Our 93 gallon reef tank

[bcfd144]

Here is a you-tube video of our 93 gallon reef tank.
We have a few more pieces now since this was taken a few weeks back, but have not added them to the tank yet.
Also our orange zoas are not out, but you get the idea of what our tank looks like..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oZPLHn0jg

 

[BigCountry]

very nice! and very healthy.

love the clam and the carpet ane


i was trying to look but could not tell, you running LED or a MH pendant?

 

[bcfd144]

Both. I have a 250w MH light (I made the housing) I also added in four 10" (10 Blue LED's per strip)
The 250w MH is a 20k, so with that and the LED's I get alot of blue, but it really not to much. In the video is seems like alot, but its really just right for my taste.
The MH stays on about 9hrs a day, the LEDs are on 24/7 but they have a dimmer that gets turned down to low light about 2 hrs after the MH turnes off and gets turned up to full brightness about 2 hrs before the MH comes on. Here are some pics of it to kinda give you an idea how I did it.

Oh, and thank you for the comment. i love the clam to.. I ordered another clam for that tank, its colors are light blue and white, so Im looking forward to that.
And the piece I think you are calling the carpet ane (brown) is a elegance coral. That piece is special as its a piece that was fragged off another elegance that had been in a guys tank for 20+ years. So its one that is very healthy and dont have the worries other people are having with the elegance corals that are on the market.. Or if you were talking about the green piece in the front, that is a open brain coral. That guy is cool. has 4 mouths and always loves to blow up and show off..

Thanks again

outside housing, may change the way its hanging, made the hanger for another light, then changed my plans halfway thru. But the housing is 17 1/2 x 14 1/2 wide.. Took some time to bend all the metal just right, but got it how I like it. Nice edges. Since its on a cube 30x30 tank, I wanted a light that matches the tank in shape.

Inside the light. There are four 10" LED lights (10 LED's in each strip) and a 250w 20k MH. This picture only the LED's are on (half power). I had them made and they are all wired together, so only one plug needed with a built in dimmer..

This is a pic of the 20k 250w light just turning on, so its still warming up. The LED's are on also as you can see..

And the way I designed the light, there are no cooling fans needed. If you look at the first pic, you can see all the air vents on the top half of it. This lets all the heat escape without needing a fan. I can have the light on for hours.. touch the top and there is no heat build up. Worked out great.. Believe it or not, the top half of the retro fit light was made out of a attic vent you would put on a house, then the bottom is sheet metal bent around the light. Easier said than done, but worked out just like I wanted it. But still thinking of changing how it hangs. Woeks for now, but may make the bars tighter into the light so they dont show up as much..

 

[bcfd144]

BIGCOUNTRY - What do you think of the light. Seems to be working very well. 250w was the perfect amount for this tank.. (30x30x24)

 

[cichlid_king]

That light is really cool, Im surprised that it stays as cool as it does. Do the LeD's really give the tank the actinic look?

 

[bcfd144]

Yes the LED's give a good actinic look to the tank.
Ya, I was surprised how cool the light is. I was thinking when I built it that I was going to haveto put a fan in it, but after getting it built, I was really surprised how cool it stays.

 

[cichlid_king]

Well its a nice light dude. If you dont mind I might make one of my own and copy your idea?

 

[bcfd144]

Dont mind at all. Let me know if you have any questions on it.

I bought my materials from Lowes, but since there site is down rt now, here are the links to the items at home depot I used.


Actic Vent
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25e...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=actic vent&storeId=10051

Edge flashing
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25e...0053&langId=-1&keyword=flashing&storeId=10051

250w metal halide light kit (I already had this around the hosue.. Was the socket, reflector, wire, ballast and bulb

Take the Actic Vent and remove the flat bottom piece of it. (can do this by just drilling out 4 small rivets.) so you are just left with the top part.
Then take the edge flashing and bend it 4 times into a square that will fit just around the Actic Vent. (mine came out to be on my bends 17 1/2" x 14 1/2" x 17 1/2" x 14 1/2". Should be the same if you use the same actic vent I did.
You can attach the Edge flashing and the Actic vent using the same holes you ended up with in the Actic vent after drilling out the rivets. You will see what Im taking about.
After adding both the Actic vent and Edge flashing, then on the inside you mount your halide light fixture and reflector.
Paint the outside the color you want and thats it. Add in the LED's if you want. I had mine made with 3w bulbs, but these on ebay are also good for what you may want. I had some made for another project and they work great. Cost is a $1.00 and inch. Here is that link.
Message the guy and he will set you up with what you need. I got 10" lights, each wired/connected together then has one power plus with built in dimmer.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150432656322&ssPageName=ADME:X:eRTM:US:1123

 

[BigCountry]

I love your DIY light. I especially like the way your venting it.

I am running pure LED. I have 3 120w LED boxes that = 1 250w MH per box (so 3).

But if I ever switched to MH, I would definitely build my own and supplement the blue like you did with LED.

 

[bcfd144]

I love your DIY light. I especially like the way your venting it.

I am running pure LED. I have 3 120w LED boxes that = 1 250w MH per box (so 3).

But if I ever switched to MH, I would definitely build my own and supplement the blue like you did with LED.

Ya, I looked into LED fixtures and MH fixtures but could find one that I wanted (and that didnt cost a arm and a leg either). I had bought a tank just for its parts and it came with a few retro fit MH lights, so I decided to just build my own. I was going to do with T5 actinics instead of the LED's, but couldnt find the size i wanted at a good price and also wanted something light and compact. So I had these LED strips made. I may have 60 bucks at the most in this light,(LED's, supplies and MH kit) so I figured the price of building it was worth it instead of buying one. Ive got a few changes I still want to make to the hanger, but otherwise as far as the light is concerned, its exac what I want and need for this tank.