new 125 gallon started...check out the scape, questions on MH placement as well

alaskan84 · 03/27/2011, 06:38 PM

Hello everyone, finally got my 125 scaped, and my dual 250w metal halide fixture hung above. I would really like the opinion of everyone on here as far as lighting placement. You should be able to tell by my photos the aprox position. I'm worried that it may be too close, but maybe I am just crazy

Secondly, I dont have a controller for this system yet, so is it fine to just unplug the ballast in the evenings, and then plug it back in, in the morning? I dont want to risk hurting the light system. Thanks reefers!

Something on the rocks....any comment?

alaskan84 · 03/27/2011, 08:04 PM

no comments on the MH placement?

Angel*Fish · 03/27/2011, 08:24 PM

I don't know about the lights, but that's a rock arrangement a dwarf angel would love, especially if you pulled that white branching piece in the middle forward to make a space between the two sides.

alaskan84 · 03/27/2011, 10:53 PM

Thanks, I may try pulling that branch forward....its sooo much easier to scape a larger tank....i struggled over and over with my 28 gallon.

still looking for advice on the lighting.....

duncantse · 03/27/2011, 11:00 PM

Very nice aquascape!

jabbott · 03/28/2011, 09:26 AM

Looks good from the pic. Why do you think it's to close? Looks like its at least a foot away.

alaskan84 · 03/28/2011, 10:16 AM

Probably me just being paranoid, maybe its too far away?

I've never had to hang a light fixture like this before so I'm just trying to doublecheck my placement.

pmrossetti · 03/28/2011, 10:20 AM

looks fine. tank is bright!

lisafoster · 03/28/2011, 01:00 PM

Looks fine I kept my halides 12" over my 125. I would try to get some of the shelf rock to sit slightly level. I did not do tis with my shelf and all my corals lean forward

alaskan84 · 03/28/2011, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the input Lisa! when you say leaning forward, was that to try and get out from underneath the shelf to soak up the brighter light?

lisafoster · 03/28/2011, 03:54 PM

No the shelf rock is not laying flat like a table so when I mounted them they leaned forward because the rocks are leaning forward. If that makes sense. I just noticed the flat roccks in your tank were kind of crooked I am a tad anal about those tings.

greech · 03/28/2011, 07:18 PM

Nice tank!

The one thing that I see (and it may just be me) is the flat rock on the top right looks to be held up on the left side by only a nub of branch rock. Is that rock stable?

Lynnmw1208 · 03/28/2011, 07:30 PM

Lights look ok to me! That thing on the rock looks almost like a ricordea mushroom coming back or some kind of anemone, it's hard to tell until it starts coloring up a bit.

alaskan84 · 03/28/2011, 09:19 PM

Thanks Lisa, I totally get what you mean now and that does make sense. I will try to move them around a bit, later this week. The large shelf piece on the right is surprisingly more stable than it looks, I gave it a good rocking and I really cant see anything I have planned for the tank being able to knock it loose. I will be trying to level the shelf rock out a bit, so I will make sure its a stable spot.

Thanks for the light comments everyone else, I guess I am good to go! Reef Keeper elite will be in the works next week.(damn that will make for 2 elites and 1 lite so far!)

bnumair · 03/28/2011, 09:43 PM

lights look fine and actually can be closer. if u had legs that came with the unit it would only be 6" above the tank. rock work and tank looks great. good luck. by the way, u can buy a simple timer for less than $10 for ur lighting schedule till u buy a controler. u really wanna limit ur MH lights to 6-8 hrs.

alaskan84 · 03/29/2011, 10:02 AM

thanks bnumair, is the 6-8 hours due to the risk of burning out the corals/life, or more for the health of the light fixture? Legs....hmmm I think I will look online, anyone have any idea if I could purchase the legs that supposebly came with this originally?

bnumair · 03/29/2011, 09:14 PM

dont know if u could buy legs separately or not but MH hours 6-8 hrs is all u really need for corals, fish dont care for light that much, reason u wanna limit ur MH is due to heat, electric and most of all algae. once u get algae (green or blue) it will feed off that extra light and so will cyno. most everyone here will probably tell u same to limit ur light schedule.

needmore-reef · 03/30/2011, 04:33 AM

Your lights look like they could come down closer if you want. Mine are 8" from the water.

03/27/2011, 06:38 PM	#1
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	new 125 gallon started...check out the scape, questions on MH placement as well Hello everyone, finally got my 125 scaped, and my dual 250w metal halide fixture hung above. I would really like the opinion of everyone on here as far as lighting placement. You should be able to tell by my photos the aprox position. I'm worried that it may be too close, but maybe I am just crazy Secondly, I dont have a controller for this system yet, so is it fine to just unplug the ballast in the evenings, and then plug it back in, in the morning? I dont want to risk hurting the light system. Thanks reefers! Something on the rocks....any comment?

03/27/2011, 08:24 PM	#3
Angel*Fish cats and large squashes Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston Posts: 5,951 Blog Entries: 1	I don't know about the lights, but that's a rock arrangement a dwarf angel would love, especially if you pulled that white branching piece in the middle forward to make a space between the two sides. __________________ Marie So long, & thanks for all the fish! __________________________ Current Tank Info: Pairs: flame angels, cherub angels, Red Sea mimic blennies, yellow fin fairy wrasses, clowns, mandarins, blackcap basslets, shrimp gobies, damsels, dispar anthias, yellow clown gobies, threadfin cardinals --- Tanks: 100g reef, 2 x 30g refugiums

03/28/2011, 01:00 PM	#9
lisafoster so much to learn Join Date: May 2010 Location: massachusetts Posts: 621	Looks fine I kept my halides 12" over my 125. I would try to get some of the shelf rock to sit slightly level. I did not do tis with my shelf and all my corals lean forward __________________ 125 mixed reef/ semi aggressive 15 gallon angler nano reef tank 40 breeder reef Current Tank Info: 125 gallon evolving reef/ 15gallon angler nano reef, 40 gallon breeder reef

03/28/2011, 03:54 PM	#11
lisafoster so much to learn Join Date: May 2010 Location: massachusetts Posts: 621	No the shelf rock is not laying flat like a table so when I mounted them they leaned forward because the rocks are leaning forward. If that makes sense. I just noticed the flat roccks in your tank were kind of crooked I am a tad anal about those tings. __________________ 125 mixed reef/ semi aggressive 15 gallon angler nano reef tank 40 breeder reef Current Tank Info: 125 gallon evolving reef/ 15gallon angler nano reef, 40 gallon breeder reef

03/28/2011, 07:18 PM	#12
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	Nice tank! The one thing that I see (and it may just be me) is the flat rock on the top right looks to be held up on the left side by only a nub of branch rock. Is that rock stable? __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

03/27/2011, 08:04 PM	#2
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	no comments on the MH placement?

03/27/2011, 10:53 PM	#4
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	Thanks, I may try pulling that branch forward....its sooo much easier to scape a larger tank....i struggled over and over with my 28 gallon. still looking for advice on the lighting.....

03/27/2011, 11:00 PM	#5
duncantse Fish Advisor Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,604	Very nice aquascape!

03/28/2011, 09:26 AM	#6
jabbott Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 181	Looks good from the pic. Why do you think it's to close? Looks like its at least a foot away.

03/28/2011, 10:16 AM	#7
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	Probably me just being paranoid, maybe its too far away? I've never had to hang a light fixture like this before so I'm just trying to doublecheck my placement.

03/28/2011, 10:20 AM	#8
pmrossetti Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cali. Posts: 3,199	looks fine. tank is bright!

03/28/2011, 02:45 PM	#10
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	Thanks for the input Lisa! when you say leaning forward, was that to try and get out from underneath the shelf to soak up the brighter light?

03/28/2011, 07:30 PM	#13
Lynnmw1208 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Brunswick, Ohio Posts: 3,306	Lights look ok to me! That thing on the rock looks almost like a ricordea mushroom coming back or some kind of anemone, it's hard to tell until it starts coloring up a bit. __________________ equipment: Eshopps psk-200 skimmer, Mag 12 pump, 30gal sump, 2x 300w Finnex heaters, glass-holes 1500gph overflow kit with 3/4" return kits, 72" 8x36w t-5 AquaticLife light, 66lbs of LR, 150lbs of tropic eden reeflakes, 2 Koralia Evo 1400, JBJ ATO, BRS dual GFO/carbon reactors, Hydor smartwave Current Tank Info: 125gallon

03/28/2011, 09:19 PM	#14
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	Thanks Lisa, I totally get what you mean now and that does make sense. I will try to move them around a bit, later this week. The large shelf piece on the right is surprisingly more stable than it looks, I gave it a good rocking and I really cant see anything I have planned for the tank being able to knock it loose. I will be trying to level the shelf rock out a bit, so I will make sure its a stable spot. Thanks for the light comments everyone else, I guess I am good to go! Reef Keeper elite will be in the works next week.(damn that will make for 2 elites and 1 lite so far!)

03/28/2011, 09:43 PM	#15
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	lights look fine and actually can be closer. if u had legs that came with the unit it would only be 6" above the tank. rock work and tank looks great. good luck. by the way, u can buy a simple timer for less than $10 for ur lighting schedule till u buy a controler. u really wanna limit ur MH lights to 6-8 hrs. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

03/29/2011, 10:02 AM	#16
alaskan84 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kodiak, AK Posts: 127	thanks bnumair, is the 6-8 hours due to the risk of burning out the corals/life, or more for the health of the light fixture? Legs....hmmm I think I will look online, anyone have any idea if I could purchase the legs that supposebly came with this originally?

03/29/2011, 09:14 PM	#17
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	dont know if u could buy legs separately or not but MH hours 6-8 hrs is all u really need for corals, fish dont care for light that much, reason u wanna limit ur MH is due to heat, electric and most of all algae. once u get algae (green or blue) it will feed off that extra light and so will cyno. most everyone here will probably tell u same to limit ur light schedule. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

03/30/2011, 04:33 AM	#18
needmore-reef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 425	Your lights look like they could come down closer if you want. Mine are 8" from the water.

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