So this is what I got done yesterday:
I put an eggcrate divider in the QT (with a Naso-sized hole) to stop the male boxfish from nipping at the female. Both are way more calm today and were more interested in food than yesterday. I'm going to run out to the store tomorrow to get some PE mysis, which I expect they'll finally eat:
I resized the canopy lid and drilled five holes for fans to keep the light cool:
I rewired and mounted the potentiometers so I can independently dim the LED channels:
And I mounted the canopy! It hangs high enough that you don't see the LEDs or T5s when looking at the tank and low enough that it doesn't bleed direct light across the whole room. Here's a phone pic:
And a filtered phone pic:
I have my color spectrum and schedule set with the blue channel on at 100% for 12 hours, the whites on at the lowest possible power (10-20%?) for 8 hours, and the T5s on for 4 hours. With all three channels on, PAR peaks at 550 at the top of the tallest rock and about 320 on the sand bed. With the Blue and White LEDs, I get about 500 PAR at the top of the rocks and 300 at the sandbed. With just the Blue LEDs, I get about 320 PAR at the top of the rocks and 220 at the sandbed. I think I'll have to turn the Blue channel down a little so that I don't totally fry new additions, but I'm pretty close to the light intensity that I want.
I'm going to keep an eye on nutrient levels for the next few days, but with the double dose of Turbo Start that I added, the tank should pretty much be good to go for test corals. We'll see how long I'm able to hold off from adding something to test the tank out.
I put an eggcrate divider in the QT (with a Naso-sized hole) to stop the male boxfish from nipping at the female. Both are way more calm today and were more interested in food than yesterday. I'm going to run out to the store tomorrow to get some PE mysis, which I expect they'll finally eat:
I resized the canopy lid and drilled five holes for fans to keep the light cool:
I rewired and mounted the potentiometers so I can independently dim the LED channels:
And I mounted the canopy! It hangs high enough that you don't see the LEDs or T5s when looking at the tank and low enough that it doesn't bleed direct light across the whole room. Here's a phone pic:
And a filtered phone pic:
I have my color spectrum and schedule set with the blue channel on at 100% for 12 hours, the whites on at the lowest possible power (10-20%?) for 8 hours, and the T5s on for 4 hours. With all three channels on, PAR peaks at 550 at the top of the tallest rock and about 320 on the sand bed. With the Blue and White LEDs, I get about 500 PAR at the top of the rocks and 300 at the sandbed. With just the Blue LEDs, I get about 320 PAR at the top of the rocks and 220 at the sandbed. I think I'll have to turn the Blue channel down a little so that I don't totally fry new additions, but I'm pretty close to the light intensity that I want.
I'm going to keep an eye on nutrient levels for the next few days, but with the double dose of Turbo Start that I added, the tank should pretty much be good to go for test corals. We'll see how long I'm able to hold off from adding something to test the tank out.