mandarinmans tl550

Joined
18 Oct 2007
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Location
capetown,durbanville
I have finally complered my move to the new house and although my 450 is hprwappy i have started the preparation for my tl550 . I am excited because it is nearly triple the volume of 450. First things first. i found that any water dripped on stand causes it to swell. so with thie tank i have sealed toe stand with a wood sealer before even starting. the first thing i am doing is going led on the tank. i have 3,2 metres of 24 volt 5050 leds half are 7000 kelvin( i hear some people groan. The reason for the choice of this colour rating is the amount of usable lights for corals.) the other hal:blush:f of the leds are 20 000 kelvin. this is to ensure penetration and to offset the yellow of the 7000 kelvin. ps sunlight is approx 7000 kelvin. the total wattage is 42 watts and is 25 percent overkill according to what i have read. this will ensure i can keep anything in the tank as far as corals and spses go.
 
Looks liek LED is taking over the marine world. If you don't mind me asking , how much did you pay for the 40cm strips and do you have par readings for under the water? Very interested in this...
 
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Just pics of naked tl550 lid after i pulled its innards out and a weipro skimmer with its bionic heart . a bubble blaster hy 1000.
 
Did you get them from the guy in Milnerton? Looking forward to the pics.

Yes but he told me not to come back as he has retail channels that he must respect. he did do this after selling me what i needed which was rather kind.
 
Now todays plan is to find out what primer to use on inside of lid before painting it white.
 
plastic primer? :) preferably non toxic.
 
Found plastic primer aerosol and white aerosol today so i bought it of course. with some masking tape . rinsed the lid with fresh water and will spray with primer tomorrow
 
Reason im painting inside of canopy is i am of the opinion that the white will be the best reflector
 
Will be fastening leds to plastic light cover with rubber straps and stainless 2mm nuts and bolts . all 32 straps !
 
I have got four boyu wm fours that i will be using for flow in the tank. the controller can be set so that they each run alternately.. I have a 300 watt jager heater that i am tempted to use. i am really excited to get the bubbleblaster fitted to the skimmer! Can you imagine a bubble blaster and venturi on the skimmer intake both adding air. it is going to be interesting to see what sort of air to water ratio i get. still havent decided if i am going bare bottom or not. i have always been tempted to grow a field of zoas on the bottom of a tank.
 
While i am busy i am sorely tempted to build and put an automatic top up in the tank.
 
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