30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

[sam.basye]

30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

I know it! I have to get going on the next prototype. Truthfully, I've needed to build one for just over a year now. :facepalm:



For the Radion, if you don't care about having the latest and greatest, you could probably get a Gen 1 for relatively cheap and it would certainly provide plenty of pretty light.

Hopefully it doesn't crash and make me retype all this again.. try 2!

As long as your prototype doesn't make me want to redo all the work I've done, you can build one and share it. Lol

I don't need the latest and greatest, that's why I want a G3 Pro. Lol
Now if I did want the latest and greatest, I'd b hunting down a G4 Pro! Haha

It's more of a want than a need. I want the quality, output, and connectability of a 1-2 year old radion over the current light or another one that is 4ish years old and probably needs to have the LED's replaced. I'd like to get a Reeflink as well to connect the light and mp10. I'm also a little more leery buying say a gen 1 due to its age and the higher potential of it not working quite right, especially buying without seeing it in person.

If you don't mind used lots of stuff on the boards since Santa brought in a new batch of goodies. Or, if you are a DIY person can get some really nice multi-channels and build your own for a fraction of the cost.



On the 'Nem....started with one about that size, now have 6 [emoji20] I think they are just has bad as Xenia! J/k - well, maybe not. But the 6 in my 40 breeder is the problem and two of them continue to roam about the tank because there just isn't enough room for them all. Never again.

Hopefully I can snatch one up on the cheap. Lol I looked into the diy LED aspect a couple years ago and determined it just wasn't worth the effort lol
A nice controller and adequate power supply can get pretty pricy and then there's the me screwing something up or it quits working a year later. Haha I would like to have the arduino knowledge and small electronics competency as well, but that's all a little over my head!

That was my first rbta I got from a friend about 2 years ago and it was about the size of a golf ball. It grew to about 6-8" and only recently split for the first time. Now I have two 6" nems. When the other lets go I'll probably sell it to someone who has bought coral from me before and said they'd buy it if I ever sell it. I'd like another one, but green with purple tips if I can ever find one locally again.

What lights do you have? Blast them with light and they don't move. Lol that and they need a big enough area for the foot to attach. That's why mine moved recently.



New tank update!

I got carried away again and added more coral and a fish.

I hand caught the clown. Lol Scooped it right up - I can't tell you how much more I like this clown than the two a**hole clowns I had prior! And it had really colored up nicely living in the nem. It has a real pretty gradual fade from bright orange up to a dark orangish/black that even comes down its head.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Great pics!

 

[saf1]

What lights do you have? Blast them with light and they don't move. Lol that and they need a big enough area for the foot to attach. That's why mine moved recently.

Currently over the 40 breeder I have a pair of Borealis Luxeon Z Arrays and they are too much. I have them about 18" above the waterline and also running no more than 70% on a couple of the channels. They don't make them anymore probably due to the complaints they received about too many lime emitters. I personally like them and dial in the spectrum with my controller. They are, if I remember correctly:

Channel 1 (1000mA max) - 5 Neutral White
Channel 2 (1000mA max) - 6 Royal Blue + 5 Blue
Channel 3 (700mA max) - 12 Lime
Channel 4 (700mA max) - 5 Violet UV + 4 Deep Red (660nm)

With my 240 gallon upgrade, still in progress although in the house finally, I am again going with a multi channel single Luxeon array from Blue Acro. I've built 4 of them and this channel lay out is:

Channel 1: 4x Royal Blue, 1x Warm White
Channel 2: 2x Royal Blue, 1x 425nm Violet, 1x 415nm Violet
Channel 3: 1x Lime, 1x Warm White, 1x Royal Blue, 1x Neutral White
Channel 4: 1x Blue, 1x Royal Blue, 1x Cyan

I believe it will be enough, or more than enough, light. Intensity and spectrum will be controlled via a controller. Today I use a ReefAngel which is working perfectly fine. However, I picked up a Apex on one of the sales so will migrate everything over.

I hand caught the clown. Lol Scooped it right up - I can't tell you how much more I like this clown than the two a**hole clowns I had prior!

This made me giggle, thanks. Honestly, I often wonder why I have any clowns at all. Everyone I have owned they are all real pieces of work. Constantly attacking me like they own the bloody tank. Who would have thought something so tiny packed a mean bite. I have a pair that run amuck between my rose bubble tips - cool to watch, my nephew loves them, but while I'll move them to the new tank I won't be putting anymore in. That is for sure.

Everything looks good - again, thanks for sharing and posting. Always enjoy reading.

 

[sam.basye]

Thanks, Hoaster!


That's pretty neat, saf1!

If you don't mind me asking; about how much does a complete light cost to create? Got any pics of them??

I try to make the thread fun. Lol
I made a pretty good pig joke towards the wife today. Haha
We had just finished eating dinner and I said it smelled like bacon in here. Lmao
Took her a few to realize I was referring to her! Lol
Today was her first day at the police academy.

Im gonna use the appoinkment one sometime soon, McPuff!
She has to go to the doctor to get a shot for work so that'll be a perfect opportunity. Lol

 

[McPuff]

Thanks, Hoaster!


That's pretty neat, saf1!

If you don't mind me asking; about how much does a complete light cost to create? Got any pics of them??

I try to make the thread fun. Lol
I made a pretty good pig joke towards the wife today. Haha
We had just finished eating dinner and I said it smelled like bacon in here. Lmao
Took her a few to realize I was referring to her! Lol
Today was her first day at the police academy.

Im gonna use the appoinkment one sometime soon, McPuff!
She has to go to the doctor to get a shot for work so that'll be a perfect opportunity. Lol

Yes! :0)

saf1, also interested in a build estimate for your 240. I thought about doing something similar using the blue acro but after buying all the power supplies and drivers, lenses, heat sinks, etc., it seems to be pretty expensive. BUT, you do have pretty simply plug and play... and configuration can be perfect for any system.

 

[saf1]

Thanks, Hoaster!


That's pretty neat, saf1!

If you don't mind me asking; about how much does a complete light cost to create? Got any pics of them??

I'll have to work on getting some better photos this weekend. Building the canopy at the moment and they are just laying on a 2x4 and extruded aluminum frame.

I'm under $430 for the set of four which is LED chips, heat sinks, fans, drivers, and power supply. Each multi-channel LED is 48W so those 4 alone are netting the potential of 192 W. Compare to off the shelf this is a lower wattage (some double units are pushing 190W) but then again I have less LEDS (16 vs 46). Off the shelf units vary in price depending on how fancy but 400 to 800 dollars is a lot for a single unit. I'm not too keen on spending $2,000.00 on lighting so will see how the $430 I spent works out. Even if I have to double it then I'm still under $800 outside my time. Say I make a mistake or two, possible/likely, I'd still be under 1K.

Won't be has pretty but then again they will be stuffed in the canopy so no one will see. Not sure if this is for everyone but with the controller, ReefAngel today, Apex tomorrow, I can dial in lighting cycles, spectrum, and intensity. I want to continue to believe I'll be ok Ask me in a couple months

 

[saf1]

Yes! :0)

saf1, also interested in a build estimate for your 240. I thought about doing something similar using the blue acro but after buying all the power supplies and drivers, lenses, heat sinks, etc., it seems to be pretty expensive. BUT, you do have pretty simply plug and play... and configuration can be perfect for any system.

Sure - blue acro is a good source if you are a DIY person. I provided a rough estimate of building 4 of the Pro's. I can send you a PM with tank estimate and other things if you want.

Honestly going large is nice but there are a lot of things I personally didn't factor in which can be a bit scary looking back. Something simple like buying salt. Filling up 240 or so gallons isn't cheap. Water changes? Didn't really think about it (probably because I'm lazy and try to do as few as possible) but now I do. Logistics of moving it, size it takes in the room, stocking fish, corals, etc. Something this make sense others I didn't really pay attention to (the details). Few things I got lucky because I previously owned a 100 gallon and bought a larger skimmer.

I think I'll be ok with lighting like I posted above. I mostly keep LPS and soft corals anyway but may add a few SPS this go around. Nice example of a tank is Sanjay's - search youtube "Sanjay 500 Gallon Mega Reef" and he has 7 or 8 LED array's over his. I think the key is being able to control the spectrum and intensity. So cost can go up or down depending on if you have a controller or need to use one built into the light kit.

Didn't mean to derail the thread - sorry.

 

[ratherbeflyen]

I'm currently right at about 630TT with about 335 hours of that as dual given in the 172.

I don't think I've ever had 4 people in one either. Lol The only real way to get 4 is if you stick two kids back there, otherwise you'd be running on fumes just to take off under max weight. Haha
They're nice, we have a fleet of about 20 Skyhawks and the oldest one is a 2010. All have the g1000 glass cockpit too.

Fun story - recently I went to Dulles with a student and on the way back we went to hot springs airport KHSP which is about 4,000' up on the top of a little mountain in a mountainous area. It was dark right after departing Dulles and about halfway there ATC told us there was a V22 (Osprey) doing something low altitude over the airport. When we got closer, we started talking to them on the radios and they were doing pattern work with no exterior lights and all the airport lights off practicing pattern work with vertical takeoff and landings in the grass next to the runway! They let us turn the runway lights on and we landed while they were in the grass with engines running and you couldn't see anything. I assume they were practicing flying with night vision goggles. One of the coolest things I've seen so far.

Yeah, I think a 3 seat option is long overdue. I just didn't know they had it. Even a Bonanza is marginal for 4 people if you all bring a bag and top off the tanks.

Just wait, if you stay in the business long enough one day you'll say, "look a Skyhawk, did you know those come with 3 seats now?" :lolspin:

Not to hijack your thread, but I also made a tank (40B) with an integrated back wall.

I also made my own led light.

I made a box out of oak that is cable suspended from above. I bought 10 watt led chips off of ebay in 390nm, 440nm, and 10knm. I then used a 1/4" piece of aluminum as a heat sink and mounting plate. It's covered with a cheap thin piece of acrylic for salt/water protection.

I use a $25 tc420 led controller that you can program to infinite time and intensity settings. I have mine set to with 1% moon lights and at 10:00 it starts to ramp up the colors and intensity to peak at 13:00 and then ramp back down from 17:00 to 22:00. It also controls some red leds I have on an algae scrubber & refugium section. You can learn more about the controller at tc420.net and youtube. I'm also happy to answer any questions I can.

I also added 1 24 watt t5 coral plus bulb to cover any light spectrum the leds might miss that runs for 5 hours a day.

The t5 fixture and bulb was $40 and I have about $60 into the led setup for chips, controller, aluminum, wire, and acrylic.

I've been running that setup for 2 years, and I'm going to do the exact same thing on my next build that's in progress.

Again, apologies for the thread hijack. I promise I'll make my own thread when the build is done, but I do know how much work you're putting into that build. It looks great, I really like it.

 

[sam.basye]

Saf1, that's pretty neat. I'd definitely be more inclined to make my own if I needed more than one, maybe two, lights over the tank. Seems like a good setup. I enjoy the little electrical work, but some of the stuff makes zero sense. Haha

Flyen, it blows my mind that airplanes have barely changed over the past 60 years. The biggest change is now having glass cockpits, and that is fairly recent. The skyhawk looks the same as it did when they first came out with it. About a month ago I saw an article saying the last 747 would be flown into retirement that puzzled me. I looked it up and couldn't believe they have been around since the sixties! That was news to me. Lol Put a nice paint job on it and call it new for all I know. Haha

Nice looking wall! What's it made out of??

I actually bought some of those 10w chips for some sort of fish project. It obviously didn't work out. Haha They're definite bright though.

I'm always open to hijacking, thread-wise. Lol I should start throwing 7500 into the thread when someone hijacks! (For those not pilots; it's aviation lingo - entering 7500 into the transponder if you are being hijacked. It's a discrete way of declaring an emergency to ATC)

Thanks everyone for the engaging comments. It can derail all it wants as long as we're all having fun. I enjoy others walls especially, so if you have made a wall, or making one, post up pics! Maybe there's a concept or idea I can steal for my next build!

Back on track.. I just bought (sent PayPal payment) 2 reeflinks. Lol
Got a sweet deal - $130 shipped for both so I'll keep one and try selling the other to a local friend for a little $$ to offset the cost of new lights. I tend to buy multiples of things at a lower price and resell the rest. Lol that's how I buy coral in live sales online. Buy 10+ corals to sell 7 and make enough to pay for it all and get to keep 3 for free. You gotta shell out a little more money at once, but the return is better than only buying what you need/want.
Now I just need the lights! - which I will buy 4 if I can get a good deal on. Haha

 

[saf1]

Flyen, it blows my mind that airplanes have barely changed over the past 60 years.

What always blew my mind was turning wrenches on airplanes/air frames that are older than I when I was in the military. B-52's and F-4's come to mind with the Buff's still flying strong.

 

[sam.basye]

30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Michael, here's a closer pic of the burning magician zoa's. They are the coolest ones I've had. They have little flecks of bright blue in the center.

I got the new 3/4" to 1/2" loc-line reducers and 1/2" nozzles today and got them installed. Much better! I still have to reduce the output from the return pump since the durso doesn't like it full blast. Going to experiment with different sized vent holes in the top cap.

I also added the long tentacle plate coral and big elegance coral. I kinda rushed the plate and bursted some of the tentacles, but I'm sure it'll be fine in a few days. Going to try keeping the elegance up high in the left corner for more sand space. I also moved the mp10 over and down for more flow across the rbta, but I may move it back or to the other wall, not 100% sure yet.

FTS

Damn Flickr. Back to tapatalk for now

 

[sam.basye]

Just bought 2 Radion XR30w g2's with the g3 pro upgrade and 2 RMS mounts shipped for $625! Not sure if I'm gonna keep one or sell them both. If I can find a really good deal on a newer g3 pro in the near future, I'll sell them both.

The nice thing is the wife is super busy with her cop stuff and the police academy during the day while I'm getting paid to sleep in till noon and wander around in my underwear all day so I can intercept packages and avoid the lectures of fish paraphernalia. Haha
She asked me again today when I'm getting rid of the two tanks on the floor D:

The elegance and plate coral are looking good and inflating. I used some 2 part putty stuff and jammed the indo torch in place as well.

Here are some macro shots I took tonight messing around with a new camera app.

Stylo - gotta find the magic placement; this one is very picky! It's more of a brownish now. Should turn purple and green again soon

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Love the macro shots! So it's an app? I've been looking at macro lenses for my iPhone, but have pulled the trigger. An app would be easier.

 

[sam.basye]

Love the macro shots! So it's an app? I've been looking at macro lenses for my iPhone, but have pulled the trigger. An app would be easier.

Well, I don't really think it's a true macro shot and pretty sure it just uses the zoom to get closer up - which you can do manually, but it's a little more intuitive than the native iPhone camera app.

Those were shot using the free version of the Camera+ app. The flower icon at the top is "˜macro' mode.

I don't really want to spend $70 for a decent clip on macro lens so this seems like the best option so far. I'll play with it some more today to see if I can get any closer.

 

[fabulousfavia]

Those are really nice shots!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Yeah, I've played with the stock zoom. The image quality drops off. Whatever they're doing with the app, it looks better. I think the lense upgrade would be the best option, but I'd certainly give a free app a try!

 

[sam.basye]

30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Thanks, favia!

Mind you the pictures are being resized by tapatalk and it ends up with a max pixel resolution of 1500x1124 for each one where the clownfish pic was originally 4032x3024..

Any photo hosting suggestions that are easy and quick on a mobile device that don't reduce the image quality?? Or if I'm missing something from the sites below..

So far I've tried:
Google photos - can only post url link without image
Imgur - confusing and terrible mobile interface
Flickr - can only post url link without image, very difficult to copy image link on full site from mobile device
Photobucket - they can kiss my a**, and it was terribly slow

I'm running out of lazy options!


In a little bit I'll repost that picture using tapatalk next to a full res from the laptop for comparison.

 

[sam.basye]

30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Picture time!

slowly figuring this out.. haha

These I just took with the iPhone X using the Camera+ app with auto settings then uploaded to Flickr.



Elegance Coral


Rock flower anemone

Tapatalk quality

 

[saf1]

Elegance corals are probably one of my favorite. Do you have any other shots of yours and the location? Looks like tucked on the sand bed / rock base. I struggled with mine then after placed it on the sand bed resting upon a rock it took off.

Nice photos - keep up the good work!

 

[sam.basye]

Thanks, saf1!

Look back to post #91 for placement until the lights come on in 3 hours, then I'll take some more pics.
In the 26g, I had it in the sand bed and it took off. I've had it a little over a year now and it went from baseball sized to cantaloupe! It's probably 8" wide when full inflated.
I'm trying something new and sticking it way up on the rock work this time. It will give me more sand bed area and it will still get plenty of light in an otherwise useless area in the tank. It gets great flow up there too. My crab may not like it up there since it lived under it, but maybe he will adapt. Lol

I added both rock boring urchins yesterday as well since they were both in good locations to get to.

New lights should be here by Thursday!