Blog Comments

Hat- good to see you post---I will have a update soon with water

Hey* haha I'm blind! Lol

Het Chris, nice to see this post. I've been away about a year too. That's an awesome buy. Can't wait to see the progress!

The Phoenix 14,000K is very blue, but doesn't need supplementation. I had it on my angled tank and really liked the look, except for orange corals. My Montipora capricornis was bland and brown under that bulb, but everything else looked great. If you want crisp white, you'll want a 10,000K bulb.

This is a tough purchase because you can't try out a bulb. They aren't cheap, and you just have to run with whatever you buy, usually. Some people sell the slightly used bulb if they can't stand it and buy a different spectrum.

melev...after looking over the pump and taking a test run with it, I will leave it be for now it is very quite. I guess I am looking for a white light (crisp look to it) with blue hue to it. After reading some it looks like phoenix bulb is the one I am thinking about going with. thanks for the advice.

Regarding the pump, that pump probably doesn't have a specific oiling port. I'd turn it on and see what it sounds like briefly. If it is quiet, leave it be. If you want to squirt some silicone spray on the driveshaft, that may not be a bad thing... if you can even see it to apply any. Not a lot, just a little bit should do.

For the MH DE bulbs, what color do you prefer? The Phoenix 14,000K bulb is quite nice for the 150w variety.

thanks cyano... I have 2 built in overflows in the corners. Do you have any suggestions on MH bulbs one brand better than the other. I plan on having a mixed tank. Will be posting the mock up pluming tonight and doing an order for misc. goodies.

congrats on the purchase and welcome back. as far as the bulbs are concerned you shouldn't have to worry about the LEDs unless they blow but I would replace the MH bulbs. You shouldn't have to run them until after the tank is cycled and about to stock the tank so in the meantime it wouldn't hurt to have new ones in there so you know that they are new and good and you know when it is time to change them. I am unfamiliar with external aquarium pumps but if it does need to be oiled (Melev would know better) then the areas that need lubrication should have an access to put in a recommended lubricant. Remember it is an external pump so don't add any lubricant to any primer points or if water comes out of it then no oil/lubricant ha ha. What kind of overflow is with it, a hang on back or a built in? just wondering I didn't see it in any of the pictures.

@ Melev that is a lot of twins!! and the newest frag is a cool way of putting it!

thanks Hat things are going good ....need to get a tank update to

Hey Cruelle, congratulations to you and your wife!! That's a nice looking family you have.

Congrats on your newest frag!

Speaking of twins, we recently had an article in the local paper about the biggest graduation class in the nation containing twins. It was something like 9 pairs of twins and 2 sets of triplets, all in the same graduating class.

thanks guys... things have been pretty fun the last 3 year with the twins looking forward to more with the new little lady

Congrats, kids are also a great and rewarding hobby.

congratulations on the newest arrival!

thanks for the info...I can try it to start out with and just order a extra aquable just in case it's not what I want

I had a purple plus bulb in my 4 light retrofit. That combo only lasted a few months before I got tired of it. The purple hue was noticeable, the other 3 bulbs are not be enough to even out the spectrum, in my opinion. I replaced it with an aquablue, so my bulbs alternated between blue plus and aquablue. The combo was fine, but I wanted a tinge bluer. I replaced that aquablue with a KZ New Generation, which seemed to be slightly more violet than than the aquablue, so I like the color combo.

Either way, I think that is the advantage of T5 lighting. There are a number of spectrums at our disposal, allowing us to customize the look to our specific tastes.

thanks Hat it has been a rough couple of days!
Well going to go with the ATI bulbs for my Coral life HO light fixture thinking something like this front to back....let me know what you think chris

1---blue plus
2--ATI purple plus
3--aquablue
4--blue plus

Hey Chris, glad to hear ya getting over the flu.

thanks for the info everyone have had the flu for a few days ! So a will have to look into things tonight now that a feel better!

Chris

ATI bulbs are the top of the line as far as T5's go. i just recently installed them in a tank that i maintenance and it dropped my jaw. will be using ATI from now on. They arent cheap but they are worth every penny