Those are 48" AquaMedic Ocean Light(s). 2 x 250W MH w/ 2 x 54w T5 Actinics

http://www.aqua-medic.com/products/p...Combo%20Series

so your day job is building rocket ships or nuclear submarines?

This is the first thing I've ever built!

well you have done a great job\

Light Timers
 

A bit of progress on the lights. This photo shows the bottom of a wall shelf that holds the three dual MH ballasts and the three wall-mounted timers that control all the lights. One timer is going to do the T5's, the 2nd does 2 of the MH ballasts, and the third does the third MH ballast.

***update 04/10*** After 3 years, the timer responsible for 2 of the MH began to fail intermittantly such that it would NOT shut the lights off properly. That Intermatic (now GE) timer was not rated to handle the load of 4 x 250W MH and has since been replaced with a more industrial timer with mechanical switching.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0089.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0090.jpg

There are two dedicated electrical circuits there. One circuit has 2 x 250W MH + 6 x 54W T5....the other circuit has 4 x 250W MH only. Cool, you can almost read my labels...

Notice that three timers are synchronized...Yes, I admit I have a problem.

Salt
 

The tank is almost full of RO/DI water and I've added the salt. This is the salt that I am using. So far, I'm not happy with this salt.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0091.jpg

Before I added the salt, the tank was full of crystal clear RO/DI water. After adding the salt, the tank is murky. The water is just not clear anymore. The salt has been mixing on the closed loops for 2 days now and seems fully dissolved. Jason, are you still using this salt?

In addition, look at this pile of sand and un-disolved bits (plastic maybe?) that have settled out. That all came from the salt because it wasn't there before.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0092.jpg

Sorry to hear about your salt. Are you going to change to something else?

Your lighting looks very sleek and clean!

amazing
 

your design and planning is amazing. Nice work. how much rock are you putting in there? aquascaping that monster is going to be fun

Pretty tough to change salt now... Once I get the SpG adjusted, I'm hoping that I can filter to water clear. I'm keen to check the parameters of this salt.

I had same thing with the reef crystals I used to start up my tank last week. The filter bag was real dirty in less than 2 days. :neutral: