JMCollins24 Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 It's been almost 6 months since I took down my 20H, but I couldn't resist starting up a new tank. After lurking for a while I thought I wanted a pico, then I thought about a Fluval edge, but I have big hands and that little hole would suck to work with... so this is how I ended up with a 10 gallon. I loved my 20H, but I wanted something a little smaller that I could put on my desk and stare at while I'm supposed to be studying. I saw several threads about de-rimming standard AGA tanks, so I thought I would give it a shot. Hardware 10 Gallon Aqueon AGA tank [De-rimmed]Aquaclear (Now Fluval brand) 50- 200 GPH Marinland Maxi-Jet 400 [circulation pump] Koralia Nano 425 Light LEDTRiC Par38 Full Spectrum Bulb/ IKEA Hanging kit<br /> Inside the glass-box 12.5 lbs Fiji Live Rock<br />2" Sandbed Livestock 1 Fancy Ocellaris Clownfish- Kikko</p>1 Black Ocellaris Clownfish- Currently Un-NamedSeveral Snails (Cerith, Nassarius Vibex etc.) 3 Reef Safe Hermits (reefcleaners.org)3 Peppermint Shrimp (who seem to love hands!) Coral Green Torch</p>Green and Purple FrogspawnRadioactive Dragon Eyes (Zoanthids)Eagle Eyes (Zoanthids)Blue Polyps (Zoanthids)Gorilla Nipples (Zoanthids)Green MushroomsFuzzy Green MushroomsCandycanesToadstool LeatherOrange/Yellow PalysAcan (not sure what type yet) Full Tank Shots 12.17.12 10 Gallon AGA [before removing the rim] Work in progress...Tools TA-DA! Derimmed, but covered in ENORMOUS globs of silicone.. Cleaned up! Leak TestLet there be SAND! ...I forgot to take pictures of me painting the back of the tank black... but as you can see... I did! Sand Storm... Location, Location, Location...Cleared Up!Close-up of Rockscape... Link to comment
Julian_blnc Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Liking the progress, keep us posted Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 Liking the progress, keep us posted Looking good! Thanks! Link to comment
BoCoMo Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 I'm really digging that scape! Did you use two different types of substrate? That last pic looks like there may be two layers. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 I'm really digging that scape! Did you use two different types of substrate? That last pic looks like there may be two layers. Hey, thanks! It's just a sand bottom (looks like two layers, but it's just from a shadow in the picture) and two larger pieces of live rock... I think each rock weighs about 6.5-7 lbs. I'm still not sure how I feel about the scape because of the tunnel and the shadows it's casting underneath.. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 looks great so far! And the tunnel is great, I'd leave it! Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 looks great so far! And the tunnel is great, I'd leave it! Thanks! I think I'm going to leave it for a while and maybe put some lower light softies close to there... Still undecided about this Par 38/ DIY LED business... Any recommendations are always welcome! Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Damselfish (Regal Demoiselle, AKA Eddy) is gone since he was a little too aggressive... I've replaced him with a new clown that I've named Ginger (Gingey for short..) I'm thinking she's a juvenile black onyx true perc. (if my research is right...) but I'm going to post some pictures soon for ID help. If she is what I think she is, I scored an awesome deal on her! My tank is a little cloudy now from moving rocks around to get the damsel out... So far Ginger and Wasabi are getting along great Link to comment
TristanC Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 About the light recommendations, if a par 38 is what you are after you could look into LEDTRiC, i am running one of there par 38 full spectrum bulbs and even though my tank is still cycling the color is fantastic. I also believe they are having some type of "black friday" sale. The lights are not too bad $$ wise. Just a recommendation. If you had extra money to burn an AI sol nano could be nice, dimmable/controllable. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 About the light recommendations, if a par 38 is what you are after you could look into LEDTRiC, i am running one of there par 38 full spectrum bulbs and even though my tank is still cycling the color is fantastic. I also believe they are having some type of "black friday" sale. The lights are not too bad $$ wise. Just a recommendation. If you had extra money to burn an AI sol nano could be nice, dimmable/controllable. I would love an AI Sol, but that's a little further down the road... I'm kind of thinking to go the Par38 direction because the thought of soldering something scares me more and more... I'm sure I'll end up with some crazy burns... Link to comment
TristanC Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I would love an AI Sol, but that's a little further down the road... I'm kind of thinking to go the Par38 direction because the thought of soldering something scares me more and more... I'm sure I'll end up with some crazy burns... Ha ha ha, well id say you should check out ledtric, really well made bulbs, and the color is great. This is my first par 38 bulb so i dont have many other recommendations other than the one i ended up with. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Ha ha ha, well id say you should check out ledtric, really well made bulbs, and the color is great. This is my first par 38 bulb so i dont have many other recommendations other than the one i ended up with. Yeah the more research I do, the more I'm leaning toward the Par38's. I like the simplicity and the fact that I can pretty much set it up and go. Thanks for the input.. Your build looks awesome so far! Link to comment
TristanC Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Thanks! I think your scape will look real nice once you get some coral in there. Its very unique, and i like that. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thanks! I think your scape will look real nice once you get some coral in there. Its very unique, and i like that. Thanks! Still haven't bought a PAR38 bulb yet, but I'm starting to really lean to DIY LEDs since I found the MakersLED kit... anyone have any opinions about them or used them before? I've tried to search for some threads but I've found minimal results... Link to comment
danimal1211 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 +1 on the ledtric. I'd opt for wider optics or none at all. I Still get a bit of disco ball with the 60 degree. But the color is great. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thanks! Still haven't bought a PAR38 bulb yet, but I'm starting to really lean to DIY LEDs since I found the MakersLED kit... anyone have any opinions about them or used them before? I've tried to search for some threads but I've found minimal results... I'm not the biggest fan of the Maker's, but it certainly does look nice and is relatively easy to put together. I put one together last night for my algae scrubber. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 So I think my tank has cycled!! I tested again today and for the second consecutive day gotten the same test results.. 0 Amm, 0 Nitrites, 10ppm Nitrates... My nitrates are high so I'm going to do a water change tomorrow, but I'm excited that it's cycled so soon... I guess that's what quality liverock etc will get you Needless to say I'm going to wait about a week before I start adding some corals and I'm going to order my LEDTRiC Par38 bulb on Friday! Looking forward to all the things to come... As soon as I pull out my camera, I'm going to try to get some pictures of my 2 clowns... Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Good and Bad news... Good news is I ordered my LEDTRiC Full spectrum par38 on Friday, so it should be here soon!! Bad news is that my juvenile black occy was found dead from a puncture wound(had to have been killed by ginger ) RIP Wasabi! I tested for an ammonia spike, but there wasn't any and I still changed out about 50% of the tank volume which helped my nitrates fall from 10 to around 5ish. I also added a koralia nano (425 GPH) until I can get my hands on a MP-10... Oh, and I changed the rockscape a little bit so there's more room for circulation around the rocks and for coral growth in the future... Anyhow, I'll add pictures as soon as I can... Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 My LEDTRiC PAR38 came in the other day and I couldn't be happier! I ordered it with 90o optics, but I have to change out the current ones it shipped with (60o I think?) Anyhow, the shimmer is awesome and the colors are amazing! The pictures make it look really blue, but in person that's not the case, it looks awesome! To hang the light I bought a $5 HEMMA cord set from IKEA and hung it with the provided hooks and by drilling a small hole in the ceiling and inserting and anchor to screw the hooks into. I think with my cycled tank and my new bulb being installed, it's time to go coral shopping! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Looks great! You can also use the optics on it already, just hang it higher up. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Looks great! You can also use the optics on it already, just hang it higher up. Thanks man! Do you think adding the 90 degree optics, it would give it a little better spread? I don't want to start having too much light spill, but I just don't want it to be too intense toward the middle either... Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Looks great! I like that it's hung from the ceiling. Sorry, can't advise you on the optics, but Benny is the expert, do what he says. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Thanks man! Do you think adding the 90 degree optics, it would give it a little better spread? I don't want to start having too much light spill, but I just don't want it to be too intense toward the middle either... It will give it better spread, yes, but so will hanging it higher. The optics focus down the light into a 60 degree cone under each LED, but 80% of the light each puts out is in the first half of that cone - so 30 degrees. That's why it doesn't seem to have much spread. Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 It will give it better spread, yes, but so will hanging it higher. The optics focus down the light into a 60 degree cone under each LED, but 80% of the light each puts out is in the first half of that cone - so 30 degrees. That's why it doesn't seem to have much spread. Awesome! Well I will be unmounting and hanging it a little higher today then... any idea on the best way to acclimate corals to these kind of bulbs? Looks great! I like that it's hung from the ceiling. Sorry, can't advise you on the optics, but Benny is the expert, do what he says. Thanks for the nice words! Link to comment
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