esacjack Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 So the 3 gallon pico was an awesome tank. I loved it and it was very stable. Sadly, due to an error in placement near one our supply closets, a rogue battery fell into the tank. Even worse, I was on vacation when this happened. I came back from vacation to find my GSP was totally dead, along with my xenia. Everything in the tank was angry, and I was certain it wouldn't survive. So I sprung into action and utilized a 7.5 gallon mr.aqua as a quarantine tank... But in the process of prepping the tank for a QT tank, I realized I could just upgrade the 3gal and give myself some extra coral real estate. So it begins... again. Hardware: AC50 HOB Filter - Migrated from picotope3 Eheim Jager heater - Migrated from picotope3 2 Koralia Nano - migrated from picotope3 Tunze Nano Osmolator - migrated from picotope3 ReefKeeper Lite DIY Cooling fan 7.5 gallon Mr.Aqua Tank - 35 dollars Eheim Cube style 41" tank stand - 45 dollars (Amazon) LEDTRiC Pico TwentyK Par30 bulb and fixture Custom 6" 16 LED Array w/ 4 dimmable drivers 10lb chunk of reefsaver 2lb tonga branch Current Livestock: Fish and Inverts: Yellow belly damsel (1) Knobby Sea Star (1) (RIP, tragic out of water incident) Trochus Snails (2) Pink Zebra Flower Anenome Softies: Reverse Joker Rhodactis Mushroom Dippin Dots Mushrooms Superman Rhodactis Ricordea Florida (Green and Purple) Ricordea Florida (Green and Purple) Ricordea Florida ( Blue/Teal/Green ) Ricordea Florida ( Orange ) Fire and Ice Zoas Eye of Rah Zoas Mohawk Palys Whammin Watermelon Zoas AAF Ruby Red Zoas CB Lemon Head Zoas CB Rastas CB Lunar Eclipse Green Bay Packer Zoas GSP Mini Island LPS: Grape Coral Frogspawn Green and Purple Neon Aussie Duncan Rainbow Aussie Acan Lord (Orange/Red/Green/Blue) Rainbow Aussie Acan Lord (Green/Purple/Teal) Rainbow Aussie Acan Lord (Purple/Blue/Green) Rainbow Pectinia Jason Foxx Halloween Chalice Alien Eye Chalice ASD Ice Monster Chalice SPS: Ponape Birds Nest Purple Digitata Cali Blue Tort FB Neon Stylo Orange Monti Cap Red Monti Cap Blue Monti Cap Current tank parameters: 1.025 SG 0 Nitrates 0 Phosphates 0 Ammonia 475 Ca 1400 Mg FTS: (picture quality is poor on my phone, sorry) 8-23-13 Planned Upgrades: Replace AC50 with AC70 Fuge / Filter Mod I decided the free floating ball of chaeto is sufficient and is growing quite fast and in a tight ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 That's a good way to upgrade. So how many batteries do I throw in to kill the Xenia and Gsp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ct67stang Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 it took one lithium battery 2 days to do the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 I like the pico twentyk from Ledtric, however, it's just not enough light, and the colors dont seem to blend very well at my 12" tank depth. So I've decided to go forward with building a 6x6 LED array with 14 LED's and several OCS and 3 UP LED's. Ordered the LED's, Heatsink, Drivers today. I have some aluminum rod stock from my RC days that I'm going to create a tank mount out of. The LED array will consist of Cool White, Blue,Royal Blue,Deep Red, Amber, Green. It will be powered by 5 drivers remotely dim/mix via RKL and VDC. LED's should arrive friday as well as heatsink and drivers. Will post pics as I make some progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 those 5 drivers are gonna be bigger than your tank ! i love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 The weekend started out well enough. I had a half day at work, the wife was pulling extra hours, and fedex had just notified me of a delivery.... This is how my weekend began ; Here is the recipe; 4 Cree XML CW 4 Cree XTE RB 4 Cree XPE B 4 Philips UV 4 Drivers 4 Dimmer Pots 1 Heatsink 1 12V SilenX 80MM Fan 1 24v 2A DC Adapter I love using Dean's connectors whenever/wherever possible CW 100% Blue 100% Royal Blue 100% All 100% Next I'm waiting on the aluminum tube stock for the tank mount. Picked up a tubing bender Friday, so I should have it completed this week some time. Sadly, I had to abandon my hopes to use the OCS/OCW 3up/5up combos, as the lead time was RIDICULOUS. Everything is tied together into a black project box and is brought into a split from the driver to the dimmer box, to the ALC on the RKL. I have more pictures of the burn-in test, including the dimmer box wiring. Too tired to upload them now, so maybe in a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Awesome. Nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chark Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Very nice. Is that a Makers heat sink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 yeah, the makers heatsink kit. for the price, you cant beat all the features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Here is the dimmer box, also from LEDGroupBuy. It allows me 4 dimmer pots. The only thing I'm not pleased with, is the included pot's work in reverse to standard pots. I've verified it wasn't the wiring, and that it was intended to turn that way. Still, a bit annoying, but whatever. One of the drivers tanked on me, so I had to swap it with a non-dimmable version. Rapid is sending me a replacement, which should be here thursday. Oh well. Gives me a few more days to tweak things to my liking. In hindsight, I would have installed ethernet jacks on each end of the ethernet cable I used. Currently, its a bit of a PITA to move everything at once. That may still happen in the immediate future. After all, I do have 4 or 5 days left. I'm also still waiting on my project box. Had to go on a manhunt to find an 8"x8" aluminum box... jeez. I think I'm going to ditch the optics. Which will leave me with about 30 spare optics laying around the house... Guess I'll put them to use on the big build... sigh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Here's an FTS with new light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Your tank looks really good and all of your corals look happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Tank and light build are superb. Like a steak, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 So recently I've noticed that my acans will occasionally get some substrate/crushed coral in the mouth/oral disc area. I've had to blast it out with a turkey baster on numerous occasions. Thats a bit annoying, but I guess I just need a bit more of an alternating flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Thanks! It was fun to put together. Looking forward to growing the tank out and throwing some extra zoa's in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 Im thinking of getting a few eco-gorgs from aquascapers in a few weeks. My reef budget is currently allocated for wedding expenses, so I'll have to make due Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 been a while since my last update. Here is a pic of the tank as it stands today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Oh wow that looks amazing! Mine doesn't look half that good. What kind of fish is that? Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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