TinyGiant Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I figured I would start a thread for my 33L system. Its been setup for about a week now. I have sand, water and rock from an established system. So it was ready to go from day one. right now it just has some cheato and a percula clown. I ordered my GU10 bulbs to do my LED build so for now it just has a regular incandescent bulb over it since there really isnt anything in the tank that really needs any light. Water is crystal clear and ready for some frags. I started Working on the Lighting build. I'll post that in a little bit. here is the lighting so far: I recently setup a 33L in the basement for use as a frag tank and I wanted to run the same GU10 lights on the frag tank as I do on the display so I wont have any differences in growth and color in both systems. I decided i would try making a light "tube this time around to use some left over pvc I had kicking around. I started with measuring and marking every two inches, starting after the first inch) I measured out enough to place 20 bulbs total on the tube. Next i used a 1" hole saw to drill out all the holes. I waned these to basically countersink the LEDs so all that would be visible would be the heatsinks and maybe a little of the bulb neck. So i drilled the tube to look like this: Next I took a piece of corner molding and slid it into the tube and marked the center on each drilled hole. This way i could screw down the sockets to line up perfectly inside the tube. I wired them parallel but connecting them chained to eachother.. maybe later i will diagram that out for you or take a picture when i do the rest of them. One they are secrured and wired I plan to slide the trim back in tube and make sure its lined up: Then just insert the bulbs here is another view My plan is to hopefully be able to just attach it to an arm at the end but i feel it will probably sag to one side. So i might just hang it from the ceiling. Or make a bracket to hang from the back of the tank. Not sure yet.. but I figured i would share the build so far **** Update: Okay.. I finished the lighting construction today. Still needs paint.. but its done otherwise. I have a cut piece of pvc holding up the other end while the glue sets further. There is a little bit of a bend to the pipe because the bulbs are heavier than i thought they would be.. So I might continue it to the other side and go up and over.. or I might just run a wire from the end to the ceiling for extra support. But overall I am stoked to finally have this done. I have a total of 20 3w gu10s over the tank now. 10 white and 10 blue. I love the color probably close to 12-14k not too blue and not too white. The wires run through the PVC and down into the stand to a power strip. Super streamline. Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 couple quick pics of the tank as it sits right now. Currently the basement is taken over with my bands gear for practice space. btw the stand the tank is on is actually a 60" stand for a 120g. A friend down the street from me replaced this stand with a sturdier oak one for his 75g. I grabbed this one for free and its sturdy as a rock.. Everything sits nice and even too .. didnt even need to shim anything cant wait to get the ball rolling. Hopefully my LED sockets will arrive tomorrow Link to comment
Evanski9 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hey tiny how much you get this tank for. I'm looking for one. You can pm me. So just I know the price range. Can't find one in so cal :/ Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 I actually traded a 250w ebo jager heater and a teal Paly rock for it. .. but the petco $1/gal sale should apply to it.. Link to comment
Evanski9 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Man in Cali Percocet sucks all they have is 10 and 20g lmao. Could you drill that sucker Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 33L could definitely be drilled. its the same thickness as the 55g. its a rugged little tank Link to comment
Evanski9 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 That's what I'm talking about. Gotta find me one of these. Id de rim that sucker. It be sick Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 thinking i just might.. and might euro brace the sides for good measure. I have plenty of glass and silicone kicking around Link to comment
Evanski9 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hmm maybe you wouldn't have to. If you wanted to sleep sound at night ya! Lmao Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 updated the first post with new lighting pics here is a video Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 NIce, I like that Video, nice clean color.. so since this tank is just 12 high you can just use 1 row of lights.. but 2 rows would be good for deeper tanks? Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 I had this same amount on my 55g. but added a couple more to get around my columns. these are perfectly fine for deeper tanks. I would say go 1 solid row for every 12" of width.. so a 4x24 (foot print) would take two rows.. where something that has only a 12" foot print would take one row. These new lights from this new seller are very bright. makes me think about swapping some out with the upstairs tank Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 new seller? GU10 3Watt 3x1W Epistar from luckzdl2008? is the any reason for having the lights hung up high over the water? color mixing ect? just wondering, cause I wanna have mine no more than 5" above water Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 With 30 deg optics is best to go a little higher so you don't get it a laser beaming and yes on that seller Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 With 30 deg optics is best to go a little higher so you don't get it a laser beaming and yes on that seller your using royal blue ( 460nm ) and cool white 6000-6500K on your frag tank? Link to comment
Evanski9 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 What's the color combo Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 so excited lol, I just made my order. Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 schaweeet! I moved half of my frags from my frag rack to the 33L today. Figured i would see how they do after a week an then move the rest of the frags down there.. there are a few frags I'm scared to move.. like my ora red planet acro, blood challice, jason fox monti setosa.. etc.. so i might settle with a tiny frag rack for a little bit until i know everything is doing really well in the basement setup Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 very nice. your corals look very good. Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 thanks. the frags I moved downstairs were open fully within 5 min.. so changes are everything will be fine down there.. i'm just being cautious Link to comment
boxboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 haha, my corals wont open for days now.. did a few water changes and all tests show things are good. caint wait for new light now, I will set them up and watch the corals love it lol. Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 more pics I moved half of my frags to the system today. crappy cell pics. Link to comment
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