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SynRG Biocube 29g HQI Build now w/ AI Nano LEDs


SynRG

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Hey fellow reefers. First let me start off by thanking everyone on nano-reef for all the great advice and inspiration. I'm starting this build thread kinda late since my tank has already been up for 3 months, but guess better late than never. Went with a shallow Aragamax fine sand bed and BRS Pukani dry rock. (Ordered way too much) Ended up only using about 18lbs in display and another 3-4lbs as rubble in the center back chamber. Dry rock was pretty dirty so it helped kick off cycle and I also dosed a teaspoon of Brightwell MicroBacter 7 daily for the first few weeks. Cycle was still slow (about 6 weeks), but I was patient. Did a 10g water change and added first fish at about 6 weeks when ammonia and nitrites finally both hit 0.

 

A little about my build to this point...

 

This is my third Biocube 29g, but the first BC29g HQI. I choose the HQI since I eventually want to keep a Maxima and sps. I quickly discovered here in Central FL, that the Metal Halide was a heat monster and was constantly worried about my tank boiling. That led me to researching LEDs and I ended up choosing an AquaIlluminations Sol Nano and couldn't be happier.

 

Hardware Purchases so far:

Oceanic BioCube 29 HQI Tank & Stand

JBJ LED Fuge Light

Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead

AI Sol Nano

PowerStrip with digital timer

SpectraPure Refurb RO/DI

Hydrometer

Heater

Thermometer

MJ1200

Hydor Slim Skim Nano Protein Skimmer

 

Livestock so far:

Pair of Sustainable Aquatics Fancy White Ocellaris Clowns

Quality Marine Firefish

4 Scarlet Hermits

4 Snails

4 Ricordia Florida (recommend Colin @ Coral Morphologic)

4 polyps Green Envy Palys

2 polyps Orange Envy Palys

1 mini colony Alien Eye Zoas (melted)

1 mini colony Eagle Eye Zoas

2 eye Orange/Green/Purple Phantasm Acan Echinata

1 Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemone

3 polyp Rasta Zoas

1 LBA Mango Sherbet Chalice

1 LBA Biohazard Chalice

1 LBA Midnight Madness Chalice

6 polyp Candy Apple Red Zoas (Got hooked up by cool local reefer!)

 

Haven't done any of the typical mods yet like widening chamber 1, upgrading pump etc. Plenty of info on those on other BC29g threads. Update:

 

One Mod that I did that could be helpful is the AI Nano Arm mount Mod introduced to me by NaturalReef. Great mod for anyone looking to put a AI Nano on their BC29g HQI. Results in an almost stock custom look. Will post pics of how I did it later.

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Here is how I did my AI Nano Mounting Arm Mod thanks to Naturalreef. Have nothing to say but great things about the AI Nano, but the mounting arm left a lot to be desired. However with this mod, it looks pretty sweet. Also is fairly solid and position is ideal on the BC29HQI.

 

First I mounted the mounting arm on the false wall separating the display from the back three chambers using a sheet of 8"x10"x.085 Clear Acrylic (plexi) as shims. False wall is way too flimsy and thin for the AI bracket so had to shim it, but the plexi worked great. Cut three strips of acrylic 9"x1 3/8" (width of back center fuge chamber) then cut one shim for front using AI Arm as guide. Used Super Glue to permanently bond the 3 longer back strips together. When i mounted the light even though it is less than 2lbs, the wall still flexed so I used Aquarium safe silicone to secure the strips to the backside of the false wall. This did the trick and the light arm is secure.

 

Second I put the BC29G HQI back chamber covers on and slid them as close to the AI arm as possible. Traced the arm out onto the cover and then used a hacksaw to carefully cut out notches in the covers for the AI Arm bracket. Worked like a charm and looks very clean IMO. I am very happy with the way this turned out. Thanks again Naturalreef for the idea. Love the AI Nano's extremely small footprint and how it looks over the BC29g now! AI Controller is on its way... Check out the Aqua Illuminations Club for more great info on these amazing lights.

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That looks awesome SynRG! I'm glad to have helped, just trying to pay it forward:) It really is amazing how stock the tank looks with the AI and the coverage is perfect! Let me know what intensities you end up with when you get the controller.

 

 

 

Here is how I did my AI Nano Mounting Arm Mod thanks to Naturalreef. Have nothing to say but great things about the AI Nano, but the mounting arm left a lot to be desired. However with this mod, it looks pretty sweet. Also is fairly solid and position is ideal on the BC29HQI.

 

First I mounted the mounting arm on the false wall separating the display from the back three chambers using a sheet of 8"x10"x.085 Clear Acrylic (plexi) as shims. False wall is way too flimsy and thin for the AI bracket so had to shim it, but the plexi worked great. Cut three strips of acrylic 9"x1 3/8" (width of back center fuge chamber) then cut one shim for front using AI Arm as guide. Used Super Glue to permanently bond the 3 longer back strips together. When i mounted the light even though it is less than 2lbs, the wall still flexed so I used Aquarium safe silicone to secure the strips to the backside of the false wall. This did the trick and the light arm is secure.

 

Second I put the BC29G HQI back chamber covers on and slid them as close to the AI arm as possible. Traced the arm out onto the cover and then used a hacksaw to carefully cut out notches in the covers for the AI Arm bracket. Worked like a charm and looks very clean IMO. I am very happy with the way this turned out. Thanks again Naturalreef for the idea. Love the AI Nano's extremely small footprint and how it looks over the BC29g now! AI Controller is on its way... Check out the Aqua Illuminations Club for more great info on these amazing lights.

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That looks awesome SynRG! I'm glad to have helped, just trying to pay it forward:) It really is amazing how stock the tank looks with the AI and the coverage is perfect! Let me know what intensities you end up with when you get the controller.

Thanks! Controller is in the mail. Can't wait! Have you posted your light cycle with intensities yet? Need to get this thing dialed in.

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Couldn't resist! Acclimating very small frags of Cornbread Trash Bubblegum Monster and LBA Midnight Madness Watermelon. I'll be watching these daily for growth =)

 

Here are some pics of the mother colonies:

 

1st is LBA Midnight Madness Watermelon Chalice

2nd is Cornbread Trash Bubblegum Monster

 

Time to drop them in...

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Nice set-up and looks like you're on your way to a having a nice piece of the ocean. A FTS would be nice to see, love the chalices BTW.

 

I'm trying to decide if I want to break away from my "vintage" Nano-Tuners metal halide set-up, it's a tough decision for me. I've had this for over 4 years. I may wait and see what the AI Phoenix looks like.

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Nice set-up and looks like you're on your way to a having a nice piece of the ocean. A FTS would be nice to see, love the chalices BTW.

 

I'm trying to decide if I want to break away from my "vintage" Nano-Tuners metal halide set-up, it's a tough decision for me. I've had this for over 4 years. I may wait and see what the AI Phoenix looks like.

Hey baser1 I think I followed your build thread several years ago when I was on my 2nd tank. WOW! really cool to see the progression of your tank! Looks amazing! I appreciate the compliments on the new set up. I had the 4.36 Nanotuner mod back in the day and ended up going with a Sunpod over that tank. Had great success with 150W Halide, but heat was always a concern. I picked this tank up cheap off craigslist knowing that I did not want to stay with the halide. Just upgraded to the AI Nano and I'm thrilled with the upgrade. Looked at doing DIY LEDs, but for the difference in $ decided to go with AI Nano and Controller. Really like the way you can dial everything in on this set up. Goes along with the whole all-in-one simplicity of the AIO tanks themselves. Thanks for following along. Will post more FTS as the tank progresses. Going to try and do some videos with my GoPro too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got tiny 2 polyps of Rasta Zoas and a cool Mango Sherbet Chalice. Still stoked about the Rainbow Nem. Hope the Clowns figure out it is for them...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Merry Christmas!

 

Got a Hydor Slim Skim Nano Protein Skimmer and MJ1200. Replaced stock pump with MJ1200. Has a little more flow than the stock pump and is really quiet. Use the stock pump to make water now. Slim Skim Nano is sweet. Build quality is really good. only bonehead thing Hydor did is put a sticker on the skimmer. Could have used an easy peel static decal, but instead used adhesive which was really hard to get off. Other than that, no complaints. Great looking skimmer... Fits perfectly in chamber 1 of BC29 with little modification and no magnets. Really do not need the magnets to hold it anyway since it is a snug fit and should stay in place just fine without them. Needed to cut plastic trim on back rim to get it to fit, but fits snug and is really quiet! Very impressed with it so far. Skimmer restricted flow since it takes up most of the chamber one so I went ahead and did the mod to widen the opening between chamber one and chamber two and increase the flow. Worked like a charm and the combination of upgrading the pump, adding the skimmer and widening the opening kept the water level high enough in the main display that it does not show below the plastic rim. Only thing I need to figure out is where to put the heater now that the skimmer is taking up entire chamber 1. It is in the display right now.

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Merry Christmas! You are going to love the Slim Skim Nano Syn! I can't believe how quiet it is and how much dark skim mate it produces. When you first set it up it is noisy and has micro bubbles. Day 4-5, you will forget it is there. I need to widen my chamber 1-2 for flow. How far did you trim it? all the way across? What did you use to trim it with? Thanks!

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Merry Christmas! You are going to love the Slim Skim Nano Syn! I can't believe how quiet it is and how much dark skim mate it produces. When you first set it up it is noisy and has micro bubbles. Day 4-5, you will forget it is there. I need to widen my chamber 1-2 for flow. How far did you trim it? all the way across? What did you use to trim it with? Thanks!

To widen the chamber opening I just used a hacksaw blade (blade only). Cut the horizontal all the way across then just worked the plastic back and forth and it snapped off clean. The water level is maybe 1/4 higher in the display area now which is perfect. Probably due to the slight increase in flow from the MJ1200. I was concerned about not using the skimmer magnets to hold it, but it fits snuggly. Maybe a little too snug though. Seems that the air tube might be pinched a little. Skimmer is already working great though. I placed it where the water level is about half way up the skimmer grates as instructed and the cup is about half way as well. It is already pulling some light tea out. Looks promising. Very quiet and looks like it will work great!

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Forgot to mention, yes the air tube will get pinched. Get thicker tubing or a 90 degree plastic airline connector at the bottom which will solve the problem.

 

 

To widen the chamber opening I just used a hacksaw blade (blade only). Cut the horizontal all the way across then just worked the plastic back and forth and it snapped off clean. The water level is maybe 1/4 higher in the display area now which is perfect. Probably due to the slight increase in flow from the MJ1200. I was concerned about not using the skimmer magnets to hold it, but it fits snuggly. Maybe a little too snug though. Seems that the air tube might be pinched a little. Skimmer is already working great though. I placed it where the water level is about half way up the skimmer grates as instructed and the cup is about half way as well. It is already pulling some light tea out. Looks promising. Very quiet and looks like it will work great!
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Forgot to mention, yes the air tube will get pinched. Get thicker tubing or a 90 degree plastic airline connector at the bottom which will solve the problem.

Cool!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you for the great write up! I have a 29BC with an AI Nano as well. The AI replaced my T5's. I feel completely lost on how to adjust and set the proper LED strength. My corals (SPS) do not seem happy since the swap. I do not know if its too much or too little light. It would seem after reading its too much, but then others say the AI Nano is not enough for a 29BC

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Thank you for the great write up! I have a 29BC with an AI Nano as well. The AI replaced my T5's. I feel completely lost on how to adjust and set the proper LED strength. My corals (SPS) do not seem happy since the swap. I do not know if its too much or too little light. It would seem after reading its too much, but then others say the AI Nano is not enough for a 29BC

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not keeping SPS yet so certainly no expert there, but I feel that the nano is more than enough PAR to keep anything happy in a 29g BC once you get it dialed in. From what I have heard and experienced, they are PAR monsters. Consider that our tanks are fairly shallow and the light is pretty close to the surface too. I'd try to mimic your previous light cycle duration as close as possible and maybe start at intensities around 40% then bump 5% weekly and observe closely. I started way conservative since I did not have any real light demanding corals in the tank. Currently I am at 60/60/60 peak but only for 2 hours at the higher intensity. I ramp up to it for 180m, keep it there for 2hrs and then ramp down. Everything seems pretty happy now. Guess it also depends on the placement of your SPS. If they are lower, then you might want to pick a little higher starting intensity. Just a little riskier since you don't want to bleach anything and won't see the damage of too much too fast for a few weeks. Bottom line like a lot of things in this hobby, LED intensities are still experimental at best. I'd rather be on the safe side and patiently acclimate than bleach though. Check Adam_Ts build thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=282729&hl= he has some Nano PAR readings that could be very helpful for you. Keep me posted as I am adding SPS soon.

 

That rainbow nem is insane!

Thanks! I'm pretty stoked about it. It has deflated since the Pic, but still really cool. Hoping it will bubble up again as that is when the crazy colors really come out.

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Well after having the LED's at about 1/4 the intensity they were, the corals think its night time all day. Feeding tentacles out, zoo's stretching for light. Certainly things are not open as much. But, I can say for the first time since I can remember my Red Planter SPS has extended it polyps. Just barley, and I mean barley, but its something.

 

Reading more about too much light and bleaching I've learned a few things. Corals will never die a rapid death b/c of too little lighting, they will die, but not dear the decay rate that happens with too much lighting and bleaching!

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