Are your German bulbs Ushio's?

[colemanitis]

The title says it all. :D

[Fish-o-holic]

If you're talking about the 10K 250w German bulbs, then 'YES'. I just bought some bulbs from them recently so I should know. :D

[colemanitis]

Yep, that's what I was talking about. Thanks!

[Fish-o-holic]

NP. You buying some bulbs? If so, get the Ushio, they're nice as heck.

[colemanitis]

I ordered the IceCap 10k 250w German retrofit yesterday - should be arriving first part of next week!

[dreamer]

Hey Cole let me know how you like the 250 retrofit kits from MD...

I have been thinking about doing the same.

[colemanitis]

I like it a lot. Hopefully I'll be ordering a second one soon. Here's a pic of it on my 110g.

http://www.colemanitis.com/reef/110g/tank/tank073103.jpg

[Fish-o-holic]

I bought the dual 250w mh retro kit from MD as well. I am really impressed with it. Can't really tell but look at the pic in my avatar. That will give you a sense of how my tank looks. My corals seem alot happier and the tank is so much brighter also. LMK if you need more pics.

[dreamer]

Looking good Cole !

Hey is your a tank what they call a "show tank" since it looks really deep and slim on the sides ?

How deep is it anyways ?

Also...which Icecap elec ballast did MD send ya out with that 250 Spider light retro ? The new black box style or the old blue style ?

How tall is your canopy and how many fans are you running in it and in what directions ?

[colemanitis]

Originally posted by dreamer
Looking good Cole !Thanks for the compliment!

Hey is your a tank what they call a "show tank" since it looks really deep and slim on the sides?I'm not sure what the true definition of a 'show tank' is.

How deep is it anyways?30" tall with a 75g footprint .

Also...which Icecap elec ballast did MD send ya out with that 250 Spider light retro ? The new black box style or the old blue style?250w blue style.

How tall is your canopy and how many fans are you running in it and in what directions ? 12" tall. The lights are 7" from the water. I wish I get could get them up another inch, but oh well. I'm not running any fans at the moment, I'll add them when I get my second MH. I'll use (2) 4" fans, one blowing in and one blowing out.

[dreamer]

Wow..that is really weird..I just emailed MD and asked them what elec ballast is sent out with the Icecap 250 watt Spider light retros and they said the "black box" style ...

Hmmm...how long ago did ya order that 250 watt retro from MD ?

[Fish-o-holic]

My ballast was also blue. I bought my setup about a month ago and Cole bought his approx. 2 weeks after I think. :D

I would call MD back and be sure.

[colemanitis]

Yeah, I've had mine around 2 weeks. What's the difference between the blue and black ballasts - besides color?

[dreamer]

Iunno for sure but I just ordered 2 - 250 watt MH Spider light retros from Marine Depot just now...

They said they will ship with the "new" ballasts which are blue in color...Even though the old ballasts were blue as well they confirmed the new ballasts are also blue and were manufactured in MARch of 03 so that is all I need to know.

Now I need to decide on which fans to go with...I just looked at my existing 4" fans and they are Toyo brand...I don't know the specs but are going to look them up and find comparable Orions I think.

[dreamer]

WOW..I just recieved my Marine Depot order in less than 24 hours from time of order placement (well I only live 1 hour from where they are located :D )

My Icecap ballasts are blue...

Now it is decision making time for fans. I am leaning towards the 95 CFM ORions that have db rating of 22.

[colemanitis]

Originally posted by dreamer
WOW..I just recieved my Marine Depot order in less than 24 hours from time of order placement (well I only live 1 hour from where they are located :D )

My Icecap ballasts are blue...

Now it is decision making time for fans. I am leaning towards the 95 CFM ORions that have db rating of 22. Holy cow that was fast! It took mine 6 days to get to Florida, which I guess isn't too bad for UPS ground. Speaking of fans, I just connected a 6" clip-on fan from Target on to my sump. Waters been getting a little warmer than I like (83*). I've always kept it right at 80*. I'll know by tomorrow afternoon if it does any good.

[dreamer]

HEy guys on this subject of MH Spider light retros...

How important is the placement/orientation of the reflectors and bulbs ? THe instructions recommend to orient them perpendicular to the front of the aquarium.

Due to limited space, canopy design, fan placement, etc I was planning on placing them parallel to the front of my tank...

Now I dont know what to do...

[colemanitis]

dreamer, what are the dimensions of your tank?

[dreamer]

Dimensions are:

200 gallon
72" long x 24" wide x 27" deep
Canopy lid is flat but has 2 Euro doors in it that have small wood brackets that hold the hinges sticking a couple inches back into canopy.

I wanted to place my Spider light retros parallel with front of tank so I could ahve room to run 2 - 96 watt actinic PCs either towards the front or the back mext to the SPider light reflectors. If I place the reflectors perpendicular then there will not be enuf space.

I see it looks like you mounted your MHs parallel.

[colemanitis]

Yeah, mine is parallel. I would recommend you also place your parallel, especially since you're only running 2 MH's on a 72" tank. This should help the light spread further across the tank. Also, 90% of the MH's I've seen are mounted this way.

[dreamer]

Well those instructions state that a perpendicular install will allow 2 MHs to cover a 6' tank....That is why I was concerned I would be detracting from my tank.

But if I do it parallel then in time I can add a 3rd MH to the middle slot on my canopy. wOOt !

[colemanitis]

Just an update on my sump fan install. Good news, my temp hasn't gone above 80* since I installed the fan! Once again, I have less than a 1* fluctuation over a 24 hour period. My heater's even kicking on periodically to keep the water from cooling too much. I'm happy!

[dreamer]

What kind of fan did ya install in your sump Cole ?

And is it pointing directly at the exposed water in your sump of is it just ventilating the sump area in general ?

[colemanitis]

Not sure what brand, it's the only (plug in) clip-on fan that my local Target had. I pointed the fan directly at the water. This is only a quick-fix until I get my second MH, then I'll install 4" fans in the canopy.

[dreamer]

Your evaporation rate must be hella high right now Cole.. ?

Do you know what it is ?

[colemanitis]

Originally posted by dreamer
Your evaporation rate must be hella high right now Cole.. ?

Do you know what it is ? Before the fan I was topping off 1 gallon per day. Now it's 1.5 gallons per day.