schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - tons of new coral added

[schgr.cube]

5 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 I have used them in the past and they are great. Reflectors aren't as good ad ATI or LET but they still work. I mean shoot,it will do the job though. 

 

 Hybrids are amazing,that is for sure. 

 

 It SHOULD be awesome,we shall see lol. 

 

They really are. As much as I love this LUX puck, there is just something about the crispness and clarity you get from a hybrid setup, and just the right amount of shimmer without going overboard.

 

Honestly I don't think the reflectors will be an issue, considering it is probably going to bring a bit too much power to my tank(s) anyway lol. I'm going to wait to pull the trigger until I move I think, but I am going to start designing a light mount.

[Reefkid88]

I think to,they add a HUGE mount of brightness and break up the shimmer madness from leds. Thats why I love them. 

 

 At least you have time to plan,so that is a plus. 

[schgr.cube]

17 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

I think to,they add a HUGE mount of brightness and break up the shimmer madness from leds. Thats why I love them. 

 

 At least you have time to plan,so that is a plus. 

 

Eh, not a tonnnn of time, as I'll probably be moving int he next month or so. You also have seen that I tend to move fast on things once I get an idea in my head, so who knows how quickly this will all go down.

[schgr.cube]

On 8/17/2022 at 5:50 AM, Reefkid88 said:

 I have used them in the past and they are great. Reflectors aren't as good ad ATI or LET but they still work. I mean shoot,it will do the job though. 

 

 Hybrids are amazing,that is for sure. 

 

 It SHOULD be awesome,we shall see lol. 

 

Yeah, I don't think I'll need crazy reflectors for this size tank combined with the Prime. I went over to @YHSublime house on Saturday to check out the new tank, and walked away feeling pretty confident about the Aquatic Life hybrid T5, and ended up finding one on Facebook last night with bulbs for pretty damn cheap. Funny how I sold you my T5 and could have made a DIY hybrid, and now here we are 😓. I'm going to just do a 24" for this tank and then wait until after I move to see if I want to do the dual tank setup or not.

 

 

Speaking of being at Sublimes house, I picked up a head of Dragon Soul torch from him, and grabbed two heads of a super bright green torch, a reddish-orange and green blasto, and Vamps in Drag zoas from other local reefers as well.

 

 

 

 

 

And a FTS to show where things are for now:

[Reefkid88]

No,I wouldn't say crazy but those are just sticky reflective material. Not actual parabolic reflectors. Those are super nice hybrids,they are just so damn wide lol. Especially for a "slimmer" tank say like 10". Hahaha well now I am taking full advantage of your light 🤣 lol. Oh man,lucky you. His tank has always been such an inspiration to me,I love it. 

 

 Why not just do a larger tank ? Like a UNS 60S,60U,ADA 60P ? 

[schgr.cube]

17 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

No,I wouldn't say crazy but those are just sticky reflective material. Not actual parabolic reflectors. Those are super nice hybrids,they are just so damn wide lol. Especially for a "slimmer" tank say like 10". Hahaha well now I am taking full advantage of your light 🤣 lol. Oh man,lucky you. His tank has always been such an inspiration to me,I love it. 

 

 Why not just do a larger tank ? Like a UNS 60S,60U,ADA 60P ? 

 

Yeah I agree about the width, but I think I am going to buy one of the more narrow mounting brackets and end pieces to make it 16" instead. My tank is only 12" so that is still too wide, but it will at least look better.

 

And I would, but I really shouldn't switch tanks AGAIN already, and actually let things establish. Especially having this goby/shrimp combo burrowing their way underneath. Then factor in moving, and it just doesn't make sense.

[Reefkid88]

Its a 4 bulb fixture right ?

 

 I understand that,I was saying when you wanted to go bigger. 

 

 I really want something like 12"-14" wide,I feel like that would be almost perfect. 

[schgr.cube]

14 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Its a 4 bulb fixture right ?

 

 I understand that,I was saying when you wanted to go bigger. 

 

 I really want something like 12"-14" wide,I feel like that would be almost perfect. 

 

Ah gotcha, yeah I think I just need to decide if I want to plumb in the additional 45u for the display fuge or not. I likely am going to just wait until I am settled in the new house and have a second larger tank, but we will see!

 

And yes, very much agreed. That would be perfect for me as well, since the 45u is only 12" wide anyway.

[YHSublime]

I'm a big fan of quadrupling your original tank size, filling it immediately, and all you do is a transfer. Follow me for more tips and tricks. 

[schgr.cube]

3 hours ago, YHSublime said:

I'm a big fan of quadrupling your original tank size, filling it immediately, and all you do is a transfer. Follow me for more tips and tricks. 

😂 of course you are! Then I could buy your light too, right? I still might grab that before my move, since it should work for my future needs quite well.

 

But either way, a bigger tank isn't in the cards until I am settled in the next location, so you guys will have to put up with this abomination for now 😛

[schgr.cube]

Picked up my Aquatic Life light, everything works fine and the bulbs appear to have some life left in them. I'm debating making a custom fixture out of this to work better with my aesthetic, but for what I paid it is still far and away the cheapest I could have gotten for a DIY hybrid setup.

 

Also debating bailing on the sump and overflow setup I have, in favor of just running a closed loop on the wavemaker with a prefilter. I don't know if I'm going to get enough out of the sump to matter, and it may just be easier for me to keep it simpler.

[Reefkid88]

I say keep the sump,its already there. No point in taking it offline plus with the added water volume anything is possible lol. 

[schgr.cube]

On 8/27/2022 at 8:04 AM, Reefkid88 said:

I say keep the sump,its already there. No point in taking it offline plus with the added water volume anything is possible lol. 

 

I suppose...I know I keep overthinking things and not leaving them alone. I guess at this point since I added the T5s, I am just going to shoot for as much stability as I can until I move, as I know that will take its toll.

[Reefkid88]

 Maybe just a tad,but like I said its already there and may as well judt leave it at this point honestly. Especially to hide all the equipment in it. 

[schgr.cube]

4 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 Maybe just a tad,but like I said its already there and may as well judt leave it at this point honestly. Especially to hide all the equipment in it. 

 

Well, I just had something fall in my lap anyway that might change things. I just got a 50 gallon Zoo Med Low Boy frag tank for free, so perhaps I will be able to actually leave this setup alone while I start planning that one out! 😂

[Reefkid88]

🤦‍♂️lmaooo I mean hey,why not lol. Especially for free. Definitely gonna need a 36"+ light now. 

 

 I can NEVER get that lucky. The luckiest I have ever been is this go around with all the deals I have gotten. 

[schgr.cube]

10 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

🤦‍♂️lmaooo I mean hey,why not lol. Especially for free. Definitely gonna need a 36"+ light now. 

 

 I can NEVER get that lucky. The luckiest I have ever been is this go around with all the deals I have gotten. 

 

I mean, it technically wasn't free, but I only traded a few frags I was going to ultimately give him anyway. We tend to exchange a lot of stuff, and it was taking up space in his house being unused lol.

 

And yeah, I wish I had jumped on that 48" 8 bulb T5 that @YHSublime just sold. I was planning on snagging it soon for a future setup, but was too focused on the little tank at the moment.

[Reefkid88]

I mean close enough in a sense lol. But that would have been KILLER !!! You could always go the Hydrofarm T5 route and make a stupidly insane hybrid for cheap. 

 

 Use some Luxeon M royals from LGB,I actually just ordered 3,I cannot wait to mess with those beasts. Its going to be insane. 

[schgr.cube]

21 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

I mean close enough in a sense lol. But that would have been KILLER !!! You could always go the Hydrofarm T5 route and make a stupidly insane hybrid for cheap. 

 

 Use some Luxeon M royals from LGB,I actually just ordered 3,I cannot wait to mess with those beasts. Its going to be insane. 

 

Yeah that is a solid idea. I'm not sure which direction I'm going to go with this tank, but I'll see after I moved. For now its just going to sit in this mess of a hallway while we start packing our lives away lol.

 

 

I will start cleaning it up tonight just so its ready to pack up and move when the time comes.

[Reefkid88]

Whew boy,the possibilities with that tank !!! A Vivosun 8 bulb fixture would be 🤌 especially at only $200 or the 6 bulb at $170. 

 

 The fish selection you open yourself up to as well is pretty nice. 

[schgr.cube]

56 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

Whew boy,the possibilities with that tank !!! A Vivosun 8 bulb fixture would be 🤌 especially at only $200 or the 6 bulb at $170. 

 

 The fish selection you open yourself up to as well is pretty nice. 

 

Oh trust me, I was thinking the same thing lol! My first thought was fish, since I am leaning so invert heavy on the UNS tank. I am probably going to do a stairstepped egg crate setup across the whole tank, with black egg crate and 3D printed legs.

 

That light is a solid suggestion, I may just do T5s with Reef Brites added on for simplicity sake.

 

Oh, speaking of T5s, here is a preview of the hybrid I ended up making with the Aquatic Life fixture. I think the more industrial look will work better once I move and fit my future aesthetic better, but I also have a plan to make it look a little cooler in the near future. Excuse the dirty pipes and glue sitting out 😂

 

[Reefkid88]

Oh so you ate going to turn it in a legit frag tank then ? That would be a good combo,or even some ReefBreeders would probably ve pretty good. 

 

 I do like the hybrid,how are you liking the brightness of the t5's ? I know you probably miss it lol. 

 

 I cannot wait for these Luxeon M's to come in,probably like 2700-3000mW @ 700mah 👍

[schgr.cube]

2 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Oh so you ate going to turn it in a legit frag tank then ? That would be a good combo,or even some ReefBreeders would probably ve pretty good. 

 

 I do like the hybrid,how are you liking the brightness of the t5's ? I know you probably miss it lol. 

 

 I cannot wait for these Luxeon M's to come in,probably like 2700-3000mW @ 700mah 👍

Oh yeah, definitely lol. You won’t see this guy doing a display tank that isn’t frameless, I’m too boujee for that shit now. I figure it can’t hurt to start growing stuff out and keep the hobby self funding as much as I can. 
 

I love the T5s, hybrid really just is perfect. I think when I get new bulbs I’m going to do 2 B+ and 2 C+, and just run my LEDs with less white. 
 

Nice! When do they come in?

[Reefkid88]

Hahaha damn. At least you are honest lol I can accept that. I think 2 B+,1 Super Actinic and 1 C+ is literally a perfect combo. Thats what bulbs I had in my fixture and it was verrrry nice,now adding leds into the equation with your light with that combo will be amazing plus some. Especially with that Luxdium cluster. 

 

 At the moment idk,I haven't recieved an email from LGB. But I spike with Milad,so I know they have them and are shipping. My StevesLed's order will be here Friday,the fan stuff and M's no idea yet. 

[schgr.cube]

2 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Hahaha damn. At least you are honest lol I can accept that. I think 2 B+,1 Super Actinic and 1 C+ is literally a perfect combo. Thats what bulbs I had in my fixture and it was verrrry nice,now adding leds into the equation with your light with that combo will be amazing plus some. Especially with that Luxdium cluster. 

 

 At the moment idk,I haven't recieved an email from LGB. But I spike with Milad,so I know they have them and are shipping. My StevesLed's order will be here Friday,the fan stuff and M's no idea yet. 

So I currently have an actinic bulb in, and was honestly originally expecting to run my LEDs more white and rely on actinic and blue bulbs a bit more, but it seems like the general consensus (including from Luxdium) is to run the bulbs more white and the LEDs more blue. I also feel like the actinic makes things look less clear overall, so I think the 2 C+ and 2 B+ should work really well with the LEDs.

 

Crossing my fingers it all comes in soon! I hate waiting.