Couple Of Questions

[jtnova13]

Hey guys, been doing tons of research, but i want to consolidate all of my questions into 1 topic.

This will all be for a 90 gallon (48x24x20) with a 20 gallon sump.

1. I want to keep LPS, SPS, soft coral, anemone maybe a clam. I can get an almost new odyssea 716W light strip for really cheap (~50 bucks). It has 2x250W MH, 4x54W T5 and 6 LED moonlights. My question is, will this lighting cause a significant increase in temperature? If so, is it possible to use lower wattage bulbs in the MH or do I have to replace the ballasts?

2. I have some crushed coral substrate from when I had african cichlids. Can i use this as my substrate for marine if I rinse it with RO first? Or would I be better off just buying some argonite sand?

Thanks in advance for your help, I will probably have more questions in the future!

 

[rabbut]

Halides kick out masses of heat, so yes, they may well cause temperature increases in the tank. The trick is to ensure they have plenty of air movement around them and that they are a good distance (1 foot or more) above the water's surface. Basically, read my journal, and do the opposite to what I did with lighting Mine is enclosed in the hood and sits 6" above the water surface and is causing me loads of heat issues ATM if I don't run a fan in there when the light is on, and keep the flap open... If you hang your unit like a pendant, you are less likely to have said issues, hey, I learnt the hard way

With the halides, to use lower wattage lamps, you need to change the ballast and the lamp holder, basically most of the unit If you plan on Nems, SPS and Clams though, you'd be best off sticking with the 250W's as it keep the doors to many of those species open to you when compared with say 150W halides on that size of tank

You can use the crushed coral if you wash it well first, or Argonite sand. I personally prefer the look of Argonite, but it's you call

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Anguilla82]

Hey guys, been doing tons of research, but i want to consolidate all of my questions into 1 topic.

This will all be for a 90 gallon (48x24x20) with a 20 gallon sump.

1. I want to keep LPS, SPS, soft coral, anemone maybe a clam. I can get an almost new odyssea 716W light strip for really cheap (~50 bucks). It has 2x250W MH, 4x54W T5 and 6 LED moonlights. My question is, will this lighting cause a significant increase in temperature? If so, is it possible to use lower wattage bulbs in the MH or do I have to replace the ballasts?
lighting would be fine as you want to keep clams/sps etc. it will cause a raise in temp but you can counteract this with fans and/or a chiller.
you can't change the bubls over without changing the ballasts as far as i'm aware but 250s will be fine for your tank

2. I have some crushed coral substrate from when I had african cichlids. Can i use this as my substrate for marine if I rinse it with RO first? Or would I be better off just buying some argonite sand?
Don't know. might be ok, but to be safe i'd get fresh new stuff

doh too slow - basically what Rabbut said!

 

[jtnova13]

The rabbut's quick. Pun intended.

Thanks for the speedy response. I will probably build some sort of bracket to hold the fixture 1' above the tank then with some built in fans or something. Do I even need to turn the T5's on?

I also like the look of argonite sand, so I will probably just buy it since it's cheap enough!

 

[Anguilla82]

you wouldn't need to HAVE to have the T5s on, but it might be good to get the colour of the light right for your tank/corals. More/less blue tubes, purple tubes even.

 

[rabbut]

I'd stick Actinics in the T5 holders if it were me, just to make the coral colours "pop"

With the halide, if you mount it on a bracket, plan to have it 18" to 24" above the tank, hang it at a foot and then do a very tricky bit. Place your hand at the waters surface, if you can feel heat, move them up a bit further. If you don't like the spill, and you cannot feel the heat, lower them a bit and try again... It's fiddely, but eventually you get to a point where they are far enough away to not cause too many heat issues, but they are close enough to minimise spill I'd replace the lamps upon receipt if it's a second hand, as you don't know how old they are, or what brand/colour temp. Also, allow them 15 mins to warm up before you try that test As you will find when you switch them on, the take what seams like an age to warm-up and reach full output.

All the best
Rabbut

 

[SkiFletch]

Ummm, yikes, sorry I wasn't around here to answer this. Be very careful when purchasing lighting, you definitely "get what you pay for" with Odyssea fixtures Their ballasts are all underdriven by cheap electronic parts which aren't heatsunk well, so they fry early. And their lights use cheap phosphors which don't put out great colors and don't last very long. I wouldn't buy one TBH

 

[jtnova13]

Word, I did alot of research on odyssea and apparently they used to use a single switch to control all 3 sets of lights. But in recent years since switching to 3 switch and better ballasts there have been much less problems. Not sure about the actual bulbs.

I have read a ton of testimonials and there are hardly any complaints after 2006. I'll let you know how it turns out!