this light or that

[TexasState]

I remember that 3 years recoup too. But ofcourse I didn't listen to it then b/c I already have an electronic MH ballast on hand.

In 4 years though who knows what new product will come out. We might have some better bulbs that put out the same intensity at half the wattage.

I'm getting T5 Florescent in.

From Bluesreef on RC:

T5 Off

T5 On


"In the pix [below] 400 w HQI is on the left side and 320w in T5 light is in the right side."


The tank above was being run by HQI at first. He tested out the T5 on the right side to see if it work. After the test, he switched the whole tank over to T5. He's been running the whole tank w/ T5 for about a year now.

All the picture above are of European tank. I'm going to overdrive my T5 w/ my Icecap 660 Ballast. So, it might get brighter then those European tanks.
You can make a light hood like the above out of Textured ABS. You can buy ABS from acrylic shop. It should make for a good group project!!!!

[TexasState]

I was going to setup a high flow experimental reef tank. But yesterday, my roommate complained that the electricity bill in our apartment is too high ($89 this month, $80 last month.) So, I'm bummed w/ the lack of roommate support right now. He said his house in San Antonio only cost $45 per month in electricity.

I was going to setup my tank like this:

80 Gallon Tank/Stand/Canopy
Light
2X T5 65K
2X T8 Actinic Blue
1x T12 URI Super Actnic
Circulation
Mag 12 return w/ two 3/4 inch Sea Swirls(about 900 GPH)
Reeftec PE1(about 3K to 5K GPH.)
Caulerpa Ecosystem Sump
Precision Marine HOT-1 Skimmer

I can get SPS from several friends.

Since my roommate is complaining about electricity, I might just set it up as a planted tank(free plants from the San Marcos River.)

[TexasState]

Until now, we keep the temp of the apartment at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

I used to live on the 3rd floor, facing the sun, electricity was around $120 w/ a 29 gallon reef, and 60 gallon fish. Now that I'm on the bottom floor, behind a big tree, electricity has gone down a lot. I try to explain that to my roommate yesterday. The location of our apartment has lowered the electricity bill. When I quit reefing in June, I told him that I was going to get a big screen HDTV. But then, I setup a 120 instead, so I guess he's feeling a little sored b/c the plan for the HDTV had to be cancelled.