1st Time Nano BC 14g (Now with LED's)

[autopro]

So I had been in the hobby for a while until I had to take down my 72g bowfront about a year ago. I was starting to build my house and had big plans for a bigger and better tank. I wanted a rimless shallow tank, even bought a light fixture and other equipment for it in anticipation. Several things came up during the building of my house that made those plans be put on hold and made me have to tear down the 72g.

 

 

Now I have been living in my new house for about 2 months even though it’s not finished 100% yet. It seems like an endless list of things that need to get done. The rimless tank will have to be put on hold for a while but I do have a 14g BioCube that I have been itching to set up. I did keep some things from my old tank that I will be using for this one.

I started working on the rock work yesterday and here are some pics of what I have been doing:

 

 

I drilled holes in two pieces of rock so that I will be able to join them together with pieces from a plastic coat hanger to make more of the type of structure that I want. I am doing this because I would like to place a shrimp and goby pair and I do not want them to topple the rock work.

 

 

This is how they come together when they are joined

 

 

Aside from the piece of coat hanger, I placed 2 part epoxy putty and expanding foam to help keep them together. This makes for a very strong joint.

 

 

 

This way I made most of the rock structures. I also placed pieces of coat hanger on the bottom so that the rocks will not be sitting on the sand itself thus elevating them a little bit.

 

 

Here are my rock structures complete. I will have 3 structures so in case I have to take them out it will be easy to do.

 

I have already done the basic modifications to my tank which are:

• Replaced stock pump with a Maxi-Jet 900

• Y-fitting with a Hydor Flo on the outlet

• Removed internal baffles from chambers 1 and 2

• Scraped the paint off from the back panel behind chamber #2 for a light so I can use it as a fuge and place cheto in there.

• Blocked all but 3 of the lower intake slots on chamber #1 with a piece of plastic that I superglued on there. I only put a couple of drops on opposite corners just in case I need to remove it.

• Removed all filters and sponges.

• Cut the tab from chamber 1 to chamber 2 to increase the flow

[MGDMIRAGE]

Sounds like a great plan!

[GOODgREEF]

Your 72 Bow looked very nice

[blizzardscout2]

Your 72bow looked great! Sorry you had to tear it down, this should keep you busy for awhile though. I like your rock work. I almost wish I had done something like that to give height to my rock structure. You are off to a great start!

[autopro]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm glad you like it. I have been busy trying to finish my rock work and today I was able to set it all up. I used (2) 5lbs bags of CaribSea Ocean Direct, 1 original grade and the other Oolite. Here are some pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we just have to wait out the cycle!

[Treo360]

Wow awesome, I can't wait to see what it looks like as you progress forward. I only wish that I came to this site when I first setup my cube. I'ld love to block off the bottom intake slits, but it's already established. Perhaps later if I need to do a massive water change.

[fiddly_foo]

Nice Really like the rock work ,what light system is it gonna be, and are you gonna have sps or lps or a mix. But I cant wait to see the month by month progress on this BC14 and that bow front was nice......

[benoitcdc]

Nice rockscape. I can't wait to see how it develops!

[autopro]

Treo360:

 

I imagine if you don't have any rocks in front of that you could probably still block it, you don't necessarily need to glue it in place.

 

fiddly_foo

 

It will be LPS, I tried to keep SPS in my old system but never had good success and growth was slow at best. Some of my corals are still with some friends and I am itching to get them into this tank. I keep telling myself I have to be patient.

 

Water is super clear now and I am really liking how simple and efficient the system is. Had a small diatom break out but it is going away now.

 

benoitcdc:

 

Thanks!

[autopro]

After reading all the great threads on the LED retrofit I decided to take the plunge. I want to thank all that created all of those awesome threads.

 

Basically I had a stock BioCube 14g. and I want to keep some of the more light demanding corals and hopefully a clam. I also wanted to get the shimmer and much better color out of my corals than the stock lighting was able to provide.

 

My project included the following items:

 

• (6) CREE XR-E White LED’s (XREWHT-LI-0000-00D02 BIN #WG-Q5) http://www.etgtech.com/

• (6) CREE XR-E ROYAL BLUE LED’S (XREROY-LI-0000-00A0I BIN #D3) http://www.etgtech.com/

• (2) 1000Ma BuckPuck with Potentiometer (3023-D-E-1000P) http://ledsupply.com/03023-d-e-1000p.php

• (1) Heatsink 8.5” x 5” http://heatsinkusa.com/

• (2) MPJA Potrans 6.5A 24v power supply (FS -15024-1M) http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17436+PS

• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste http://www.frys.com/product/3820817?site=s...CH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

• 4-40 Tap and Drill Bits

• (4) Computer power cords

• 18 AWG stranded wire (several colors)

• 4-40 Stainless Steel Screws

• #4 Nylon Washers

• Connectors (male and female pairs)

 

Template and Wiring Diagram:

 

 

I laid out my template over the heatsink so that I could mark with a punch where I had to drill the holes to mount the LED’s. Notice how some of the LED’s are rotated so that the wiring does not get kinked up and has a better flow to them.

 

 

 

Here they are after I drilled and taped all the holes in the heatsink. Remember to use some cutting oil when drilling and tapping and to go slow, that way you can avoid breaking bitts and taps. When tapping the holes for threads and you notice that it starts to get difficult to turn all you have to do is give it a half turn back and then keep going slowly.

 

 

I screwed down my LED’s with the template in place so that I could follow the wiring diagram I had previously made. This allowed me to get the correct wire lengths and to also not screw up the wiring. Notice you have to go from positive to negative connections on the LED’s. It is a good idea to pre-tin all your wires and the pads on the LED’s, that way when you go to solder the wire to the LED it will make life easier. Use a good soldering iron, the one I used was a 40w Weller model and it worked quite well.

 

[autopro]

I used some old computer power cords that I had laying around to power up my power supplies and the BuckPucks

 

 

Here they are all wired up, excuse the use of tape but I ran out of electrical connectors so I had to improvise just to test them out. Thermal paste was used on each of the LED’s prior to screwing them down with the 4-40 stainless steel screws and #4 nylon washers. I used 2 power supplies so that I could have the blues and the whites on different lighting schedules. All I can say is wow, these things are supper bright and I love that you can control the different color temperatures through the use of the potentiometers. These things are awesome!

 

 

 

For the brackets to mount the Heatsink to the hood is used some old aluminum paint chip samples. Drilled a couple of holes to match the mounting posts on the hood and then another couple of holes on the sides to attach to the Heatsink.

 

 

 

 

On the Heatsink I also drilled and tapped the holes for the mounting screws. You can also see in this picture that I left most of the stock wiring inside the hood and the moon lights. I did this so that I would still have power for the stock fans (I will take them out soon and replace with a bigger fan) and I wanted to keep the stock moon lights. I drilled a couple of holes on the back of the hood to get the wires from the power supplies to the BuckPucks. The BuckPucks are in there in that whole mess of wires. The potentiometers where mounted to the back of the hood, you can see the yellow and grey wires running to the back (sorry but I don’t have a picture of the mounting, will take one later).

 

 

 

 

 

The way I have it set up now allows me to have my moon lights on all the time, I can also control the on off time of the blues and whites independently. Blues come on 1 hour before and go off 1 hour after the whites and my fans come on with the blues.

[benoitcdc]

Wow, nice. Can't wait to see it once its one the tank.

[autopro]

Here is the picture of the hood installed back on the tank

 

 

I mounted the potentiometers on the back of the hood so the kids would be less able to play with them.

 

 

 

Royal Blues Only

 

 

Full bright on both the Royal Blues and Whites, first picture without flash and second with flash. When I have the hood up I can light up my whole living room, they are that bright!

 

 

[plainrt]

nice work.When ever i see this led cubes i wanna build one lol.So cool

[MGDMIRAGE]

Excellent work on the LEDs looks beautiful!

[autopro]

nice work.When ever i see this led cubes i wanna build one lol.So cool

 

 

You should, with all the excellent resourses found here they are really not that difficult to do, and they are waaaay cool!

 

Excellent work on the LEDs looks beautiful!

 

Thanks, I will get some tank pictures up tonight for you guy's to see.

 

 

 

Corals or an MP10???

 

I am debating getting a Vortech MP10 for my tank. I feel I need a bit more flow than what I currently have. I can either buy and MP10 or I can buy a Koralia 1 and use the rest of the money to buy different Acans.

 

I need your help to decide this; do you feel that the MP10 is worth the money for such a small tank???

[bonese]

I really like the LED set up you have going there, very clean and nicely done with labels and everything. Great work!

 

For the MP-10, Are you planning to keep SPS or just LPS? Personally, I have the mp-10 on my NC 24 and I love it. However I am running a all SPS reef so the flow is a definate for me, it really dpeneds what you want to keep. If youre keeping LPS just get a K2 and some more corals.

[treygarz]

Nice set up! What would you estimate is the color of the leds? 14k or 20k? And roughly how much did it cost you to set it up. I would love to add the hood back on to my tank but still want the brightness!

[stvjohnsn]

I have an MP10 and a Maxijet 900 (return) on my BC14 and as of now it's too much flow. I actually have the MP10 off most of the time, and when its on it's turned all the way down. I have three very small fish and just a few corals in the sand though...so once I get it stocked it should be fine. Right now with the MP10 on, the juvi percs are really struggling to stay in their adopted hammer frag.

[benoitcdc]

Autopro,

 

That is absolutly amazing. That is one awsome project. It looks very clean and professionally done. Thank you for laying out your project step by step and for including the pictures of each step. I think I could follow your instructions and make one myself. Thanks

[static213]

Nice work picture of the tank with the leds on

[autopro]

I really like the LED set up you have going there, very clean and nicely done with labels and everything. Great work!

 

For the MP-10, Are you planning to keep SPS or just LPS? Personally, I have the mp-10 on my NC 24 and I love it. However I am running a all SPS reef so the flow is a definate for me, it really dpeneds what you want to keep. If youre keeping LPS just get a K2 and some more corals.

 

 

Yes, I am planing on keeping some SPS and I also feel that the tank needs more flow. I will eventually upgradeand I am sure I can still use this pump on the next tank.

 

 

 

Nice set up! What would you estimate is the color of the leds? 14k or 20k? And roughly how much did it cost you to set it up. I would love to add the hood back on to my tank but still want the brightness!

 

 

The good thing about the LED's with potentiometers is that you can get any color you would like. I imagine it goes anywhere from 6500k to 20,000k.

 

Believe me it's super bright, in fact I have to turn down the whites to about 75%. Total cost was around $225.00

 

I have an MP10 and a Maxijet 900 (return) on my BC14 and as of now it's too much flow. I actually have the MP10 off most of the time, and when its on it's turned all the way down. I have three very small fish and just a few corals in the sand though...so once I get it stocked it should be fine. Right now with the MP10 on, the juvi percs are really struggling to stay in their adopted hammer frag.

 

 

Do you feel that it's because you don't have much ock in there? I have a bit more rock than you and even with the 900 in there I still feel that it's not enough flow.

 

Autopro,

 

That is absolutly amazing. That is one awsome project. It looks very clean and professionally done. Thank you for laying out your project step by step and for including the pictures of each step. I think I could follow your instructions and make one myself. Thanks

 

 

Thanks!

 

Nice work picture of the tank with the leds on

 

Thanks, I am working on them. I am not satisfied with the ones I took so I need to retake them.

[Maddevil1]

I have an MP10 and a Maxijet 900 (return) on my BC14 and as of now it's too much flow. I actually have the MP10 off most of the time, and when its on it's turned all the way down. I have three very small fish and just a few corals in the sand though...so once I get it stocked it should be fine. Right now with the MP10 on, the juvi percs are really struggling to stay in their adopted hammer frag.

 

Yes I have to agree with this. My MP10 is at 20-30% for now and I have the hydor flo to mix things up. It will come in handy once the tank gets stocked and SPS are added.

 

Once you start added corals, I would be interested in what % you have the pots for the CW and RB LEDs. I have mine dialed back to 50% each. I was noticing some bleaching with my corals on the sandbed, even on a monti digi, when I had the pots turned up.

[autopro]

Wooohooo my new MP10 showed up right now . Ordered it on Sunday and got it right now, in just 2.5 days, awesome! Thanks to waveguy2 for getting it so fast! I will post some pics of this after I do the install at home tonight.

 

Maybe I should just sneak out of work now

[autopro]

Sexiness!!!!!

 

 

This is what comes in the box

 

 

Installation took all but 5 minutes. Super simple, you just have to make sure that both parts are aligned properly to reduce vibration.

 

 

Here it is running in Lagoon mode

 

 

As soon as I started this pump I could see all kinds of stuff getting stirred up. Even with the Maxi jet 900 and the HydorFlo I could see that there was not enough flow to get to all areas of the tank, especially to the sandbed. With the MP10 I can definitely see the flow, I don’t have it turned all the way down but I would say I have it at about 25% right now. I had to move it around a bit to see where the best position for it was, where I first placed it; it was blowing too hard on some Duncan’s that I have so I moved it around and now it works perfect.

I was playing around with all the different modes but since I did not have that much time I really couldn’t get a feel for them yet. I did like the lagoon mode since it offers a variety of speeds and it is very random, I could see everything in the tank swaying back and forth.

Water was very cloudy before I went to bed but by this morning it looked very clear. I can see now that my maintenance will be greatly reduced since I feel detritus will be kept in suspension longer with this much more flow. Before when I would blast my rocks some of the detritus would float around and then just settle back down on the rocks or sandbed.

The only thing that has bothered me so far with this MP10 is that it is a bit noisy, this even after the fact of following the instructions to reduce vibration and to make sure that both sides where aligned properly. The instructions say that after running it for a week it will quiet down, we shall see.

 

Here is the full tank shot that I had promised.