iwishtofish
Active member
Is your rock where you plan to leave it now? I bet that tang is happy with all the room!
RocketEngineer's 75g/125g Setup
- Thread starter RocketEngineer
- Start date
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
iwishtofish, I think so. I like how it looks from all angles. The two tangs are always going in and out of the openings. There are a several hiding spots under overhangs and such. The big rock in the center has a series of tunnels in it that they use as well. Once I finally get my LEDs up and running I can look into adding a few more corals on each ends.
This weekend I spotted COLORS :dance: on the new rock. Mostly fluorescent green but some maroons and purples.
This weekend I spotted COLORS :dance: on the new rock. Mostly fluorescent green but some maroons and purples.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I have loc-line in three places, two into the display and a third in the sump. The two in the display work great, I was able to point the returns into the corner of the display and get water movement right across the surface. The one in the refugium has a valve on it to control the flow which does it's job. My problem was the manifold pipe was too high for it to work as I intended it. To keep from splashing I have it pointed down and it's just barely at the water surface. I will have to fix that if I upgrade the return pump.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
It has taken most of the past week and a late night yesterday but the LEDs are finally up and running.
Last week I received the heat sinks and started assembling the two halves.
Before installing, I labeled all of the in case I fried one and needed to figure out what needed replacing. I used a utility knife blade to spread out the thermal compound on the back of each.
Once everything was screwed down, it took me several more hours to connect all the little wires. Once that was done I checked them all to make sure I had good connections:
The one thing I forgot to do was to do a continuity check from the last LED back to the driver. When I turned on the blues, one of the four strings wouldn't light up. Turned out to be a single LED didn't have a connection between the return terminals. I bypassed that for now and made the other string match but eventually I will replace the bad LED with a new one. Lesson learned.
Because I'm using parallel strings, I incorporated measurement resistors and fuses in each string.
These made life very easy as I can just put the multimeter probes onto the screws for measuring the current through the strings. Also, If i blow a fuse they are easy to replace (I bought extras just in case).
Most of yesterday was spent wiring and mounting all the components onto the back of the hood:
The two drivers on the left are for the blues and the right drivers power the whites and colored strings. Since all the blues come on at the same time, the drivers are on the same power cord. My intention is to have the blues come on first and turn off last so they plug into the Neptune Socket Expansion along with the dimming kit. When I upgrade my controller there will be a controlled power strip in the hood along with a dimming module but for now this should do the job.
Here is a close up view of the center:
While it looks complicated, its just the same thing repeated four times. The output cable from the driver has four wires which connect to the terminal strip. In the middle of the input strip, the blue and white wires from the driver match up to the blue and green wires from the dimming module. Above and below that the V+ and V- wires from the driver connect through the fuses and resistors to the corresponding side of the LEDs. By mounting all this on the back of the hood I can measure the current going through the LEDs just by touching the screws in the terminal strips with the multimeter probes.
When running parallel strings, the strings need to be balanced. To do this, you need to measure the current each string carries but this would require installing the multimeter somewhere in the string which would affect the readings each time. A simple work around is to include a 1ohm resistor in each string. By measuring the voltage drop across this resistor, you get a measure of current due to V=IR since R in this case is 1. I got lucky in that my strings are relatively balanced right from the start and so I didn't need to swap LEDs. Eventually I may have to play with the color string but for now I'm within 50mA at full power on the blues and whites.
Last week I received the heat sinks and started assembling the two halves.
Before installing, I labeled all of the in case I fried one and needed to figure out what needed replacing. I used a utility knife blade to spread out the thermal compound on the back of each.
Once everything was screwed down, it took me several more hours to connect all the little wires. Once that was done I checked them all to make sure I had good connections:
The one thing I forgot to do was to do a continuity check from the last LED back to the driver. When I turned on the blues, one of the four strings wouldn't light up. Turned out to be a single LED didn't have a connection between the return terminals. I bypassed that for now and made the other string match but eventually I will replace the bad LED with a new one. Lesson learned.
Because I'm using parallel strings, I incorporated measurement resistors and fuses in each string.
These made life very easy as I can just put the multimeter probes onto the screws for measuring the current through the strings. Also, If i blow a fuse they are easy to replace (I bought extras just in case).
Most of yesterday was spent wiring and mounting all the components onto the back of the hood:
The two drivers on the left are for the blues and the right drivers power the whites and colored strings. Since all the blues come on at the same time, the drivers are on the same power cord. My intention is to have the blues come on first and turn off last so they plug into the Neptune Socket Expansion along with the dimming kit. When I upgrade my controller there will be a controlled power strip in the hood along with a dimming module but for now this should do the job.
Here is a close up view of the center:
While it looks complicated, its just the same thing repeated four times. The output cable from the driver has four wires which connect to the terminal strip. In the middle of the input strip, the blue and white wires from the driver match up to the blue and green wires from the dimming module. Above and below that the V+ and V- wires from the driver connect through the fuses and resistors to the corresponding side of the LEDs. By mounting all this on the back of the hood I can measure the current going through the LEDs just by touching the screws in the terminal strips with the multimeter probes.
When running parallel strings, the strings need to be balanced. To do this, you need to measure the current each string carries but this would require installing the multimeter somewhere in the string which would affect the readings each time. A simple work around is to include a 1ohm resistor in each string. By measuring the voltage drop across this resistor, you get a measure of current due to V=IR since R in this case is 1. I got lucky in that my strings are relatively balanced right from the start and so I didn't need to swap LEDs. Eventually I may have to play with the color string but for now I'm within 50mA at full power on the blues and whites.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
And here is the results:
Left:
Right:
For now the lights are pretty low. However, I have noticed that some of the corals look much better with the LEDs enhancing the fluorescence they show. Also, by being more blue the greens and purples are much more pronounced especially in my brain corals.
Aesthetics aside, the reasons I went with LEDs are 1) lower energy consumption, 2)less heating of the tank, 3) no more light fans driving evaporation, and 4) no more replacement bulbs.
Of all the parts of the upgrade, this one had me the most worried as electronics are not my specialty. However, with lots of research here on Reef Central and some pointers from those more knowledgeable than me I am very happy with the end results.
Left:
Right:
For now the lights are pretty low. However, I have noticed that some of the corals look much better with the LEDs enhancing the fluorescence they show. Also, by being more blue the greens and purples are much more pronounced especially in my brain corals.
Aesthetics aside, the reasons I went with LEDs are 1) lower energy consumption, 2)less heating of the tank, 3) no more light fans driving evaporation, and 4) no more replacement bulbs.
Of all the parts of the upgrade, this one had me the most worried as electronics are not my specialty. However, with lots of research here on Reef Central and some pointers from those more knowledgeable than me I am very happy with the end results.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Today I ran up to Dr. Mac's and picked up a couple corals.
Lime Brain:
It looks like some strange mushroom which is so cool.
Blue Teal Acro:
With the LEDs, several of my corals look noticeably different.
Lithophyllon:
The green really shows up now.
The big brain:
With so much more blue light the purple and green in the grooves show up much better.
Neon Polyp Acro:
Under blue only:
With the new lighting I should probably learn how to tweak the photos for white balance. Always something new to learn.
Lime Brain:
It looks like some strange mushroom which is so cool.
Blue Teal Acro:
With the LEDs, several of my corals look noticeably different.
Lithophyllon:
The green really shows up now.
The big brain:
With so much more blue light the purple and green in the grooves show up much better.
Neon Polyp Acro:
Under blue only:
With the new lighting I should probably learn how to tweak the photos for white balance. Always something new to learn.
footballdude2k3
Active member
What are you using to edit the pictures?
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
That is what I need to figure out. Any suggestions on a free photo editor that can correct for white balance?
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Red Polyp Montipora:
Encrusting Montipora:
This started in my 75g as a frag that broke off it's plug. I stuck it into a gap in the rock and forgot about it. Now under the LEDs its showing much more color.
April 2013 FTS:
And some animal pics.
Ariel riding in the car after spending two days with my parent's dog:
Cat in her "forest":
Encrusting Montipora:
This started in my 75g as a frag that broke off it's plug. I stuck it into a gap in the rock and forgot about it. Now under the LEDs its showing much more color.
April 2013 FTS:
And some animal pics.
Ariel riding in the car after spending two days with my parent's dog:
Cat in her "forest":
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
If you were on the Delmarva peninsula this morning you may have seen one of the payloads I worked on launch at ~7:18 this morning.
Do you mind elaborating on that? I work at Wallops Flight Facility and Antares won't launch until the 17th.
footballdude2k3
Active member
Nothing I have worked with is free, I have always used Photoshop, well at least until recently, now I work for Apple and use their software
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I may pick up Photoshop eventually but I need to replace the broken LED driver and broken LEDs first. Around the time I upgrade the camera to the dSLR I will definitely get Photoshop. For now I guess I will stick with playing with my camera.
footballdude2k3
Active member
Photoshop express is free and has white balance, just found that out.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
The only problem: Its for smart phones. :sad2: Since I just have a dumb cell phone at the moment that kind of put a wrinkle in that idea. Something for the future though.
randyinindy
New member
Stand Build
Stand Build
Would you mind giving me proper wood dimensions for a tank of the following size? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated
96" long x 36" wide x 30" tall
Stand Build
Would you mind giving me proper wood dimensions for a tank of the following size? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated
96" long x 36" wide x 30" tall
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Note to self: Make sure the o-ring is in place when you re-connect unions. :headwally:
After running my kalk reactor for a couple months, I pulled it out, rinsed out the sludge in the bottom and put it back in. As I was making sure everything was working correctly I noticed a drip coming out of the union. Lucky for me the o-ring had fallen into the stand rather than being washed down the drain. Either way it was not what I needed at 11pm last night.
After running my kalk reactor for a couple months, I pulled it out, rinsed out the sludge in the bottom and put it back in. As I was making sure everything was working correctly I noticed a drip coming out of the union. Lucky for me the o-ring had fallen into the stand rather than being washed down the drain. Either way it was not what I needed at 11pm last night.
