Trinituner Fish Keepers, Aquarists & Aquascapers...

[ziggy_dappa]

I agree that the DIY LEDs are fairly easy to do. For a tank that size if doing LED and making your own, look into parallel strings rather than series so as to cut down on many drivers. Using too many drivers such as the Meanwell 48D can cause some line overloading/overheating. The HLG series is a better choice for larger builds. There is a great DIY thread over at reefcentral.

That being said I'm still not sold on LED's. I am running a DIY in the center of my tank and radium MH 250W on the ends. I have made the led build in the center to visually match what the Radium's look like and I still prefer the Coral colors I have under the Radium's. The PAR under the LED's are actually more than the Radium's but I still prefer what I see under the MH. The only reason I still run it is I don't want the extra heat of a third MH. I'm not sure if it is because of the narrow spectrum of LED's.This is just my opinion though as there are others that love the LED technology.

I can't compare to MH since i upgraded from PC to DIY Led lighting.
Am using Cree/Meanwell with Royal Blue/Cool Blue/ Neutral white/ Cool White /True Violet combo.
I still don't have the colors where i want them yet but i am going to experiment with some warmer whites from Luxeon and i also have a some cyan and deep reds to mess with.
But growth is great, even has the power to bleach SPS on the sand bed if turned all the way up.

[Fishman]

I agree that the DIY LEDs are fairly easy to do. For a tank that size if doing LED and making your own, look into parallel strings rather than series so as to cut down on many drivers. Using too many drivers such as the Meanwell 48D can cause some line overloading/overheating. The HLG series is a better choice for larger builds. There is a great DIY thread over at reefcentral.

That being said I'm still not sold on LED's. I am running a DIY in the center of my tank and radium MH 250W on the ends. I have made the led build in the center to visually match what the Radium's look like and I still prefer the Coral colors I have under the Radium's. The PAR under the LED's are actually more than the Radium's but I still prefer what I see under the MH. The only reason I still run it is I don't want the extra heat of a third MH. I'm not sure if it is because of the narrow spectrum of LED's.This is just my opinion though as there are others that love the LED technology.

I can't compare to MH since i upgraded from PC to DIY Led lighting.
Am using Cree/Meanwell with Royal Blue/Cool Blue/ Neutral white/ Cool White /True Violet combo.
I still don't have the colors where i want them yet but i am going to experiment with some warmer whites from Luxeon and i also have a some cyan and deep reds to mess with.
But growth is great, even has the power to bleach SPS on the sand bed if turned all the way up.

Yup same same combo for me minus the violets. Don't get me wrong, growth is great as the PAR is higher than my MH. I have a PAR meter to check it with. The LED color is where I want it as they are dimmable channels connected to an Apex, so I set them to suit. The problem is the color of my SPS. They just have better colors under the MH.

[HondaB20B]

Ey fishman, where you got your PAR meter to buy. I need to get one so i can do my regular checks along with checking to see if i can keep the clam

[ziggy_dappa]

I agree that the DIY LEDs are fairly easy to do. For a tank that size if doing LED and making your own, look into parallel strings rather than series so as to cut down on many drivers. Using too many drivers such as the Meanwell 48D can cause some line overloading/overheating. The HLG series is a better choice for larger builds. There is a great DIY thread over at reefcentral.

That being said I'm still not sold on LED's. I am running a DIY in the center of my tank and radium MH 250W on the ends. I have made the led build in the center to visually match what the Radium's look like and I still prefer the Coral colors I have under the Radium's. The PAR under the LED's are actually more than the Radium's but I still prefer what I see under the MH. The only reason I still run it is I don't want the extra heat of a third MH. I'm not sure if it is because of the narrow spectrum of LED's.This is just my opinion though as there are others that love the LED technology.

I can't compare to MH since i upgraded from PC to DIY Led lighting.
Am using Cree/Meanwell with Royal Blue/Cool Blue/ Neutral white/ Cool White /True Violet combo.
I still don't have the colors where i want them yet but i am going to experiment with some warmer whites from Luxeon and i also have a some cyan and deep reds to mess with.
But growth is great, even has the power to bleach SPS on the sand bed if turned all the way up.

Yup same same combo for me minus the violets. Don't get me wrong, growth is great as the PAR is higher than my MH. I have a PAR meter to check it with. The LED color is where I want it as they are dimmable channels connected to an Apex, so I set them to suit. The problem is the color of my SPS. They just have better colors under the MH.

Yea I understand exactly what you mean that's why I playing around with the colors to determine if they would be the choice for my next tank upgrade, as i would prefer not to use halides due to the power consumption and heat.
I am using manually dimmable drivers (potentiometer control)to adjust color temp right now.

[Fishman]

Ey fishman, where you got your PAR meter to buy. I need to get one so i can do my regular checks along with checking to see if i can keep the clam

I bought it in the classifieds on Reefcentral. It's an Apogee and I got a good deal on it. I've been reading some threads though that you can just buy the submersible quantum sensor from Apogee and then hook it up to a multimeter. Then just use a conversion factor to correct the figures. The sensor by itself is much cheaper than the whole meter from Apogee. There are a few sensors though so do your research to make sure you are getting the right one to use with a multimeter.

[Fishman]

I agree that the DIY LEDs are fairly easy to do. For a tank that size if doing LED and making your own, look into parallel strings rather than series so as to cut down on many drivers. Using too many drivers such as the Meanwell 48D can cause some line overloading/overheating. The HLG series is a better choice for larger builds. There is a great DIY thread over at reefcentral.

That being said I'm still not sold on LED's. I am running a DIY in the center of my tank and radium MH 250W on the ends. I have made the led build in the center to visually match what the Radium's look like and I still prefer the Coral colors I have under the Radium's. The PAR under the LED's are actually more than the Radium's but I still prefer what I see under the MH. The only reason I still run it is I don't want the extra heat of a third MH. I'm not sure if it is because of the narrow spectrum of LED's.This is just my opinion though as there are others that love the LED technology.

I can't compare to MH since i upgraded from PC to DIY Led lighting.
Am using Cree/Meanwell with Royal Blue/Cool Blue/ Neutral white/ Cool White /True Violet combo.
I still don't have the colors where i want them yet but i am going to experiment with some warmer whites from Luxeon and i also have a some cyan and deep reds to mess with.
But growth is great, even has the power to bleach SPS on the sand bed if turned all the way up.

Yup same same combo for me minus the violets. Don't get me wrong, growth is great as the PAR is higher than my MH. I have a PAR meter to check it with. The LED color is where I want it as they are dimmable channels connected to an Apex, so I set them to suit. The problem is the color of my SPS. They just have better colors under the MH.

Yea I understand exactly what you mean that's why I playing around with the colors to determine if they would be the choice for my next tank upgrade, as i would prefer not to use halides due to the power consumption and heat.
I am using manually dimmable drivers (potentiometer control)to adjust color temp right now.

Yup. I love the halides for colour. Hate the heat. I can't wait until the LED technology can match Halides. When that day comes ill be switching fully.

[bluesteel29]

a solution for the heat problem using HID lights is a cooltube...attach some ducting and a fan n it should drop the heat from the bulb drastically.

[HondaB20B]

Ey fishman, where you got your PAR meter to buy. I need to get one so i can do my regular checks along with checking to see if i can keep the clam

I bought it in the classifieds on Reefcentral. It's an Apogee and I got a good deal on it. I've been reading some threads though that you can just buy the submersible quantum sensor from Apogee and then hook it up to a multimeter. Then just use a conversion factor to correct the figures. The sensor by itself is much cheaper than the whole meter from Apogee. There are a few sensors though so do your research to make sure you are getting the right one to use with a multimeter.

Thanks, will check it out

[Fishman]

a solution for the heat problem using HID lights is a cooltube...attach some ducting and a fan n it should drop the heat from the bulb drastically.

Thanks for the info.

[HondaB20B]

Look at how technology get now ehh.............
Even all the new T5 hoods run allot cooler now than before. They running 2-4 mini fans and pulling the heat away.

[HondaB20B]

Saw 3 plugs by Raj


On a different note......................Every night my moonlights are always on till late (they always say it promotes spawning of fish, inverts & corals), tonight my male pajama cardinal in the DT, decided to release his 1wk old fry into the water stream. Well they didnt last too long (food for the others), 10min after, 2 of my skunk cleaner shrimp released their young into the water also. It was a crazy frenzy for food. Even the zoas were eating. Its amazing to see how small life really is.

[UML]

Saw 3 plugs by Raj


On a different note......................Every night my moonlights are always on till late (they always say it promotes spawning of fish, inverts & corals), tonight my male pajama cardinal in the DT, decided to release his 1wk old fry into the water stream. Well they didnt last too long (food for the others), 10min after, 2 of my skunk cleaner shrimp released their young into the water also. It was a crazy frenzy for food. Even the zoas were eating. Its amazing to see how small life really is.

thanks honda

btw my nitrates still high...should i buy it or wait till it drops? only thing it mighten be available and my last coral was doing fine under the high nitrate conditions? should i buy it?

also, 2 weeks of dosing my tank at 0.4ml and no change.......should i add the 0.5ml for a total of 0.9ml or go up to 0.6ml instead and see if i see any changes?

[Fishman]

Saw 3 plugs by Raj


On a different note......................Every night my moonlights are always on till late (they always say it promotes spawning of fish, inverts & corals), tonight my male pajama cardinal in the DT, decided to release his 1wk old fry into the water stream. Well they didnt last too long (food for the others), 10min after, 2 of my skunk cleaner shrimp released their young into the water also. It was a crazy frenzy for food. Even the zoas were eating. Its amazing to see how small life really is.

thanks honda

btw my nitrates still high...should i buy it or wait till it drops? only thing it mighten be available and my last coral was doing fine under the high nitrate conditions? should i buy it?

also, 2 weeks of dosing my tank at 0.4ml and no change.......should i add the 0.5ml for a total of 0.9ml or go up to 0.6ml instead and see if i see any changes?

You will not see changes instantly. Like I said it could take a long time to see changes. If you have gone through the 7 day cycle then you should add the 0.5ml unless you are seeing adverse reactions in your tank from vodka dosing. Keep adding 0.5 ml per week until you see the nitrate start to change. Maintain that dose till its undetectable then cut the dose in half.

This article is very good and explains everything thoroughly. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

I cannot say if or if not to add another piece as it could go either way under high nitrate conditions depending on the coral.

Again if you are continuing the vodka dosing it will take a while before reaching your tanks correct dosage and seeing a drop in nitrate. You will not see changes over night.

[Reefplanet]

Honda i just come back from vacation and if u see how much coralline algae grew . I starting to setup the tank now. Gonna get 20 more lbs of sand and 20lbs of live rock. I got some dry rock but i not sure how much lbs it is.

during the cycling stage the lights should be on or off?and how much % of a water change i need after the cycle?

honda how long and what time did the shrimp and fish start to spawn with the moon leds?

[HondaB20B]

reefplanet, after the female cardinal lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them, he keeps them in his mouth till they hatch and are free swimming. This is the first time i've seen them out his mouth. Over the last 5mths or so, he has had a brood over 6 times now. I cant catch them (the breeding pair) out because of the amount of live rock in the tank................ and i dont have rotifers to feed them in any case. The shrimp are free swimming. All this is after 10PM

[HondaB20B]

UML.................What you have in your sump? bio-balls, sponge, filterfloss?

[Reefplanet]

wow thats so cool ...can you catch the fry as soon as they come out the father's moth or they are to small?

[Reefplanet]

And wen u sellin ur coral and showing us the entire tank ??? questions after questions !!!

[HondaB20B]

For all the guys that want to put up big tanks and go by fly-by-night men who dont know how to build/brace tanks and dont want to go thicker glass because of cost. A little bit of warning.......A well known person that recently started setting up saltwater tanks was installing a tank in a big business place in central, 120" X 48" X 48" X 1/2" glass (1200gal) and halfway getting filled, the front glass let go and the tank exploded........................................I real sorry for him and the co in Pt Lisas.

[sharkman121]

i feel i woulda cry oui.... do the ting good first time and done. This aint a hobby to be cutting costs. Well you just hadda know what you cutting costs with, not tank, skimmer, lighting..

[UML]

UML.................What you have in your sump? bio-balls, sponge, filterfloss?

plastic pot scrub

[HondaB20B]

UML.................What you have in your sump? bio-balls, sponge, filterfloss?

plastic pot scrub

I had ah mind you had some nitrate factory in your sump. thats why your nitrates will not go down.
why you have that in there now?

[UML]

to filter and grow bacteria...oh yea also have a filter sock as well

doh know if this helps but when i do my water changes i empty the water from my sump

[HondaB20B]

ok......................

[UML]

not so?

[sharkman121]

UML actually those pot scrubbers, filter floss, bio balls and canister filter have been outdated as they have been known to harbour nitrates and keep up the levels in yr system even if you do water changes in yr sump.

[sharkman121]

The best thing you can put in yr sump besides a skimmer is an Algae turf scrubber.

[HondaB20B]

The best thing you can put in yr sump besides a skimmer is an Algae turf scrubber.

Now i not saying no, but why even put one of those, every couple days or wks you still have to clean it..........................just put in some rowaphos in a reactor and yuh good.
I put one in since october and never saw algae again in my tank. Since then my phosphates undetectable

[sharkman121]

The best thing you can put in yr sump besides a skimmer is an Algae turf scrubber.

Now i not saying no, but why even put one of those, every couple days or wks you still have to clean it..........................just put in some rowaphos in a reactor and yuh good.
I put one in since october and never saw algae again in my tank. Since then my phosphates undetectable

Yeah once a week you need to clean the ATS. I tried rowaphos already but didnt like the results i was getting, i had a TLF reactor. Not doubting its a great product but ive never had much luck with it.

[Reefplanet]

My tank exploded already but idk why. This time i want to know how to avoid that. The tank was a bit off level and it was a metal stand so there was not much support at the bottom of the tank. the tank base is 24lx18w. If i get something to support the bottom will it split again???