Blog Comments

Yes, I'm the opposite end of the metroplex and hate driving to Plano. I make that drive once or twice a year, begrudgingly.

Beautiful work, Marc. I'm actually visiting family in Plano this week and contemplating seeing if a tank visit was an option, but once I realized how far away you were I figured it wasn't very realistic.

Post pics of that last beast once it's running!

@Marc; yup. I agree the bulb/lamp cost is an ongoing issue with T5/MH. I'd like to see a energy cost comparison coupled with a lamp cost analysis. My guess is the LED would win but I'm curious by how much. My only other concern is long term suitability of LED which I also suspect would still favor the LED.

@BigAl; yup again. I Internet shopped LEDs just before posting, and the Cree LED's are $9-20 per unit so the material cost alone is a big majority of it.

Sad news... very sorry to read this... prayed for you and your family.

Simple, clever. Great design!

Sorry to hear about this. My thoughts are with you and your family. Be safe.

Wow! So sorry to hear of this terrible incident. Warm wishes and LOTS of prayers for you and the family. Be safe in your travels.

LED is going to stay "Expensive" until it becomes more common market. Right now every new fixture is priced WAY up there.. part of this comes from the fact they are always using the latest and greatest in LED technology. Until it hits a platuea I don't see prices leveling off much.

Re: $1500 - My LED unit (I designed it and had it build by a friend almost 3 years ago) cost me $400 in parts alone. That's for a 12g tank. I was due for bulbs at the time and the factory used 3 $22 bulbs. I replaced 9 months. That's $66 every9 months. That's 4 bulb changes of time or $264 I would have spent. Also my tank is SO much cooler now and the tank as a whole is more appealing. I have almost ZERO evap since the upgrade which isn't a bad thing.

Even with all the "Perks" of LED the initial cost is high for most but it's hard to put a price tag on "COOL"

Originally Posted by dahenley

also, i noticed that your using eggcrate for these sumps. do you like it better then the cut teeth?

When routing out teeth in acrylic, I've found out numerous times that 3/8" cast acrylic ends up snapping off a part of one tooth. I can have 20 perfect ones, but one broken one spoils the look, right? It never breaks cleanly to the point that I could just glue it on. It shears off jaggedly, looking like Chunk from the Goonies. I've made teeth in 1/4" acrylic and then bonded that to the 3/8" panel, but it looks odd.

I've chosen to use black eggcrate in sumps made with 3/8" because it looks good. It's what I've used with my own sump's refugium zone. It is easy to clean, doesn't clog up with plants, and if push comes to shove can be snapped out and a new piece glued in.

I don't know what it is made of, Jonathan. I bought two or three sheets a few years ago, and kept them in my inventory. I'm ordering two more sheets since I use it for the frag tanks too, so I'll ask what it's made of.

Originally Posted by dahenley

Marc, what do you use to remove the paper from the acrylic? Some say alcohol, and many others, but wondered what you prefer?

If you don't leave the paper on for too long, it peels off relatively easily. For big pieces, you can use a section of PVC pipe or a large diameter dowel to roll it off, allowing the film to wrap around the pipe akin to what Saran Wrap looks like, for lack of a better visual. Using two hands, roll the pipe away from you and the paper wraps around and around, peeling off the acrylic sheet.

I tried to use some very old acrylic yesterday for a small project, but the paper wasn't coming off. I threw it away and opted to use a fresh piece that of course peeled off perfectly. I need to go through my garage and start tossing out leftover pieces I've been hoarding for no good reason.

Originally Posted by T.A.R.

The sump at the top is part of the aquarium set up being donated to The Smouse Opportunity School.

TAR stands for The Alternative Reef, the company that makes those rocks to hold corals magnetically to the walls of your tank. TAR ordered this sump as part of the aquarium setup being donated to this school that focuses on kids with special needs. Thanks for registering on RA, Scott.

Check out The Alternative Reef's double booth at MACNA Iowa, y'all.

Love the big sump Marc. Is that actual egg crate, or PVC?

also, i noticed that your using eggcrate for these sumps. do you like it better then the cut teeth?

Marc, what do you use to remove the paper from the acrylic? Some say alcohol, and many others, but wondered what you prefer?
Thanks..

Those Sumps look sweet!
It makes me want one of those frag tanks now.....

The sump at the top is part of the aquarium set up being donated to The Smouse Opportunity School.

Very sorry to hear. May god rest her soul.

Marc- you do beautiful work! i would love to see that tank and setup. what stage is it at?

Thanks Marc. And thank you everyone. This news has really hit our family hard. I fly out tomorrow morning for the calling hours and funeral on Monday/Tuesday. They still haven't caught the murderer. Best case scenario he killed himself and we just haven't found the body. Worst case, my family is carrying guns to the funeral

Keep in mind that the idea is the bulb is good for five years, so you don't have replacements to purchase. That's the big selling point for many people, it seems. If you buy a new bulb every 9 months, that would be 7 bulbs in 5 years at an average of $70 each. $490 per reflector/unit would be spent in bulb replacement. Assuming the ballast and reflector don't need to be replaced...

If the LED fixtures burn perfectly for 5 years, the savings will be in electricity consumption primarily, but also less need for chillers. You may have to run your heaters though, which is the opposite of saving energy.