What did you do with your tank(s) today?

sir_keith

sir_keith

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DMD123 said:
...Update on my defective heater… Aquacave never responded back, the manufacturer never followed up with a call tag so I contacted my credit card company and they are looking into it. So likely to be refunded. On that note, I have three heaters acting up in the garage so Im looking into replacement heaters...
DMD123 said:
...Ive heard tons of hard core hobbyist comment that they would not having an issue on spending money for a high quality heater, but really at what price would that be. Lets say you could find a brand that because of its build quality could potentially last 20 years, how much do you pay for this?...
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The long-lived, high-quality heaters you describe have been available for many years. Made in Germany, all priced between $25-40; Eheim-Jager heaters have been subject to real-world tests by scores of hobbyists (including myself) over decades of use. And no, they are not digital.

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DMD123

DMD123

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@sir_keith, I tried the newer Eheim and liked them but they are absolutely huge heaters! The classics you posted I’ve used in the past, likely stopped just due to size and the horrible suction cups. Germans can make some great heaters but apparently suction cups are beyond them, lol. Fluval suction cups work but wont fit. I need to look through my ‘spare parts’ box and see what heaters I have sitting around, might have a Eheim or some Fluval sitting around.
 
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Madness

Madness

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Completed extending my tank stand / table out one more foot. Now I need to get the sump set up and ready. One of the plant boxes is complete. Oh and I really need to figure out what I'm going to do for the lights, do I want to install a track light above the tank like my 300 with 6 heads to direct light in multiple directions or do I want to do something different? Ideas?20220417_114637.jpg20220417_133233.jpg20220417_150153.jpg
 
DMD123

DMD123

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@Madness, I love the look of the track lighting you have on the other tank. Just a cool look with different areas highlighted as opposed to the overly even lighting from a typical aquarium light fixture
 
sir_keith

sir_keith

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I've always liked the idea different lighting aspects in different parts of a tank, and with an 8 x 4' footprint, I can imagine this monster having three or four different zones of lighting. For maximum flexibility I'd go with 3 or 4 programmable LED fixtures, which would give you a large number of color/level/timing possibilities. I don't like above-tank lights of any kind for the simple reason that they spill too much light into the room, which compromises the ambience during my late-night cognac with the fishes. :cool:

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John58Ford

John58Ford

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Light spill is a hard one to solve/consider when setting up lighting. I really like smaller dimmable 12v jewelry case spot lights set right on the glass to get the same effect you would get with track lighting on longer tanks. Being a planted junky though; focused spot lights are something I only add during my twilight cycles (bourbon time for me), and only when I have company. I have to tolerate the ludicrous brightness most of the day and it's enough overall that it doesn't really matter if it's my above tank light bars or the flush ones, the room glows like the sun.

The problem I have with my flush/set on top bars (or the mini spots) is finding a temporary home for them when servicing the glass lids and working on planting in the tanks. Hard to plant in the dark and my above tank lights make that allot easier.

I think if I were setting up a tank as large as 8x4 and had a modest budget, I would build a modular grid based (think theater) 12V spot and flood system, likely hinged off the wall behind the tank so it can be swung up and away. Probably set it up with 2-3 individual power supplies on individual timing circuits, and spring the little extra for focusable RGB mini spots, this could give the primary viewing lights (not grow lights) RGB washing and really get some glitter out of the fish. A separate circuit for twilight floods and the third circuit for grow and or uv lights as appropriate.

With a big budget I would build that whole thing into a gas shock assisted hood, but in addition to the materials to build one, you would need active ventilation and other noise magnets to keep things cool and in ideal humidity and that would distract me (personally) from the immersive nature of the tanks I build. One of my power supplies (the grow lights in the original rack) has a thermostatic controlled fan and it drives me up the wall if I'm focused in on something and it turns on surprisingly.
 
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Madness

Madness

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@DMD123 @John58Ford and @sir_keith thank you for the input. All sweet ideas, unfortunately the budget is limited. Definitely not putting a tip on it lol. I hate tops, the get in the way, and like you said John, unless put it on a motorized hinge. To much for a fish room. I really like the look The Spot heads on my track light create oh, unfortunately it is just a white light I would like to get a different color in there like some Reds blues or greens but I cannot achieve that with just the track light. I also don't want lights on top of the tank can't stand that either. I do really like the idea of maybe offsetting the white light of the track spots with lights on the back wall extending out in various directions of various colors, i wonder how that might look
 
sir_keith

sir_keith

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Madness said:
...I do really like the idea of maybe offsetting the white light of the track spots with lights on the back wall extending out in various directions of various colors, i wonder how that might look..
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There are LED RGB spotlights of every possible size, most of them with remotes so you can control the color, brightness, and even some aspects of timing. I have tons of these in my house; they're not expensive. :)
 
Madness

Madness

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sir_keith said:
There are LED RGB spotlights of every possible size, most of them with remotes so you can control the color, brightness, and even some aspects of timing. I have tons of these in my house; they're not expensive. :)
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what is the brand name?
 
sir_keith

sir_keith

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Madness said:
what is the brand name?
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Tons of different brands, you just have to pick bulbs that are the correct size for your application. Here are a few examples that I have in my home; just scroll around in the links and you'll finds lots of other options. I've had these bulbs for years, and they're all still working flawlessly. They also don't use much electricity and don't get hot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MH4HKYB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798MPJ86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798MW5H3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
 
Madness

Madness

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Staff member
sir_keith said:
Tons of different brands, you just have to pick bulbs that are the correct size for your application. Here are a few examples that I have in my home; just scroll around in the links and you'll finds lots of other options. I've had these bulbs for years, and they're all still working flawlessly. They also don't use much electricity and don't get hot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MH4HKYB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798MPJ86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798MW5H3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
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Those are what i thought you meant, just wanted to be sure. :)
 
DMD123

DMD123

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A little midweek tank cleaning and I think the reduced lighting cycle seems to have lessened the algae growth a bit. I might also adjust the timer on my 300 and just cut back by an hour and see how that goes. That little bit of extra natural light that comes through right now really makes it grow.
 
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