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Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef


Nano sapiens

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Polarcollision

Tank has been running for 6 years now (started beginning of July, 2008): No changes, same old 'unfiltered' setup, two fish, a gaggle of coral...and a wing and a prayer :)

 

12g6Years_062914_zps4b26bf13.jpg

 

Still has a bit of growing in to do around the sides and back where I recently added some Rhodactis (yup, more 'shrooms!) and a few different Palys/Zoas. When I set this up I remember telling myself, "5 years aught to do it" and now I'm thinking "Ok, 10 years and it *should* finally be 'mature'". Funny how that works...

 

This calls for a series of pics from each year. Loving the knobby textures of the setosa.

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Nano sapiens

Thanks. The Setosa has been pushed to the brink by the Oxide Zoas from behind, so the only place it can go is 'up'. It might be wimpy, but it is resourceful :)

 

The first page has pics taken every few months.

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I'm kinda really into blastos right now. Do you still have this one? I saw it listed on the first page index :).

 

'Superman' Blastomussa wellsi

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Nano sapiens

I do, but it is my only coral that is having difficulties at the moment. I cranked up my LED array quite high recently to get my Red Planet to start growing, but that meant too high PAR on the sand bed for the Blasto. It fried a bit and then got a bacterial infection, but I've got it partially shaded so hopefully it'll make a comeback.

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Since we are terrestrial, we tend to think in terms of what's on land. It is very possible (and quite likely IMO) that the oldest living organisms on earth will be discovered somewhere in the ocean depths

Very true! There are many aquatic species that live below 10-15,000 feet and regularly live as long as Humans, or over half a century! I can only imagine how old many of the invertebrate and coral colonies are down there.

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Nano sapiens

Strange incident with my Clownfish recently. A week ago I added an extra two hours to my 'Royal Blue' channel for a total of 12 hrs. The next day my orange clown refused to eat and my black misbar clown was eating 'sluggishly'. No external signs of injury and no changes to the tank other than the lighting. This continued for about 5 days and there was no improvement after trying every food I had and every trick I could think of. The general behavior of the fish was 'off' wherein they would swim more slowly and with none of the usual enthusiasm. I then dialed back the RB lighting to the previous 10 hrs total and the next day the orange clown was eating ravenously and the black misbar was back to 'normal' feeding mode. All other activity returned to 'normal'.

 

The skeptical reefer in me says "Hmmm, could just be coincidence and something else may have triggered the malaise"...and I'll just leave it at that since I won't be subjecting my fish to any abrupt lighting changes again.

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Nano sapiens

In other news...I removed a NW emitter from my rear LED strip and replaced it with a RB. Within a few days my 'Red Planet' is now partially an 'Aquamarine-Ice Blue Planet' on the left base and a few tips. Crazy Acros, just never know what they'll do next (not that I'm complaining ;) ). I'll let the color develop a bit more before attempting a pic.

 

If it keeps this 'Ice Blue' color, along with mint green and pink/red, I'll be a happy camper :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Nano sapiens

Diffuser: A few weeks back I made a diffuser for my LED array, but I didn't like the loss of all the shimmer (page 34). There are a lot of benefits to using a diffuser (eliminates LED 'Hot Spots', distributes the light more evenly, protects the LEDs from splashes, etc.), so I came at the problem from a different angle and modified the original diffuser to make a simple 'hybrid diffuser' by adding a few large holes. I figured this would allow some strong light to fall on the tank directly (for shimmer), but most of the light would still be diffused. As can be seen below, I attempted to position the 5/8" holes for both higher intensity LED strips (top and bottom strips) so that they weren't directly under the LEDs to mitigate 'Hot Spots':

 

12gLEDDiffuserwithHolesUnlit_071914_zps2

 

12gLEDDiffuserwithHolesLit_071914_zps11c

 

The end effect is bit more 'T5'ish-ness', but there is enough shimmer to keep me happy :). I noticed right off the bat that the overall color temp has 'cooled' just a bit and that was substantiated when I took a pic and had to add a bit more warm saturation than usual to get true color rendition. I also moved my 'Ultra Scolly' to the left side since it was getting large enough to seriously impede flow around the tank:

 

12gNanoFTS_071914_zpsbb89ce81.jpg~origin

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Nano sapiens

Well, the diffuser was a fun project, but just didn't work properly for my aquarium setup. Since I have a fixed light canopy position, light intensity was being reduced by the side of the diffuser in the back section where I needed it most. In a week my RP Acro browned out a bit due to a drop from ~240 to 200 PAR. In the week with the diffuser in place, I didn't notice any positive or negative reactions from any of my other corals.

 

I've also introduced additional Cyan and Blue emitters and removed a Neutral White and a Hyper Violet. The effect is very pleasant and appears just as bright to the eye, but also different in that the light has a softer tone.

 

Both DIY strips now have only one NW each with a few OCWs adding a bit of 'white' to keep the light field bright.

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Nano sapiens

You just need a less crappy diffuser :)

 

Hold on there, I don't make crap! ;)

 

The reality is that I need all the light I can get to the back, so any type of diffuser box is going to compromise that a bit. The nice thing is with all my LED chips packed so close together a diffuser is not a necessity for my array, but was fun to play around with :)

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I used to make diffusers for LEDs in PC builds by sanding one side of clear acrylic with wet/dry sandpaper, worked pretty well. I like that material you used though, I have seen it around but never thought of giving it a try.

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jedimasterben

Hold on there, I don't make crap! ;)

 

The reality is that I need all the light I can get to the back, so any type of diffuser box is going to compromise that a bit. The nice thing is with all my LED chips packed so close together a diffuser is not a necessity for my array, but was fun to play around with :)

lol You started with a crappy diffuser and tried to make it better :)

 

What is the size of your tank's splash shield?

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On 7/19/2014 at 0:59 PM, Nano sapiens said:

Diffuser: A few weeks back I made a diffuser for my LED array, but I didn't like the loss of all the shimmer (page 34). There are a lot of benefits to using a diffuser (eliminates LED 'Hot Spots', distributes the light more evenly, protects the LEDs from splashes, etc.), so I came at the problem from a different angle and modified the original diffuser to make a simple 'hybrid diffuser' by adding a few large holes. I figured this would allow some strong light to fall on the tank directly (for shimmer), but most of the light would still be diffused. As can be seen below, I attempted to position the 5/8" holes for both higher intensity LED strips (top and bottom strips) so that they weren't directly under the LEDs to mitigate 'Hot Spots':

 

12gLEDDiffuserwithHolesUnlit_071914_zps2

 

12gLEDDiffuserwithHolesLit_071914_zps11c

 

The end effect is bit more 'T5'ish-ness', but there is enough shimmer to keep me happy :). I noticed right off the bat that the overall color temp has 'cooled' just a bit and that was substantiated when I took a pic and had to add a bit more warm saturation than usual to get true color rendition. I also moved my 'Ultra Scolly' to the left side since it was getting large enough to seriously impede flow around the tank:

 

12gNanoFTS_071914_zpsbb89ce81.jpg~origin

IMO one of the nicest nano reefs ever.

I seriously have to come over if you ever decide to frag up some stuff!

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Nano sapiens

IMO one of the nicest nano reefs ever.

I seriously have to come over if you ever decide to frag up some stuff!

 

Thank you. I thought everyone was tired of seeing this tank since it's been around for so long...

 

I clear stuff out every couple months, so I can let you know when I have fresh cuttings.

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Thank you. I thought everyone was tired of seeing this tank since it's been around for so long...

 

I clear stuff out every couple months, so I can let you know when I have fresh cuttings.

 

I peek in all the time and your TOTM post is still bookmarked =).

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Thank you. I thought everyone was tired of seeing this tank since it's been around for so long...

 

It's so beautiful, how could anyone get tired of seeing it?! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Nano sapiens

Pffft...'Ghetto'. Isaac Newton, if he were alive, would certainly approve :)

 

"The best solution is often the least complicated one"

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Pffft...'Ghetto'. Asaac Newton, if he were alive, would certainly approve :)

 

"The best solution is often the least complicated one"

:slap: I wasn't talking about your pet bottle ATO - WHICH I STILL WANT! :angry:

 

It was about a Kent doser, I posted pictures a second ago.

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She's slap happy, apparently.

 

I would never trust a drip doser.

 

... and not tired of looking at pics, ever. I which people would post MORE pics.

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  • Nano sapiens changed the title to Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef
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