Kasey's 60g
- Thread starter kaserpick
- Start date
I built my own LED system with a Coralux Storm X controller and that about covers my skillset in electronics:lolspin:. I found that some acros looked better under T5's while some of my brown acros colored up nicely under the new LED system. With your lighting arrangement, you should have the best of both worlds.............................Jim
biggles
Premium Member
I'm pleased to see your reef is going well Kasey 
How is that annoying bubble algae going mate, have you got it under control. Where did you get to with that new LED fixture you were working on.
Lots of questions because i've been slack and lost touch with friends tanks lately lol.
How is that annoying bubble algae going mate, have you got it under control. Where did you get to with that new LED fixture you were working on. Lots of questions because i've been slack and lost touch with friends tanks lately lol.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Thanks Biggles! Things have changed in the past week. The corals are doing well...and so is the bubble algae, but not in a good way. The Dino's have completely disappeared since changing my RO/DI filter media, which is great news.
The current tank wasn't getting a lot of attention, due to its upstairs location. I couldn't move it downstairs because of the limited space, and my wife thought the configuration was ugly.
I also wanted to change the [coral load:water volume] ration; this would allow me to run Kalkwasser in my ATO at supersaturation. I was almost there, but my Alk would slowly climb.
With that in mind, I downgraded to a 29 gal standard tank with a 10 gallon sump. Most of the equipment stayed the same: Tunze return and streams, BM NAC 5.5 skimmer, titanium heater, Tunze ATO. There is one thing that has changed...
The LIGHT! I went full LED, utilizing my PCB. It's operating with 12 1-up stars that are a mix of Royal blue, blue, green, and Violet. Since my PCB is void of white emitters, the result is too blue. On the plus, my pinks really pop, as well as the usually green and orange. The negative is that my blues and purples are a bit washed out by the blue tone of the light. I'll be switching out for some whites. I'll also be fabricating a reflector for my puck that'll allow it to focus more effectively. This all needs to happen rather quickly, as I'm not sure how the corals will respond to the current configuration. I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this; that's something I hate doing in this hobby. Here's to hoping that I land well.
Today's the tank's 3rd day with the light. The Alkalinity consumption hasn't stopped, but I'm not sure how quickly that would happen. Time will tell...
I'll start a new thread for the 29, once I've situated the corals a bit more.
The current tank wasn't getting a lot of attention, due to its upstairs location. I couldn't move it downstairs because of the limited space, and my wife thought the configuration was ugly.
I also wanted to change the [coral load:water volume] ration; this would allow me to run Kalkwasser in my ATO at supersaturation. I was almost there, but my Alk would slowly climb.With that in mind, I downgraded to a 29 gal standard tank with a 10 gallon sump. Most of the equipment stayed the same: Tunze return and streams, BM NAC 5.5 skimmer, titanium heater, Tunze ATO. There is one thing that has changed...
The LIGHT! I went full LED, utilizing my PCB. It's operating with 12 1-up stars that are a mix of Royal blue, blue, green, and Violet. Since my PCB is void of white emitters, the result is too blue. On the plus, my pinks really pop, as well as the usually green and orange. The negative is that my blues and purples are a bit washed out by the blue tone of the light. I'll be switching out for some whites. I'll also be fabricating a reflector for my puck that'll allow it to focus more effectively. This all needs to happen rather quickly, as I'm not sure how the corals will respond to the current configuration. I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this; that's something I hate doing in this hobby. Here's to hoping that I land well.
Today's the tank's 3rd day with the light. The Alkalinity consumption hasn't stopped, but I'm not sure how quickly that would happen. Time will tell...
I'll start a new thread for the 29, once I've situated the corals a bit more.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
No, the 60g is gone. Everything has been transferred to the 29g. It's bitter sweet. I'm mainly glad that the corals are all the same and will continue on in the 29g, but I'm a little concerned about my lighting. I have no way of knowing what's ok and what's not. I may switch back to the T5's until I figure out what's good for the corals.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
I downgraded because the 60g was upstairs, in the guest bedroom. I felt like it wasn't getting much attention, so I wanted to move it downstairs, but it's kind of an eye-sore. I had the option of re-converting it back to the traditional DT with a sump below, but that was ideal for multiple reasons.
1. Due to the 2' x 4' footprint, it would cramp or dominate the 1st floor.
2. This would mean I'd need to finish the stand (wife thought it was ugly), and I didn't really want to go through that, as I'd have to borrow tools, be mindful of the neighbors, etc.
3. I don't have a high bioload. The all-in-one configuration allowed me to keep my bioload and decrease my water volume. If I went back to the traditional setup, I'd be increasing my volume again.
Because of these reasons, I decided to downgrade. I toyed with the idea of a 20" cube, rimless, but I actually like the trimmed look and I wanted a rectangular tank. 29g seemed like a good compromise.
Here's a pic (it's out of focus):
Keep in mind that the corals are NOT placed where I want them. I'll be working on the aquascape tomorrow.
1. Due to the 2' x 4' footprint, it would cramp or dominate the 1st floor.
2. This would mean I'd need to finish the stand (wife thought it was ugly
), and I didn't really want to go through that, as I'd have to borrow tools, be mindful of the neighbors, etc.3. I don't have a high bioload. The all-in-one configuration allowed me to keep my bioload and decrease my water volume. If I went back to the traditional setup, I'd be increasing my volume again.
Because of these reasons, I decided to downgrade. I toyed with the idea of a 20" cube, rimless, but I actually like the trimmed look and I wanted a rectangular tank. 29g seemed like a good compromise.
Here's a pic (it's out of focus):
Keep in mind that the corals are NOT placed where I want them. I'll be working on the aquascape tomorrow.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
One word: terrible
I decided to switch entirely to LED's. Long story short, I lost color in almost all my coral, and many of them suffered from tissue necrosis.
The worst part: I lost my clam that I bought over 5 years ago. That hurt.
I scrapped the LED fixture and bought a used 250w halide pendant (reef optics I think) with electronic ballast and 14k Phoenix. T5's didn't seem like a great option, as the tank is a bit deep for a 4x24w fixture and not wide enough for a 6 bulb fixture.
Things stopped growing all together, with the LED's. I have one coral that actually looks really good; that's it. At this point, I very much regret moving the corals and changing the setup.
But, there's no where to go, except forward. I'm going to do a complete tank clean up on Saturday. I'll clear any of the dead, recheck my parameters (as I'm sure my PO4 is probably high), perform a good sized water change, and basically regroup.
I'll post pics of the damage then.
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