Wow, I thought I had my hands full with my building my 260. Great looking project. I even think I learned a little reading the last 6 pages. So whens the open house viewing 
A 750g SPS system is born
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Scooterman
Well-known member
I use the Blueline ballast also, man they are built solid from what I see, I think these XM's will take about three days to turn colors from what I've seen with them so far. My Bluelines always starts of very yellow, then the turbo kicks in after a few minutes.
Edit, I use the Blueline 10k bulb not the XM, I read a post where some of the XM's were yellow & so claimed a bad batch was sent out, I thought they corrected that problem though.
Edit, I use the Blueline 10k bulb not the XM, I read a post where some of the XM's were yellow & so claimed a bad batch was sent out, I thought they corrected that problem though.
SaltwaterTeen
Well-known member
wow, how much did that cost? so far my 55gal was about 1000, couldnt imagin how much that is...
Although it amazes me on how much people is fixated in knowing the price of what others pay, I will answer: I DON'T REALLY KNOW!!! Lots of the equipment I had from my previous set up, lots of it was bought used, some of it came from when I bought my previous tank as a complete set up, some I got a great deal from the builders/dealers, and some I bought at regular reatil price.
UPDATE
Well, the XM bulbs still look very yellow. A considerable amount of yellow even thought it has only been 2 days. Not only that, but they actually look dimmer than the radiums I have emailed XM already, but I will call them monday too. I will give the bulb until the end of the week to clear up some. It will have to be a drastic change for me to keep them at this point. I am almost certain I will be going with the all radium combo the way it looks so far and change them every 6 months.
This is extremely disappointing to say the least as I expected these bulbs to be white as everyone else has them. I still can't figure out why they are so yellow even after turning the nipples to the 3 or 9 O'Clock position as others claim is the ideal position.
Lots of the equipment I had from my previous set up, lots of it was bought used, some of it came from when I bought my previous tank as a complete set up, some I got a great deal from the builders/dealers, and some I bought at regular reatil price.UPDATE
Well, the XM bulbs still look very yellow. A considerable amount of yellow even thought it has only been 2 days. Not only that, but they actually look dimmer than the radiums
I have emailed XM already, but I will call them monday too. I will give the bulb until the end of the week to clear up some. It will have to be a drastic change for me to keep them at this point. I am almost certain I will be going with the all radium combo the way it looks so far and change them every 6 months.This is extremely disappointing to say the least as I expected these bulbs to be white as everyone else has them. I still can't figure out why they are so yellow even after turning the nipples to the 3 or 9 O'Clock position as others claim is the ideal position.
Well, my understanding is that the batch of XM bulbs that was out and was defective was a batch of 175 watt bulbs and not the 400 watts. I will contact them tomorrow anyway and see what they say.
I was very hesitant of using these bulbs as people had complained they were very cheaply made, but the rage of the white/bluish color, the high PAR, their low cost, and the recommendations of others made me try them. I guess I am back to emphaizing what I previously thought in the first place.
I was very hesitant of using these bulbs as people had complained they were very cheaply made, but the rage of the white/bluish color, the high PAR, their low cost, and the recommendations of others made me try them. I guess I am back to emphaizing what I previously thought in the first place.
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
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- Jul 31, 2003
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- 2,935
I've only seen the ones that work, and man are they something. I think these are still reletively rare occurrances ,percentage wise, (makes you feel better already Huh?? Yeah, thought so...), but they get talked about alot.
I went ahead and bought AB10K's for my tank. this was before I read about how great the XM's were (PAR wise), and then discovered my ballasts have trouble lighting the XDE's...so I wasnt able to use them anyway...
I have the lights on over the tank right now, and I'm very happy with how white the light looks. I'm sure that once the bulbs burn in, they'll yellow a bit, but have you thought of using the AB10K's?
Nick
I went ahead and bought AB10K's for my tank. this was before I read about how great the XM's were (PAR wise), and then discovered my ballasts have trouble lighting the XDE's...so I wasnt able to use them anyway...
I have the lights on over the tank right now, and I'm very happy with how white the light looks. I'm sure that once the bulbs burn in, they'll yellow a bit, but have you thought of using the AB10K's?
Nick
VINA DEL MAR
Active member
Alberto please let us know how you make up with these 10k's XM.I'm in the process of changing my Radiums(400 watts)but with so much negative feedbacks of the 10k's(XM) have me thinking should I switch or wait until they fix the problems?
But a new bulb of 10ks should be white not yellow right?I thought that bulbs when they get old turns yellow but I might be wrong.
I still prefer the Radiums they are just better for keeping the corals coloration.
VINA
But a new bulb of 10ks should be white not yellow right?I thought that bulbs when they get old turns yellow but I might be wrong.
I still prefer the Radiums they are just better for keeping the corals coloration.
VINA
T_reef_kid
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2004
- Messages
- 31
alberto, your tank is so AWESOME!!! that breaker box has more outlets than my house!!!
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Alberto,
Great thread, and great storytelling.
It would be my pleasure to send you some frags to get things growing. Let me know when you are ready
Dave B
Great thread, and great storytelling.
It would be my pleasure to send you some frags to get things growing. Let me know when you are ready
Dave B
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Mike,
Send me a fedex account numbers and I will Send frags North South East West... I got plenty of frags... Just not enough Fedex Credit to share
Dave B
Send me a fedex account numbers and I will Send frags North South East West... I got plenty of frags... Just not enough Fedex Credit to share
Dave B
That is soo Strange about the 10k XM bulbs.. I run 3 of the XM 400w 10k bulbs on my tank and its far from yellow... I have had good luck with both their 250w and their 400w bulbs... have you heard anything back from Jason at XM? www.xmlighting.com I know people report them being more towards the Yellow side on a HQI ballast but that is the same with any 10k bulb LOL... Might give it a month or so as well.. I hear XM is coming out with a 15k bulb as well... Might be the perfect balance your looking for..
James
James
James:
I called XM lighting several times and was never able to speak with anyone that understood sufficient english for me to get to explain the problem, much less get any answers.
I did speak with Premium Aquatics about it and they tell me to give it a week at most to burn in and if it does look yellow then to just return it for a 90% refund or 10% re-stocking fee, whichever you want to call it. I am always up for giving people and things the benefit of the doubt, so I'll run them for a week and see what happenes. They are ever so slowly whitening now at 4 days, but if I am not satisfied by the end of the week, they are going back in a hurry and I'll go back to all radiums, which is still what I think I will ultimately do.
I called XM lighting several times and was never able to speak with anyone that understood sufficient english for me to get to explain the problem, much less get any answers.
I did speak with Premium Aquatics about it and they tell me to give it a week at most to burn in and if it does look yellow then to just return it for a 90% refund or 10% re-stocking fee, whichever you want to call it. I am always up for giving people and things the benefit of the doubt, so I'll run them for a week and see what happenes. They are ever so slowly whitening now at 4 days, but if I am not satisfied by the end of the week, they are going back in a hurry and I'll go back to all radiums, which is still what I think I will ultimately do.
UPDATE
Well, today was clean up time. With this entire project, the garage has been filthy as it gets. Inches of dirt all over the floor, boxes piled all over, ect. I couldn't take it anymore and since 95% of the stuff I need to get done in the garage is done, I figured I get it done. What a difference. It looks like an entirely different garage.
One of the next "projects" will be the installation of the chiller. I am yet to find a suitable "thing" to house the chiller outside. I need something durable to battle the elements and yet compact so it won't attract too much attention or be visually distracting (ugly)!! In addition to the chiller, I need to install the media reactors I jsut got from GEO. The problem is that those reactor and the chiller will get fed from an AM3000 I sent back to Dolphin well over a month ago for the seal replacement. So much for the "just send it to us and we'll get it done and out the door the same day". I've been calling them for about a week and all I get is an answering machine in which you cannot leave a message because it is full.
Well, today was clean up time. With this entire project, the garage has been filthy as it gets. Inches of dirt all over the floor, boxes piled all over, ect. I couldn't take it anymore and since 95% of the stuff I need to get done in the garage is done, I figured I get it done. What a difference. It looks like an entirely different garage.
One of the next "projects" will be the installation of the chiller. I am yet to find a suitable "thing" to house the chiller outside. I need something durable to battle the elements and yet compact so it won't attract too much attention or be visually distracting (ugly)!! In addition to the chiller, I need to install the media reactors I jsut got from GEO. The problem is that those reactor and the chiller will get fed from an AM3000 I sent back to Dolphin well over a month ago for the seal replacement. So much for the "just send it to us and we'll get it done and out the door the same day". I've been calling them for about a week and all I get is an answering machine in which you cannot leave a message because it is full.
Check with Steve Weast.. I know his chiller is located outside... I think If i remember right talking with him he built hisself like a little chiller shed... dont quote me on that... his website is www.oregonreef.com
James
James
DonW
R.I.P.
One of those plastic dog houses would make a great chiller or generator home. Screen the door for an air hole. Paint it to match your house.
Don
Don
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Last I spoke to Steve about it, I believe he said his chillers were in the crawl space of his house, which isolates them from the elements. Maybe he did enclose them anyway.
I am going to petsmart later tonite to see if I can find something suitable. You would think chiller makers would make these darn things waterproof so you can just sit them outside given they all recommend they sit outdoors to take in the most amount of fresh air.
Nich:
Still waiting and yes, Dolphin is in FL Since they won't put a human to answer the phone and you can't leave a message, I am about to fax them something. You can't even email them either as their email address no longer exhits!!
I am going to petsmart later tonite to see if I can find something suitable. You would think chiller makers would make these darn things waterproof so you can just sit them outside given they all recommend they sit outdoors to take in the most amount of fresh air.
Nich:
Still waiting and yes, Dolphin is in FL
Since they won't put a human to answer the phone and you can't leave a message, I am about to fax them something. You can't even email them either as their email address no longer exhits!!
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