First big tank, let's do it right this time (75g)

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Alright, time to really make some progress. I was going to build a canopy but I think I may hold off and use that as a winter project. I wanted something that would at least work for the time being so I whipped together this simple method of hanging the lights. It's simple, secure, and isn't TOO ugly!

Any feedback on the setup? The brackets were hung using drywall anchors rated for 45 pounds so I feel confident in their ability to hang 7lb lights.

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Here's some pics of the setup:

 

[Zxknight]

Home from deployment. Glad to be on solid ground! The tank has been cycling for two months now and the chaeto has been growing strong. I've had a Blue Damsel in there for a month and he's doing fine. I am not sure if I will keep him, I may decide to trade him back to the LFS.

While I was out to sea my wife bought me the digital Vivar Spectra 165w lights which I am so excited about. I just need to build a nice canopy to conceal them.

Also while I was out to sea she bought me a new activated carbon filter and sediment filter for my RODI unit. Still waiting for the DI resin to come in, though. As you can see it needed to be replaced badly!

i have the same lights and love them..

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

i have the same lights and love them..

Good to know! Thanks for stopping by!

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Just attached some airline tubing to my skimmer intake and routed it to a nearby window. Hopefully this will get some fresh air in to my tank and will raise my pH! Fingers crossed...

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Alright everyone, time for some updated pics. I'm not crazy on the shelves but my wife insisted and so hey... Marriage is about compromise right? Plus it gives me some space to organize my stuff. ^_^

The black wire you see on the left is the thermometer, I need a place to stick it... Probably in the sump!

Only four days in and starting to get some nice brown stuff growing on the algae scrubber.

Shot of the sump. Still not sure how well the chaeto is going to grow with the scrubber going but don't want to toss it yet. I'd love to add some pods to the fuge... We'll see!

 

[litenyaup]

Looks good so far!

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

I think it's time to get rid of some chaeto! This started the size of a softball, now about the size of a basketball and very dense.

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

SB Reef Lights customer service is weak sauce...

 

[revhtree]

Looks good!

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Just upgraded my Viparspectra 165w to the SB Reef Light PCBs. This was a fairly easy upgrade, however they use a different shape Molex connection so I had to splice my wires and use my old pin connections. It was nerve wracking but simple when using butt splices.

First thing I noticed was on the side of the box, it says "PCB Board" with Chinese characters. I believe SB orders the boards from China and then retrofits them with their own LEDs. At least I hope this is the case.

Second thing I noticed was a rattle in the box, this was due to light covers coming off. Fortunately they snap back on and they have a layout available on their website so you are putting the lenses back in the correct position.

I was very impressed when I opened the Viparspectra lights. Very clean and organized, didn't seem like they cut any corners. As you can see the SB and VP almost look identical from above, expect VP adds additional heatsinks on top. The effectiveness is debatable and unfortunately I don't own an infrared thermometer.

At this angle you can see that the VP and SB boards are the same thickness, 1/16". Many of the lower end black box lights use boards as thin as license plates (supposedly).

Here I've completed the upgrade and you can see the butt splices I had to use.

Here you can see the SB Reef Light LEDs definitely have more purple (right):

So in my opinion, Viparspectra definitely seems to be on the "higher end" of the black box spectrum. The color and arrangement of the lights seems to be almost on par with SB, with SB having more true UV and better lenses for light distribution. I would say it's almost not worth it to upgrade if you already own Viparspectras and this upgrade would be a better choice for people who bought extremely cheap black boxes such as Mars Aqua, Galaxyhydro, etc.

Time will tell if this was a solid investment, though.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Wait till you get some acros in there.
It’s almost creepy.

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Wait till you get some acros in there.
It’s almost creepy.

What do you mean?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

What do you mean?

They just grow. Like weeds. I had three lights on my tank before the SBs.
And then the acros just.....

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ugg-another-weed-coral.324375/

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

If you don’t have a par or lux meter, let me know, I can tell you the par based on the settings. If you have a lux meter , even better.

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

They just grow. Like weeds. I had three lights on my tank before the SBs.
And then the acros just.....

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ugg-another-weed-coral.324375/

Interesting, is that montipora digitata? I have a similar looking coral, starting to fork off like that. Hopefully it starts to go crazy soon! What lights are you running?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Interesting, is that montipora digitata? I have a similar looking coral, starting to fork off like that. Hopefully it starts to go crazy soon! What lights are you running?

That one is a purple pearl Stylo.
There is a small orange Digi right there too.

SBreeflights. I own 4. 1 30g cube 3 on the 55 long.

This is the other Digi.

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Some night time pics

 

[vector824]

Tank looks great! Nice work on the stand as well. You have any full sump shots?