The Rise of the Phoenix: The Phoenix 700

[FARMBOYREEF]

Today's topic is lighting! It always seems to spark a good debate. Are you a LED person? T5? Old school metal halide? Nothing like getting the blood pumping with a good debate on lighting. I prefer LEDs myself because I love the intensity, adjustability and all around coloring. How about you?

 

[RyanCSGO]

Been using LED since I got into the hobby.
Using two Hydra HD 26's over a 36x24x20. love them.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Up until my last 2 tanks, I was always a halide guy. Ran dual 400w 10k over the 90. Got insane growth. Power bill was also crazy and i had to run a chiller.

I have since switched to LED. I haven't looked back. On the 29 I was running a RapidLED Corona which I really liked. Now I'm running 2 SB reef light 32" extremes on the 180 supplemented by 2 6ft t5s. I moved the corona to the frag tank and supplement that with t5s as well. I love the LEDs and am getting fairly comparable growth and better color than what I was getting with the halides without The power consumption and heat. The only thing I am not a huuuuge fan of with LED (Which I have remedied with t5 supplementation) is that the LED is so point focused that the under side of acros can suffer and in areas with ledges, there is often not enough light for corals I could have kept in the same place when using halides and fluorescents with their more indirect light output.

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Up until my last 2 tanks, I was always a halide guy. Ran dual 400w 10k over the 90. Got insane growth. Power bill was also crazy and i had to run a chiller.

I have since switched to LED. I haven't looked back. On the 29 I was running a RapidLED Corona which I really liked. Now I'm running 2 SB reef light 32" extremes on the 180 supplemented by 2 6ft t5s. I moved the corona to the frag tank and supplement that with t5s as well. I love the LEDs and am getting fairly comparable growth and better color than what I was getting with the halides without The power consumption and heat. The only thing I am not a huuuuge fan of with LED (Which I have remedied with t5 supplementation) is that the LED is so point focused that the under side of acros can suffer and in areas with ledges, there is often not enough light for corals I could have kept in the same place when using halides and fluorescents with their more indirect light output.

Great info! I hear you on the spread/diffusion of the light. Thanks for this. I find it really interesting that growth for you is comparable.

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Been using LED since I got into the hobby.
Using two Hydra HD 26's over a 36x24x20. love them.

Nice! I'm using 5 Hydra HD 52's over the Phoenix and love them. I use the 26's over my lab tanks. Love those as well. Can't go wrong with the Hydras.

 

[bif24701]

My first Reef had Dual 150w double ended MH with 14K Phoenix bulbs and T5 actinics. Loved the crisp white/blue color but most of all shimmer. Second tank I went with the very new Kessil 360WEs and loved the shimmer there. My dream 180 now has what I consider the Super combo of 2 Kessil AP700s and 2 80w T5s. I can't go without the crisp looking shimmer and contrast of my Kessil and won't be going back to MH with all the issues with them considering the AP700 is just as good power and look wise but much better control, power usage, heat, sleek look, color choices, and more.

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

My first Reef had Dual 150w double ended MH with 14K Phoenix bulbs and T5 actinics. Loved the crisp white/blue color but most of all shimmer. Second tank I went with the very new Kessil 360WEs and loved the shimmer there. My dream 180 now has what I consider the Super combo of 2 Kessil AP700s and 2 80w T5s. I can't go without the crisp looking shimmer and contrast of my Kessil and won't be going back to MH with all the issues with them considering the AP700 is just as good power and look wise but much better control, power usage, heat, sleek look, color choices, and more.

Sweet! I like this writeup - great info. Kessil has great shimmer, no doubt.

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Topic of the day! Let's talk about power heads today. How much circulation do you have in your display tank? Do you accomplish this with one, two or even more power heads? Do you randomize the flow? Let's all discuss and learn from each other!

 

[bif24701]

Topic of the day! Let's talk about power heads today. How much circulation do you have in your display tank? Do you accomplish this with one, two or even more power heads? Do you randomize the flow? Let's all discuss and learn from each other!
View attachment 586676

I currently have 80x rated flow in my 180. One MP60 and two Tunze 6105s all controlled via APEX. I have created some very interesting flow programs with the APEX and Tunzes. I really like the Tunze powerheads with APEX control. Also able to slow down all my powerheads for feed mode and even stop them for spot feeding. I've also just purchased a WAV starter kit. Yup! Two more +4,000 gph powerheads. Placing both WAVs on the back wall will help to create more/better random flow programs. I may or may not keep the MP60, I love the pump and have a battery back up worth 2-3 days run time attached right now but I can do the same with the Tunzes and I can remove the block of the view from that side. Will have to see.

 

[bif24701]

How do you like the Tunze Stream 3s?

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

How do you like the Tunze Stream 3s?

I love them. They create really nice, random flow, have tons of power and I love that they can be set out of view. They also don't mess up the sand bed which I appreciate. I couldn't be happier.

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

How do you like the Tunze Stream 3s?

Here's a clip showing the flow from the stream 3's when I was mixing salt into the Phoenix.
https://instagram.com/p/BXsnbQmDvAO/

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Let's talk aquarium heaters today. What do you use and why? Do you use smaller wattage and add two heaters? One larger? How often do you replace? Do you have a thermostat that will override the heater if it starts to overheat? Heaters can easily cook your tank if something goes wrong but they are in most cases, essential equipment for our reef tanks. Let's chat about this.

 

[TominiReef250]

So how often are you supposed to change your heaters then? Mine are about one year old. That's a great question

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

So how often are you supposed to change your heaters then? Mine are about one year old. That's a great question

Well, if you have a controller or thermostat in place as a failsafe that will shut off the heater if it starts to overheat, you can go longer. However, I believe you should always have a backup on hand in the event your heater goes. If you don't have a failsafe, I would replace every 12-18 months personally. However, as with anything, equipment can go any time so it's always good to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[TominiReef250]

Agreed... i have apex gold system and two low wattage heaters which are set at 78 and my apex set at 77.8 to shut off. Just have to work on buying back up equipment versus corals

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Agreed... i have apex gold system and two low wattage heaters which are set at 78 and my apex set at 77.8 to shut off. Just have to work on buying back up equipment versus corals

Yes, that’s always a struggle, isn’t it?

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a good weekend. For today’s topic, let’s talk coralline. It always seems to be a goal to “purple up” your rocks. Some hobbyists feel their tank isn’t really going until they start to see that purple. Did you know coralline comes in many different colors? Red, green, pink, purple and variations in between. It also can branch and plate as well, although neither are common in our reef tanks. What do you like about coralline? What don’t you like? How do you get it established? Do you seed it? Let’s discuss!

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

Are you in the Toronto area? If so, join us for some Frags and Fun on Saturday, October 28 at 6:30 PM. Details posted

 

[FARMBOYREEF]

And for today’s discussion topic!!! Let’s talk predators. You know, the eat-your-face-off scary kind! Just kidding. Let’s talk predator tanks and fish. What’s your favorite predator and why? Do you have a predator tank? Have you in the past? What else did you keep with your Predator? And what drew you to your choices? Let’s discuss! I’m considering a separate predator tank so I’m really looking forward to seeing your responses.