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Cultivated Reef

Creative Container Pico Contest - Official Announcement


Felicia

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5 minutes ago, Felicia said:

You could always try to do a sunlit reef container if you can't get a light.  Also, I believe you can get some pretty inexpensive PAR bulbs from Amazon.  I believe @Gena mentioned she got hers from Amazon and that it was inexpensive.

 

Florida is too hot for sunlit- my room is already 78 and that would easily take it to the mid to high 80s. Yes I am checking amazon, I just don't want to make corals suffer by getting an inadequate light. 

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15 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Florida is too hot for sunlit- my room is already 78 and that would easily take it to the mid to high 80s. Yes I am checking amazon, I just don't want to make corals suffer by getting an inadequate light. 

These tanks are so tiny and shallow that you won't need anything super powerful in terms of lighting.  I think this is one situation where you can get away with a pretty inexpensive light.  If you check out natalia_la_loca's TOTM reef bowl, she's just using an ABI 12W Tuna Blue par38 LED bulb from Amazon ($24.95) and she has amazing coral growth and color.

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1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

I ordered a 3 gallon beverage dispenser off amazon warehouse for $4. If anyone copies me we KILL them all :)  @Felicia and @Christopher Marks will back me up! 

 

Built in easy water change functionality!!! 

 

F0L7vi6.png

 

Haha I been looking at these too since it was announced... 

Spoiler

:ninja:

 

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31 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

Haha I been looking at these too since it was announced... 

  Reveal hidden contents

:ninja:

 

These iced tea jugs have a tendency to leak from the spigot. Be careful~:blink:

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2 minutes ago, Nola Bear said:

These iced tea jugs have a tendency to leak from the spigot. Be careful~:blink:

 

I didn't think of that :unsure: Shoot maybe simple vase is best I just don't want it to resemble a fish bowl 

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7 minutes ago, MrNanoReef said:

I'll play this one!! I've been wanting to set up one of these for a long time and this is just the perfect push!

Awesome!  We'd love to have you join the contest!

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1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

 

I didn't think of that :unsure: Shoot maybe simple vase is best I just don't want it to resemble a fish bowl 

Try and seal it somehow so its not a working spigot but just for looks? If it is glass, maybe just fill it with silicone. 

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7 hours ago, Felicia said:

You are officially contestant #3!  Love the condiment selection! :lol:  Latte fixin's count as condiments right?!  :lol:  I'll add your name and a link to your build thread to the list at the end of the first post in this thread.

Yay! Haha that's what I thought too! 

7 hours ago, vlangel said:

Oops you beat me to and already have a hedgehog plushie!

Yep, hubby bought this for me shortly after we got married. It's one of my favorites. :happy:

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Ok I think I am gonna try this one but have a question about the lighting. I see limited to a single par led but wouldn't par be a measure of the total light and not just from a single diode? I just want a little clarification on what lighting we can and cannot use. I'm sorry if this has been asked already but I couldn't find any previous questions. 

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42 minutes ago, TFish77 said:

Ok I think I am gonna try this one but have a question about the lighting. I see limited to a single par led but wouldn't par be a measure of the total light and not just from a single diode? I just want a little clarification on what lighting we can and cannot use. I'm sorry if this has been asked already but I couldn't find any previous questions. 

Glad you want to join in the contest!  Par bulbs are just a specific type of reef LED light lighting and not the same thing as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (aka PAR), which is a measure of the amount of light usable by corals.  Par bulbs look like this:

 

par38full14k_nondimmable_grande.png?v=14

 

They come in a variety of wattages (i.e. 14 watt, 24 watt) and color temperatures (i.e. 14000 K, 18000 K, 22000 K).  They have a standard size bulb base so that they screw into standard light fixtures.  Specific mounts are sold for them, but a lot of people just use inexpensive desk or task light fixtures for them.  For example:

41cM6xJaRHL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

 

They're an inexpensive lighting option that is great for really small tanks, such as the containers for this contest, which is why we selected these as the lighting.  Basically, you are just limited to a single one of this type of bulb (in any wattage or color temperature you would like) instead of being able to use things like Radion, Kessil, AI, fluorescent, or metal halide fixtures.  Hopefully this helps clarify!  You can purchase PAR bulbs like this from the Nano-Reef sponsors Coral Compulsion or Bulk Reef Supply.  They are also available on Amazon (example linked).

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Wish I could join! 

But being in the Netherlands makes it too difficult to order from these sites you all mention (most, if not all, don't even ship here) :(. 

 

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MainelyReefer
4 hours ago, Felicia said:

Glad you want to join in the contest!  Par bulbs are just a specific type of reef LED light lighting and not the same thing as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (aka PAR), which is a measure of the amount of light usable by corals.  Par bulbs look like this:

 

par38full14k_nondimmable_grande.png?v=14

 

They come in a variety of wattages (i.e. 14 watt, 24 watt) and color temperatures (i.e. 14000 K, 18000 K, 22000 K).  They have a standard size bulb base so that they screw into standard light fixtures.  Specific mounts are sold for them, but a lot of people just use inexpensive desk or task light fixtures for them.  For example:

41cM6xJaRHL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

 

They're an inexpensive lighting option that is great for really small tanks, such as the containers for this contest, which is why we selected these as the lighting.  Basically, you are just limited to a single one of this type of bulb (in any wattage or color temperature you would like) instead of being able to use things like Radion, Kessil, AI, fluorescent, or metal halide fixtures.  Hopefully this helps clarify!  You can purchase PAR bulbs like this from the Nano-Reef sponsors Coral Compulsion or Bulk Reef Supply.  They are also available on Amazon (example linked).

They go all the way up to 55w from what I can see which would be overkill but I guess for 6 months we can all live with low quality disco lights, any way we can get a kessil A80 added to the list it's a mere 15w and the shimmer haha.  Also having trouble finding safety listings for the cheaper units, don't want to start a fire to save $, really trying to find any excuse not to buy a par

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4 hours ago, Lisa166 said:

Wish I could join! 

But being in the Netherlands makes it too difficult to order from these sites you all mention (most, if not all, don't even ship here) :(. 

 

 

You could have it shipped to me and I will ship to you as long as you cover shipping costs. 

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2 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

They go all the way up to 55w from what I can see which would be overkill but I guess for 6 months we can all live with low quality disco lights, any way we can get a kessil A80 added to the list it's a mere 15w and the shimmer haha.  Also having trouble finding safety listings for the cheaper units, don't want to start a fire to save $, really trying to find any excuse not to buy a par

Have you seen Natalia's bowl (linked early on in the thread)?  Low-quality lights don't grow corals that nicely. ;)  A 12W bulb would be more than sufficient for the tanks in this contest (Natalia has hers a good 18" above the water line).  I'm not sure what sort of safety data you're looking for but...it's a light bulb, in a lamp.  People have used these PAR bulbs for years with 0 issues, same as any other lamp.  I think you'd be more in danger of knocking a Kessil into the water than having safety issues from a PAR bulb.  Keep it out of the water and you'll be fine lol.  Anyway, I think a $100+ light would kind of defeat the purpose of a contest focusing on simple, inexpensive equipment. :)

 

My PAR bulbs are nice and shimmery, too, no disco effect at all!

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9 hours ago, Dprosser4 said:

I was thinking something like this:) 966CA039-69F4-46EA-884B-83247745238C.thumb.jpeg.17d7055607a98dde5e8db8d25dc904b2.jpeg

Haha, I was thinking of this because I work in a lab and I could buy one cheap from the university - it's definitely a cool idea

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Christopher Marks
7 hours ago, Lisa166 said:

Wish I could join! 

But being in the Netherlands makes it too difficult to order from these sites you all mention (most, if not all, don't even ship here) :(. 

 

As long as your equipment is similar, you can still participate! The container and heater and air pump or circulation pump can be any kind. Finding an appropriate LED bulb will be the hardest part, but I’m sure we could track down a European supplier for you! eBay is a possibility: https://m.ebay.nl/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m4084.l1313&_nkw=Par38+led+reef 

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