DIY Concrete Aquarium 5,000 gallon - Anderson Family Reef

dca22anderson · Jun 2, 2021

Have some work to do on the top but all looks good

VanDalsenReef · Jun 2, 2021

dca22anderson said:
Good idea! I’ll take another look at them...

Will be cheaper in the long run but you'd have to put them atleast 2 feet from the water. I'd even say 3 or 4

dca22anderson · Jun 2, 2021

VanDalsenReef said:
Will be cheaper in the long run but you'd have to put them atleast 2 feet from the water. I'd even say 3 or 4

Chatting with James at Orphek and this is what he was thinking:

Well to start with this is the LED chip layout I would recommend for either version. The bodies are identical in the 320 and 960 models. Just the wifi is added to the 960 model.

Chip 1 - 14K
Chip 2 - 460m blue
Chip 3 - XP blue
Chip 4 - 6k

I would recommend Six Amazonas 320's or 960's with 30 degree cups.

(I would have to put them 16" off the top of the water)

VanDalsenReef · Jun 2, 2021

dca22anderson said:
Chatting with James at Orphek and this is what he was thinking:

Well to start with this is the LED chip layout I would recommend for either version. The bodies are identical in the 320 and 960 models. Just the wifi is added to the 960 model.

Chip 1 - 14K
Chip 2 - 460m blue
Chip 3 - XP blue
Chip 4 - 6k

I would recommend Six Amazonas 320's or 960's with 30 degree cups.

I think you'd love the orpheks. Extremely powerful

dca22anderson · Jun 2, 2021

They look amazing! My second born's car may have to be put on hold to grab these bad boys!

VanDalsenReef · Jun 2, 2021

dca22anderson said:
They look amazing! My second born's car may have to be put on hold to grab these bad boys!

If you can get them high enough above the tank I'd do it

VanDalsenReef · Jun 2, 2021

dca22anderson said:
They look amazing! My second born's car may have to be put on hold to grab these bad boys!

That's what bikes are for

McPuff · Jun 2, 2021

VanDalsenReef said:
If you can get them high enough above the tank I'd do it

I completely agree (obviously?)! Orphek make fantastic products and I really love the way they make my reef (and others') look. Might as well get the 960 for ease of use and controllability. They seem to be best bang for your buck as well since you'd only need 6 of them. Last I checked they were cheaper than the Atlantiks.

To get them high enough, you could steal the idea used for your skimmer and just recess them into the ceiling a bit. That would also allow you to route the cables, etc. and have everything out of the way.

VanDalsenReef · Jun 2, 2021

McPuff said:
I completely agree (obviously?)! Orphek make fantastic products and I really love the way they make my reef (and others') look. Might as well get the 960 for ease of use and controllability. They seem to be best bang for your buck as well since you'd only need 6 of them. Last I checked they were cheaper than the Atlantiks.

To get them high enough, you could steal the idea used for your skimmer and just recess them into the ceiling a bit. That would also allow you to route the cables, etc. and have everything out of the way.

Exactly. Plus even though people hate on orphek because diodes go bad. It's one of the few if not the only company that everything is replaceable. So you don't have to buy a whole new light.

dca22anderson · Jun 2, 2021

McPuff said:
I completely agree (obviously?)! Orphek make fantastic products and I really love the way they make my reef (and others') look. Might as well get the 960 for ease of use and controllability. They seem to be best bang for your buck as well since you'd only need 6 of them. Last I checked they were cheaper than the Atlantiks.

To get them high enough, you could steal the idea used for your skimmer and just recess them into the ceiling a bit. That would also allow you to route the cables, etc. and have everything out of the way.

They would be about 2 feet off of the water or more if I recessed them... like that they have replaceable parts