This Was A Fun Little Project. T5 Retrofit.

[Clayton Jessup]

I am planning to go from my 75g to a 120 Or a 150g upgrade tank

 

[Ty Hamatake]

It's a slow work in progress but it's coming , I'll be starting a build thread once I get a few more items for it , let me know what you think?

Looking great so far! Did you build that stand, or just mod it? I'm also interested in your sump setup if you wouldn't mind sharing more picture. I'll wait for your build thread though if I have to!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Great work man!
I thinking on doing something like that... ones I will move out of my old place.
I will move my 55g into a 100g + tank.

I think you're going to love the extra space. Honestly, I think I'd rather have a 40 breeder over a 55. Unless yours has nonstandard dimensions!

 

[Clayton Jessup]

My current sump is a 20g long tank with custom class baffles made by my self , and I have a standard 5.5 AGA ATO that I painted both sump and ATO white to stand out in the black cabinet. It is a standard aquarium stand that came with the tank when I bout it new used lol . I added a 3rd door and created a Electric section , to house the controller and maybe display the drivers from my pumps lol. I am considering upgrading the sump though.. I also fully enclosed the stand as well . I am thinking I am going to plumb the whole build in Sch 80 pvc as well. I have a Tunze 9410 skimmer that I will be using as well , and dual MP10 's ..

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Also added a picture of my own build by me frag system / quarantine system that I built in my garage it's a 10g tank with about a 10g sump I may up grade the sump to a larger sump in the long haul . The tank is currently water testing for temperature fluctuations in the El Paso Heat , I just need to get a light above my frag tank lol thinking LED to save on added heat

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Also added a picture of my own build by me frag system / quarantine system that I built in my garage it's a 10g tank with about a 10g sump I may up grade the sump to a larger sump in the long haul . The tank is currently water testing for temperature fluctuations in the El Paso Heat , I just need to get a light above my frag tank lol thinking LED to save on added heat

Dude, you need to get a build thread up stat. You have plenty of material and I honestly think people would enjoy it. I am super jelly of that frag tank setup. What controller are you planning on using? That third cabinet door is a sweet little touch. Do you think it decreased any structural integrity?

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Thanks Ty Hamatake , maybe this week I'll look into starting a thread . Thank you for the compliments on the frag tank , and on the stand modifications. I honestly don't feel it decreased the integrity of my stand at all off anything I think it might of increased it some lol it's all made of pine and 2x6s. I'll try and take some picture a little latter of the actual door and of how I mad it if I have any. Or maybe I'll take some new pics . In honesty I am going in between a GHL P-4 controller or a Neptune systems New Apex . I am having a internal battle between the two options .. As well as a battle for the lighting choice over the tank as well. Mostly between LED or T5 fixture .

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Here is some more pictures of stand and more ...

Last picture is of the frag tank and Water mixing station right next to each other , I am planning to have a frag and quarantine tank in my garage , when I go all in. All this will be for my 75g . I am still planning to clean up everything and re-due my mixing station with nicer containers and either colored PVC or Sch 80 pvc .. so excuses the mess in the garage right now . Sorry

As well the stand with all the colors on the door will be where I plan to tie in a 40b Quarantine tank , which will be drilled and plumbed into the frag system as well maybe a stand alone at the same time lol

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I still need to re paint the stand as well I think I'll be painting it with a Epoxy paint to make a little more durable to water and humidity. I am thinking I may open the back panel of my stand to gain easier access to my plumbing from my Ghost Overflow .. to the Sump . So all ideas still running through my head

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I still need to re paint the stand as well I think I'll be painting it with a Epoxy paint to make a little more durable to water and humidity. I am thinking I may open the back panel of my stand to gain easier access to my plumbing from my Ghost Overflow .. to the Sump . So all ideas still running through my head

You have an insane amount of patience, my friend. That is a lot of work to put into a tank before it's even wet. I'm honestly excited to see what it looks like once you get started on the tank itself. Do you have any worries on having you quarantine and frag tanks plumber together? Or will they both be QT, with one for fish and one for frags?

My two cents on which controller would have to be the APEX. I pulled the trigger on the 2016 and have loved every second of working with it. I don't have any experience with the GHL, but I assume it is also a nice controller. What type of tank is this bad boy going to end up being?

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Thanks Ty Hamatake , that means a lot [emoji23] I do have some concerns about them being plumed together. In a worse case I'll make them both individual systems . I'll put like a HOB filter on the fish quarantine system (40b) then the frag system will be another stand alone next to fish system , ideally I would love my 75g DT , frag system , and QT tank to be all plumbed together into the same system , and my sump would be located in my garage , with a large Sump tying all systems together, but I am still trying to get that idea approved by my wife lol. Plus the perk to that would be only one [emoji121]️ single controller . I am giving Apex a lot of thought though on their newest version. But if I did it all one system it would be a lot of running pipes though walls lol wide is not to big on that idea lol

 

[Clayton Jessup]

This tank will start out as a mixed reef for sure at first then may convert into a SPS reef dominate tank, like I said this is my first reef tank build ever. So I am hoping it's going to be a good first build

 

[Ty Hamatake]

This tank will start out as a mixed reef for sure at first then may convert into a SPS reef dominate tank, like I said this is my first reef tank build ever. So I am hoping it's going to be a good first build

You are well on your way to having an awesome first tank! I'm currently moving towards an SPS dominant tank and it is just awesome. Have you thought about which lights to get?

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I am currently thinking of a all T5 set up either a Giesemann Matrixx or a ATI Sunpower . Or thinking of making my own DIY hybrid like your self with LED and T5 supplement.. leaning a lot on all T5 and I am thinking of a 6 or 8 bulb option over my tank

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Can you control the ramp up/down on the diy T5 retro kit?

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Can you control the ramp up/down on the diy T5 retro kit?

You sure can! You do need a controller and the kit with the dimmable ballast though. I'll say this, if you're adding this to existing LEDs and trying to stay on a budget, I'd skip the dimmable option. It is nice to be able to ramp my T5s up and down along with my LEDs, but one problem with that is the bulbs need to "burn in" for 50 hours prior to dimming them (I believe to avoid decreasing their lifespan). This mean I'll either need to spend another 30 or so dollars on a cheap t5 fixture (on top of the 30 extra it was to go dimmable in the first place) or just not use the dimming for a couple weeks. The 60 extra bucks isn't huge, and the two weeks or so of only running them at peak hours isn't a huge problem. That's just two things you wouldn't need to worry about with a simple on/off ballast. If I did it over again I'd stick with my LEDs for ramping and use the T5s for supplementing during the peak hours.

 

[Xclusive Reef]

You sure can! You do need a controller and the kit with the dimmable ballast though. I'll say this, if you're adding this to existing LEDs and trying to stay on a budget, I'd skip the dimmable option. It is nice to be able to ramp my T5s up and down along with my LEDs, but one problem with that is the bulbs need to "burn in" for 50 hours prior to dimming them (I believe to avoid decreasing their lifespan). This mean I'll either need to spend another 30 or so dollars on a cheap t5 fixture (on top of the 30 extra it was to go dimmable in the first place) or just not use the dimming for a couple weeks. The 60 extra bucks isn't huge, and the two weeks or so of only running them at peak hours isn't a huge problem. That's just two things you wouldn't need to worry about with a simple on/off ballast. If I did it over again I'd stick with my LEDs for ramping and use the T5s for supplementing during the peak hours.

Makes sense what you said thank you... I do have current USA plus pro which does ramp up and down but I won't be able to program them to do moon cycles or anything. I was thinking using the current USA and max out the blues and reds and use the t5 as primary light 6-7 hours with the current USA. Then maybe up the whites on the current USA little by little.

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Makes sense what you said thank you... I do have current USA plus pro which does ramp up and down but I won't be able to program them to do moon cycles or anything. I was thinking using the current USA and max out the blues and reds and use the t5 as primary light 6-7 hours with the current USA. Then maybe up the whites on the current USA little by little.

 

[Xclusive Reef]

So if I do 6 bulb t5 retro kit, I am going to have 3 separate power cords?

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Makes sense what you said thank you... I do have current USA plus pro which does ramp up and down but I won't be able to program them to do moon cycles or anything. I was thinking using the current USA and max out the blues and reds and use the t5 as primary light 6-7 hours with the current USA. Then maybe up the whites on the current USA little by little.

The Plus Pro is better suited on a planted freshwater tank. Is that why you're looking into the t5s?

So if I do 6 bulb t5 retro kit, I am going to have 3 separate power cords?

Yes you would have three cords. I wouldn't have the slightest idea how, but I imagine there would be a fairly simple way to connect them all. At that price point though you may want to start looking at a fixture!