Chase's 8.4 gallon LED Pico

[racechase]

Welcome to my 8 gallon AIO thread! After a brief hiatus from reefing for my freshman college experience, I'm back! My first go with this tank(pgs 1-15.5) ended up plagued by flatworms, bryopsis, and a broken collar bone. My most recent version is well underway. Check back here for updates!

 

List o' equipment

• 14"x14"x10" Advance Acrylics AIO (very awesome craftsmanship)
  Custom Cree LED, 3 CW 4 RB
  Various pumps and a heater
  Reefcleaners.org base rock
  Live sand from The Ocean
  

 

List o' important dates

• Filled with rock and sand, 5/27/11
  Reefcleaners CUC added, 6/1/11
  First coral added, 6/8/11
  Stopped skimming 6/19/11
  

 

FTS as of 5/25/11, gotta love the sailboat

 

[FishFreak77]

Looks like you will have yourself a nice tank in the future. Good luck and I will be interested in how the tank turns out.

[racechase]

Thank you

 

No silicon AC 70 mod!

 

[racechase]

Okay guys I'm not really sold on this T5 fixture (havent bought it yet thank gawd)... I'm being tempted by the evil (literally) PAR 38 LED. How much better is it than the T5 (with 30W T5 V-HO UVL bulbs) ?

[CL_]

cool.

[rickjg]

Okay guys I'm not really sold on this T5 fixture (havent bought it yet thank gawd)... I'm being tempted by the evil (literally) PAR 38 LED. How much better is it than the T5 (with 30W T5 V-HO UVL bulbs) ?

 

I think the jury is still out on the current crop of LED's in general and I have not been running my PAR 38 over corals much yet, so I can't say for sure. The new T-5 ULV lamps with internal reflectors look to be a good deal. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=2543364

[racechase]

I think the jury is still out on the current crop of LED's in general and I have not been running my PAR 38 over corals much yet, so I can't say for sure. The new T-5 ULV lamps with internal reflectors look to be a good deal. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=2543364

 

Hmph, I love T5, so many colors to choose from. Will the 18W fixture actually put out 30W of light? or whats going on there...

[racechase]

Hmph, I love T5, so many colors to choose from. Will the 18W fixture actually put out 30W of light? or whats going on there...

 

Jk, I found the answer...

 

While you may be "forced" to buy them, it's not like there is a better alternative out there. These are 80% higher wattage than the Current bulbs. They will still be running at 18/20W in the Nova fixtures though. They can be run higher with a different ballast.

 

So would 18W T5 V-HO with individual and internal bulb reflectors be sufficient for Acro's? (provided my tank was ideal for them)

[Mr. Microscope]

I don't know how much better the PAR38 is in terms of output, but I like it. It's very strong! You have to be careful not to bleach your corals. One of my favorite parts about it is the life of LEDs. At 12 hours/day, you could run it for 11.4 years (50,000+ hours). After that, they are supposed to run at 80%, which is still good output. Depending on your optics, you could keep just about any coral you want. Even clams are doable. The only thing I wish the PAR38 had was dimmers, but you won't find that on T5s either. Keep in mind though, that I have only had my PAR for a couple of months. I agree that the nanotuners T5s look like a great deal.

Awesome ship BTW. Did you build it? I've been meaning to do one of those.

[racechase]

Not gona lie I've seen your sig around but never bothered to click on it cuz idk WTF is going on in that thing

 

Yeah that bulb life is freeakin ridic, its a tough decision.

 

I bought the ship back in the 90's I think, I was like 7 and wouldn't leave the store until my mom bought it lol

[Mr. Microscope]

Not gona lie I've seen your sig around but never bothered to click on it cuz idk WTF is going on in that thing

D'oh! Haha! Oops. It's supposed to draw you in. I hope it's not turning people off.

[racechase]

Wait, how long did you wait for your PAR38?!

[Mr. Microscope]

A very long time, but they were on back order. Check on the nanotuners/nanocustoms threads. They usually post when they are running out of stock. Unfortunately, they ran out the day I ordered mine. So, I had to wait for it to come over on a boat from their manufacturer in China. I think it was something like 7 or 8 weeks (I have the exact number in my thread somewhere), but I doubt you'd have to wait that long. Most get theirs in normal shipping time.

[Bill Nye]

I would also think about 70 watt MH for a 5.5g. Thats what I run over my 5.5 and its pretty awesome. I am a huge fan of Metal Halide though. I hang it 8 inches over the tank and have no heat issues. People have alot of luck with the Fish Need It fixtures and they are pretty cheap. I have an older Retrofit kit but it still works great.

[racechase]

Gotcha Mr. Micro! Thanks for the tips

 

@Bill, I'd go MH but I think I'll be taking this tank to college and UF prohibits "halogen" lights, and I think that means MH?

[rickjg]

One of my favorite parts about it is the life of LEDs. At 12 hours/day, you could run it for 11.4 years (50,000+ hours).

That is until the next round of the "best" new light come out. I'm sure there will be better lighting in the next couple of years, whether it's improved LED's or something else we are not using yet.

[Bill Nye]

Gotcha Mr. Micro! Thanks for the tips

 

@Bill, I'd go MH but I think I'll be taking this tank to college and UF prohibits "halogen" lights, and I think that means MH?

 

 

ooooh ya haha. You are lucky your college even lets you have a fish tank. When I was in college and living in the dorms there was a no pet policy. But ya I would imagine that they would have a problem with Metal Halide.

 

I was doing some research on LED before I found a bulb that would not buzz in my old MH ballast. I have heard mixed results on LED but it would be the most convenient for your situation. I was all pumped about LED's and even msged mr microscope about his but then after some more reading I was seeing people disappointed with them. I would probably wait till nanocustoms comes out with their new 12 inch T5 set ups before I made a decision if you have that much time. Depending on the availability of bulbs for it, that might be a pretty sweet light for a 5.5.

[doug105]

Gotcha Mr. Micro! Thanks for the tips

 

@Bill, I'd go MH but I think I'll be taking this tank to college and UF prohibits "halogen" lights, and I think that means MH?

 

Technically they are not the same...the halogens are like 500w inefficient, yellow light, heat producing monsters.

 

The bulbs are double ended and cost about 3 bucks at home depot. They are implicated in lots of fires, so

that's probably why they are prohibited at UF.

 

Again, they aren't the same thing as Metal halides.

 

DougN

[Mr. Microscope]

That is until the next round of the "best" new light come out. I'm sure there will be better lighting in the next couple of years, whether it's improved LED's or something else we are not using yet.

Haha! Isn't that the truth.

[Bill Nye]

Technically they are not the same...the halogens are like 500w inefficient, yellow light, heat producing monsters.

 

The bulbs are double ended and cost about 3 bucks at home depot. They are implicated in lots of fires, so

that's probably why they are prohibited at UF.

 

Again, they aren't the same thing as Metal halides.

 

DougN

 

 

While they arent the same thing...I think when his RA walks around doing room inspections and sees a glowing behemoth they arent going to be to picky on the definition between halogen and MH. Honestly they would bust us for having too many daisy chains of power cords going on.

[rickjg]

While they arent the same thing...I think when his RA walks around doing room inspections and sees a glowing behemoth they arent going to be to picky on the definition between halogen and MH. Honestly they would bust us for having too many daisy chains of power cords going on.

The PAR 38 might be the best option for dorm life, mainly because of the low heat/low power consuption, and the "wow" factor of LED doesn't hurt.

[racechase]

Thanks for all of the comical, but helpful, input guys I think MH is out for sure, but I still can't decide between T5 and LED. I've always been a fan of customizability (oh yeah I made that up) with the T5's so I can find the right color I want. I think with LED I'm stuck with what get whether I like it or not But LED's do last a long time and are pretty efficient. I don't know, I have a day or two to decide

[racechase]

I found a nassarius snail hitching on my rock!

 

Edit: I found a tiny scarlet hermit too!

[Mr. Microscope]

If you DIY your LEDs and set them up on different dimmers, you can tune in any color you want. Also, I'd be surprised if that was a nassarius. They tend to stay in the sand. I've never seen one on rocks. Are you sure it's not a stomatella?

[racechase]

I'm not one for DIY, thats waay outa my scope

 

Pics.. I think its a nassarius, no? He was moving around the bottom of the bucket but when I put everything in the tank he fell on the rock.