AJ_Tsin's Zeo 47g Shallow. NEW FTS

[spanko]

How long have you had the slimer timdanger?

 

Don't want to hijack here AJ so tell me to STFU if you want to and I will.

[AJ_Tsin]

How long have you had the slimer timdanger?

 

Don't want to hijack here AJ so tell me to STFU if you want to and I will.

 

 

No worries. I asked the questions. I dont see it as hijacking... Yet.

 

I would cut that thing up. Looks kind of unnatural.

 

As for my earlier question anyone have any input on the LED array/controller?

[timdanger]

How long have you had the slimer timdanger?

 

Don't want to hijack here AJ so tell me to STFU if you want to and I will.

 

i've had it for a little over 7 weeks. i edited the picture above (i found a shot of just the slimer from the day i added it). i don't like what it looks like, either, so it seems like a good candidate for wafering (or at least partial wafering). if i do it, i'll let you know (but post pics in my thread).

 

i am not intending to hijack, but am wary -- i'm trying to stay on the topic of "wafering" an acro. let me know if you want me to GTFO.

Edited March 11, 2010 by timdanger

[AJ_Tsin]

i've had it for a little over 7 weeks. i edited the picture above (i found a shot of just the slimer from the day i added it). i don't like what it looks like, either, so it seems like a good candidate for wafering (or at least partial wafering). if i do it, i'll let you know (but post pics in my thread).

 

i am not intending to hijack, but am wary -- i'm trying to stay on the topic of "wafering" an acro. let me know if you want me to GTFO.

 

I would just snap in in half and lay it like a banana split like the first portion of the article states.

 

By the way the original tabling acro we spoke about has been placed on an angle stay tuned for growth.

 

Also I am already seeing new heads on the purple death and green palys the zoas/palys in this tank are growing like crazy!

 

Also I have switched the MP-10 back to short pulse mode. I hear a lot of people use these pumps on reef crest which is cool, but honestly once you get a synced wave going in your setup everything sways regardless if the powerhead flow is hitting it directly or not. Literally 100% of your water is swaying and the corals love it.

 

Also the short pulse allows you to up the velocity of the burst without disturbing the sand bed where as a constant flow at the same flow rate would be too strong.

 

As of right now I am running short pulse at about 80% and on a shallow tank with sugar sand that would seem absurd but my water is crystal clear and sandstorms don't exist at all.

[AJ_Tsin]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Aqua Illumination LED fixture?

[AJ_Tsin]

Update:

is popping up all over the web, on blogs, websites, locally and internationally. Gotta love the information sharing world.

 

Thanks to some of these sites for featuring my video (with or without permission).

 

http://modernreef.blogspot.com/

http://www.seafishfans.com/

http://www.redseamax250.com/

http://www.colorom.com/

http://www.reef.hk/j/

 

- A.

[AJ_Tsin]

Today I decided to add some DIY LED accent lights. Because of the open concept and suspended pendant it is very difficult to add actinic bulbs without legs on the aquarium or hanging two separate fixtures which would clutter the space. I decided to look for some blue LEDs that could somewhat replicate the function of Actinic fluorescents.

 

I almost bought Current USA's LED strip light but decided to visit the Auto Accent aisle of Canadian Tire before doing do.

 

This is what I found and came up with:

 

These car accent LEDs add-ons have two one watt LEDs per unit and are meant to connect directly to the 12V battery lines in any car. (Why anyone would want these lights anywhere near their car is beyond me)

 

 

With a little basic electrical wiring the 8 LEDS could be connected to a 12v DC adaptor from The Source

 

 

I gathered some tools took down my existing pendant and went to work.

 

 

The LEDs come with strong two sided adhesive meant to stick the lights to the underside of a car or in the glove compartment etc. I stuck these directly on the metal of the Pendant but as this pendant gets quite hot when on I may have to reglue the lights with contact cement. We will see.

 

 

 

Once attached, the wires were run under the reflector in the pendant in the same manner the existing wires for the halide bulb were attached. Each led unit has its own +/- wire so I ran all four lines through the light out the back vent and connected them all together with their respective lines at the end. In this case four + lines from each light were twisted together and four - lines from each light twisted together.

 

 

Once all four positives and all four negatives were bunched together they were all connected to a single +/- wire which ran to the adaptor.

 

 

Again only time will tell if these wires withstand the heat inside the pendant. They should be fine as they are only touching the backside of the reflective aluminum and are several inches away from the actual bulb.

 

The adaptor is a AC-DC Converter that has a switch to choose the Voltage output. The transformer was switched to 12v / 300mA output which is perfect to run all four units a total of 8 LEDs

.

 

Once each electrical splice was secured and sealed with electrical tape I plugged it in and was pleased to see all four corners of the pendant now glowing blue.

 

 

As long as you know a tiny bit about wiring and transformers this upgrade is easy to do and is worth it. It definitely isn't as bright as a fluorescent bulb but it looks like it is factory built and adds a bit more color to the tank. I have these LEDS come one one hour before the Halide bulb kicks in and turn off 1 hour after it turns off. You could also use these as moonlights.

 

 

 

 

The entire upgrade (lights and transformer) cost me $55 CAN as opposed to the $99+tax I would have spent on a clunky LED strip light. A light I would have had to hang somehow polluting the aesthetics of my rimless setup. I think the Current USA ones are definitely brighter than these so it isn't a 100 percent replacement, but for something like a moonlight or dim actinics for those of you who just have pendants this is a perfect fix You could also add several more bulbs as they have tubes, strips, squares etc of leds. Cant say I would ever put something like this on my car but they work great in this case.

[DivineStyler]

That looks excellent man! Such a cheap upgrade too. Well done.

 

Finally got around to watching your vid and noticed the music was Album Leaf. That's one of my favorite musicians. You have good taste in tanks and music!

[opraider36]

I absolutely LOVE your tank. Future TOTM here forsure. Im hoping ot upgrade to a larger shallow cube in the future, the rimless design just looks amazing..

[AJ_Tsin]

That looks excellent man! Such a cheap upgrade too. Well done.

 

Finally got around to watching your vid and noticed the music was Album Leaf. That's one of my favorite musicians. You have good taste in tanks and music!

 

Yea The Album Leaf is great. Glad you liked the video and the upgrade etc.

 

Im hoping ot upgrade to a larger shallow cube in the future, the rimless design just looks amazing..

 

Thanks opraider I recommend the shallow look, they are awesome.

 

I absolutely LOVE your tank. Future TOTM here forsure.

 

Well thats an awesome compliment I have had a few people make mention to possible TOTM, this set up is definitely not TOTM worthy yet.......... keyword "yet" someday maybe though, I would be proud.

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Keep comments and questions coming. Cheers.

 

A.

[bluefunelement]

Damn you!

I read your LED thread as I have the same issue with my pendant.. Btw what make is yours?

Then I watched your video. Now I've read your thread.

And now I have to have a rimless shallow which I had no interest in before this. And I'm upgrading my AIO tank next weekend to another AIO so now I have no passion in the current upgrade and am am planning the next one already.

Thanks!

[AJ_Tsin]

Damn you!

I read your LED thread as I have the same issue with my pendant.. Btw what make is yours?

Then I watched your video. Now I've read your thread.

And now I have to have a rimless shallow which I had no interest in before this. And I'm upgrading my AIO tank next weekend to another AIO so now I have no passion in the current upgrade and am am planning the next one already.

Thanks!

 

 

Ha. Well unfortunately thats the best/worst thing about this hobby. GL with the upgrade. Keep us posted. You could buy a rimless also? I have an Ice Cap ballast not sure the brand of the pendant, definitely not a "brand name" type at least I don't think so.

[Fiji NanoReefer]

Unbelivable Ur tank has rly become a huge inspiration

Tryin to imagine this tank with about 4 AI LEDs above it

wow now that would take it to epic status

[AJ_Tsin]

Unbelivable Ur tank has rly become a huge inspiration

Tryin to imagine this tank with about 4 AI LEDs above it

wow now that would take it to epic status

 

I am actually in the process of either building or buying an LED Array.

 

Dunno if I can afford 4 AI's right now though.

[Billdemart]

Love the LED moonlight upgrade. Very cool. Wish I could do stuff like that.

[AJ_Tsin]

Love the LED moonlight upgrade. Very cool. Wish I could do stuff like that.

 

It was actually very easy. More so finding the right stuff to buy was the difficult part.

 

Try it you will be surprised.

[Fiji NanoReefer]

Ya the AIs are expensive but the new model they have is even more powerful and is rly somtin

You could get away with three or maybe two up high but u have sps so I don't think so haha

[AJ_Tsin]

Ya the AIs are expensive but the new model they have is even more powerful and is rly somtin

You could get away with three or maybe two up high but u have sps so I don't think so haha

 

They claim they are as powerful as a 250 watt halide. If this is true I could use just one. Can anyone confirm this 1 AI = 250 Halide?

 

Either way I love the design of this light and the controller is a huge plus.

[Fiji NanoReefer]

Yes the usuable light and PAR is on point with a 250w MH or near close but I say two or three units because the light spread is not that of a MH but the higher you raise them the more spread you get

 

I have followed AI for some time and just dont have the money to buy. But they are amazing

and if coupled with a GHL profilux you really get cool features aka

-storm simulation

-cloud cover

[AJ_Tsin]

Yes the usuable light and PAR is on point with a 250w MH or near close but I say two or three units because the light spread is not that of a MH but the higher you raise them the more spread you get

 

I have followed AI for some time and just dont have the money to buy. But they are amazing

and if coupled with a GHL profilux you really get cool features aka

-storm simulation

-cloud cover

 

Well I could definitely get away with 1 unit then because my water is soo shallow It doesn't take much to penetrate.

 

I have priced Evils suggestions for a DIY LED setup. It is almost the exact same as a AI unit and the AI looks awesome and comes with a controller etc. Maybe I should just buy an AI unit?

[Fiji NanoReefer]

That is true cause of ur water level is nice and low

u can always upgrade down the road

I think you could get the light to spread over the whole tank if it was high but 30x30 is a big footprint to cover

 

just thoughts tryin to help you out Either way the tank is incredible

[AJ_Tsin]

That is true cause of ur water level is nice and low

u can always upgrade down the road

I think you could get the light to spread over the whole tank if it was high but 30x30 is a big footprint to cover

 

just thoughts tryin to help you out Either way the tank is incredible

 

Well thanks for the help and the input it's great.

 

Cheers.

 

Either way in the next few months this cube will be lit by LEDs.

[Fiji NanoReefer]

Very cool can't wait to see

 

also u should look at the new contoller ecotech marine has for that mp10 of urs

check there website

it looks pretty cool

[PIPS]

"Daddy, when I grow up. I want to be the OP's tank"

I cant get enough of this tank !!

[timdanger]

The entire upgrade (lights and transformer) cost me $55 CAN as opposed to the $99+tax I would have spent on a clunky LED strip light. A light I would have had to hang somehow polluting the aesthetics of my rimless setup. I think the Current USA ones are definitely brighter than these so it isn't a 100 percent replacement, but for something like a moonlight or dim actinics for those of you who just have pendants this is a perfect fix You could also add several more bulbs as they have tubes, strips, squares etc of leds. Cant say I would ever put something like this on my car but they work great in this case.

 

very creative upgrade -- i'm impressed with this, and the results look perfect.