A2's Acro Adventure

[Epic Aquaculture]

Nice! Looking forward to following along!

 

[Aaron-A2]

Nice! Looking forward to following along!

Thanks bud!

 

[Aaron-A2]

The Giesemann Spectra has officially been installed. The current bulb configuration:

• (3) 20k Hamilton MH
• (4) Euroquatics E5X Blue Pop LED's

I'm running the MH's for only 4 hours per day currently. I should have a par meter from my local reef club next week to test actual par levels, however I wanted to get opinion from fellow reefers on how high above the water level my lights should be? @jda @FarmerTy @aquavista99 I know you 3 currently have or have had MH's in the past... any suggestions on height above the water line?

 

[aquavista99]

Looks fantanstic! ... Halide/LED fixture placed 10” to 12” above the water line is what I would recommend.

 

[FarmerTy]

I'll defer to the guys still rocking MHs. I've lost all my MH mojo.

 

[Aaron-A2]

So the new lights have been running for 2 days now with no obvious adverse effects on the coral. The amount of polyp extension has remained the same and I'm not seeing signs of bleaching. I'll be picking up the PAR Meter tomorrow after work from my local club to get some actual tests.

Disaster Avoided!
After installing the metal halides, the power in the room would trip if you unplugged/connected all 3 bulbs at once. This makes no sense since that circuit is 20amps and in total, the entire system AT 100% utilization consumes 1810 watts. 20 amps is 2400watts~, and my system having multiple DC options not running at 100% means I should be perfectly fine.

I had an electrician come over today and take a look. After troubleshooting for the better part of 3-4 hours, we ran into multiple problems from damaged wires, insulation, you name it...

On top of that, the 15 and 20 amp circuits were the old ones which trip super easy .. I forgot the exact name of this switch, but it came out around 2002 and these were one of the first iterations.

In any case, the solution was to replace 5 of the breakers ((1) 20 amp, (4) 15 amp). Since then, not a single issue... except I'm now out of pocket some good change...

What we do for our hobby...

 

[Aaron-A2]

@jda @aquavista99

Looking for some input on PAR levels for metal halide. I picked up an Apogee par meter from my local club yesterday and initial readings show around 550~ at the water line with the fixture 11" above the water. This is with:

• Hamilton 20k MH (250w)
• Euroquatic E5X Blue Pop (LED bulbs)

I'm kind of surprised at how low the PAR levels are overall. With 550 at the water line, you're looking at sub-200 in the lower 3rd of the tank and at the highest point maybe 290-300.

What would you expect in terms of PAR levels?

 

[jda]

What kind of PAR meter is it? It matters. Some need a lot of correction factors.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Looking really good!
I was always curious about the Euroquatics led bulbs. I also have a spectra with Orphek OR led bars now but wondered about these led bulbs? They were supposed to come out with the higher intensity 5X, I guess it never happened?

 

[Aaron-A2]

What kind of PAR meter is it? It matters. Some need a lot of correction factors.

I'll find out the exact model when I get home.

Looking really good!
I was always curious about the Euroquatics led bulbs. I also have a spectra with Orphek OR led bars now but wondered about these led bulbs? They were supposed to come out with the higher intensity 5X, I guess it never happened?

I'm using the E5X bulbs. The ones I'm using are 80W's each, so I think it did happen. I wasn't familiar with that brand till the last few months, so I'm not completely up to speed on their history.

 

[Reefcowboy]

I'll find out the exact model when I get home.



I'm using the E5X bulbs. The ones I'm using are 80W's each, so I think it did happen. I wasn't familiar with that brand till the last few months, so I'm not completely up to speed on their history.

Wow great to know. How do you like them? I was told I wouldnt be able to run four bulbs on the spectra due to a ballast issue or something...i guess that isnt true since you have that going

 

[Aaron-A2]

Wow great to know. How do you like them? I was told I wouldnt be able to run four bulbs on the spectra due to a ballast issue or something...i guess that isnt true since you have that going

I think those were the old non-e5x bulbs because I saw the same thing. I'm currently running all 4 of the same bulbs. I may end up switching out 2 of them because the blue they provide is really blue. I don't mind it necessarily, but I would prefer a little more white colors.

 

[Aaron-A2]

Update
I've done so much over the last 1-2 weeks. New lights, new coral, and most recently the QT fish have been added!

New Coral

• MattV Orange Envy
• MattV Rainbow Envy
• JF Homewrecker
• RRC Pretty In Pink
• AV99 Orange Crush
• Unknown

Fish Added

• Male Bellus Anglefish
• Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse
• Longfin Fairy Wrasse

 

[Reefcowboy]

Tank is looking sharp, you will be glad to have gotten the Spectra. I also ran G4’s before, but being a stickhead myself, wanted the beat colors and growth so went to MH.
Looking forward to updates

 

[Aaron-A2]

What kind of PAR meter is it? It matters. Some need a lot of correction factors.

This is an MQ-500

 

[jda]

You need to take the mq500 results times 1.32 when used underwater. In the air, it needs no adjustment factor. ...so your actual par is 1/3 higher.

 

[Aaron-A2]

You need to take the mq500 results times 1.32 when used underwater. In the air, it needs no adjustment factor. ...so your actual par is 1/3 higher.

Understood. So on the bottom segments of my tank, I'm seeing 290-310par and the highest point I'm seeing 396 par. This is with the fixture 11" above the water line over a 27" deep tank. What are your thoughts lowering the light fixture, or if there's even a necessity?

 

[jda]

Necessary will depend on your corals and how they are getting along. It is nice to know that you always have the option. Just lowering it 6 inches, can raise the PAR quite a bit.

 

[Aaron-A2]

Necessary will depend on your corals and how they are getting along. It is nice to know that you always have the option. Just lowering it 6 inches, can raise the PAR quite a bit.

I have acrylic tank covers with net on the surface. At what point would you feel comfortable lowering those lights in terms of not damaging the material underneath?

 

[jda]

I keep my Mh like 5-6" off of the water and no acrylic or plastic has ever been harmed. I do run open top and the heat never builds up. I also use a fan across the top on hot days.

I have the screen netting (from BRS) that I mostly remember to put back on. It is never been compromised, or anything.