45 Gallon Shallow Reef Build

[08TRDOFFROAD]

They're actually really close to BRS' recommendation, and I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt.
Seems to be pretty good stuff.

I need to order salt. Been thinking of trying Nyos Pure.

 

[CBonito]

I need to order salt. Been thinking of trying Nyos Pure.

Yeah heck, try it and let me know. Right now what I like about this salt is the ORP in my tank has been in the 360-370s and every time I do a water change, it keeps the alk from moving too much. Between water changes and all for reef, I have corals that are growing so that's fine.

Just gotta figure out what new lighting I'm going to try and how the hell I'm going to mount it.
Mounting the orphek to my kessil arms is really what I would like to see happen.

 

[CBonito]

Alright, so I spent a heap of money on a new ATI Straton Pro LED 102. This thing better be good man, or there's gonna be some kung fu moves you wont believe. ;)

It will light a 24"x28" area specifically strong enough for SPS. In my tank I'll have to actually turn it down a bit I'm sure. But it's an 18.5"x12.6" panel of 102 LEDs and there is more than enough PAR and good enough distribution from all angles to single-handedly solve my "problem" and replace my Kessils. I'll keep the kessils for backup and I should only need this one light. It's all aluminum and passively cooled which apparently works excellent, so no fans and dust to worry about. It's wifi controlled and has 7 light channels so it's like mega tweakable. Their suggested mounting height is 8-12 inches off the water which is perfect for my situation. I can get it 10" off the water.

I wanted to go with the orphek. I really did, but it's so big and heavy and such a PITA to figure out how to hang, the stupid tank brackets they sell suck so I would be on my own...ain't got no time for that! It's also more power than I need...this one is 165 watts, but very efficient and delivers an amazing amount of uniform light with good blending and diffusion. More than enough for my tank anyway. It's going to be hung from my kessil arms, since ATI like Orphek can't make brackets either.

I love how it starts with maybe 500 bucks and ends at 1500 bucks...for this thing that looks like an i-pad. Stay Tuned...

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

Alright, so I spent a heap of money on a new ATI Straton Pro LED 102. This thing better be good man, or there's gonna be some kung fu moves you wont believe. ;)

This is #1 on my want list, but there's very little info trickling out. Please document how it goes for you.

 

[CBonito]

This is #1 on my want list, but there's very little info trickling out. Please document how it goes for you.

No trouble. I'll put everything up in here. That's the conclusion I came to as well. Hardly anything out there. It's like the review units went out to all the Youtubers or something but very few people have them in hand yet, or have not been willing to take the risk. I saw last night that the larger model is just shipping now.

But yeah, I'll @ you when I have it.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

No trouble. I'll put everything up in here. That's the conclusion I came to as well. Hardly anything out there. It's like the review units went out to all the Youtubers or something but very few people have them in hand yet, or have not been willing to take the risk. I saw last night that the larger model is just shipping now.

But yeah, I'll @ you when I have it.

Where did you end up ordering from? The original Straton was hard to get in the US.

 

[CBonito]

Where did you end up ordering from? The original Straton was hard to get in the US.

I just went on BRS and ordered it. I've seen them listed on other sites as well. Doesn't matter which middleman you go through. They all come direct from ATI.

The 102 model I guess is supposed to be in stock at ATI. If that's the case, I bet it's because not many people with a smaller tank like mine are going to deem it practical when other less expensive routes will work.

The larger ones have just started shipping and people are starting to get them. The nice thing is that there aren't going to be as many early adopters since the price is pretty dumb, so the waiting list can't be too long. This is really kind of an item for a small niche of high end systems that are larger anyway. I mean two of the larger ones is approaching 6 grand. :thinking-face:

I just have a good feeling that I'm going to be happy with it though. If I can have ONE light over my tank that provides what I need, then it was worth it.
Hopefully it does its job and doesnt give me any guff.

 

[CBonito]

ATI just saw a post with my hollerin' about how they suck for not being able to make brackets. They gave me some snippy response about engineering my own brackets because they are not engineers. Direct Hit! I am mildly entertained! :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

And they confirmed the 102 is in stock, so I should see it pretty quick here. So if you have some loot burning a hole, might want to jump as I'm willing to bet they wont be in stock for long.

 

[CBonito]

Well, my Straton has shipped the same day I paid for it. I've waited longer for a chicken sandwich at Popeyes, heartburn included.

 

[Reign1]

Nice updates and nice score dropping the coin on the straton. I got the Orphek and the mounting arms arent threading in PIA .. Looking good in there.

 

[CBonito]

Nice updates and nice score dropping the coin on the straton. I got the Orphek and the mounting arms arent threading in PIA .. Looking good in there.

I wanted to get an Orphek Atlantic Icon. It's pretty much one of the best ones out there. It's a gorgeous piece in my opinion too. Classy. what's better for the price? Nothing. But it's just too big where I am unable to get the height I would like over the tank. Their tank brackets won't work with my acrylic thickness, and I'm not hanging anything from the sloped ceiling. Nothing wanted to line up for me there. I still like them though and may try them in the future.

The Straton allows me to hang it 10-12 inches over the water per their recommendation. I can hang it from my kessil arms which are bolted into my alufab stand. It's all aluminum. No plastic they say. The wifi is built in to set it up. And then the performance seems very comparable to the orphek. I think the orphek is a bit more powerful per unit and in PAR too. But I could be wrong. Either way, I'm pretty excited about investing in something better where all I need is the ONE LIGHT and it does the job in spades. No strips or any extra stuff and no 8020 frame to smack my head on.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

I wanted to get an Orphek Atlantic Icon. It's pretty much one of the best ones out there. It's a gorgeous piece in my opinion too. Classy. what's better for the price? Nothing. But it's just too big where I am unable to get the height I would like over the tank. Their tank brackets won't work with my acrylic thickness, and I'm not hanging anything from the sloped ceiling. Nothing wanted to line up for me there. I still like them though and may try them in the future.

The Straton allows me to hang it 10-12 inches over the water per their recommendation. I can hang it from my kessil arms which are bolted into my alufab stand. It's all aluminum. No plastic they say. The wifi is built in to set it up. And then the performance seems very comparable to the orphek. I think the orphek is a bit more powerful per unit and in PAR too. But I could be wrong. Either way, I'm pretty excited about investing in something better where all I need is the ONE LIGHT and it does the job in spades. No strips or any extra stuff and no 8020 frame to smack my head on.

I couldn't believe when I looked at the Orphek specs that they tips the scales at over 15 lbs!

I have hung a MH fixture from my vaulted ceiling in my living room over my Biocube way back in the day. A plumb Bob made it easy to locate the holes and center everything on the tank! I still have the toggle bolts with wire suspension attachment up there because I have been too lazy to climb a ladder and remove them to patch and paint over the holes...:face-with-tears-of-joy:

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Well, my Straton has shipped the same day I paid for it. I've waited longer for a chicken sandwich at Popeyes, heartburn included.

I do think Popeyes wins the chicken sandwich war...at least IMHO!

 

[Reign1]

I wanted to get an Orphek Atlantic Icon. It's pretty much one of the best ones out there. It's a gorgeous piece in my opinion too. Classy. what's better for the price? Nothing. But it's just too big where I am unable to get the height I would like over the tank. Their tank brackets won't work with my acrylic thickness, and I'm not hanging anything from the sloped ceiling. Nothing wanted to line up for me there. I still like them though and may try them in the future.

The Straton allows me to hang it 10-12 inches over the water per their recommendation. I can hang it from my kessil arms which are bolted into my alufab stand. It's all aluminum. No plastic they say. The wifi is built in to set it up. And then the performance seems very comparable to the orphek. I think the orphek is a bit more powerful per unit and in PAR too. But I could be wrong. Either way, I'm pretty excited about investing in something better where all I need is the ONE LIGHT and it does the job in spades. No strips or any extra stuff and no 8020 frame to smack my head on.

Yeah I actually wanted a straton and thought about getting a used one as they hadnt come out with the new ones yet. I did some research and found the Atlantic then BRS had them like 25% off and didnt pass that up. They are huge and heavy and built like a tank. Look forward to getting this thing on my tank but the mount bolt wont thread. I will see if they (Orphek) or BRS will try to take care of issue. I am about ready to start ramping up light slowly.

 

[CBonito]

Yeah I actually wanted a straton and thought about getting a used one as they hadnt come out with the new ones yet. I did some research and found the Atlantic then BRS had them like 25% off and didnt pass that up. They are huge and heavy and built like a tank. Look forward to getting this thing on my tank but the mount bolt wont thread. I will see if they (Orphek) or BRS will try to take care of issue. I am about ready to start ramping up light slowly.

I wasn't even looking for lights...until I got a Parwise and realized I have good par in the "center oval" at the expense of the rest of the tank. If I just had an island in the middle and all sand around it, I would have left it, but I need more light.

It sucks that threads are holding you up from hanging a light. Man. I'd be annoyed.
So you have any taps where you could determine what the threads are? Maybe the threads were never tapped?

 

[Reign1]

I wasn't even looking for lights...until I got a Parwise and realized I have good par in the "center oval" at the expense of the rest of the tank. If I just had an island in the middle and all sand around it, I would have left it, but I need more light.

It sucks that threads are holding you up from hanging a light. Man. I'd be annoyed.
So you have any taps where you could determine what the threads are? Maybe the threads were never tapped?

I dont have any taps this size and will likely have to go to hardware store or see if they will throw me some from company. I only have my NPT 11/4" and 1/4" taps so guess I will be waiting till my days off lol

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

I dont have any taps this size and will likely have to go to hardware store or see if they will throw me some from company. I only have my NPT 11/4" and 1/4" taps so guess I will be waiting till my days off lol

That's what I was going to suggest...try chasing the threads with a tap to clean them out.

 

[CBonito]

I dont have any taps this size and will likely have to go to hardware store or see if they will throw me some from company. I only have my NPT 11/4" and 1/4" taps so guess I will be waiting till my days off lol

Man, if you guys were around here I'd be like "Bring it over!" I have everything. Welders taps dies, tools saws...anything you need to get your broken junk back together so you can make it to work tomorrow. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I've always had a race car, so I always needed a way to fix stuff. I had an oldschool tool and die guy next door too, but he died last year. I miss all of that stuff.

Now I have German cars where if the bluetooth wont connect, I have to have it towed. :grinning-squinting-face:
Just kidding, but I've thought about it.

 

[Reign1]

Man, if you guys were around here I'd be like "Bring it over!" I have everything. Welders taps dies, tools saws...anything you need to get your broken junk back together so you can make it to work tomorrow. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I've always had a race car, so I always needed a way to fix stuff. I had an oldschool tool and die guy next door too, but he died last year. I miss all of that stuff.

Now I have German cars where if the bluetooth wont connect, I have to have it towed. :grinning-squinting-face:
Just kidding, but I've thought about it.

Too funny .. yeah I started to drill out my anodized mount and was like nope I paid $ for this why the hell am I drilling it to work sent them another message and if that doesn’t get their attention may start going on the medias and trying that route

 

[CBonito]

After two weeks my Diamond Goby finally discovered there is a whole front side of the tank to chew on too and my sand is getting totally Hoovered out man. This is awesome. I like that fish...a LOT.

After the first one jumped out, I wasn't going to bother again. This one doesn't jump anymore. He just wanders around by himself and does his thing. Great fish.

It's almost time to push things again and see if I can get an algae eating fish to be accepted.
Not sure which one would be best to sneak in though.