cheesesteak Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Hi all! Its been about 7 years since I kept a reef, but I decided to jump back into it after months of research during quarantine. I originally planned on a Waterbox 20, but ultimately decided on something smaller until I have a house and things are permanent. Tank: Enter the UNS 25C (9.84 in^3)! I had ADA tanks back in the day, and I can say that UNS craftsmanship definitely competes. The glass may be a little a greener, but the 45 degree edges and expert silicone work are top notch. I'm really impressed. Livestock: My plan is for this to be a simple zoa and paly heavy pico. I also really liked xenia and cloves back in my old tanks. I may also dabble in some of the less demanding SPS like birdsnest or monti caps. I've also always wanted to keep sexy shrimp, I think they're so goofy. And maybe a goby as well. Lighting: Fluval Marine Nano. Filtration: I have a small Azoo 150 I'll run with Purigen until everything is well established. (I may or may not actually run this...) Flow: hygger Mini for its small form factor. Jebao SLW-10 because it won't blast away my stuff. Things I still need to get: Sand Live Rock Heater Lid ATO Glass scraper Test kit Refractometer Some sort of coral dip Spare heater and pump for SW mixing Empty FTS 7-7-2020 3 1 Quote Link to comment
tk-it-ez Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Welcome back and Good Luck 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Welcome back. Setting up a tank is so much fun. There are so many options in lighting now it almost makes it harder to decide. 2 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 1 hour ago, debbeach13 said: Welcome back. Setting up a tank is so much fun. There are so many options in lighting now it almost makes it harder to decide. Seriously! Back it the day it was T5, MH, or DIY. Now, I don't even know... 2 Quote Link to comment
RedTheReefer Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 I am about to drill my UNS 40C soon for a sump setup. Love the tank! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it! Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 On 6/26/2020 at 9:25 PM, RedTheReefer said: I am about to drill my UNS 40C soon for a sump setup. Love the tank! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it! Ooo! That should be an awesome build. I’m excited to see it. After seeing @TheRope’s filterless builds I decided to order just the wavemaker for a cleaner look. Once that comes in I’ll find a local source for LR. 2 1 Quote Link to comment
TheRope Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 8 minutes ago, cheesesteak said: Ooo! That should be an awesome build. I’m excited to see it. After seeing @TheRope’s filterless builds I decided to order just the wavemaker for a cleaner look. Once that comes in I’ll find a local source for LR. Ouhhhh this is gonna be very cool! May I also suggest (if you will be going for sps in the future) to maybe try out the 12w abi tuna blue led bulb. Its by far my favorite light for picos and if you've seen my bowl you will notice I kept 5 different types of sps under that light (and I had it 14 inches above the waterline) I kept monti digi/monti cap/ monti confusa/ birdsnest/Pac Man acropora! Also the colors it pops out on even the shittier zoas I was keeping was well worth it! The asta 20 isn't bad/I'm currently using that one (but only because I currently dont have access to purchasing the abi bulb) Lighting aside the cube is gonna make a perfect tank and if ever you get annoyed of top offs theres a small micro tap that will barely cause any visual disturbance (heard a lot of good things from it but never needed it so far) Good luck I cant wait to see what you do with it! Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I have the Aquaknight v2. Love the look! Great shimmer, dimmable and affordable! I've had the Kessil A80 and very similar I find, except with the v2 there's a timer in the light fixture and comes with the gooseneck. I haven't tried it with corals but pretty confident you'd get good growth. 1 Quote Link to comment
TheRope Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 41 minutes ago, Melfy77 said: I have the Aquaknight v2. Love the look! Great shimmer, dimmable and affordable! I've had the Kessil A80 and very similar I find, except with the v2 there's a timer in the light fixture and comes with the gooseneck. I haven't tried it with corals but pretty confident you'd get good growth. Actually now that you mention thag light and I looked it up I might buy it lol Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 IMO best option out of the 4 you're thinking. Asta I've see mixed reviews, Kessil is nice but expensive and need to buy gooseneck and controller. The Aquaknight is 12 leds x 3 watts Cree so max 36 watts vs Kessil max 15 watts. Both have the "dense matrix", not sure what it means lol. Kessil is fanless, the Aquaknight has one but I find it pretty quiet 🙂 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Melfy77 said: IMO best option out of the 4 you're thinking. Asta I've see mixed reviews, Kessil is nice but expensive and need to buy gooseneck and controller. The Aquaknight is 12 leds x 3 watts Cree so max 36 watts vs Kessil max 15 watts. Both have the "dense matrix", not sure what it means lol. Kessil is fanless, the Aquaknight has one but I find it pretty quiet 🙂 It does look like a great light. My only worry is that the gooseneck doesn't look super adjustable. How far from the tank mount does it extend? My cube is just under 10" wide, and I can't tell how high I'll need to have it to be center. And if its super high, with a 120* lens, my whole office might end up blue 😱 Also, can the intensity be dimmed? I think 36w would cook zoas! Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, cheesesteak said: It does look like a great light. My only worry is that the gooseneck doesn't look super adjustable. How far from the tank mount does it extend? My cube is just under 10" wide, and I can't tell how high I'll need to have it to be center. And if its super high, with a 120* lens, my whole office might end up blue 😱 Also, can the intensity be dimmed? I think 36w would cook zoas! The gooseneck is pretty ajustable. For a cube it should fit pretty good! 🙂 Quote Link to comment
Break Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I've had a AI Prime LED the last few years and it's been great - worth every penny. The gooseneck mount for it is super solid/stiff and very adjustable. I originally started out with a 35w PAR38 LED 18k TruColor G2 Dimmable Reef Light from Coral Compulsion on a gooseneck attachment. Wasn't happy with how it looked, so I upgraded to the AI Prime almost immediately. I still have the Coral Compulsion light sitting in a box, hardly used that I have been too lazy to sell- couldn't toss it since I paid about $200 for the light, dimmer, and clamp fixture altogether. Would be willing to part with it for super cheap at this point just to be rid of it, so hit me up if you think that light is a good option for you. My personal recommendation though, would be an AI Prime. Having gotten into the hobby with metal halides, it still blows my mind that I can finely adjust the spectrum of my tank light on my cell phone from the couch. Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 30 minutes ago, Break said: it still blows my mind that I can finely adjust the spectrum of my tank light on my cell phone from the couch. This is definitely a feature I want. The Prime does look like a killer setup. If I were planning on an upgrade within the next year or so I think I would do it, but I'm going to be space limited for a few more years, and who knows what the technology will look like in 2023 👽 (that's not a real year.) I'm almost leaning the Fluval at this point. I've seem some journals on here have success with it, and the Amazon reviews say it works great on a pico. It also has a bluetooth controller, so I can sit in a comfy chair, have a few cold beverages, and throw my tank a rave. I'll probably sleep on it a few more nights though. 1 Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I also have a prime for my lagoon 25g and love it!!! I've never owned the Fluval light 🙂 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 I feel like a Prime 16HD would be an amazing candidate for this. For the price you may as well get a Prime over a A80. Prime: -Controllable. -Wifi feature. -No controller needed. -Active cooling -Plenty of power for future upgrade. A80: -Nees a controller -No wifi features. -Needs a extra controller. -No active cooling -Pretty weak power wise. DIY OVER EVERYTHING: -Use the colors you want/need. -Your own choice components. -Build exactly what you want. 1 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Thanks for the lighting help everyone. I did end up ordering the Fluval. Amazon has a generous return policy so if its REALLY bad at least I can return it without too much pain. I just might be kicking myself in a few months, but at the minimum I'll be able to do a thorough review so that there's more complete information available on its limitations for anyone in the market for a true pico light that has some decent control. Heres to science! 🍻👨🔬 3 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Hygger wavemaker came in today. Its so tiny! The controller, however, is massive. -- Here are somethings I still need to get: Sand Live Rock Heater Lid ATO Glass scraper Test kit Refractometer Some sort of coral dip Spare heater and pump for SW mixing 3 1 Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 41 minutes ago, cheesesteak said: Hygger wavemaker came in today. Its so tiny! The controller, however, is massive. -- Here are somethings I still need to get: Sand Live Rock Heater Lid ATO Glass scraper Test kit Refractometer Some sort of coral dip Spare heater and pump for SW mixing I went with the finnex 50watt with controller and am loving them. For waterchange pump I’d go with a koralia or something cheap 1 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Frozen_Reef said: I went with the finnex 50watt with controller and am loving them. For waterchange pump I’d go with a koralia or something cheap Which Finnex? You don't think 50w is too much for 4 gal? Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 Well, while watching some videos on how to set it up because the instruction manual is not super great, I learned that the Hygger only has 4 levels of flow: 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%. 40% of max 1600 gph is 640gph. That seems high? Like really high for a 4G? I haven't filled the tank yet to test it, so I could be wrong though... I assumed with a controller it would have more levels than four, and starting at less than 40%, but I guess not! Edit: Yeah, after doing some more research I'll probably be swapping this out for a Jebao SLW10 before I even get it wet. Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 Jebao SLW-10 on order... 😬🤞 1 Quote Link to comment
cheesesteak Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 I'm debating two things: sand bed or no sand bed? paint the back black? 🤷🏼♂️ Quote Link to comment
Break Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 16 minutes ago, cheesesteak said: I'm debating two things: sand bed or no sand bed? paint the back black? 🤷🏼♂️ 1. Pros and cons to both, but personally, I'm not a fan of deeper sand beds in pico tanks. Easy for it to blow all over the place and easy for them to become a "nutrient sink" if not cleaned regularly through some means. 2. Depends on the other equipment and the space. A black background may allow you to hide the HOB, cords, etc, a bit more and can help with certain color contrasts, but you do lose the cool added depth/size effect from being able to see through the tank fully. Quote Link to comment
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