Harrys Upgrade

[Harry1996]

Still not much to tell you lot but its looking like a 4 foot by 2 by 2.
birthday coming up
dunno about stock but any suggestions welcome.
if anyone wants any more info then just post it up here.

 

[seffieuk]

if anyone wants any more info then just post it up here.

Ehhh, silly question, we want to know all

Seffie x

 

[Harry1996]

LOL
well here is the list tell me if i need to change anything. its not final.


48x24x24 aquarium £226.95 (nd aquatics)
ATI Power module T5 4 Tube £395 (south west marines)
Two 54W marine white lights £21.98 (iquatics)
One 54W marine blue light £10.99 (iquatics)
2 Koralia Evolution 5200 Circulation Pumps £107.90 (reefstore)
Bubble Magus NAC6 Skimmer £175
Heater £14.95 (nd aquatics)
Bucket of salt £50
400L of RO water £40
Eheim 1262 Universal Pump £94.99 (nd aquatics)
Coral sand 25kg £22.50 (seapets)
30kg of live rock £270
Total £1430.26
im going to get some things second hand.

 

[indir-emir]

For a 24 inch deep tank you may want to look at metal halides if you wish to keep corals other then low light ones, as the t5s will not penetrate all 24 inches very well. Just my opinion however, you wil have keep the corals higher up on the rocks to get decent light amount.

 

[simonas]

Harry you jammy git

can;t wait till you get this one and see the progress

Bet you can;t wait

 

[Harry1996]

thanks Simonas.
well the lighting should be ok if not then i will have 4 white lights and 2 blue led things and maybe 2 whites. i have looked into halides but i dont like the heat out put. thanks tho

 

[Morri]

Why would you need MH for a 24" tank T5s are more than adequate but do not waste your money on MH if the tank was over 30" deep and you wanted to keep SPS and Clams on the sand bed then fine, MH are very old school I see more people upgrading from MH to T5 on a weekly basis for a number of reasons

1 A lot cheaper to run
2 better choice in colours
3 generate a lot less heat
4 Proven SPS growth and colour

You have made a good selection on the lights the ATI lights are far superior to may unit available and are a good price

I would be very cautious with Bubble Magus skimmers they have good write ups but I have serious reservations about support etc. I would keep my eye peeled for second hand APF 600 or even look at the MC500 Turbo

I would use 2 heaters and a heat controller like a TC-10

 

[Harry1996]

thanks morri why would i need a heat controller?

 

[indir-emir]

I suggested against T5's simply becuase it is infact 24 inches deep. If you test the light rating at that level of the tank the t5s would not be very strong and probably not adequate for many corals. Just my opinion. Others will disagree, i dont personally have a 2 foot tall tank but alot of people do online and have tested the lights and found them to be low - very low at the bottom of the tank. The corals, especially SPS will need to be kept rather high in the tank to receive their required light strength.

Again this is my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. Listen to the more experienced reef keepers in that regard

 

[Morri]

I have a 24" deep tank and keep SPS and Clams in my tank I run 6 x T5s on my sand bed I have Blastos, Cats, Fungia, Torches and i can assure you this are growing and flourshing I am unsure what you are basing your statement on that T5s will not be any good at 24".

I deal with a lot of customers who use T5s some of the nicest tanks in the country run T5s

My SPS sit anywhere from 12" to 18" below the water surface and grow extremely well all you need to do is look at my photos in my thread to see the growth

The only thing I would consider changing Harry is maybe looking at 6 lights but it does depend what you want to keep if only LPS what you have selected will be perfect even if you wish to keep corals on the sand bed

The Heat Controller is a failover unit and will switch the power of to the heater once it reaches temp it will protect from the tank over heating in the event of a heater sticking on

 

[Harry1996]

ok i may have 6 lights but can u put the lights on at one at a time or something with the ati units? because i carnt find much info on them. i know they are very bright for what they are though.
also i for got to put that me and my dad are going to build a cabinet for the tank. also we are going to build the sump it will be 3 foot by 18 inches by 18 inches? let me know if ishould change the size.

 

[ben1987]

Why would you need MH for a 24" tank T5s are more than adequate but do not waste your money on MH if the tank was over 30" deep and you wanted to keep SPS and Clams on the sand bed then fine, MH are very old school I see more people upgrading from MH to T5 on a weekly basis for a number of reasons

1 A lot cheaper to run
2 better choice in colours
3 generate a lot less heat
4 Proven SPS growth and colour

You have made a good selection on the lights the ATI lights are far superior to may unit available and are a good price

I would be very cautious with Bubble Magus skimmers they have good write ups but I have serious reservations about support etc. I would keep my eye peeled for second hand APF 600 or even look at the MC500 Turbo

I would use 2 heaters and a heat controller like a TC-10

not very often i disagree with you but i do on a couple of things there. T5s arent a lot cheaper to run. Watt for watt its exactly the same. With the right reflector halides will cover a lot more area and you save on having to change a lot less bulbs and less often. If you got for an electronic ballast then theres isnt that much more power drawn compared to the bulb rating.

yeah better colour choice with mixing and matching T5s

agree with heat also

For out and out SPS growth you cant touch halides, and colour depends on so much more than just lighting.

id go for deltec skimmer too like suggested

 

[indir-emir]

Hmm well i stand corrected then. Just what seems to be the consensus here in australia regarding the T5s. Please disregard what ive said as i no longer believe that

 

[ben1987]

Hmm well i stand corrected then. Just what seems to be the consensus here in australia regarding the T5s. Please disregard what ive said as i no longer believe that

in a way you were right, T5s stuggle to penetrate in depths of more than 24" but on a 2 foot high tank theres likely to be roaund about 20 inches of water. While halides would probably have higher par readings on the sand at 24" the corals that really need the higher lighting are going to be a bit further up and the LPS likely to be on the sand do better in less intense light

 

[Harry1996]

my plan atm is to finish stocking my nano tank, because i dont like things being unfinished. anyway the work on the house is going to start in September soi carnt get my upgrade until Christmas time. but equipment buying is starting now. also i might get a vortech pump