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4g Zoa Cube !!!


Reefkid88

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So,a tiny bit of progress on the cycle:

 

NH3-1.2

Rites-0

Trates-2

 

 Enjoyed a few of these while I grilled out tonight before a insane band of storms whipped thru Central Florida. 

 

 I wish this thing would cycle,I would love to throw a Tenuis in here already.. 

 

20200814_173942.jpg

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On 8/14/2020 at 11:01 PM, Reefkid88 said:

So,a tiny bit of progress on the cycle:

 

NH3-1.2

Rites-0

Trates-2

 

 Enjoyed a few of these while I grilled out tonight before a insane band of storms whipped thru Central Florida. 

 

 I wish this thing would cycle,I would love to throw a Tenuis in here already.. 

 

20200814_173942.jpg

Kona brewing is a weird, weird setup. On island they're independent and have their own equipment and local brews, had a bomb scotch ale and a dark chocolate sea-salt black ipa, but mainland they're brewed and distributed by Budweiser.

 

My wife loves their gold ale though, big wave I think it is? 

 

Also yeah, diffuser plates are great lol, I'm really surprised they're not industry standard at this point. It cuts raw par, but the reality is that even most acros don't need the heat we give them and would prefer the diffuse-spread anyway... (Which is why everybody supplements with T5s).

 

It's a shame the Phillips coral care never really ended up this side of the puddle, gen2 is going to be unapproachably expensive (for what you get) for most folks. Would have been nice to grab a used gen1 to play with, but $80+ in shipping doesn't feel great either lol...

 

Decided you're going to stick with your DIY?

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2 hours ago, Amphrites said:

Kona brewing is a weird, weird setup. On island they're independent and have their own equipment and local brews, had a bomb scotch ale and a dark chocolate sea-salt black ipa, but mainland they're brewed and distributed by Budweiser.

 

My wife loves their gold ale though, big wave I think it is? 

 

Also yeah, diffuser plates are great lol, I'm really surprised they're not industry standard at this point. It cuts raw par, but the reality is that even most acros don't need the heat we give them and would prefer the diffuse-spread anyway... (Which is why everybody supplements with T5s).

 

It's a shame the Phillips coral care never really ended up this side of the puddle, gen2 is going to be unapproachably expensive (for what you get) for most folks. Would have been nice to grab a used gen1 to play with, but $80+ in shipping doesn't feel great either lol...

 

Decided you're going to stick with your DIY?

Really ?! That is so odd,I never knew that. My wife likes that one too,she isn't that much of an IPA person,she says they all taste the same,hoppy lol. 

 

 I love my diffuser,it cuts out 95% of the shimmer. I love the controllability of leds,but HATE the shimmer more than anything. Oh wow,that is steep as hell. The new one has too many damn cyan leds for my liking. 

 

 I will be using the Prime,for now. I can't say I'm 110% satisfied with the light,but people have had such great success,I figured it was worth a shot since I was having trouble with my diy light. 

 

 I have a 2g betta rank,12"x6"x6" that is an AIO I made,with a 1/2" RFG which i am swapping for a 1/4" and that diy light might just go on that tank once this one gets going. Maybe so a species specific pico. Maybe all Z & P's or something lol. I have plans,but need time & monies to fulfill them lol. One thing at a time though. 

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Ordered a 1/4" RFG and adapter for my little side piece 2g lol. That should be here Saturday,the 1/2" is shown in the pic. I did send my Storm in to Ben at Coralux today to get that fixed. 

 

 Also,look at this par beast (so I would like to think.) I feel like I want to set this tank up for my son,he is LOVING my cube and everytime I take him into a saltwater store he just cannot handle himself. 

20200819_191712.jpg

20200819_191719.jpg

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Nitrates are good 🙂

 

The 2g is really cool. And reefing with kids is even cooler. My oldest daughter is 25 now, but she used to go to the fish store with me since she was a baby. She still loves fish now :wub:

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10 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Nitrates are good 🙂

 

The 2g is really cool. And reefing with kids is even cooler. My oldest daughter is 25 now, but she used to go to the fish store with me since she was a baby. She still loves fish now :wub:

 I tested last night and they are still the same and so is ammonia. Idk what to do besides let it ride out the storm lol. 

 

 Idk if it will ever become anything any time soon,but the VCA 1/4" RFG comes in today. So I will test that out. I may get a bigger Sicce pump,maybe the 158gph or whatever it is. 80gph barely moves any water lol. 

 

 Its an awesome experience,he LOVES it. When I am cruising coral sites he "ohhhhs" at literally every piece and points lol. 

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1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Are you dosing any thing any more? Has it been just about a month since this tank got wet? I am surprised it stalled. 

MB7,all I can think of is because the rock was dry and no sand. I did add carbon and some Matrix about 2 weeks ago and then your rock you gave me. Who knows. 

 

 I'll probably run out to Oceans Direct at some point and maybe grab some sand and debris out of their live rock little pool and throw that in the tank. 

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9 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Make sure you call first. The web site says closed.

They open at 12,believe me I figured that out the hard way lol. 

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 @debbeach13I just spoke with George the owner and he said they have no plans on closing,I know World of Reef off of Ronald Reagan closed for good though. 

 

 I was just looking at supplemental lighting though,per say the ReefBrite Mag lights and omg.. $55 for 2x 1w leds omg.. that is just crazy. I feel like I could make stuff like that and be so much more powerful and better for the same price or a little more expensive but double or triple the output and even be customizable.. Hmm... 

 

 StevesLeds 1x 6" heatsinks-$18 shipped

 Meanwell APC 25W/500MAH Driver-$11

 SemiLed 395-400nm-$10 (2)

 SemiLed 400-410nm-$8.50 (2)

 SemiLed 420-430nm-$8.50 (2)

 

 A much broader spectrum of violet,and a customizable spectrum that could be tailored to your needs. I wish I had the fan based,I would whip these fixtures out daily !!!  

 

Edited by Reefkid88
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On 7/25/2020 at 9:15 PM, Reefkid88 said:

BWA MicroBacter Quick Cycle

Does not seem very quick at this point. I am getting a couple small pieces of dry rock tomorrow and wondering if I should try some sort of quick cycle bottled bacteria or just throw some LR rubble in with it and wait it out. Would you use this stuff again?

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33 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Does not seem very quick at this point. I am getting a couple small pieces of dry rock tomorrow and wondering if I should try some sort of quick cycle bottled bacteria or just throw some LR rubble in with it and wait it out. Would you use this stuff again?

 

 At this point,no. I would use the BWA Dry Rock cycling kit,or the RedSea Mature kit. I also have about 15-20lbs of dry rock if you would like some. I could meet you somewhere this weekend. 

 

 I actually broke down and got a bag of live sand today from Oceans Direct.. I have ran sand 1 other time besides this and gonna give it another go. A 1.5g water change and about 5lbs of Fiji Pink. Then this weekend I will test and see what comes up. I did notice a VERY SLIGHT pink coloration in my Nitrite test results last night. But after 5 weeks I should be seeing more results I feel like. 

20200824_165107.jpg

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Thanks so much for the offer. I had ordered just 5lbs from BRS when I ordered a couple pumps last week. The order is being delivered tomorrow. I think I might just run the rock a week to clean it off in a bucket. Then change out the water and add some LR. Who knows I am so bored I might put it in a tank at that point and watch for some algae. Like watching paint dry. Did you go to Ocean Direct? How did the live stock look?

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Absolutely !!! If you know anyone whom is local and wants some dry stax rock let me know. 

 

 What pumps did you order ? 

 

 Oh the livestock looks good,plenty of $20-$25 multi polyp frags,some nice sps,decent lps nothing AMAZING but normal good pieces. 

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On 8/23/2020 at 1:43 PM, Reefkid88 said:

 @debbeach13I just spoke with George the owner and he said they have no plans on closing,I know World of Reef off of Ronald Reagan closed for good though. 

 

 I was just looking at supplemental lighting though,per say the ReefBrite Mag lights and omg.. $55 for 2x 1w leds omg.. that is just crazy. I feel like I could make stuff like that and be so much more powerful and better for the same price or a little more expensive but double or triple the output and even be customizable.. Hmm... 

 

 StevesLeds 1x 6" heatsinks-$18 shipped

 Meanwell APC 25W/500MAH Driver-$11

 SemiLed 395-400nm-$10 (2)

 SemiLed 400-410nm-$8.50 (2)

 SemiLed 420-430nm-$8.50 (2)

 

 A much broader spectrum of violet,and a customizable spectrum that could be tailored to your needs. I wish I had the fan based,I would whip these fixtures out daily !!!  

 

I was honestly looking at supplementing with DIY bars built in this frame 
https://www.wired4signsusa.com/collections/corner-profiles/products/corner-mount-led-strip-channel-model-al-45w-profile-only?variant=6847696076866

But I was thinking extra-cheap, the fixture can hold two standard-strips, two 12" fixtures could put out 10-12+ Watts of super-diffuse light +-10-20% PAR from the reflector and the ability to jury-rig with lenses if desired. I still may end up doing that, but I just cannot justify the prices companies are asking for LED bars at all lol... 
Especially since a quality strip-light can legitimately add decent-par to a shallow system on a budget, last a pretty good while with a chunky heatsink behind it too. (Super, super, super frustrating digging through all the chinese re-brands with identical mnfctr to find anything with lenses or decent wattage that hasn't been marked up 5x though)

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Nothing fancy. I got 2 Hydor Koralia Evo 600GPH looks like better adjustable direction than the nano series. I have broken a couple nano 565 trying to aim them. At least you can then super glue them to the magnet and still use them. Then 2 days later I found a VC Tech Pump from amazon which was $16 cheaper and adjustable direction and flow1056 GPH max. So guess I will be comparing. 

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1 hour ago, Amphrites said:

I was honestly looking at supplementing with DIY bars built in this frame 
https://www.wired4signsusa.com/collections/corner-profiles/products/corner-mount-led-strip-channel-model-al-45w-profile-only?variant=6847696076866

But I was thinking extra-cheap, the fixture can hold two standard-strips, two 12" fixtures could put out 10-12+ Watts of super-diffuse light +-10-20% PAR from the reflector and the ability to jury-rig with lenses if desired. I still may end up doing that, but I just cannot justify the prices companies are asking for LED bars at all lol... 
Especially since a quality strip-light can legitimately add decent-par to a shallow system on a budget, last a pretty good while with a chunky heatsink behind it too. (Super, super, super frustrating digging through all the chinese re-brands with identical mnfctr to find anything with lenses or decent wattage that hasn't been marked up 5x though)

 

 I have spent the past 2 days on supplies to be able to outperform ReefBrites for less than what they are asking. I want to make 1 or 2 to supplement my Prime. I have ideas foe Super Actinic,Actinic,18k,14k,planted tank style,fuge style. I could probably keep them at the $100-$115 mark shipped. 

 

 6" heatsink-$18 shipped

 Meanwell APC-25-700-$11

 4X 2.1MM Barrel Jacks (2x M & 2x F)-$6

 8ft of 4 strand wire-$3

 8ft of 1/8" wire sheathing-$4

 390-450nm violets-$36 shipped 

 72" power cable$2.50

 

 Broader spectrum,super actinic,a par monster,coral pop !!! I posted a thread asking if I made a prototype if people would be interested in supplemental bars for small tanks. Idk if I could beat the price ReefBreeders is offering for the 24" ones,but I'm sure my choice of diodes and bins used would be better. I'm pretty sure they use hose old style "bridgelux" Chinese junk diodes black boxes use. I would use Cree or Luxeon for the Royals and Semi's for the violets. 

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I nees to remove a good amount of sand from the front/back right side. I could not tell how much I was adding with the cloudiness lol. 

20200824_221441.jpg

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22 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

 

 I have spent the past 2 days on supplies to be able to outperform ReefBrites for less than what they are asking. I want to make 1 or 2 to supplement my Prime. I have ideas foe Super Actinic,Actinic,18k,14k,planted tank style,fuge style. I could probably keep them at the $100-$115 mark shipped. 

 

 6" heatsink-$18 shipped

 Meanwell APC-25-700-$11

 4X 2.1MM Barrel Jacks (2x M & 2x F)-$6

 8ft of 4 strand wire-$3

 8ft of 1/8" wire sheathing-$4

 390-450nm violets-$36 shipped 

 72" power cable$2.50

 

 Broader spectrum,super actinic,a par monster,coral pop !!! I posted a thread asking if I made a prototype if people would be interested in supplemental bars for small tanks. Idk if I could beat the price ReefBreeders is offering for the 24" ones,but I'm sure my choice of diodes and bins used would be better. I'm pretty sure they use hose old style "bridgelux" Chinese junk diodes black boxes use. I would use Cree or Luxeon for the Royals and Semi's for the violets. 

That's about double what I had figured out with the crappy strip lights lol, if my tank ever get's off the struggle-bus I'd be tempted since yours would probably output 5x the PAR lol...

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6 hours ago, Amphrites said:

That's about double what I had figured out with the crappy strip lights lol, if my tank ever get's off the struggle-bus I'd be tempted since yours would probably output 5x the PAR lol...

 

 That is the cheapest I could really come up with,with the use of quality components. 

 

 The heat sink can handle 16 leds per a foot with no fan and waterproof !!! That is simply unheard of.  So while it does seem high,it will be a unbeatable system. 

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