Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

Congrats on getting your new fish in your QT tanks alive and hopefully well (sounds like it). Sorry to hear about your wife's fractured arm. Family comes first, always.
 
JZinCO said:
hahaha

Micheal, you may be interested in this.
I debated, considered radions xr15w pro, hydras 26, or Euroquatics Angel. All are roughly comparable and all would work. But I'm going to go with rapid led. They have one sleek fixture, the Corona (which replaced the Onyx). It'd cost around the same ($1200/3 units) and I like it but they partnered with a company for their controller and this company has not satisfied it's kickstarter backers. Considering that there are no physical controls on the unit and user-settings are stored on the cloud, the risk of a company going under and losing light control is unacceptable. Instead, I'm going with their DIY kit for 3 units in series and a 6-channel controller that doesn't require WiFi/WPS, all for under $1000. Based on your previous experiences with different bulbs and their unique spectra, I think you'd get a kick out of multi-channel control. It ought to do the trick. And for giggles, one can plug in lat/long to recreate seasonal sun cycles, as well as moon cycles. A Caribbean tank, just plug in Key Largo, FL. Even neater, their $200 controller plugs uses WiFi to plug in and replicate the real-time weather of a location. Of course those things are secondary. And hopefully the experience of soldering the light together will give the intimate knowledge needed when a component fails.
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I'm fairly certain you can still operate the Corona with apex... is this not true? If your point holds true then I would also avoid the Corona due to their dependency on another technology.

I will say that I like rapidled a lot as a company. They have terrific customer service, quality products, and their warranties are great. I've got the Onyx fixtures and am generally happy with them but would like to have greater coverage. Adding two more fixtures would be about perfect but they are hard to find now.
 
Michael Hoaster said:
I'd very much like to follow your progress on the DIY kit. Can you share your experience?
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I think I will buy it sooner than later, because I can use the same fixture on my current tank. Currently emailing back and forth with rapid led to figure out lighting. So I will keep you informed. Spending a grand on a hobby at once will be a tough pill to swallow.. but hey I guess that's why I made a budget for my upcoming build.
 
McPuff, if you had a footprint of 72 x 24, how many Corona units would you put on, considering you want to house anything from mixed coral to seagrasses?

I emailed them the following as well: "On another note, it looks like all controllability of the Corona depends on the Fishbit controller. I'm concerned about that company based on responses of their initial backers and others who made pre-orders and have waited 1-3 years with little communication. Is there anything to reassure me? Will Rapid Led help Corona owners if transition to another controller/app is required?"

----

Michael, I can't wait to see photos of those fish.
 
Sam, it was clearly my wife's most diabolical scheme yet to thwart my efforts!

Thanks Kevin. She's getting better everyday, and it gives me the chance to repay all the times she's had to nurse me back to health, over the years.
 
JZinCO, I would think building your lights would warrant starting a dedicated thread to it. You could start one in the DIY forum. I'm sure a LOT of folks would be very interested in your experience. It kinda sounds like you're starting up a new tank, so it could be part of a new tank build thread. Whatever you decide, I look forward to following!

McPuff, that's good to know, regarding RapidLED's customer service, etc. Knowing you'll have good company support after purchase is pretty important, especially given all the options and components.
 
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JZinCO said:
McPuff, if you had a footprint of 72 x 24, how many Corona units would you put on, considering you want to house anything from mixed coral to seagrasses?
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That is a tricky one actually. I think you could get by with 3 of but you'd want to keep the t5 to fill in the gaps. I have 4 over my 72 x 36 footprint and the edges are all pretty dim. I would need 6 to adequately cover it. There is another thread on here (another 300DD) where the guy has just that.

With 24" front to back the Corona should have enough spread to cover it well. But I do think you'd want to go with 4 units min. If you can swing 6 of them you'll be able to run them at a much lower intensity and have TERRIFIC coverage without t5s. When I had the 120, 4 of the Onyx units were really good. This is the main problem with LED on large tanks... just need so many to do a good job.
 
JZ, I didn't mean to run you off, though after re-reading my last post, I can see why you might think that I did. Sorry. I've really enjoyed the discussion. I was suggesting a DIY build thread, so more people could find it and join in, rather than just us oddballs in the plant section.

Thanks for the link! I'll be following.
 
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No worries. Thought I could bring in a wider audience and also was trying to be courteous to you. Didn't feel I had to move the discussion off your thread at all.
 
JZinCO said:
Thought I could bring in a wider audience and also was trying to be courteous to you.
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Because we need more people to help dilute Michael? :D



How are the fish doing in the QT and is the lone Houdini accounted for? And when do we get pictures??
 
All Michael, all the time…Seriously though, thanks to all who weighed in on LED lights - very informative!

One of the grammas died. Another one looks iffy. I thought it was dead, but when I tried to net it, it moved. I don't know if it will make it or not.

Not much to look at, pic-wise, in their little QTs, but I guess I could try.
 
Michael Hoaster said:
All Michael, all the time"¦Seriously though, thanks to all who weighed in on LED lights - very informative!

One of the grammas died. Another one looks iffy. I thought it was dead, but when I tried to net it, it moved. I don't know if it will make it or not.

Not much to look at, pic-wise, in their little QTs, but I guess I could try.
Click to expand...

Are you doing TTM for the grammas? As you know they are ich magnets. I'd recommend taking them through this process at some point.
 
I wasn't planning to, McPuff. My plan is hypo salinity for six weeks. I'm open to suggestions. What's your QT procedure?
 
Michael,

Thank you for joining in on biodiversity conversation. I like what Calore said about running a sterile reef tank, “It is boring”.

Well, I don’t think that your tank is boring you. For certain, it is not boring me.

Because picture posting is much easier for me at nano reef, I mostly post there. The moderators there subscribe to, “He that governs less, governs best”. That works best for me as well.
 
Thanks Subsea.

It's a good discussion they have going. I've also read a lot of your old posts here and there regarding lighting. Lots of good stuff out there!

I have read that article, but I will read it again, thanks! Sarah is the Queen of Seagrass!
 
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