Trinituner Fish Keepers, Aquarists & Aquascapers...

[HondaB20B]

^^^^gobo, I still learning pal its just that over the last 2 1/2 yrs that ive been it it, thats about the prices things usually sell for. Is the tank and sump built yet? or you thinking about it. What about the stand.
You could go check Raj and check his prices for electrical stuff and then check it on amazon and compare. If you want to bring it skybox or something is up to you. The key thing is to get he tank up and running first, then when it starts to settle down, you start to add corals.. Cycling of a tank takes a couple weeks and fish goes in slowly........... only 2-3 (depending on size) a wk. You still have electrical and plumbing to do. There are allot of guys on the forum who brought in stuff for their tank that can tell you what worked for them instead of dealing with Raj or Santoo. I Cant tell you how and where to spend it............ I ant go lie, sometimes his price a little high, but when you need something today, you really cant wait................... you just buy it and done.

co-sign on this dgobo, alot of the stuff may be cheaper online but the immediate availablility and peace of mind from buying from Raj is great. Plus his customer service and warranty make it worth the while. Ofcourse some stuff i bring in for myself because i travel alot but still depending on what it is but like my chilller and lights and many other stuff i buy from raj.
Been dealing with him a little over 2 yrs now.

Other thing to mention is that Raj is also the authorized dealer for allot of stuff in the caribbean like Vortech pumps, lights, Reef octopus skimmers & products, MagDrive pumps, ASM skimmers along with some other stuff. Allot of the new products like chemicals, amino acids, foods (pellets and frozen for both fish and corals)
You cant get a better deal on a chiller any where else than by him. I've been by him a few times and met people that try to get a better deal on brand name chillers direct from the supplier in the US, and every one of them has paid in excess of 3K more than what raj would of sold them for. Lights from Current-USA is the same thing also.

[HondaB20B]

two good investments if anyone is going into reef tanks should buy online................ If you want to
be spot on, these are the instruments to have

1) Milwaukee pH600 digital PH meter
2) Sybon Portable Refractometer

They are accurate & easy to calibrate.

[rookie]

Ok ppl today I checked out the glass man to build my project tell me if this a fair price for the aquarium I want built 42" long 20" width by 36" high 1/2" glass by 1*1 angle iron he say 7000$ if not send me names an numbers of other glass men so I can have it built ASAP

[rookie]

Anyone ??

[Reefplanet]

Where do u live? In sando there is this place called purran glass shop..think thats how u spell it. They make good tanks with fair prices. Thats where i got mine built and i think that price would be within the budget.Cant remmeber their number though

[Reefplanet]

Honda, Cant remember the pump's size, Its home but im not. It pumps good though. I'm gonna get a a koralia 420 and 240 for the tank.

[HondaB20B]

Ok ppl today I checked out the glass man to build my project tell me if this a fair price for the aquarium I want built 42" long 20" width by 36" high 1/2" glass by 1*1 angle iron he say 7000$ if not send me names an numbers of other glass men so I can have it built ASAP

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1344969350.311026.jpg

just something to note to the guys that want to build a 36" high tank. When its full of water and you have to get to put or retrieve something on the bottom like rocks, filters etc........................are you going to be wearing a mask and snorkel by the way? With the centerbrace in place and you have to get to the center, the distance now has increased. My tank is 30" high and i cannot touch the bottom. when the tank is empty no one studies that part. You'll have to go and even take off deodorant. Really dont make sense...............just my 2 cents

[sharkman121]

thats too much money for that tank, i have a glass man in diego martin who i built mine by. 5'L x 2'w x 2'H and he charged me $2800 with all the braces and overflow system installed. 3/8" glass.

Will get back to you with a phone number soon.

btw my tank is 2' high and i done have trouble reaching the bottom much less if yrs gonna be 3' high.

[rookie]

@ Honda u have a solid point there cause checking it it may be hard to reach stuff at the bottom so may drop off 6" and as for the numbers fellas pls get them for me ASAP iam from grande so closer to the east will be better as far as moving the unit goes but if I have to go south for a better price I will.

[HondaB20B]

@ Honda u have a solid point there cause checking it it may be hard to reach stuff at the bottom so may drop off 6" and as for the numbers fellas pls get them for me ASAP iam from grande so closer to the east will be better as far as moving the unit goes but if I have to go south for a better price I will.

fresh or salt

[mojosodope]

@ Honda u have a solid point there cause checking it it may be hard to reach stuff at the bottom so may drop off 6" and as for the numbers fellas pls get them for me ASAP iam from grande so closer to the east will be better as far as moving the unit goes but if I have to go south for a better price I will.

Check Jaglal Glass Supplies, I got my 60''x24''x24'' really reasonable compared to all the other glass places I called. It's in Tacarigua - 767-9927

And I agree with Honda, my tank is 2 feet tall and my arm gets completely drenched whenever I have to change something at the bottom, reducing the height would reduce the frustration and cost considerably.

[HondaB20B]

Freshwater tanks you could quicker get away with 30" high. In a saltwater, especially reef, the deeper the tank is the more intensity lights you have to go (MH - Metal Halides). If you go T5's, the amount of light required will be allot in wattage to sustain the corals. Mainly corals on the sand bed will suffer allot. I have a 72"X24"X30" and running 12 T5's @ 39w each. My tank was to be a FOWLR and got hooked on corals even before the tank was set up. A decent reef is normally 20"H. The beauty in observing corals in a tank is not through the glass, but viewed from the top. Thats why you see allot of top men showing off their reef tank is always shallow and shot from the top.

[HondaB20B]

dgobo, you aint tell us whats the outcome?

[netsket]

Ok ppl today I checked out the glass man to build my project tell me if this a fair price for the aquarium I want built 42" long 20" width by 36" high 1/2" glass by 1*1 angle iron he say 7000$ if not send me names an numbers of other glass men so I can have it built ASAP

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1344969350.311026.jpg

just something to note to the guys that want to build a 36" high tank. When its full of water and you have to get to put or retrieve something on the bottom like rocks, filters etc........................are you going to be wearing a mask and snorkel by the way? With the centerbrace in place and you have to get to the center, the distance now has increased. My tank is 30" high and i cannot touch the bottom. when the tank is empty no one studies that part. You'll have to go and even take off deodorant. Really dont make sense...............just my 2 cents

not only that but u will need thicker glass.......more lighting to reach the bottom...which means more expense and more heat.

[HondaB20B]

Thats like Brian lara's tank, heard it was 84"X48"X48" and when was time to clean it, was short pants, mask an snorlel

[thetriniman]

Rookie,

Don't know if anyone talked about Wazir in Aranguez
They do a pretty good job with aquariums....nice guys....
674-3030

[dgobo]

dgobo, you aint tell us whats the outcome?

Yeah been busy at work the past few days.
I decided not to go with the 36" heigh tank, instead I'm building a 72Lx28hx24w tank and I'm getting it from Ali, Raj said he built your tank as well ? His price is not bad either, for half inch glass it costing $4300.

So now I've got to modify the stand because it was built for the 18" wide tank, anyway I'm rethinking the Xmas startup cause the equipment I'm looking at has crossed 32k and thats minus lighting and well of-course corals/fish. Raj showed me the Ecotech Radion lights which I'm going to need at least three of, so thats going to set me back a month or two even three, lol.

[HondaB20B]

^^^^ yeah, he built my tank72X30X24W.................cost me $4500. I also made my overflow system different along with extra bracings. The bottom piece of glass is not made of one long sheet, but made of 3 separate ones so that in the event of the stand having to flex, you can get movement and the glass wont crack. He delivered it home for me put it on the stand upstairs. What you use to build the stand?
Like the way it looking, you get hooked on the Vortech MP40's and some other electronics. How come you not going T5's for lighting..................just asking

[Reefplanet]

hahahahah honda snorkeler hahahahahah u too funny boi!

[dgobo]

Not to keen on replacing bulbs every so often

[ziggy_dappa]

^^^ if you up for it check out DIY leds, less than half the price of Radions and more flexible color temperatures.
Do some research and if you need more advise PM me.

[HondaB20B]

Not to keen on replacing bulbs every so often

Radions are $4500-5000/system.
you need 3 = $13500-15000 - no bulbs to change
T5 hood (12-39W bulbs) = $4000-5000 - (8-12000K & 4 Actinics) You only changing out the 8-12000K every 9mths, the actinics are hardly on so they are changed every 12mths+.
12 bulbs @ $150 each =$1800. So in 5 yrs you will pay $9000 in bulbs + the cost of the hood, will work out nearly exactly the cost of the 3 radions.
or you could look at the current USA LED's. They come in 4ft strips.
http://www.current-usa.com/aquarium-led ... triplights
Or as Ziggy stated, go the DIY LED's

[rookie]

Thanks for all the help guys both places quote me less that 2300 so I'll check them both an post pics when my project is finally over

[ziggy_dappa]

Just to add in prices with an extensive DIY led setup (capable of burning the most light hungry SPS on the sand bed) would cost in the vicinity of $8000.00 for a 6' tank.
Cheaper if you take different routes..

[HondaB20B]

hey ziggs, how goes it.
I still waiting for you to help me do the frag tank LED lighting.
Man, you need to see the frootloops zoas..............

[Fishman]

I agree that the DIY LEDs are fairly easy to do. For a tank that size if doing LED and making your own, look into parallel strings rather than series so as to cut down on many drivers. Using too many drivers such as the Meanwell 48D can cause some line overloading/overheating. The HLG series is a better choice for larger builds. There is a great DIY thread over at reefcentral.

That being said I'm still not sold on LED's. I am running a DIY in the center of my tank and radium MH 250W on the ends. I have made the led build in the center to visually match what the Radium's look like and I still prefer the Coral colors I have under the Radium's. The PAR under the LED's are actually more than the Radium's but I still prefer what I see under the MH. The only reason I still run it is I don't want the extra heat of a third MH. I'm not sure if it is because of the narrow spectrum of LED's.This is just my opinion though as there are others that love the LED technology.

[BAZZINGA]

Where's the best place to buy live aquatic plants?

[UML]

I get my tanks built by Ariff...he did Lara's tank and he does many monster tanks

Not to keen on replacing bulbs every so often

I had the same predicament....but everyone i asked was undecided about the effectiveness of LEDs.

end up buying T5s

[HondaB20B]

Yup, Ariff also did a L shaped 1200gal saltwater for someone. It took 15 men to carry it into the mans house....................... Imagine the mans sump is my display tank.


I dont know, but i was told by a few reefers that i met by Raj, along with some men online that it would be very difficult to grow corals on my sand bed using the T5 setup. They said because its 30" high, i'll have to go MH but just raise it high to run LPS. leathers and Zoas. My stocking list on the floor right now are acans, scolly's, lobbo's maze brains and tracky's. All are growing great with no problems and all my colors are still there. The T5's work real great with the LED's. I think the Radian LED's are too costly. I could by another vortech, One thing though they would work great with my MP40 (wireless). I still have to do more research on running a tank fully on LED's

[mojosodope]

Where's the best place to buy live aquatic plants?

I got all of mines by fishy bizniz in dinsley, where else do you guys get yours? looking to expand my variety