are rather bulky, so suspending them is a big job, as is mounting them inside an existing canopy. Personally, I'd go with multiple smaller pendants versus one big hood.

 

[Mikef1]

Len,

If I go with smaller pendants how do you suggest I incorporate my VHO's. Again my biggest concern is avoiding the heat of a fully enclosed canopy. Should I just not run the VHO's and just use the 20k halides? Any ideas are would be appreciated. I thought of creating an enclosure without a top that the PFO hood would rest on and mounting the VHOs inside the enclosure. This would keep the top partially open allwing trapped heat to escape. I also like the idea of an enclosure because it will hide wires.

 

[trido]

Len,

If I go with smaller pendants how do you suggest I incorporate my VHO's. I thought of creating an enclosure without a top that the PFO hood would rest on and mounting the VHOs inside the enclosure. This would keep the top partially open allwing trapped heat to escape. I also like the idea of an enclosure because it will hide wires.

You could build a three sided enclosure with no top. Use two PFO pendants suspended with angle iron or something, and then hang the VHOs in much the same way. The PFO pendants are MUCH less expensive than a full hood and you then get DE without paying extra for custom mods. Another nice pendant you may want to consider is this http://www.reefexotics.com/lumenarc.htm The new lumenarc DE stealth for $99.

 

[JKDMan]

i dont think youll have any problems with a chiller i got a 220 gal
with 3 250w 15k hqi double ended xm bulbs i have no problem with temp
its a open tank my light fixture has legs

 

[Mikef1]

I think I have decided to just go with the full PFO hood that will house dual 400w MH and 2 110w VHOs. Since I have heard some mixed opinions on the DE 400w MH bulbs I will be going with SE 400w bulbs. I am trying to decide between 10k, 14k, 0r 20k radiums. I had the ballast running 20k radiums before and liked the look but have heard they have reduced life when compared to some of your other 10k german bulbs. Maybe I will go with 400w 10k hamiltons and 2 110 actinic VHO's. I hate making these decisions because regardless I will always end up dissapointed.