Withers Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 About Me: I've been in the hobby off and on for over a decade now. I've had mostly reef tanks ranging from all sizes. I've always been a fan of paying for quality products and feel they make the over all setup much more pleasing. I decided to start drawing up a new tank (having taken 3 years off and vowing to never have one again) because Dave showed me some pics of the lights he was designing. Fast forward a few months and I approached Dave to have him build me a Duo for my new setup. My choice to go with Dave's light is easily due to the design and materials he uses, and I'm a tech junkie and the storm controller tickles me in ways you couldn't imagine. Specs: Standard NBR Duo - White on white www.nanoboxreef.com 26 Phillips Rebel ES and SEMILED LED's Warm white, neutral white, blue, royal blue, cyan and violet Mount: Gooseneck Upon Receipt: The light was packaged extremely well and had no damage. I plugged everything in and fired it up. The light worked great, except for one small item, I couldn't get the computer fan to run. I tried every power source in the house, I tested the power sources Dave had given me and everything was working perfectly, except the fan wouldn't come on. So I contacted Dave, and he told me to ship it back to him. Once he got it, he said the fan was a little finicky but he got it working and mailed it back to me (free of charge). Once I got it back... the fan wouldn't work still. So after talking with Dave a bit more to see what I might have done wrong and determining I'm not an idiot after all, I agreed to ship it back to him and he'd swap it out. Dave replaced the fan, and all 3 power supplies free of charge. He also shipped it back to me for free. Top notch customer support. Initial Set Up: Setting the light up initially can be a challenge until you learn how the storm controller works, but once you do it's a breeze. The Gooseneck: It's awesome! So easy and it looks and works great. It can be a challenge for anyone with OCD to get the arc right but it firmly holds the light in place and looks very professional. I'd definitely recommend this mounting setup to anyone. The Spectrum: This light really hits the sweet spot from an aesthetic perspective. I'm absolutely confident that anyone could find just the right color and I imagine that the cyan and violet LEDs will really bring out the colors in corals. Unfortunately my tank is still cycling so I can't say for sure how growth will be, but I expect it will be perfect for my needs. The Storm Controller: Oh. My. God. This thing is so much fun to play with. I still get a huge kick out of the cloud phases and I've had to turn the lightning strikes off because it terrifies my dog (who hates thunder). It isn't the easiest to program but once you know all the ins and outs it really is amazing. I love that you can set a sunrise and sunset time and set how long you want it to ramp up/down before it turns off, making it nice since this tank is in our main television watching room and we don't want to be blinded by it in the evening. It also lets you delay channels so that only the blues will come on initially with the whites following at whatever time frame you set. Very cool. Conclusion: I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this light to anyone. I don't know how Dave finds enough time in the day to do what he does and still give such great customer service, but he somehow finds the time. I suspect he's a machine. The only downside I can see is that it relies on computer fans to cool it (which I'm sure essentially all lights do) and they can be extremely finicky. The fan itself is silent and keeps the fixture extremely cool, but if it isn't running it heats up real quick. It's easy enough to check it daily to make sure it's still running, you just hover your hand over the opening and you'll feel air blowing. Pics: https://flic.kr/p/n5c8wU'> https://flic.kr/p/n5c8wU'>Final by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>jasonwithers, on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/kYSGGX'> https://flic.kr/p/kYSGGX'>NanoBoxReef Duo by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>jasonwithers, on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/nyPS9U'> https://flic.kr/p/nyPS9U'>Full Tank Shot by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>jasonwithers, on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/nRfgpw'> https://flic.kr/p/nRfgpw'>Full Tank Shot by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>jasonwithers, on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/nyQszV'> https://flic.kr/p/nyQszV'>Side View by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>jasonwithers, on Flickr Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 The arm is a little short for your tank Link to comment
lil0618 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 The arm is a little short for your tank That^ I would just note that when placing your corals farther down the road. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Thanks Jason and glad you are already enjoying! -Dave Link to comment
Withers Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 The arm is a little short for your tank That^ I would just note that when placing your corals farther down the road. Yup, well aware lol. I actually like it though because you can view the tank from the top without the light impeding, which is a nice for a tank this shallow Thanks Jason and glad you are already enjoying! -Dave Loving it! Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 that is a sweet looking setup. so sleek. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Looks awesome! What tank is that? Is that the CAD Lights 45 shallow? Link to comment
Withers Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 Deep Blue Professional 30 gallon. 24x24x12 Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 looks like that will be my next upgrade...do you think the duo adequately cover the entire tank? Link to comment
Withers Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 I think if it was hung over the middle it definitely would. Right now I've got decent coverage over 2/3 of the tank. I'm going to try some zoanthids at the very front just to see how they do but I'm not expecting much. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 NInja - 100% if the light is in the middle, NO problem. I have people using them on 24"x24"x20" -Dave Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Yups, looks like I am looking into one of these as well, with a 15 gallon sump. You haveb any pics of your 29 gallon in the stand? Link to comment
kguske2 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Deep Blue Professional 30 gallon. 24x24x12 Looks like we'll be twins. I'm picking up that tank today and placed my order for a duo last week. Nice to see what it looks like ahead of time Link to comment
Withers Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 It's awesome. The quality isn't nearly as good as the high end tanks, but it was dirt cheap and plenty nice for me. Plus the sides aren't tempered so you can put the overflow where you want. Link to comment
SquishyFishy Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Where's mine Dave...hurry hurry hurry!!!! Link to comment
opaquelace Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Yup, well aware lol. I actually like it though because you can view the tank from the top without the light impeding, which is a nice for a tank this shallow Loving it! Just fill up the front with wellsos, acans and acanthophyllias no big deal. Especially since the tank is shallow you're going to need some sort of buffer between the lower light loving LPS and the intensity LEDs bring. Link to comment
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