Lets do this - 225+ reef bar

[thor32766]

Is sfiliogoi a good brand? i have seen their bulbs, but didnt know anyting about them?

[reefkeeper2]

In terms of cost, the I beams were $300.00 drilled and delivered to my home. If you feel confident of your masonary skills, you don't have to pay a mason to cement the cinder blocks together which cost me $400.00. I already had the plywood and foam(the tank came shipped in it).The tile I did myself with leftovers from the new floor. All told it was under $1000.00. A steel stand would have cost much more and would not have looked good. Since you don't have to concern yourself with what it looks like, it should cost you a lot less.

[Flint&Eric]

thor, yes sfiligoi is a good brand. aquarium obsessed carries their line.

mike...decide what you like/need. either way will be nice.

[mcliffy2]

Hmmm, well aquariumspeciality said no go on an 8x80 powermodule, and AO said no sfiligoi 8x80, so it looks like it will be tek retro with ice caps...

[Flint&Eric]

what about the sfiligoi 8x80 + 3x250 MH? pricey i'm sure but would be much better than the retro's...

check out DElightings.com the guy is in singapore, but will ship here...i bet he could make the "retro" fixture and then just wire you're own ballast up. they look like the FM units, but better priced. i was looking at his MH pendents and shipping would have been ~$60USD

[mcliffy2]

Hmmm, well then that defeats the tree hugger in me that is adamant about avoiding MH Where did you find the DElighting guy, I'm sure if youre dealing with him he has a good reputation. Looks like a good deal too. Could get 2 4x80w T5 fixtures for approx. $700 US. ($1000 Singapore dollars)

[Flint&Eric]

you'd need to wire you're own ballast (different electric) but that part is do able. because you wont need the ballast it will likely be cheaper than the quoted prices too.

i found him, razali the owner, from a singapore site. seems to have good reviews from asian reefers and even some in new zealand. based on pics i don't think he could really mess up the end caps and metal backing. with that said, i have no experience with him.



if you really want to be a tree hugger, i'd look at 3 x 175w 14k's iwasaki's. they have the par of many 250's.

[saltysupply]

I am starting a very similar build for a 180 gallon very interested in seeing how your's turns out.....here is a quick photoshop mockup of mine.

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by saltysupply
I am starting a very similar build for a 180 gallon very interested in seeing how your's turns out.....here is a quick photoshop mockup of mine.

Looks like it will be very cool. Ill follow along on your build thread.

Just out of curiousity, have you tried Google Sketchup? After about 15 minutes with it I found it easier to make 3D models, than it is to make 2D models in photoshop. And its free to boot

[saltysupply]

I haven't tried it yet and was wondering what people use for those...I usually use Maya but don't have it installed right now...its about the only use I get from my computer animation degree right now lol

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by Flint&Eric
you'd need to wire you're own ballast (different electric) but that part is do able. because you wont need the ballast it will likely be cheaper than the quoted prices too.

i found him, razali the owner, from a singapore site. seems to have good reviews from asian reefers and even some in new zealand. based on pics i don't think he could really mess up the end caps and metal backing. with that said, i have no experience with him.



if you really want to be a tree hugger, i'd look at 3 x 175w 14k's iwasaki's. they have the par of many 250's.

I didnt realize you were such a MH guy, thought you would be all about the T5s

Would 3 175s use less energy than 8 T5s? Part of me just wants to get two Lumenbright 400s and be done with the lighting Is their anywhere that offers power consumption charts that you know of? Sanjays site just has PAR ratings - I guess I need kw/hour, or something like that. I also am wondering about the impact of the bulbs after, I seem to remember hearing that T5s may be more destructive when disposed of than MH, so is it possible disposing of 8 T5s every 9 months is more destructive than disposing of 2 MHs every 12 months?

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by saltysupply
I haven't tried it yet and was wondering what people use for those...I usually use Maya but don't have it installed right now...its about the only use I get from my computer animation degree right now lol

http://www.sketchup.com/

Give it a whirl. Like everything Google does, its free, simple, and powerful.

[saltysupply]

i'll give it a shot...even though I don't like google lol (from a business standpoint)

[bbehring]

I don't think you'd get the spread using the ATI PM 10 bulb units on that 3 foot tank width. You'd have to do all t5 retrofit inside a canopy or frame out above. This way you could use 3' and 2' end to end x 14 or 16 bulbs deep

[Flint&Eric]

Originally posted by mcliffy2
I didnt realize you were such a MH guy, thought you would be all about the T5s

Would 3 175s use less energy than 8 T5s? Part of me just wants to get two Lumenbright 400s and be done with the lighting Is their anywhere that offers power consumption charts that you know of? Sanjays site just has PAR ratings - I guess I need kw/hour, or something like that. I also am wondering about the impact of the bulbs after, I seem to remember hearing that T5s may be more destructive when disposed of than MH, so is it possible disposing of 8 T5s every 9 months is more destructive than disposing of 2 MHs every 12 months?

i'm both ...MH's can be very efficient. e.g. spot lights, saki 14k's, and others when run for peak lighting. t5's are great though.

3x175=523w
8x80=640w

but the 8x80 will give you more PAR. have you considered this fixture?


we limit ourselves so much on lighting...there's lots of stuff out there people have never thought of using on an aquarium.

[Jeremy Blaze]

I do not think it has been mentioned, but if you use wood for the stand, do not use treated! When it dries it will twist, bend, warp, etc..

This can lead to big problems.

Good luck, interesting build!

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by Jeremy Blaze
I do not think it has been mentioned, but if you use wood for the stand, do not use treated! When it dries it will twist, bend, warp, etc..

This can lead to big problems.

Good luck, interesting build!

Good to know, thanks for the heads up.

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by Flint&Eric
i'm both ...MH's can be very efficient. e.g. spot lights, saki 14k's, and others when run for peak lighting. t5's are great though.

3x175=523w
8x80=640w

but the 8x80 will give you more PAR. have you considered this fixture?


we limit ourselves so much on lighting...there's lots of stuff out there people have never thought of using on an aquarium.

I like that Giesemann, any idea where you can buy it in the US?

[Flint&Eric]

i'd give aquarium specialty or PA a call, they should be able to get their hands on it if it's available.

[mcliffy2]

I ordered the tank!!!! I know 30" makes working on the bottom a pain, but I kinda think 24" is too short, so I decided to go a little deeper, so the tank is 60x36x26 (also known as "the perfect dimensions" ). Went with Aquarium Obsessed as they seemed really nice and reasonably priced. I guess I need to retitle the thread to be my 238 gallon build....

[Flint&Eric]

congrats! did you go rimless or eurobraced?

[tanya72806]

Cant wait for this to get going

[anjhof]

One thing to consider is accessing the front bottom of the tank if you have a countertop in front of the tank. If your tank is 36" wide, you will have a very tough time accessing the front bottom of the tank.
I can't wait to see how this turns out - I am sure it will look great.

[saltysupply]

Originally posted by Jeremy Blaze
I do not think it has been mentioned, but if you use wood for the stand, do not use treated! When it dries it will twist, bend, warp, etc..

This can lead to big problems.

Good luck, interesting build!

This is good to know because a friend was telling me to use treated wood orginally but I disagreed cause I thought I had heard about this problem.

[saltysupply]

hey mcliffy2...I got part of my bar installed today and some molding...i'll try and get some shots pretty soon of what is done...my thread is partially updated although I did re-wrap the tank with thicker wood.