reefmutt
Active member
Yep... I got two.. Sometimes you want to swap them out for new ones but then they colour up and you realize you just can't live without'em!
Jackson's 115 Gallon Custom Cube 32x32x26
- Thread starter jackson6745
- Start date
Yep... I got two.. Sometimes you want to swap them out for new ones but then they colour up and you realize you just can't live without'em!
paal
New member
Beautiful tank!
I am thinking about having one built with similar dimensions, but not a full cube. Something like 36x28x24(tall). I have planned for the spectra as well. (Not planning to add LEDs)
My main concern is this. I really want to limit the light spill outside the tank. At the same time though, I would like to get as much coverage as possible.
In your case, with the perfect square dimensions, I assume the problem is to get coverage front to back while at the same time not getting light spills to the sides of the tank(?)
My above dimensions are by no means final. They are just a rough estimate at this point.
Given your experience with the spectra, what would you consider ideal tank dimensions in order to get maximum coverage + minimal spill?
I am thinking about having one built with similar dimensions, but not a full cube. Something like 36x28x24(tall). I have planned for the spectra as well. (Not planning to add LEDs)
The Giesemann gives better spread and the t5's are brighter in that fixture. The only thing that i don't like is that it spreads the halide all over the room. Once I replace the mogul socket I may or may not put it back on. It depends on how bored I get this winter
My main concern is this. I really want to limit the light spill outside the tank. At the same time though, I would like to get as much coverage as possible.
In your case, with the perfect square dimensions, I assume the problem is to get coverage front to back while at the same time not getting light spills to the sides of the tank(?)
My above dimensions are by no means final. They are just a rough estimate at this point.
Given your experience with the spectra, what would you consider ideal tank dimensions in order to get maximum coverage + minimal spill?
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Thanks buddy. 3 of them?!?! Congrats! I feel better now. You seem to have enough time to tinker with the reef
Yep... I got two.. Sometimes you want to swap them out for new ones but then they colour up and you realize you just can't live without'em!
They color up? lmao! :lolspin:
You're right about the spread, it's better side-side than from-back. The dimensions of 36x28x24 would be covered perfectly. You could even go 30 on the width if you don't put coral against the front and back of the glass:lolspin:
I know you're not planning to add led's but I would reconsider. The 2 blue reefbrites that I added really add some nice color pop to the tank. They fit the fixture perfectly also.
paal
New member
I want to make the perfect tank/fixture combo in order to keep things as tidy as possible. I am not a huge fan of retrofitting stuff to the beautiful Spectra, but I must admit that the Reefbrites were actually not that bad looking.
Would it be possible to see some comparison pictures with and without the LEDs?
...and one with only the radium?
:lol2:
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
lol, next time I take pics I'll take comparison shots for you. Keep in mind with the reefbrites there is no retrofitting. The brackets line up with screws already in the spectra. Simply back out screws and put back in through reefbrite brackets. Is the LED necessary, no, does it make a very noticable difference in spectrum and and intensity, ABSOLUTELY!
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Actually I found a couple of pics that I had already taken with and without reefbrites on. You can see the pic without has less color pop and vibrance. Both pics are taken with my iphone6
With LED
IMG_5916 by rich colombo, on Flickr
WIthout
IMG_6005 by rich colombo, on Flickr
With LED
IMG_5916 by rich colombo, on FlickrWIthout
IMG_6005 by rich colombo, on Flickr
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Both look great, but I get what you are saying about the pop
What's hard to see from the pics is the increased brightness. The 2 led strips look bright!!! Weird thing is that par from the blue LED strips alone is a 80-100 a little below the water surface.
Great pictures. Thank you!
Moving to a new(to me) house in about two weeks, and will probably order a custom tank shortly after.
Just can't decide between the spectra and ATI hybrid. Life is tough
FWIW, Most of the guys that i know barely run the LED in that fixture. They use the T5 for the primary light, and a low LED percentage to adjust spectrum for visual appearance. I would just go with strait T5 and save money if you're not going to use a Giesemann Spectra.
Thanks Kat
I was bored and decided to put in a 10k Reeflux halide. For those of you that never ran this bulb, it has a disgusting white/pink spectrum
but it does something very strange to blue corals in the tank. Blue SPS get a deep color pop from this spectrum, but all the other corals looks like crap:spin2::spin2:blue
IMG_6042 by rich colombo, on Flickrblue
IMG_6048 by rich colombo, on Flickrblue
IMG_6043 by rich colombo, on Flickrblue
IMG_6045 by rich colombo, on Flickrblue
IMG_6044 by rich colombo, on Flickr
JB NY
Active member
Very nice Rich things are looking good. Congratulations on the baby, it will be an adventure for sure!
The reefbrites definitely look nice on the tank, I had to use them only at the end of the day for about two hours at 35% on the dimmer, I was burning up all my frags with them at full power on for only 5 hours.
The reefbrites definitely look nice on the tank, I had to use them only at the end of the day for about two hours at 35% on the dimmer, I was burning up all my frags with them at full power on for only 5 hours.
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Thanks Joe. Which reefbrite model did you use? The blue reefbrite that I have is non-dimable.
koral_lover
New member
Great tank - just recently started following.
May I ask which T5s you ran alongside your radium/Aquaconnect? All blue +? Or did you try to maximize growth by supporting the radium/aquaconnect with coral + or aquablues?
Thank you.
May I ask which T5s you ran alongside your radium/Aquaconnect? All blue +? Or did you try to maximize growth by supporting the radium/aquaconnect with coral + or aquablues?
Thank you.
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Thanks! I have been running 3 blue+ and one coral+ until recently. Bulbs needed changing so I went with 3 actinic and 1 purple plus for a little more fluorescent pop. This combo looks great, but not as bright obviously.
I love the pic with the 10k Reeflux. I ran the 12k for a while on my old SPS tank, but it didn't pop the blues the same way. I have been mentally (because I'm physically lazy) trying to duplicate the spectrum of the 10k reeflux with the Build My LED DIY spectrum approximation tool.
The only thing I haven't tried yet is PC Amber in my current LED fixture. Always working on trying to crack the code for the secret sauce of the 10k Reeflux and those blues.
Reeflover62 knows what's up with the 10k Reeflux... That Oregon Tort makes it almost worth living with the white pink
The only thing I haven't tried yet is PC Amber in my current LED fixture. Always working on trying to crack the code for the secret sauce of the 10k Reeflux and those blues.
Reeflover62 knows what's up with the 10k Reeflux... That Oregon Tort makes it almost worth living with the white pink
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Your tank looks really nice Richard. I like the poly extension on the blue staghorn. All colours are vibrant and deep.
What is the Acro in the above picture?
Thanks
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Thanks. That was sold to me as an Ora Blue Iris. It was a very large colony at one point but I lost most of it several months back. It's regrowing nicely now.
LOL funny because my reeflux bulb came from Chris. We were trading used bulbs last year. I used to run 400w 10k reeflux years ago in an old system using coralvue ballast and I don't remember them being this pink. On the lumatek ballast that I'm running now it looks like pepto :lolspin:
Thanks Jorge
Thanks! I feed fish spectrum pellets, new era algae pellets, cobalt mysis + spirulina flake, LRS reef frenzy herbivore, mysis, and cyclopeeze. I also dose aquavitro fuel a few times per week but this stuff gives me a small amount of cyano. I'm currently trying different amino brands to find one that doesn't affect cyano growth. :hammer:
Thank you. That is an Ora pearl berry. The white balance is a little off in that pic so it's hard to tell. I've grown that out from a booger 2 years ago. It's about 8" across now. I love that piece
