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Jruberti's 11.4 Gallon //AI Nano Added


Jruberti

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I just posted this topic in the lighting section but meh I figured I'd use my build thread too...

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I've had my tank up for awhile now (since August 2011), and I really haven't done much of anything with it. This is primarily because I'm not 100% happy with the lighting, so I haven't purchased much livestock for the tank.

 

This is the current state of my tank:

FAP9V.jpg

It's not that purple in person, I wish it was lol my girlfriend's iphone puts a purple haze over all of its pictures :/

 

I've gone from a BoostLED PAR30 > JBJ Unibody > LEDTRiC PAR38 Full Spectrum

Keep in mind, I've only kept about 10 frags in this tank the entire time.

 

Why I initially chose and eventually changed from the BoostLED Par30

I tried out the PAR30 because I wasn't planning on throwing a ton of coral into my tank at once, and I was going to save my money for a different..."better" light in the future. It turns out, I really liked the color of the light, but I decided to upgrade because I thought the light would not support much more than softies, and I wanted a light that I could "control". I also wasn't seeing the coral growth that I was used to with T5HOs.

 

Why I initially chose and eventually changed from the JBJ Unibody

My original plan was to get the AI Nano after I saved a little money but whenever I had enough to buy the light, the Unibody came out. The AI Nano's mounting arm and gimmicky touch interface scared me into trying out the Unibody. Once I got the light, I wasn't too impressed with the color output, but I liked the control-ability of the light. Sadly, I never could "tune" in the look I wanted. I kept the light for several months and observed little to no growth out of my small selection of frags. The colors actually began to fade and dull out...so I decided to try out a new light and sold the Unibody.

 

At this point, I was beginning to think that I didn't like the tank because the frags I had were not doing too well and not because of the lighting. I had been doing weekly to bi-weekly 15% water changes and keeping up with regular maintenance (replacing carbon, filtersocks etc). My tank parameters all seemed fine...calc, alk, mag all in check...so I decided to change out my light again because all of my frags had lost most of their color and just seemed dull. They were alive and very slowly growing, but with no coloration.

 

Why I initially chose the LEDTRiC PAR38 Full Spectrum bulb...and why I'm changing

After selling my Unibody, I was in the market for a different light. I was reading some threads about a new full spectrum PAR38 and how wonderful it was etc, so as soon as I saw one for sale in the hardware classifieds, I bought it. After putting the bulb on my tank, my frags actually did look a lot better than with the Unibody. After having the light on the tank for awhile now, the frags still seem dull-ish with some showing color and growth, but I'm still not happy with the look. I even had to partially cover some of the LEDs with electrical tape to keep some of my frags from bleaching out and to get the color where I wanted. I'm thinking about changing lights again because I want to control my lights either from a controller, my computer, phone etc or just simply have a light with light output that is more to my liking.

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TL;DR: I've been holding off on adding livestock because I was 100% satisfied with my tank/lightning. My lack of success is probably something I'm doing wrong and not my lighting, but I am still wanting to upgrade to some sort of controllable fixture that I can adjust to my liking and mount easily over my 11.4 gallon with dimensions of 18.9" x 11.8" x 11.8".

 

Here are some lighting options I am thinking of and why:

In order of most important, this is what I'm looking for: Mountable, Growth/Color Potential, Controllable

 

AI Nano - Super Blue

CLXpj.jpg

PROS: controllable, small, aesthetically pleasing, comes with mounting option, matches my tank

CONS: only offers 3 types of LEDs, would never use the touch screen, mount would slightly hang over my tank, I have to buy the controller

 

Kessil A150w - Ocean Blue 15k

 

6tOBW.gif

PROS: small, has a mounting option, has a nice spectrum from the LED array

CONS: not controllable, doesn't come with a mount, only option is on/off, have to purchase mount separate

 

AI SOL - Super Blue

8K1dc.jpg

PROS: decent size, aesthetically matches my tank, very powerful, controllable

CONS: no mounting option (i suck at DIY), expensive, older tech, I have to buy the controller, only offers 3 types of LEDs

 

Some 24" T5HO Fixture - Tek Light or something

FGZye.jpg

PROS: I've had sucess with T5HOs in the past, I know the bulb config I like, I can replace bulbs to get a different color config

CONS: requires frequent bulb replacement, will overlap my tank/stand a lot, no mounting option, not controllable

 

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Please feel free to tell me why I should/shouldn't get any of these or suggest a different fixture/offer any advice that you might have. Thanks!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm in the same predicament, I was about to get a par38 to supplement the Nuvo 16 stock lights, but like you I like the option of dialing in my color preference.

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I decided to upgrade to the AI Nano but that decision has come with some problems...when I received my first unit, it was covered in the bubble wrap glue, had misshapen pieces, and the fan was extremely high pitched. I got a replacement fixture from AI that fixed the fan and glue issues but this one has a bowing face-plate Thankfully, AI is sending out a replacement housing. I've concluded that AI has some great customer service, but I'm starting to think that the AI Nano has some major inconsistency issues.

 

Here is a phone quality picture of what my tank looks like right now:

9B6Yqh7.png

I also placed an order with Vivid Aquariums. The order includes 1 head of purple-tip frogspawn, 1 head of Fluorescent-tip Torch, 2 heads of Duncans, Red Lobo Brain, Eagle Eye Zoas, Rainfords Goby, and a Hi-Fin Red-Banded Goby paired with a Red-Banded Pistol Shrimp.

hrlqoo.png

Also, I'll be uploading a review video of my AI Nano fairly soon.

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Looking sleek with that Ai Nano :)

 

Btw, you should order from ebay instead of vivid...you can save some money!!! haha

If I wasn't ordering fish, I would've definitely tried this :D!! How much would like 4-5 frags cost on ebay (shipped)?

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Deleted User 4

If I wasn't ordering fish, I would've definitely tried this :D!! How much would like 4-5 frags cost on ebay (shipped)?

 

Well, in my past experiences, I've always tried to get corals at low prices by bidding on ebay. Basically at the last 10 secs of the auction I'm watching ahahahah, I would put my max bid (highest price I would ever pay for this specific coral that I'm watching, usually $20-30 highest....I'm cheap if you know what I mean).

 

Because if you put a higher bid early on, most likely the ending price won't look too good ahah. I've been doing this back when I was maintaining corals for the past 2-3 yrs. And each I got for around $20-40 including shipping costs. Basically this means I would have to pay 7-10 corals at a winning price of $5-20 and using the combined shipping costs of $30 plus additional coral shipping costs of $2-3 after the 1st coral you've won. For example, If I were to win 3 corals, the 1st one at $15, 2nd, 3rd at $15 too, then shipping costs would be $30 plus $2 for the 2nd coral and another $2 for the 3rd coral to combine the multiple auctions you've won.

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Well, in my past experiences, I've always tried to get corals at low prices by bidding on ebay. Basically at the last 10 secs of the auction I'm watching ahahahah, I would put my max bid (highest price I would ever pay for this specific coral that I'm watching, usually $20-30 highest....I'm cheap if you know what I mean).

 

Because if you put a higher bid early on, most likely the ending price won't look too good ahah. I've been doing this back when I was maintaining corals for the past 2-3 yrs. And each I got for around $20-40 including shipping costs. Basically this means I would have to pay 7-10 corals at a winning price of $5-20 and using the combined shipping costs of $30 plus additional coral shipping costs of $2-3 after the 1st coral you've won. For example, If I were to win 3 corals, the 1st one at $15, 2nd, 3rd at $15 too, then shipping costs would be $30 plus $2 for the 2nd coral and another $2 for the 3rd coral to combine the multiple auctions you've won.

That sounds pretty decent! Who do you think has the best ebay store for LPS?

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Deleted User 4

That sounds pretty decent! Who do you think has the best ebay store for LPS?

 

Well, you've seen my past lps collection right??? All those were from ebay lol. At the prices I paid for around $15-35 each.

 

I've bought some from goldenreefbasket, donavonsreef, socalaquariums, austinaquafarms, woosaquatics, lareefs. All are good, you just have to keep an eye on their listings and learn to bid on the corals right. Never put a bid in the beginning and always try to bid the last sec, using your highest bid. It's funny because, there were people who have bidded at the last 15secs, and they wouldn't expect me to bid on it so they just put a dollar or few $$ more on the item and I would put my max bid the last 3 secs right when it's too late for other bidders to outbid me. It was sooo funny, I even laughed after I won the auction.

 

For example, one time there were some acans for sale from Austinaquafarms on ebay. Most items start at $1 for his listings. There were a few times where I would bid at the last 3 secs putting my highest bid at $10 lolol and what do you know? I won the item at only $3.....LOL because the bidder before me only put $2 and didn't expect someone else to be watching the last minute. It all really depends.

 

Sometimes when there are holidays, people are out vacationing and I would just stay home to bid on corals because it's the best time for get real deals ahahah. Sometimes people just add a bid in the beginning but forgets to follow up on it. And sometimes spammers would put several bids on the same coral making people believe he's adding lots of value to it but actually he's only raising each of the several bids at a dollar more. It's fun to bid on ebay ahah, just got to know your limit at controlling yourself at the highest bid. I usually never go higher than $30 on a coral unless it's worth $60+ ahah.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tank looks great! Do you like the AI Nano?

Thanks! Out of all of the LED fixtures I've tried, I'd have to say that the Nano has the best spread/color and when I say color, I mean the actual look of the light on the tank and not the spectrum. My corals seem to love it, and I'm already seeing nice signs of growth!

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Hey man, what's your current lighting schedule?

Tank is looking awesome. Did Ai resent you a fixture coating?

Thanks!! They did send me a new casing!

 

8:30 - 1:30PM (12 - 1:30 are my peak hours)

Start Time: 8:30AM

Ramp Time: 5 hours

W: 20%

B: 22%

RB: 38%

 

1:30 - 6:30PM (4 - 5:30 is my favorite spectrum)

Start Time: 1:30PM

Ramp Time: 5 hours

W: 6%

B: 6%

RB: 24%

 

6:30 - 10:00PM (brings the tank into night-mode)

Start Time: 6:30PM

Ramp Time: 3.5 hours

W: 0%

B: 0%

RB: 1%

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Also, I finally updated the front page!

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Deleted User 4

The 38% part is bit too high. I'd lower it to 29% or less.

Everything is looking good though.

 

When are you coming up with a new episode? :)

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The 38% part is bit too high. I'd lower it to 29% or less.

Everything is looking good though.

 

When are you coming up with a new episode? :)

Thanks, I took it down to 28%. It'll probably take awhile because I'm in the last semester of my undergrad, and I'm swamped with tests and projects. If I get time, I'll definitely try to make E10. I need to find someone else to help me work on it lol

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Tanks looking good!

 

Any way you can rotate the AI Nano fixture 90 degrees so that the spread of the light coincides with the tank's dimensions? Can it be done on the arm? Maybe I missed it, but is there a reason the mounting arm cannot be mounted on the back of the tank?

 

My biggest gripe with these fixtures (other than the color rendition for certain corals... ;) ) has been the mounting arm... :angry:

 

Sorry for any negativity - tank is progressing nicely, good luck with your last semester, and thanks again for the Par38! :)

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What happened to the girl? Hmmm :)

She's in nursing school so whenever we hang out, we aren't working on Nano News :P

 

Tanks looking good!

 

Any way you can rotate the AI Nano fixture 90 degrees so that the spread of the light coincides with the tank's dimensions? Can it be done on the arm? Maybe I missed it, but is there a reason the mounting arm cannot be mounted on the back of the tank?

 

My biggest gripe with these fixtures (other than the color rendition for certain corals... ;) ) has been the mounting arm... :angry:

 

Sorry for any negativity - tank is progressing nicely, good luck with your last semester, and thanks again for the Par38! :)

Thanks!! The mounting arm doesn't allow for anything lol The fixture overlapped the front of my tank when I mounted it from the back. I'm going to do a custom mount with 1/2" conduit, so I'll be able to mount it normally.

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Thanks!! The mounting arm doesn't allow for anything lol The fixture overlapped the front of my tank when I mounted it from the back. I'm going to do a custom mount with 1/2" conduit, so I'll be able to mount it normally.

 

Yeah, that is what I thought, sorry about that.

 

The custom conduit route has worked for me in the past, and I plan on doing it for my upcoming 40B project too - and I might be using a mix of metal halide and LEDs on it - just picked up a nearly new 150W pendant and ballast for next to nothing... B)

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Yeah, that is what I thought, sorry about that.

 

The custom conduit route has worked for me in the past, and I plan on doing it for my upcoming 40B project too - and I might be using a mix of metal halide and LEDs on it - just picked up a nearly new 150W pendant and ballast for next to nothing... B)

That would be a nice combo! Whenever I can have a larger tank, I might do something similar but for some reason, T5HO is my favorite...if only the bulbs never needed replacing lol

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That would be a nice combo! Whenever I can have a larger tank, I might do something similar but for some reason, T5HO is my favorite...if only the bulbs never needed replacing lol

 

At one time I ran T5's over four of my nanos, but the bulb costs per year became too much for me too.

 

I did miss the shimmer however, hence my use of LEDs as of late... B)

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The tank looks great with the new light!

Thanks!!

 

At one time I ran T5's over four of my nanos, but the bulb costs per year became too much for me too.

 

I did miss the shimmer however, hence my use of LEDs as of late... B)

I got some crazy growth/color with T5s and LEDs seem to just give me mediocre growth and awesome color.

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