Drilled and sumped 8 gallon

[Dnanoreefer]

I actually forgot about rapidled! I want to use the halide for around 5-6 hours, than the led strip with a 20k color for 2-3 hrs after halide goes off. I like the halide and am not goin full led.. But to get some more color pop for the last 3 hrs or so would be cool. I'm just kicking the idea around.. He'll I don't even have any coral yet so it don't matter.

I also want a clean look. The current trulumen strip would look pretty clean with a couple mounting ideas I have.

 

I don't think I need more par.. I can put the halide 4" from the water surface and it's rediculous.. It would fry anything.

[Reefkid88]

What kelvin bulb do you have now ? Looks almost like 14 or 20k. I think a rapid kit would give you what you want for moonlight also add some good color to the tank and make things pop more with no optics I think it would give a good spread.

 

I know that halide has to add some goooood heat to the tank only a few inches off tank. So much unwanted evaporation.

[Dnanoreefer]

It is a 14k Phoenix bulb.. It has good color and awesome growth. I have used it before over my biocube.

Ok reef kid I am really close to pulling the trigger on the retro solderless 6 kit on rapid.. What color LEDs? I'm thinking 2 royal blue 2 ultraviolet 2 cool white.

 

The fixture would be arranged like this

Rb Cw Uv Uv cw Rb

 

Suggestions please!

[Reefkid88]

Personally,I'm in no shape or form a led expert,actually a complete noob.. But from what I've gathered,idk if UV is going to be useful at all. I've read that's actually quite dim but will add to florescence.

 

Are you going for just a moonlight look,or to add more pop/color to the tank and upcoming corals ?

[Dnanoreefer]

I want the led to run after the halide is off.. Not as a moonlight, it will only be on for 3-4 hours. I want the halide for my first 4.5 hours, main growth power, the led will kick on for the last half hour of halide time, than led for 3.5 hours to add a little different spectrum and color for coral. Than after the led goes out the moonlight will turn on. I'm going to kick the idea around a bit, probably end up ordering the rapid kit tonight or tomorrow.

 

14k 150 halide - 4:00-8:30

Rapid led - 8:00-11:00

Moonlight. -11:00-8:00

[Reefkid88]

Okay,gotcha. Sounds like a good idea. Is money a issue ? If not,I say you should go with the 12 led kit,and get two of the nano drivers with pots. That way you can get a better spectrum to play with and you can run 2 channels and have more controllability with your colors as well.

[Dnanoreefer]

Just bought the buildmyled purple wave light.. It looks to be what I'm after. We will see.. It ships the dec 9 so it will be here sometime after that.

Tested water today everything is at 0 ph is 8.4.

[Reefkid88]

Nice !!! Let me know how it is,I always wanted to get one of those lights,but the DIY spectrum.

[Dnanoreefer]

Yeah see I was looking at the DIY spectrum.. The only options I saw were how many uv LEDs you wanted.. Otherwise I would have ordered it

 

I have to figure out how I'm going to mount it... I will make some sort of bracket.

[Dnanoreefer]

I'm also getting a lot of diatoms I think a snail or two is needed soon

[Mstefa1]

Oh snap, that's a lot of light! I have 150w halide on my 24g and can fry many corals up top. Can't imagine on an 8g. Do you have a chiller for summer?

[Reefkid88]

Really ? That's weird. I was just on their site messing with the spectrum option like week before I ended up getting a different light.

 

I agree with the chiller question,I have a feeling that thing is going to become an oven !! My 70w even made my water temps temperamental.

[Dnanoreefer]

Temps don't rise one bit.. Light is doing good work set 8--10" above water without upping temps.

[Dnanoreefer]

Light has been on for 3 hours today so far and I just checked temp.. Same as when it's off.

 

It won't be too much lighting I don't think.. The led will b on for only 30 mon to 1 hr with halide, than jus alone for 3 hrs... I want to get a little different spectrum at different times..

 

I know I know what everyone is thinking.. Just get the razor nano or ai nano.. But I don't wanna.. Why, just cuz.. Lmfao.. I like halides. We will see how this all pans out..

[Mike Savage]

That is looking good!

[Dnanoreefer]

Thanks mike

[Mstefa1]

I love halides too, but that's a lot of light. And if you have it that high above your tank then I would imagine spill over is a big concern. Do you have the leds mounted just as high? What optics? When I tried to incorporate leds with my halide I didn't get good color blending. Still cool that you sumped this tank.

[Dnanoreefer]

I don't really have much light spill.. I am using the viper fixture, not the best reflector but it's beaming directly into the tank.. I don't have any coral yet so the true test is yet to come.

[Dnanoreefer]

Today I did another water check and my nitrates were getting kinda high so I did a 5g water change. And tried to set up the skimmer and start running it. I have the waterlevel proper in the reaction chamber. It is producing good skimmate, but the thing is filling the entire reaction chamber with microbubbles. It's not cool. They are going through the sump and ending up in the tank. It sucks! Will the pump break in and settle down a bit once it runs for a week or so.. I have read about the break in time for a skimmer.. If the bubbles do not stop within a week the skimmer is out and I'm probably going to look into a sca301 off eBay that everyone raves about. I emailed reef octopus and told them about the problem.. Any help here. I'm extremely frustrated! 1 hr messing with the skimmer gave me a headache.

 

Here is a pic of what I'm talking about.

[Dnanoreefer]

I may have been all excited over nothing at all.. I checked on the skimmer this morning and it seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing.. Still some bubbles but from what it was last night it's much better. I will be adding a few snails soon. Maybe my first corals also.!!! ?

[Mstefa1]

Skimmers take a few days to a week or more to break in. It will settle down.

 

How long has this tank been running?

[Reefkid88]

Is that the reef octopus nano skimmer ?!

[Dnanoreefer]

Tank has been running for 3 weeks.. Too early for the skimmer?

[Sunar357]

Nice looking setup. Sweet sumped nano!

[Reefkid88]

Tank has been running for 3 weeks.. Too early for the skimmer?

Honestly,I wouldn't think so.