ELCHUPACABRA
New member
15g + 15g sump, 2x 70w MH (14K) + 36w PC actinic custom DIY light.
Bright Pink/Ballerina slipper pink speckles backed with custom CHUPA pinkish purple.
EL CHUPACABRA pink 15g
- Thread starter ELCHUPACABRA
- Start date
15g + 15g sump, 2x 70w MH (14K) + 36w PC actinic custom DIY light.
Bright Pink/Ballerina slipper pink speckles backed with custom CHUPA pinkish purple.
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
No sand, no BareBottom, carpet of zoos: growin, growin, growin...
What do you think of it???
What do you think of it???
castorpollux
New member
thats a pretty sweet idea with the tiles I have seen people do that for monti's but not but modular substrate, are they limestone? that would help with ph
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
Marble tiles 1"x1", 95% calcium carbonate that is just super hard since it was subjected to tons of heat and pressure. I have found that once the zoos get past the super glue growth is much faster than the same zoos growing on live rock. Growth is supposed to be phenominal with SPS on tiles, which I hope to get into soon.
I am feeding a ton of kents: zooplex and coral accel everyday (like 3+ capfuls of each) + loads of these other additives:
I haven't done a water change since I set the tank up. Which is awesome and I give all the credit to the chaeto growing in my fuge. With all that dosing comes all this testing:
My params are all at zero. Things are rocking and rolling for me since I got the tank set up. I had a 4g before this, and this is the physical manifestation of what I learned from the 4g. I tried to keep it clean and tried to do some things I haven't seen before. I am a avid N-Rer, and am very new over here; but seem to like it here thus forth.
(Is it implicit RC edict to sign your posts? I have been seeing that a lot lately.)
I am feeding a ton of kents: zooplex and coral accel everyday (like 3+ capfuls of each) + loads of these other additives:
I haven't done a water change since I set the tank up. Which is awesome and I give all the credit to the chaeto growing in my fuge. With all that dosing comes all this testing:
My params are all at zero. Things are rocking and rolling for me since I got the tank set up. I had a 4g before this, and this is the physical manifestation of what I learned from the 4g. I tried to keep it clean and tried to do some things I haven't seen before. I am a avid N-Rer, and am very new over here; but seem to like it here thus forth.
(Is it implicit RC edict to sign your posts? I have been seeing that a lot lately.)
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
I helped a friend put a 250wMH on his fresh water planted tank, and in return he gave me his old 48" broken aluminum coral life fixture, one mans trash is another mans treasure. I sawed it in half using a jig saw in my kitchen, I really don't recommend that tool though because it is terribly loud, really slow and barely works, just the only tool I had besides a dremel and that was even worse.
I bought 2 300w halogen outdoor lights for $8 a piece. It just so happens that the bulb holder out of a 300/500 watt halogen fixture is the perfect size for 70w and 150w MH bulbs. They sell these lights every where, as work lights, security lights, etc. In addition the glass they use on these fixtures is UV glass and many of the 70w and 150w bulbs put of toxic UV rays that will hurt you and your tank, but the glass filter it out and UL requires MH to be behind glass in case they explode. Plus the have a reflector. (You can use the existing fixture as is and just pop in a bulb and wire up the ballast (which has to wired be within 36" of the bulb mount it and do the MH dance
)).
I gutted the halogen fixtures and stole the reflectors (which I modded to fit), the bulb holding sockets, and just kept the high temp wiring on it. I cut up the fixture even more to add the light where the old CF ballast used to be. I also crammed 2 18w CF ballast in next the the bulbs, in the remaining space I mounted the 2 18wCF bulbs. I made little brackets that hold the glass on but missed placed them in my move, and the glass is currently zip tied on, works great.
I wired up the MH ballast, and they sit behind the tank. The CF ballast I wired to the existing switch so they could be turned on/off independent of the MH. I really dig this light, my reef has exploded since I put it on, growth is phenomenal. I may be selling this fixture soon, since I have a 400w MH I am working on, I am excessive this light is big on a 15g, but 400w on a 15g thats what I am talking about, SPS here I come.
Here are some old photos of it:
I bought 2 300w halogen outdoor lights for $8 a piece. It just so happens that the bulb holder out of a 300/500 watt halogen fixture is the perfect size for 70w and 150w MH bulbs. They sell these lights every where, as work lights, security lights, etc. In addition the glass they use on these fixtures is UV glass and many of the 70w and 150w bulbs put of toxic UV rays that will hurt you and your tank, but the glass filter it out and UL requires MH to be behind glass in case they explode. Plus the have a reflector. (You can use the existing fixture as is and just pop in a bulb and wire up the ballast (which has to wired be within 36" of the bulb mount it and do the MH dance
)).I gutted the halogen fixtures and stole the reflectors (which I modded to fit), the bulb holding sockets, and just kept the high temp wiring on it. I cut up the fixture even more to add the light where the old CF ballast used to be. I also crammed 2 18w CF ballast in next the the bulbs, in the remaining space I mounted the 2 18wCF bulbs. I made little brackets that hold the glass on but missed placed them in my move, and the glass is currently zip tied on, works great.
I wired up the MH ballast, and they sit behind the tank. The CF ballast I wired to the existing switch so they could be turned on/off independent of the MH. I really dig this light, my reef has exploded since I put it on, growth is phenomenal. I may be selling this fixture soon, since I have a 400w MH I am working on, I am excessive this light is big on a 15g, but 400w on a 15g thats what I am talking about, SPS here I come.
Here are some old photos of it:
CPT. MURPHY
Premium Member
Very nice!
CPT.
CPT.
gregbot9000
New member
how long do u think it will take for that bottom to become a full carpet of zoo's?
looks awesome!
looks awesome!
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
I would say it takes maybe 2-4 months for a tile to be covered and I have polyps attached to 3/4 of the tiles in there so in the next couple of months dramatic gains will be made and within 4ish months I should be pretty close, within 6 months I will have the first-ever underwater magic carpet. EL CHUPACABRAS MAGIC CARPET. do not dry clean...
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Thats really cool. I am in the process of curing a bunch of little aragacrete tiles that I thought would be a cool way to do the same... making it easier to frag zoas and montis. Glad to see it how it looks (I was just going to put mine on eggcrate, but hey!?!? Looks good.
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
I am not really into the frag prop tank look of eggcrate, it is popular, but not for me looks way to un-natural, I only want one tank, and it sits in my living room, I want it to look beautiful not industrial. Right now the tiles look un-natural covering the bottom but once the magic carpet finishes engulfing the tiles, I should be able to just cut out tiles and trade them for corals to cover my rock work, and simply replace the empty spot with a new tile which should quickly become engulfed in new zoos since they will grow in on it from all angles. Best of luck with your prop tank.
chocolateblnt
New member
That stand looks scary ...
Hope those zoo's grow out
Hope those zoo's grow out
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
Stand looks clean, reinforcements have be made to support the weight.
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
Growth has nearly quadrupled since pictures were taken, meaning most single polyps have split and now have 3-4 baby polyps emerging from mat. I am currently working on perfecting water quality for SPS, which will cover the aquascaping, in a most unconventional manner of course. Stay tuned, I am full of surprises.
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
ELCHUPACABRA
New member
BCreefmaker
New member
very nice tank dude, i have to ask... where did you get those calcium carbonate tiles? they seem like a really good idea for a ez to clean substrate.
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