Well, how the heck have all you great people been?

[BEELZEBOB]

I has been quite some time since i have frequented the analogs of reeferdom.

How you all doin? Can you guys like, be troubled to link me to the info i seek?

I am now, about to start, plotting the build of a reef late summer 2011.

I got out 3 years ago, sold all my LPS etc, tank light skimmer etc.

But man, things have like changed......

I now have a girlfriend. I know, close your dropping jaws, the chauvinist is no more.


We are moving in together this summer. We are going to rent a big house, so i can have a garage, basement, and a reef.

Thing is, I am not up to date w/ the latest and greatest!

So I am going to hit you all with a bunch of questions...


what i am most curious about is LEDs. 3 years ago a unit comparible to a MH was like $600.

I have seen latley units that look better, for much less. So link me up!!! I want to know whats the latest light revolution has brought us.


Also, system control computers. i want one.

Dosers, ALk, CA, PH etc. whats new there?


are there any uber schweet new skimmers?


I am going to buy stuff one piece at a time until we move in. then she will get the livestock bills

 

[Eric]

Good to see you back on the board!

Not all that much has changed in the past 3 years, the leds are out but still new some of our members are testing them for the first time this year, I personally have no hands on exsperience.

Best skimmer on the market? Well that is the same it's the one each user is currently using lol but SWC, Vertec, octopus are some of the newer names that have become popular along with the cone skimmers.

As far as controllers I'm no help there either

Welcome back and I look forward to seeing your progress back into the hobby.

 

[BEELZEBOB]

Thanks Eric!!!

I was lookin at a few octos last weekend. Is a cone skimmer a brand or new fancy type?

I want everything to be overly rated for my system.

Im thinking of a 55gal, or 60gal H tank. so i want like a 100gal+ rated skimmer.

I want a full mix of SPS LPS and softies.

I like LED's for the heat, or lack there of. But I want like 10-12 watts per gallon.... right?

and dont know whete to start for LED fixtures.

 

[Eric]

The cone is just a design and probably more of a bandwagon thing in my opinion but people swear by them

The WPG is just a rule of thumb in most cases, if you have a good set of lights that will penetrate the depth that is all you need, I still try to average a high WPG but that is easy to do with halides vs LEDs We have one member that will soon be lighting a 150 deep dimension with two Cree fixtures that is 40 LEDs = 3 watts a piece so 120w is what he is going to have on the tank less that 1WPG I don't think that is enough light to support the whole tank personally but I am following along to see how it goes, personally I feel to light the 150 front to back properly I think you would need 3 of these fixtures on each side as the leds have a narrow beam but what is directly below them and close will grow fine as these things will penetrate the depth, we'll just have to watch as he switches over and time passes.

I agree with you on the overkill, it's the best way to go hands down

 

[BEELZEBOB]

eh.

30 mins on this forum in the tech section,

and now I am liking MH all over again. I forgot about the "shimmer"

a local LHS has a 11w LED over a 10gal frag tank. it looks good, but, yea, it seems weak.

whats the burn out time on a diode? i have lil mini led lights over my 8 plakats (bettas) and they dim drastically over time.

but that could just be cause they're weak.


And its weird. After 3 years of RC planes, Crawlers and Helis( where my money HAS been going)

all this stuff seems cheaper than I remember LOL.


And another priority will be locating another G.Smithii for my fuge.

 

[Eric]

I believe the average run time for the LEDs is 3-5 years before they need replaced, while that is expensive now one member brought to my attention that the cost may and probably will come down by the time they need to be replaced so that's a plus.

I'm a big fan of halides, the LEDs have the shimmer as well but it very intense and active making the tank look busy unlike the smooth rolling of halides that looks more natural IMO, two people I was looking at an led lit tank with said it made the nauseous after only a few minutes.

I think it's going to boil down to personal preference and initial startup costs for the time being, some people love LEDs and then there the weirdo's like me that are just not impressed.

 

[sasquatch]

Bobby, I am crushed, demoralized and secretly LMFAO! great to see you up and middleclassing Dude hehe, btw... nothing has changed its still expensive but the boxes are prettier

 

[jpsika08]

btw... nothing has changed its still expensive but the boxes are prettier

LMAO :laughroll: