Kasey's 60g

[biggles]

Thanks for the reply to my long winded post mate That before and after really shows how much the colors have picked up from the beginning until now, you're definitely doing things right on the coral front. I have to say the yellow tang just about glows under the radium and B+ lighting, looks very cool and is already the boss of the tank although he only has to worry about a wimpy clown who only eats from my hand, a fat little mandarin who takes an angry swipe at the shrimp if he comes close and an over enthusiastic skunk shrimp that has stalking issues - the tank is like a fish psychiatrist's waiting room tbh. :fun5:
Your water looks crystal clear which is always a good thing imo. Are you using socks etc or letting everything circulate through the sump without being filtered out, can't remember if you've mentioned that aspect of your setup but i'd appreciate your take on that aspect Kasey.
The angled T5's is an excellent idea, the T5 mix should cover the majority of spectrum needs and those LED's will hopefully light up the corals especially with regard to fluorescence. Get the right mix and i'm sure you're going to see cool results mate.

 

[kaserpick]

I'm glad to hear that the tang has settled in well! That mandarin and shrimp act sounds like they'd be entertaining to watch. I've been thinking about a couple of skunks myself. They always add something extra to a tank. Cool inverts can be just as fun as fish.

As far as the water clarity is concerned, I just let it circulate between the sump and DT. Besides the skimmer and live rock, there's no filtration. I stay away from socks, carbon, etc for 2 simple reasons: Less of a chance to introduce something bad and less things to change out. (That last one is the most important )

I hope you're right about the light.

 

[biggles]

I'm glad to hear that the tang has settled in well! That mandarin and shrimp act sounds like they'd be entertaining to watch. I've been thinking about a couple of skunks myself. They always add something extra to a tank. Cool inverts can be just as fun as fish.

As far as the water clarity is concerned, I just let it circulate between the sump and DT. Besides the skimmer and live rock, there's no filtration. I stay away from socks, carbon, etc for 2 simple reasons: Less of a chance to introduce something bad and less things to change out. (That last one is the most important )

I hope you're right about the light.

I have to pay $150- for a skunk and $175- for a blood shrimp in Aus and considering the price you pay over there i think i'd grab about 10 to start with - seriously you wouldn't see the acros for the bloody shrimp......
You and i share the same ideals on letting the water circulate without any mechanical filtration other than the skimmer and the reasons why lol. I do add a carbon bag every time i add a few new acros which usually slough a bit of pre-sulk slime into the tank which upsets some of the other acros. No idea if it actually helps but i leave it for a couple of days anyway.

If i'm wrong about your new light i'm fairly confident that i won't see any serious consequences in my tank Kasey so go forth without fear mate, i'm not a bit worried about my corals....... let's go for it !

 

[ifarmer]

very nice. i like barebottom setup

 

[Charley Diesing]

Looks awesome! Good color up and growth!

 

[kaserpick]

very nice. i like barebottom setup

Thanks! I'd like to add sand, but at this point, it's hard to do something that might rock the boat. Plus, with my current flow, I don't know if I can keep it on the bottom!

Looks awesome! Good color up and growth!

Thanks Charley! I'm just hoping to keep things going in the same direction.

 

[Fsurocks99]

Looking good, Kasey!

 

[kaserpick]

Thanks, Jack! I'm actually enjoying this hobby again.

 

[Giga]

Great lookin tank bro! Not sure if you've seen min but I'm about to finish it up and it will be very different then most tanks here. Its an 80 gallon rimless tank

 

[kaserpick]

Thanks man! Just checked out your build thread and mangrove write-up. I'm excited to see it all come together.

Nice choice of dimensions. Gotta love those shallow tanks!

 

[arc eye]

Any updates?

 

[kaserpick]

Things are still going! I'm steady plugging away. I still have some hair algae in the tank. With that in mind, I updated my clean up crew and changed out my RO/DI cartridges and membrane. Some things have growing ok, while others slowly spread a base. I'm still finding the balance between keeping my nutrients up but not too high. All corals exhibit very good color.

I did add a hammer and torch. It's always fun to see these pieces as they move with the flow. They're two of my favorite LPS.

I'll try to post pics in a few days. Work's been busy. Lastly, my equipment for my fixture is here; I just need to finish building it. Slowest build ever!

 

[kaserpick]

Here's a shot of the fixture I'm working on; it's still a super slow progression. But, this'll give you guys and gals an idea of what I'm doing. I'll be working on it bit by bit each day during my lunch break. Work's got a lot of great equipment that'll come in handy.

 

[mark54321]

Looking good, what is it going to be, led? T5? Hybrid? More details please.

 

[kaserpick]

Looking good, what is it going to be, led? T5? Hybrid? More details please.

Thanks! It's a hybrid: 4 T5's and 14x3w Cree LED's. It won't be as nice as your ATI, but I'm having fun. If you can't tell, I'm still jealous of your light. my tank is only 12" tall, so I think it'll be plenty of light.

 

[biggles]

That light unit is looking very professional and neat Kasey, i was expecting some DIY monstrosity that we'd all say looked good even though we thought it was crap lol. The two big fans do the T5's and the small ones handle the LED's yes ? Lots more pics of the build as you progress would be appreciated by all of us i'm sure mate

Btw mate, that pink toe acro is growing into the blue encrusting monti lounge - get the cutters and frag that foot..........

 

[claudio245]

Kasey,

Parabens by DIY fixture you can post a picture in front of me to see. I'm thinking of mounting a fixture and found sensational. Beautiful project.

regards,

Claudio

 

[kaserpick]

That light unit is looking very professional and neat Kasey, i was expecting some DIY monstrosity that we'd all say looked good even though we thought it was crap lol. The two big fans do the T5's and the small ones handle the LED's yes ? Lots more pics of the build as you progress would be appreciated by all of us i'm sure mate

Btw mate, that pink toe acro is growing into the blue encrusting monti lounge - get the cutters and frag that foot..........

Haha, thanks Biggles! Yeah, it's not as great as I would like. It's my first time using a hydraulic bender. The one at work utilizes two blades, but their heights were not exactly lined up. If you look closely, you'll see there's an irregularity in the two middle bends. Other than that, I'm hoping to keep it from looking like a monstrosity. I'll skin it with carbon fibre for a more professional look, after all the holes are drilled.

You are correct; the two larger fans are for the T5's, while the smaller are for the LED's.

Yeah, that toe Acros getting out of hand! I've never fragged it; I'm thinking I'll snip the smallest one first and see how it does. It's so hard hard to come across a blue monti, with white polyps as well!

Kasey,

Parabens by DIY fixture you can post a picture in front of me to see. I'm thinking of mounting a fixture and found sensational. Beautiful project.

regards,

Claudio

Obrigado, Claudio! I appreciate the kind words. I'll be sure to post more pics as I go.

Extra Info:
The LED's will be only Royal Blue, Blue, Cyan, Green, and UV. I'll be using them for extra blue, but I'll be able to swap the heatsink bars out easily. So, if I decide to switch it up and utilize them for a more white spectrum, I will. I'm also in the process of designing a cluster PCB for a future fixture. This fixture is more of a test run. The T5's will be 2 x ATI Blue Plus and 2 x ATI Coral Plus. Also the reflectors are by ATI. Hopefully, I'll be able to cut the end plates at work tonight. I'll post pics.

 

[claudio245]

Kasey.

Thanks my friend.

regards

 

[jroovers]

That is going to be sweet, I think you will like the T5/LED combo, certainly has done well for me. That fixture is awesome looking already, with a carbon fibre skin will be even better!