20g Metal Halide nano cube.

[X-37B]

Thanks!. After running leds for a year now you get used to the look, more or less, lol.
When you have a halide system up next to your system with leds you can immediatly notice how the halide looks like the sun. Everything is nice and crisp looking with no bluish fade.

I am getting excellent growth with my Radions now and look forward to this tank growing out to compair the difference between the two in growth, color, and health.

You are right about the over blue selling that occurs with the leds though.

I never had an issue with color running halides as everything colors up.

Anyway enjoy the build people as it will be cool to see what it lools like in 6 months then a year.

 

[A. grandis]

I wasn't saying the corals look washed out. I was commenting on how the trend has been moved towards tanks washed out in an overabundance of blue light.

I know, no worries... It was just an general observation of the hobby today.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Watching this with interest, I have swapped halides in and out of my system several times.

 

[X-37B]

A few more pics.
Added a few more coral. Not much room for more but the plan is to let it growout as much as it can so we will see.

Also added 3 peppermint shrimp and 1 emerald crab.

Tanks using 8ml of esv a day already.

Tanks running a steady 77°F with the Tunze fan.

 

[X-37B]

Day 18 and counting.

Jedi Mind Trick is trying to adjust to the much higber light levels it came from.
Sticks are adjusting also.
Corals look good.
Halide is on for 6.5hrs. I will increase to 8-9hrs once corals have adjusted to the halide. Should be a couple of weeks berore I can increase time.

Todays results:
Temp 77
Sg 1.0265
Alk 6.8
Ca 440
Mag 1350
No3 2
Po4 .07

Dosing 11ml esv 1&2 once a day to maintain a 7.
Will now increase to 12ml.
Dosing 1ml dsr trace.
Was dosing 1ml po4 to keep above zero and <0.1.

Stopped po4 dosing today and will monitor po4. I am dropping in some pellets to feed the shrimp and crabs. Will see if I can maintain desired po4 levels with the pellets.

I do not plan on having any fish in this system but?

I am using some 2" clear pvc I had laying around to build an air driven skimmer. It fits in the second chamber of the Aquatop AIO.
I am getting it ready for testing soon. Hardest part is finding a decent colection cup.
Still have to cut riser tube and install a cup.
Air pump zip tied to the T-slot.
Anyway we will see if it can perform once the tank settles in.

 

[xabo]

Looking good

 

[X-37B]

23 days since startup!

Skimmer is up and running.
Cut the riser tube and cut a hole in the bottom of a 40oz plastic jar. Then silconed it in place.
Will be adjusting the air flow today.

I dont like the jar but it will work until I can come up with another one.

Tanks po4 is .086 so no more 1 ml of po4 adds. I am feeding some pellets to the shrimp and crabs to maintain po4 levels now.

Overall tank looks good.
I will get a pic later when the lights are on.
Currently have the 250 at 6.5 hrs.

I removed a wild mini colony back to the 80. It was getting white and losing color. Too much light most likely. I replaced it with a green slimer mini.

Color is comming back in the 80.
Jedi mind trick is attempting to adjust as all other corals look good with many showing polyp extention.

Anybody have any skimmer cup recomendations? The riser tube is 1.5" dia tube. I would like to find an old acrylic skimmer cup I could modify.

I am going to have my friend come over who has a par meter so stay tuned as it will be a few weeks. That way I can log all of my tanks par levels and I will finally know where im at.

 

[X-37B]

A tank pic today.
Getting some skim already!
It will take some adjustment and attention to SG but it looks promising.

 

[X-37B]

I dropped the on time to 5 hrs and will keep it their for now.
May try and run a 16hd off the back and angle it in for all blue running pre and post 5 hrs but will see how 5hrs goes for now.
Light is way strong for this system but I already new that.

 

[Smite]

This tank is looking awesome! You're going to get some crazy growth once everything settles in and you dial in your photo period.

 

[Smite]

I really like the aesthetics of that pendant too.

 

[X-37B]

I really like the aesthetics of that pendant too.

Yea to bad they stopped production. I was trying to buy 2 more and was unable to a couple years ago.

I do have the same reflector in a mogal but it does not have the black cover. It would make a good fixture for a hood but the pendant does look good, imo.

 

[Smite]

I had a set of bare lumen bright large reflectors I originally mounted over my tank. Spread and output was amazing but just couldn’t make it work. If they still produced them I would have bought a pair without hesitation.

tagging along and looking forward to how this grows in for you. That center stags gonna be nice.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I dropped the on time to 5 hrs and will keep it their for now.
May try and run a 16hd off the back and angle it in for all blue running pre and post 5 hrs but will see how 5hrs goes for now.
Light is way strong for this system but I already new that.

I bet you could use the prime16 hanging kit and mount it to the vertical extrusion some how and have a slight angle on the prime. But It might be blinding to the eyes maybe....

Anyway tank looks awesome, no surprise there

 

[JCOLE]

Looking good! I love the color of the bulbs as well!

 

[X-37B]

Picked up an 18" mount for a 16hd.
Running:
UV V 90%
RB B 125%
R G 5%
W 0%
Halides 5hrs currently
Blues will be on 8-8 with 2hr ramp up/ down.

 

[GatorGreg]

All your tanks are so freaking awesome. I hope my tank looks this good a year from now. That nano you broke down with the AI primes was cherry.

 

[X-37B]

32 days since startup.
Temp 77
SG 1.0265
Alk 7
Ca 370
Mag 1290
No3 12+
Po4 .083

I bumped ca to 420
Upped ez trace to 2ml to up mag to 1350

Cleaned skimmer for the first time. It works well and I will now adjust for more skim.

 

[X-37B]

5 weeks since startup and first 2g water change done today.

I removed the jedi mind trick. The halide was to much light where I had it placed.

Purple and blue stags are brown. The fresh cut one is much browner than the other.
They should adjust over time back to their original color.

Added a slimeball anacropora.
Total count today is 25 corals, 3 peppermint shrimp, 2 emerald crabs, 2 hermit crabs, and a few snails.

This is max for coral so we will watch it develop.
Broke alot of tips off the stags but now I have no need, except for an emergency, to stick my coral destroying hands into the nano.

Corals:
3 Oregon torts
3 Green slimers
2 Green hard corals
1 Purple stag
1 Blue stag
1 Green stag
1 Surf and turf
1 Army stag
1 Potatochip
1 Orange Setosa
1 ASD Rainbow milli
1 Rainbow mill, not asd
1 Meller Yeller
1 Tubbs stelata
1 Slimeball ancropora
1 Palleta yellowtip
1 Acroberry
1 Green unknown low
1 Branching noname
1 green pavona

 

[X-37B]

Not reef related but the wife got a new snake.
Its a Lavender Brooks king.
She is going to breed it with her Mexican black king.