clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I decided to try the 50/50 CFL mod but worked out an alternate and was able to incorporate the MR11 LEDs also! I had already replaced the Halogens with bright white, 160 lumen, 2.1 watt bulbs. The 50/50s are 10 watt. Not sure if it's too much light but I can control them individually. In fact, the way the LEDs are mounted I can adjust the direction. Nice! I chose Velcro because I got tired of cutting off zip ties! I also realized I need to be able to access/change the bulbs. I will use zips for additional support. Here's a find (for me anyway)! I bought outdoor light sockets. The area where the wires are attached is completely covered in rubber and the socket seals against more rubber when you screw in the bulb. One other nice bonus! Because I kept the 12 volt transformer, I can wire in some blue LEDs no problem. Will post some night shots and maybe one with a wee strip of blue LEDs I have. Has this already been done? Pardon the wiring. It's a prototype! The first three photos are: LED only, CFL only, BOTH! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Very nice. Ive seen a couple of these 50/50 MR11/16 combos but I think you pulled it off the best. Very clean! I would be curious to see if you can support LPS with your setup Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Very nice. Ive seen a couple of these 50/50 MR11/16 combos but I think you pulled it off the best. Very clean! I would be curious to see if you can support LPS with your setup Thanks much! It was a lot of work but a lot of fun tinkering and figuring out. I'm going to get smaller screw nuts or use the heat shrink stuff. Get that mess of stuff on top cleaned up once I'm satisfied with the configuration. Since I'm a newb to SW, what would be a good LPS to try? Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Frogspawn, hammer coral, or torch coral are all pretty easy, pretty common and look pretty good. They seem to be a little more tolerant to lower levels of lighting in my experience. Acans are also a good choice. Usually require a little bit more lighting but it's easy to supplement their diet with mysis, chopped shimp/scallops, etc. Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Frogspawn, hammer coral, or torch coral are all pretty easy, pretty common and look pretty good. They seem to be a little more tolerant to lower levels of lighting in my experience. Acans are also a good choice. Usually require a little bit more lighting but it's easy to supplement their diet with mysis, chopped shimp/scallops, etc. Excellent. Thanks for the suggestions. Frogspawn would be great. Will my clown fish "own" it? Love the Acans! Would love some bold color. Really like the whammin watermelon, too. Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Some night shots... LED only 50/50 only 50/50 only with wall glow. Leaving it open for now. Kind of like it. Can only see the blue...more like lavender. 4&5 - both Pretty interesting! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 It's never a certain thing with clownfish but it seems like if you leave the coral the fish together long enough usually theyll "pair" up. Whammin watermelon are pretty awesome IMO. Relatively cheap and common too. Your tank can definitely handle any zoanthids, palythoas, and mushrooms (check out ricordeas if you havent already! super awesome!) And great looking tank! It's amazing how much upgrading the lighting changes things isnt it Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Thanks again and more excellent suggestions. Yes, the lighting makes ALL the difference. I just dived in though. Next time...heh-heh...I'll have a plan going in. I'm just really happy to finally be trying SW. Love the ricordeas! Just got a couple of small mushrooms...came with some great zoas and another type I think..polythoa? The mushrooms are very interesting. Had them far apart then moved them relatively close. They like to hang together. It's a mushroom thing. Ooooo....bad one! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Nice shrooms! The red one looks like a toadstool like in Mario! Nice watermelons too. If you want you could add a cheap blue LED strip or two to make your corals 'pop' a little bit more. You could use them as moonlights too. I think something like this would work? http://www.amazon.com/Strip-Linkable-Sylva...e/dp/B000IV4F66 Im sure if you search through NR though or just ask on the lighting forum people can point you in the right direction And yea that kinda looks like a young/brown paly. Ive got some new green implosion palys (I think) growing in that look just like that Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 So they are watermelons even if they aren't watermelon color? Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Im pretty sure those are WWM and I think the reason that they dont look 100% color correct is because you dont have too much actinic lighting. If you add some of those blue LED strips I mentioned above itll make your corals fluoresce and all the nice colors will pop out. Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Im pretty sure those are WWM and I think the reason that they dont look 100% color correct is because you dont have too much actinic lighting. If you add some of those blue LED strips I mentioned above itll make your corals fluoresce and all the nice colors will pop out. Makes sense! Want to ID a critter or ??? I think there are two somethings. I'm afraid of bright things because, so far, the are nudibranchs! Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I took your advice and ordered two of these LB4s with 6 LEDs each. They break into 3s but are just over 7 " as is. Perfect for under the hood. Bought a dimmer, too! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Awesome! Be sure to post more pics once you get it up and running... youre starting to make me regret dropping $350 on my nanotuners fixture... Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Will do! I'll bet the nanotuners is SWEET though. This is ending up being LOTS of hours of tinkering. But I like to! Here's the latest with a little rearrange. Took a queue from your amazing reveal after removal of 6 lbs of rock LOVE the combo of LED and 50/50! Btw the cool purplish mushroom moved into the center "cave". Can barely see him. I guess that's what they do. Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Frogspawn, hammer coral, or torch coral are all pretty easy, pretty common and look pretty good. They seem to be a little more tolerant to lower levels of lighting in my experience. OK dude...here we go. I was a little bit under educated about the frogspawn. In particular the stinging sweepers at night. Had it in the middle! He was quite happy there. A little redo and... I think he'll be happy here. How big will his sweepers be right now? Btw, my Duncan is sucked up completely closed. My emerald crab was hanging out cleaning...you know...then he went to the frogspawn! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I think he'll be happy here. How big will his sweepers be right now? Not sure how big the sweepers are, Ive actually never seen mine or had any troubles with them so I cant really say. And looks good but I would keep an eye on to make sure it stays happy. I know my corners are a little darker than the rest of my tank but you have some 50/50 bulbs which seem to have more spread so Im not exactly sure... Tank looks great btw! Cant wait to see it with the blue LEDs Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 I didn't worry about the sweepers at first but they come out at night according to everything I read. Didn't hear about shipment of the LEDs. Hmmm...better check. I ended up dropping $35 on the stuff. The 12V transformer and the dimmer made up 75%! It's very enjoyable and engrossing...and sad and frustrating... Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 And here are the blue LEDs! From superbriteleds. Parts with transformer and dimmer - $35 Really, really like being able to night view, boost color, see the florescence! These aren't waterproof (of course) so thought about clear coat. Not. Used electrical tape and sealed them beautifully. This is a 7" with six LEDs that snaps in half. Link to comment
clayphx Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Tank looks great btw! Cant wait to see it with the blue LEDs OK. Here we go! These were taken with my iPhone. Might try a real camera for better detail. They do not do the lighting justice plus the dimmer is awesome! Link to comment
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