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New Tank!




Hey!

I just took delivery of my new 5'X2'X2' tank (they delivered on Memorial
Day, oddly enough).  The monster's awesome!  It was custom built by
Island with 1/2 inch glass and fake oak trim.  It's very cleanly
finished, with even seams and smooth seals.  It even has a 5-year
warranty.

On to the next issue.  I'm leaning heavily toward metal halide lights. 
Are there any particularly good sources for metal halide equipment?

I've been thinking of hanging pendants off brackets attached to the wall
behind the tank.  The wall is a former exterior wall, with 1X8 wood
sheathing behind the wallboard so I'm not worried about its ability to
support the lights.  It would be relatively difficult to hang lights
from the ceiling, because there are skylights immediately above the
tank.  The alternative would be to build a standing rack that arched
over the tank and supported the lights.  Does anyone have experience
with these options?

The skylights make the space very bright, so that artificial lighting is
probably only going to be needed to extend the photoperiod during the
winter, and maybe augment it a little for plants that need especially
bright light.  I was hoping to put together a controller that would
bring the lights on if the light intensity in the room dropped below a
preset threshold.  Can anyone give me input on what I need to look for,
or where?


Roger Miller
Bright-eyed in Albuqueruqe