westy1

Heres a short clip showing one of the waikiki aquarium reef tanks in action,note the wave bucket dump at the beginning!had to scan pretty quick to get it all in,measures around 30 feet across,let me know if link doesnt work! 1 min download,550kb http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~westy1/index.html/wave%20tank.WMV

Diffusers&lighting, 3 canon place,pakuranga.They have heaps of black eggcrate .ph,5720100

Shaken not stirred!

Swapped the 16000k bulbs for 20000k,and compared them to the old 14000k,very little difference in colour ,possibly slightly bluer,but neglible,so an aquaconnect 14=an aquamedic 20,who would have guessed?

About to change the halides after over a year of good service and quite surprised to discover such a difference in the visible output and colour from two differing manufacturers! Excuse the poor photo,but even on this small scale i think you'll see a difference.One is 14000k,the other 16000k.Like you i have always thought the higher the kelvin the more towards a blue spectrum the light will appear,granted the left hand bulb is a year old .It is 14000k,definetely blue,made the coralline go nuts and gives a great look when balanced with the actinics.I will point out now this is not a preference but an observation.The right hand is new out of the box,not burnt in and rated at 16000k.hard pressed to see much blue on initial view,it is clear crisp white light and casts a vivid daylight shadow turning the coralline rock bright red as opposed to the purple cast from the 14000. It's not hard to see that the output on the new one is greater but this could be just that,its new! As you know you get used to the look of your own tank,and the lighting is personal and subjective.Maybe our eyes are the best judge,not a number on a box. Left bulb aquaconnect 14000k Right bulb aquamedic 16000k

Actinic/white fluoro on 1030-off 2215.halides on 1130 -off 2030.

Thanks for the encouraging words! The rock was sitting on a full length raised black eggcrate base with front rocks placed on the glass in front.Spraybar at back full length/one top left sharing flow through a 4 way valve.The madness of a hard coral tank took over :roll: and splashed out on the turbelle streams,only the baby ones at 7000 l/hr turned way way down as these things at 100% peel layers off the glass!! Grabbed some thin metal shears and cut back the crate around rocks i didn't want to move and ended up only removing 2 rocks. 7 kg's of coral sand shelved slightly and all done! black eggcrate:lighting diffusers,mt wellington,yellow pages ,akl...they have heapstechy 4 way valves:sched 80/ grey pvc valves,pipe,bulkheads,etc Plastic Systems,north shore,akl before after

Have recently had the oppurtunity to dive the great barrier reef,absolutely amazing!As a result i was inspired to change my rock setup.The idea was to get away from the fruit stand look,not that easy in a 4.5 foot tank! The result ,although the photos dont do it justice,is more depth and a 3d feel with heaps of caves for da fish,overhangs at the back sloping into three rock mounds that grade down to a sand bed giving a more natural look.Probably more surface area and lots of spots for corals.Hands are out of the tank for now! before after