IM 25 Lagoon SPS build

[_badger]

Well, after more work than I expected, the algae reactor will hopefully be up and running by tomorrow. The plumbing really kicked my tail this week. I ordered 1/2" ID 5/8" OD black vinyl tubing from Marine Depot along with 1/2" 90 degree elbows, but the fit was ridiculously tight. I had to put the tube ends in boiling water to make them soft enough to fit onto the elbows, and even then it was a serious chore. I was hoping the fit would be tight enough to avoid having to clamp every joint, but on the initial test I had a few spots with steady drips...so it's clamps all the way around. 

 

I also made a really dope move and didn't install ball valves for the input/output lines. So I created a super effective siphon when I turn off the reactor pump and open the reactor chamber to trim chaeto...that was pretty exciting. Lessons learned...

 

So that's the algae reactor update...short story is I should be up and running (with pictures posted) by the end of the weekend.

 

I rented a par meter from one of the LFS in the area and took some measurements under the Hydra 26 HD over the new tank as well as some measurements of the a160we over the IM10. I'm going to work on getting all the numbers into a decent visual then I'll post it all. 

[_badger]

Okie dokes, here are the results of my par readings. The meter I rented was an Apogee Quantum model QMSS. I have no idea what that means, and I'm pretty sure it's not ideal for measuring par under LED...but for the purposes of measuring spread and consistency, plus matching up intensity with the intensity of the light my corals are currently sitting under, it works.

 

The tables below illustrate the par measurements in a "top down" view of the tank (the top row is right up against the back overflow wall, and the bottom row is up against the front wall of the aquarium).

 

My spectrum settings were as follows (these were selected to emulate the Radion AB+ program):

UV - 118%

Violet - 118%

Royal Blue - 140%

Blue - 116%

Green - 25%

Red - 25%

Cool White - 25%

 

So here are my resuts:

 

Based on the results I've mounted the light at 11", and most of my SPS will be placed in somewhere in the neighborhood of the center 4 fields. I'm not sure how these numbers would look if I measured with a newer device like the MQ-510, but I assume they'd be pretty different. For evenness it looks like 15"ish mount height would give me a pretty even spread, but it looks just a little short on punch.

 

We'll see how it all shakes out once I start transferring things over and they start getting acclimated

 

*edit - I forgot to add that I tested par inside the algae reactor. With the meter right up against the acrylic I was seeing 500-600 par at the diodes. In the spaces between the light strip par drops down 40-50ish. Hopefully it'll be enough to grow chaeto!

[_badger]

I got the aquamaxx algae reactor up and running today. Overall I'm pretty happy with the setup. My biggest gripe is pump noise. I'm using the original IM25 pump and it's super loud. Maybe it's just because pumping that many feet is way outside its intended design. I'll give it a few days to see if it settles in and quiets down...if not I might have to pick up something better suited to pushing the water through 10 feet of line with at least 3 or 4 feet of head pressure.

 

Anyways...here are the pictures! 

 

I'll try to post pictures of the chaeto weekly at first to try and gauge the performance.

 

I'm still cycling, but I have plenty of nitrates for it to plump up nicely.

[_badger]

Got a little hitch hiker in my chaeto. It's officially the first livestock, we'll see how it holds up down there.

[cpschult]

Any update? I just picked up one of these and I'm starting to work on the stand. I've got a large algae reactor that I wasn't planning on using until I saw yours. I'm curious how it worked for you!