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[Biocube 29] RedStang's Build Thread


RedStang

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thats a sick deal from the lfs !!!

 

updated fts soon with the mp10?

 

maybe i should get a yellow watchman......my roommate has one and hes pretty cool and yours looks sweet

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thats a sick deal from the lfs !!!

 

updated fts soon with the mp10?

 

maybe i should get a yellow watchman......my roommate has one and hes pretty cool and yours looks sweet

 

I'm fortunate to work near one of the nicer, if not the nicest, LFS's in the Atlanta area. Their prices sometimes reflect that but the deals help ease the pain.

 

Updated FTS will be coming this week. Need to borrow my wife's DSLR and reattach my monti frag that I knocked loose in a water change.

 

I wanted a sand sifter and my son loves the color yellow. Match made in heaven! Nice thing is he ate within 5 minutes of being added to the tank so hopefully I don't have to worry about him.

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Some blasto's and a maxi-mini anemone added last night! Should pick up some hammer this weekend.

 

Fish all seem to be doing well. At least I see them eating. One thing I'm unsure of is just how much they should be eating. The clowns are easy because they're always in the water column and stop when they're full. The blenny and goby are more difficult to gauge.

 

@Reefer FTS is coming! Just want to get the hammer situated and then see what I can do with my wife's DSLR. Hopefully Sunday night.

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Some blasto's and a maxi-mini anemone added last night! Should pick up some hammer this weekend.

 

awesome I am dieing to see pics! I love maxi-minis, if only there were legal here B)

 

I wanted to ask you a question, what sand are you using and what is the grain size? (because yeah as you know I am had a sand problem)

 

right now I have a new bag of sand about 20 lbs of Samoa Pink Argonite 0.5-1.5 mm. I felt some last night and I can see the difference it is larger and very round like all of it is little spheres. Which I have read is optimal.

 

(in comparison my first sand was 0.1.- 0.5mm smaller than sugar grains)

 

think I should use it or will it turn foul? :scarry:

 

on the bright side I got some sick rock from BRS, makes my LR look like garbage.

 

my LR is btw in a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead

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awesome I am dieing to see pics! I love maxi-minis, if only there were legal here B)

 

I wanted to ask you a question, what sand are you using and what is the grain size? (because yeah as you know I am had a sand problem)

 

right now I have a new bag of sand about 20 lbs of Samoa Pink Argonite 0.5-1.5 mm. I felt some last night and I can see the difference it is larger and very round like all of it is little spheres. Which I have read is optimal.

 

(in comparison my first sand was 0.1.- 0.5mm smaller than sugar grains)

 

think I should use it or will it turn foul? :scarry:

 

on the bright side I got some sick rock from BRS, makes my LR look like garbage.

 

my LR is btw in a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead

 

I have carib sea ocean direct carribean live sand. It's a mix of fine and crushed coral with shells and the like in there as well. I'm happy with it so far. I'd read up some reviews on your sand and if all sounds well then run with it. BTW, 20lbs may be enough. I used closer to 30 in mine and think I have too much. I may have to siphon some out slowly over time.

 

Pics hopefully tomorrow but definitely sometime this week. Just need to make the time.

 

I am getting mine today! Can not wait to see how these work/look on my BC29. They are very helpful over there as well.

 

Jealous dude! Let us know how you like it!

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Maxi-mini out, acan's in. I'm convinced the anemone ate something and the only thing missing is a crab. Had to have developed the lump from somewhere. That and after reading about it eating people's fish the whole family went nuts. Always fun getting lectured by your 9yo daughter. So much like her mother. Anyway, the acan's are awesome. They and the blasto's have really expanded well, even better than the original owner's tank, so I'm very happy.

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@RedStang: I got it this past Friday. The install was long to say the least, only because I had never done a DIY LED project before. It looks great (I will post some pics soon). I am still trying to figure out how to work/run the whole thing with the daylighting controller I got with it. And I guess you need to adjust the current of the driver for the Royal Blue LED's as well. The driver puts out 1.3A and I guess need to be turned down to 1.0A for the the RB LED's. I am going back at it this evening to try and figure this part out. but other than that, it looks and work great! You will be stoked when you get yours all set up. Let me know if you have any other questions about it.

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oh that is shame about the maxi.

Yeah, it was pretty but oh well.

 

@RedStang: I got it this past Friday. The install was long to say the least, only because I had never done a DIY LED project before. It looks great (I will post some pics soon). I am still trying to figure out how to work/run the whole thing with the daylighting controller I got with it. And I guess you need to adjust the current of the driver for the Royal Blue LED's as well. The driver puts out 1.3A and I guess need to be turned down to 1.0A for the the RB LED's. I am going back at it this evening to try and figure this part out. but other than that, it looks and work great! You will be stoked when you get yours all set up. Let me know if you have any other questions about it.

 

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully in the next month or two I can spring for it!

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Yeah, it was pretty but oh well.

 

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully in the next month or two I can spring for it!

 

Yea it is def a great buy for the money IMO. If I had to install another, I would get it done much faster, I had just never dealt with a DIY LED build before, so I took my time and made sure I did everything the best I could.

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Yea it is def a great buy for the money IMO. If I had to install another, I would get it done much faster, I had just never dealt with a DIY LED build before, so I took my time and made sure I did everything the best I could.

 

Definitely my plan as well! I'm in no rush to destroy brand new equipment!

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Definitely my plan as well! I'm in no rush to destroy brand new equipment!

 

Yea I wasn't either. That is why I looked for a used BC29 hood. So I still have my new BC29 stock hood all intact. I ended up finding one for very cheap. It also gave me the freedom to take my sweet time with the LED build.

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Looking good so far. It's been a little while since I checked out your thread. Where's the hammer?

 

Pick it up Wednesday now. FTS is overdue!

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Actinic Blasto's

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Mint Chocolate Play's

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Actinic Acan's

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Actinic Hammers

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Actinic FTS

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Chalice

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FTS

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Spot and Nemo

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Marlin, Nemo, and Goober

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Hammer time!

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Acan's

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Blasto's

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Spot. Getting a decent shot of this bugger is impossible!

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Goober in all his glory

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No comments on the pics? LOL! I think it looks good so to h*** with ya'll!!! :D

 

I have more goodies on the way too! Well on my way to making my biocube one of the most expensive out there. On the bright side, my wife asked how much of what I ordered today will carry over to the bigger tank! Hint: We don't have a bigger tank yet......

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RapidLED BC29 retrofit kit ordered. Neptune Systems PM1, EB8, VDM, and breakout box ordered. Also ordered an Eheim autofeeder for vacations. Hope to have everything installed and ATO running in a few weeks!

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Tank looks like it's really coming along nice!

 

You'll like the Eheim auto feeder. I used it when we were gone for a week to Disney World!

 

BTW, I see you ordered the Rapid LED kit for the BC29. Let me know how you like it. I'm thinking of replaceing the MH for LEDs when it's time to get a new bulb. ;)

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Tank looks like it's really coming along nice!

 

You'll like the Eheim auto feeder. I used it when we were gone for a week to Disney World!

 

BTW, I see you ordered the Rapid LED kit for the BC29. Let me know how you like it. I'm thinking of replaceing the MH for LEDs when it's time to get a new bulb. ;)

 

Thanks! The Eheim has a ton of positive reviews so nice to hear another one.

 

I'll certainly update the thread with info on the LED's. I'm really looking forward them.

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Very nice tank, I really like the aquascape and the corals that you have.

 

Thanks! Nice thing is I really don't have much invested in corals since most were either free or cheap from fellow reefers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I finally got my Apex VDM and finished up my LED build! These things lit the tank better laying on the floor 4 feet away from the tank than the stock PC lights! Once installed in the hood they're crazy bright. At this point I'm running them at 25-35% because of how bright they are. I may also need to move my hammer lower to get it acclimated. I'll try to get pics tonight as my iPhone just showed a blue haze coming from the tank.

 

I must say the RB brings out some crazy cool colors from the corals. I'm going to end up spending an insane amount of time getting the colored dialed in where I like it though.

 

Wiring up the VDM was not difficult at all once I confirmed the pins. Adjusting the SVR2 on the meanwell was a bit of a pain as I have limited, as in none, experience in using an amp meter. I'm kinda shocked that I didn't fry anything. Programing the ports for controlling the lights ended up being fairly simple, at least for now. The instructions that came with the VDM were more than adequate. I really do wish that the Apex/VDM combo would just let me dial up a specific brightness though from a web page. If anyone knows how please share!

 

I also added an EB8 to ensure that I'll never run out of controllable outlets. I was tempted to just get the EB4 but at 8 ports total that might have limited me down the road. So I currently have a return pump, MP10, LED cooling fans, white lights, blue lights, and heater plugged in for now.

 

So, hopefully some better pics tonight!

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