Jeff, congrats on your build as well. Between you and Eric, Skimmy and his Build, and now Mike with his help, I am totally Stoked to get this thing going
Now, for the specs of what we are building.
We have a 34 gallon Solana. 20"x20"x20" cube tank. It currently has T-5 lighting. The fixture is just over a year old and the bulbs will need to be replaced within the next few months. The question was, do I buy new bulbs, or use that money plus some to switch to LED's. I have Experiance with LED's, I ran them on my 120 gallon system that I have since sold due to right Knee replacement. I am looking to run my lights at the 18k - 20 k spectrum. I really like a more blue look on my tanks. I have NO plans to upgrade to a larger system. The Solana is perfect for me. Large enough to keep Nice Corals, but small enough to easily maintain using High end Equiptment.
We keep SPS and LPS in this tank. We want a lighting system to make our corals colors POP, while still maintaining good growth and health.
I am not technically savvy and have very few tools here at Home. So with that said, I have had a fellow member,Eric(EWW), reach put to me and offer to guide me thru the planning stages, help me with the supply list, and actually work with me on building this fixture. How lucky am I..
So here we are, the planning stage!
I run an open top and have my fixture on Legs. I like the look and want my new fixture to look just as nice, if not better. I can't hang from the ceiling and the tank is so close to the wall that there is no room to try to fit a hanging bracket mounted to the stand behind it.
I really don't want to Gut my current fixture so have been looking for a Shell, or even a fixture to gut and use. I have a few leads but nothing solid yet.
This is where I am currently on this project. Thanks for looking and thanks for all of your input and Ideas.
Thank you to the great members here at R.F. With out you this Idea would not be happening..