Finally 90 Gallon setup!! (Pics)

[Panther28]

2x250 mh is more than enough

Thanks KahluaZzZ!

Update.

The tank has not cleared up. Still waiting!! I have learn't one thing from all of this. Always rinse your sand before adding it to the main tank. My tank is all milky. It has been 2 days and I can't see anything in the tank. I will be getting my live rock tomorrow and won't be able to aquascape. I have added sponges and powerheads but nothing is helping.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Once you get your lighting mounted in the hood i'd love to see a shot of it. Like how you mounted it all.

Sounds awesome.

 

[Panther28]

Once you get your lighting mounted in the hood i'd love to see a shot of it. Like how you mounted it all.

Sounds awesome.

I will post the setup once I will get everything mounted.

My question now.

The light setup that I am thinking of getting has

2 x 250 W HQI 14,000K Hamilton

2 x 54 w T5 Pure actinic

My question is will this setup be too blue???

What do you guys think about this setup????

Any suggestions at all???

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I've heard Hamilton bulbs are really bright white without the blueish tint to them like a lot of other MHs. Suppliment that with those Actinics and it will probably be fine.

 

[Panther28]

I've heard Hamilton bulbs are really bright white without the blueish tint to them like a lot of other MHs. Suppliment that with those Actinics and it will probably be fine.

I thought that 14,000 k bulb had a blue tint to them and 20,000 have a more blueish tint to them, its the 10,000K bulbs that are white. Well if you are right then I will just go with the setup I was about to purchase. I didn't know that MH setups needed so much research.

 

[Joe Fish]

Also each makers bulbs will differ from the rest.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Just from my limted research like joe said, different makers will have different tints and stuff to them.

Just a example from Nano reef
Hamilton or Phoenix 14 k ? - Nano-Reef.com Forums

And this is a good example just to look at on reef central, though the wattage and stuff might be different then what you might be going for, you can still see different variants with different makers.
Reef Central Online Community - 250 watt SE MH lamps compared

 

[Panther28]

Just from my limted research like joe said, different makers will have different tints and stuff to them.

Just a example from Nano reef
Hamilton or Phoenix 14 k ? - Nano-Reef.com Forums

And this is a good example just to look at on reef central, though the wattage and stuff might be different then what you might be going for, you can still see different variants with different makers.
Reef Central Online Community - 250 watt SE MH lamps compared

Thanks for the links!!

Holly Crap!!! Now I am all confused!! On nano reef they say that Phoenix is better. I also have a choice of getting Phoenix brand. Now I really don't know which one to get.. Well I guess I will have to do more research.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

i'm on 10000k and it really shoots more than my 20000k...but if i had the money right now i'd switch to 13000k-14000k. Not too blue, not useless..

 

[Panther28]

Ok!!

Thanks for all the input on the lighting! Very helpful and really appreciated.

After doing a lot of research. I have finally made up my mind with the lighting
I am going to go with a retro fit kit with

2 x 250 W HQI 14,000K Phoenix bulbs

2 x 54 w T5 Pure actinic

I guess this should be enough, will upgrade if needed.

 

[Lorna]

With the 14K lights you won't need the actinic for balance at all. I would just add a couple of t5's for sunrise/sunset effect......

A side note......don't rinse your sand, you remove all those small particles that are beneficial when establishing a dsb. The sand will settle once it becomes weighted down and coated with the beneficial bacteria that you are striving for. My tank was like that for 2 weeks until I added my live rock....the amount of bacteria on the live rock settled the sand overnite. I couldn't believe it was cloudy when I went to bed and clear when I got up the next morning.....then I re-aquascaped how I wanted it. Have you put anything in your tank to start the cycle? or are you just waiting for your rock to initiate it? either way you will be fine.....just be patient

 

[Panther28]

With the 14K lights you won't need the actinic for balance at all. I would just add a couple of t5's for sunrise/sunset effect......

A side note......don't rinse your sand, you remove all those small particles that are beneficial when establishing a dsb. The sand will settle once it becomes weighted down and coated with the beneficial bacteria that you are striving for. My tank was like that for 2 weeks until I added my live rock....the amount of bacteria on the live rock settled the sand overnite. I couldn't believe it was cloudy when I went to bed and clear when I got up the next morning.....then I re-aquascaped how I wanted it. Have you put anything in your tank to start the cycle? or are you just waiting for your rock to initiate it? either way you will be fine.....just be patient

Thanks.

I have not put anything in the tank except the sand. I am waiting for my live rock which I will be getting today. Thanks for the tip about the sand. I had no idea that it will settle down once I add the rock. I learn new stuff everyday.

About the lighting

48" 2x250W HQI Metal Halide/ 2x54W T5 Fluorescent

The lighting I am going to order is in the link above and they have a few choices of T5, could you kindly go through it and let me know which one to get? And what exactly did you mean by the sunset/ sunrise effect.

 

[Lorna]

If you add 2 54w t5's you should be fine. What I meant was you want the t5's to come on one then the other then a while later the metal halides. That way the mh don't come on and blind your fish. Sort of a gradual lights up and lights down sort of like mother nature.....

 

[Panther28]

If you add 2 54w t5's you should be fine. What I meant was you want the t5's to come on one then the other then a while later the metal halides. That way the mh don't come on and blind your fish. Sort of a gradual lights up and lights down sort of like mother nature.....

Ok! Thanks!!

now I get it. I am little slow so bare with me! I will do that. Ohh and again thanks about the sand tip. It has calmed me down a lot. Just waiting for the rock now. Checked the UPS tracking and it says out for delivery but I am at work. Once I get the news that they have arrived then I will go home for my lunch break and add the rock to the tank.

 

[Panther28]

A small upgrade!!

Just got my fiji live Rock and I am really happy with it. I paid $2.19 per LBS and I though I will get bad rock, but the rock is pretty good. Much better then paying $6.99 LBS for Indonesian rock. Which takes twice more time for the color to come back.

The tank has not cleared up but is looking better then before. I just dumped the rocks in. Just as a preview, Below!!

 

[Pure]

wow that's 80 lbs of LR... Holy crap I thought it would have been more. Looks like it's coming along nicely. Love all the install shots and tips.

 

[Panther28]

wow that's 80 lbs of LR... Holy crap I thought it would have been more. Looks like it's coming along nicely. Love all the install shots and tips.

Yeah It is 80lbs. Each rock is quite light actually. But I guess I still need at least 30-40 lbs more. Well anyways its too late now. Already go the rocks. Maybe a clear pic will be better.

There are only 2 big rocks the rest are actually small from 5" to 6". Well anyways tank is clearing up.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Very nice, looks awesome!

 

[shift_9k]

yea man lookin good.

 

[aresgod]

people are always surprised by how much LR they "need" to make their tank look full, just to put that in perspective, I have 85 lbs in my 40 gallon tank....