My new tank

[D&KSac]

Originally posted by rafael13
exotic sells that silicone, they keep it under the counter

Yeah they are out of it. Tim ordered me some but it wont be here until Fridays shipment. Infact ive called pretty much everyone and they are all out.

[casalt]

Home depot has it, I believe it's type I. The one thats mold resistant is NOT the right one.

[D&KSac]

So with all this discussion we have been having about these LED's from Exotic. I decided with my new set up to try them. Tim gave me a 6 month no questions asked return them if im not totally satisfied. So I figured what the heck ill try them. If im not completely sold on them at that time they will go back for a full refund.

Heres the break down of the color spectrum I picked out.
2- 12k lamps
3- 16k lamps
1- 22k lamp
1- 470 NM
1- 440 NM

I think i pretty much covered the spectrum from white to purple. Its almost the same as the 55 test tank at Exotic. Here is a picture of the bulbs ill have more as I install them.

[gem]

This is gonna be one sweeeeeeet tank!!!

[robertloop]

Awesome light setup. Cant wait till you get this thing wet.

And no...... the water hose to keep the glass cool while drilling doesn't count.

[rafael13]

I have one of those tubes of silicon if you don't want to wait 'till friday, LMK

[D&KSac]

Sure Raf I would love to get it from you that way i can get started on the sump. I had Tim order me 2 tubes so i can replace yours when i pick them up.

Thank Ginger i sure hope so!

Robert I think im going to try to get them wired up tomarrow. If i can get anywhere near the growth and color that they are ill be in love!

[D&KSac]

Well I wired up the lights this morning. Heres some pictures. They really lit up my dark garage. I cant wait to see them hanging over the water.


over view mounted on a piece of plywood.


all wired up. I wired together by color. I may wire them seperatly when its time to put them on the accual tank.

Next 2 are just with the lights on.

[jthao]

sweet!!!!! I'll be following along to see how the lighting does for you.

[Underwaterparadise]

Are the end caps on those lights metal?

[D&KSac]

Yes they have 2 prongs just like a T8. It doesnt matter which pin you connect to as long as its power in, power out. You can use the other pin to run the lamps in series. I have the 3 16k lamps on 1 cord and the 2 10k lamps on one cord. Thus eliminating 3 cords. When I wire them for the tank I might hook them up stand alone on timers with like 10 min intervals so I really get a dawn and dusk affect.

[mpoletti]

Originally posted by Underwaterparadise
Are the end caps on those lights metal?

Are they rust proof?

[Underwaterparadise]

If there metal I hope there powder coated or they will rust and break real fast.

[Underwaterparadise]

Aluminum maybe?

[P.Kelly]

Just use waterproof end caps

[Joes210gal]

Very cool setup. What are the chances of keeping these lights if they work as good as you hope?

[Underwaterparadise]

Originally posted by petes97
Just use waterproof end caps

For the price they better be Water proof!


Nice tank BTW, The ultimates are really top quality

[robertloop]

Hey Dave.... the lights are awesome. Keep in mind however..... If you wire the bulbs in series, the voltage to each subsequent lamp is degraded from the resistance of the prior bulb. Wiring the bulbs in parallel is more wire intensive but will bring equal voltage to each tube. A siries circuit could mean less output and has higher over all resitance than a parallel circuit. However.. with led's, it might be minimal. I'll spare you ohms law that proves this.

By the way.... I'm jealous. The lights are really really cool. If you need. I can provide a wiring schematic for the parallel wiring configuration.

Feel free to drop by with your lights and slap them on top of my tank for a few.

[D&KSac]

Thanks Robert they are pretty cool from what ive seen so far. As for a schematic for a parallel ciruit I think I might be able to figure it out. :P

From what I can tell its the same end piece thats on any T8 lamp. I think I will get some water proof tombstones in the not to distance future for them. Just to be on the safe side. But the housing for the leds is plastic not glass so im hoping its sealed up so no corosion happens inside the lamp.

Rob yea im really happy with my purchase of the Ultimate series tank. Its a really nice tank. Just gotta get the stand built and finish the sump. I can't wait.

[casalt]

Ok it's been 10 days your last post, how long do we have to wait for pic's.

[D&KSac]

lol well progress has been happenning but its been happenning a bit slower than I had hoped ill take some pics here in a few and get them posted up. Just a quick update before i go take some pics. Sump is Done. New skimmer is in it. Dedicated electrical in place (today). I was a darn nightmare now I know why I charge extra if I have to go in the attic. just getting started on the plumbing this evening. Ok now off to snap some pics.

[gem]

We're waiting!!!

[D&KSac]

Im working on it LOL photobucket is slow tonight!

[D&KSac]

Ok heres the sump and skimmer its an Aqua-C EV 180.



Closer look at the fit of the skimmer in the box. Can you say perfect fit!? LOL



K the Electrical. I had to go high with the outlets because for whatever reason they put fire blocking in the wall and I just couldnt bring myself to take on a new project of fixing drywall, retexturing, and painting the big hole it would take. Plus I figure the canopy is gonna cover it for the most part.



Now on to the next fun project the dreaded plumbing and no matter how good the list is you always forget something im just organizing and already found some parts i missed. blah!



LOL there! There is your update! lol jk.

[gem]

I had the same problem with photobucket. I thought it was just my POS computer.