New found hobby

_DeeJ_ · Nov 20, 2019

Nooooooooob1 said:
Like mentioned, go heavy on the lighting. You've got a very deep tank there. I went the HOB route for the overflow because I didn't feel like going through the drilling and risking it, but eShopps makes great products.

How is the HOB route going for you? I've been told to just drill but if it's not necessary to then I might reconsider. I think the plan is to get 2 48" LED lights

Jeto2004 · Nov 20, 2019

Welcome to R2R!

_DeeJ_ · Nov 20, 2019

arturoo1977 said:
Wow!! Very nice tank you have! Actually as you mention, larger tanks are easier to start with and learn, thing is everything its bigger and larger, so more expensive.
I've just started a 110gal also, you are very welcome to look at my building thread if you like. Although mine will be no sump.
Setting up and cleaning with that deep is very challenging. Mine is 28" deep and making aquascape was difficult.
Now I'm looking for budget lighting, so we can share thoughts.
Congrats!!!

Thank you. I most definitely will be checking out your build. I've wondered how many people are actually doing 110g also.
I think the aquascaping process will be exciting for me because of the challenge. Or maybe I'm just being very optimistic .

Nooooooooob1 · Nov 20, 2019

_DeeJ_ said:
How is the HOB route going for you? I've been told to just drill but if it's not necessary to then I might reconsider. I think the plan is to get 2 48" LED lights

I've been using the HOB for about two years now. Inside the tank, it doesn't take up any more room than a drilled overflow would. Mine is a single drain pipe because it's just a 75 gallon but yours would obviously be at least two drain pipes so there's more security/redundancy there in terms of clogs, but I've never had one.

48" light sounds good but it very much depends on the type and quality of the diodes. A 48" Current USA bar is nowhere near as effective as even a regular black box LED, depending on what you're trying to grow. With your setup, I'd heavily consider at least supplementing some T5 with whatever LED's you choose to go with.

Here's my two black boxes on my 4' tank. You could easily mount them into your hood.

Edit: There are different qualities of black boxes too. SBReef Lights makes really good ones!

_DeeJ_ · Nov 20, 2019

Nooooooooob1 said:
I've been using the HOB for about two years now. Inside the tank, it doesn't take up any more room than a drilled overflow would. Mine is a single drain pipe because it's just a 75 gallon but yours would obviously be at least two drain pipes so there's more security/redundancy there in terms of clogs, but I've never had one.

48" light sounds good but it very much depends on the type and quality of the diodes. A 48" Current USA bar is nowhere near as effective as even a regular black box LED, depending on what you're trying to grow. With your setup, I'd heavily consider at least supplementing some T5 with whatever LED's you choose to go with.

Here's my two black boxes on my 4' tank. You would easily mount them into your hood.

I'll look more into that. Thank you for that information because I wasn't sure on what to do exactly for the lights.
Nice setup BTW.

arturoo1977 · Nov 20, 2019

Nooooooooob1 said:
Here's my two black boxes on my 4' tank. You could easily mount them into your hood.

What kind of black boxes are you using? I'm about to pull trigger on one to try it. I was considering it as a $100 bid.

Nooooooooob1 · Nov 20, 2019

_DeeJ_ said:
I'll look more into that. Thank you for that information because I wasn't sure on what to do exactly for the lights.
Nice setup BTW.

Yeah it just takes time and research. There are definitely a lot of super successful tanks with these, but like you said, they don't have as much pop as a high end light. I will say though that I mounted them higher up on this new tank(11" now vs 8" before) and the spectrums are mixing way better. It looks really good. Good luck!

Nooooooooob1 · Nov 20, 2019

arturoo1977 said:
What kind of black boxes are you using? I'm about to pull trigger on one to try it. I was considering it as a $100 bid.

I got mine from eBay, just like this one. Been going two years strong so far. I want some fancy lights, but I just have no practical reason to upgrade lol they've been great for everything including SPS.

MarsAqua 300W LED Full Spectrum Lighting Reef Coral SPS LPS Aquarium Light - 2 Piece for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for MarsAqua 300W LED Full Spectrum Lighting Reef Coral SPS LPS Aquarium Light - 2 Piece at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com