jcolletteiii
New Member
This tank has been up and running for about a year and a half, and has gone through many iterations. When I originally purchased the tank, I bought it online through a large aquarium site. I ordered a JBJ 12 gallon Nanocube DX. I figured I was going to keep mostly softies, so 2x24w pc lighting was fine with me. Well, I was shipped the original NC model with only 1 24w bulb. Ugh. I was refunded the difference, and immediately placed an order with a nano modder retailer for a lighting upgrade kit. So now I had 2x24w pc's in the hood. Good. I put some LR in, let it cycle, and began adding livestock. Here's a progression of how this little tank has progressed.
11/01/08
12/27/08
...Then, I began thinking about sps. Then I bought some sps frags. I knew my lighting was inadequate, so I bought a used k2 viper online, and went topless.
2/2/09
But man, did I have alot of evaporation, and the temp went up by a few degrees during the day. ATO was keeping up, but nearly a gallon a day! Then I began to read about the future of aquarium lighting. A week later, after much reading and about $200 in parts, I had an 11-LED DIY array over my little NC. The array is built into the hood, so it looks stock. These 11 little LED's (cree XPE's) are WAAYYY brighter than the 150w halide could ever think about being on a good day. The fluorescence with just the blues on is something you have to expreience firsthand - it simply cannot be replicated in photos. I cannot find a fts from just after setup
Then, I moved cross-country. This was no easy task. It took a week to pack the truck, and nearly a week to drive from MA to CA. The reef came with us, in a large rubbermaid container with a heater and a recirculating pump. I made a few compartments inside from eggcrate to separate rocks and softies from SPS. Worked pretty good. You can imagine the looks from people (especially midwesterners) when we hauled the rubbermaid into the motel room each night... what'cha got in there... Arrived and set up the reef. My gorgeous 4 color trachy was really upset by the move. Unfortunately he went into slow tissue recession and slowly withered away over the course of a month. I tried everything to save him - nothing worked - it was very sad. That was my only fatality.
Let me just say this - there reefing community here in SoCal far surpasses that of the NE. Not only are there more reefers 'out ther' (actively participating in the community - on forums, in clubs, etc), but there are more retailers, and prices are generally quite a bit less expensive. I have stopped buying things from retailers for good though. I will only buy frags from fellow reefers now - why take the hit when you can get the same stuff for way cheaper, and meet some great people in the process? So I've been busy assembling a frag garden in my little NC. I definitely have more sps than anything else now.
Here's a fts from today.
But... I have started running out of room. Which is why I just bought a used 135 from someone from SoCal that was getting out for awhile. Will have plenty of space to grow these frags out! I'm sourcing parts and getting some stuff together. The new tank is going to LED driven as well. I bough one Aquaillumination module to see exactly how bright they are, how the controller works, etc. All I can say is WOW! 1 12" module is easily way brighter than a 250 halide. I've ordered 2 more, and will pick up the final 2 when the tax man brings me a check. Can't wait to get this thing up and running! Have to find a house first though. We've started looking around, so I figure I'll probably have it up and running in 6-7 months. Woo-hoo!
11/01/08
12/27/08
...Then, I began thinking about sps. Then I bought some sps frags. I knew my lighting was inadequate, so I bought a used k2 viper online, and went topless.
2/2/09
But man, did I have alot of evaporation, and the temp went up by a few degrees during the day. ATO was keeping up, but nearly a gallon a day! Then I began to read about the future of aquarium lighting. A week later, after much reading and about $200 in parts, I had an 11-LED DIY array over my little NC. The array is built into the hood, so it looks stock. These 11 little LED's (cree XPE's) are WAAYYY brighter than the 150w halide could ever think about being on a good day. The fluorescence with just the blues on is something you have to expreience firsthand - it simply cannot be replicated in photos. I cannot find a fts from just after setup
Then, I moved cross-country. This was no easy task. It took a week to pack the truck, and nearly a week to drive from MA to CA. The reef came with us, in a large rubbermaid container with a heater and a recirculating pump. I made a few compartments inside from eggcrate to separate rocks and softies from SPS. Worked pretty good. You can imagine the looks from people (especially midwesterners) when we hauled the rubbermaid into the motel room each night... what'cha got in there... Arrived and set up the reef. My gorgeous 4 color trachy was really upset by the move. Unfortunately he went into slow tissue recession and slowly withered away over the course of a month. I tried everything to save him - nothing worked - it was very sad. That was my only fatality.
Let me just say this - there reefing community here in SoCal far surpasses that of the NE. Not only are there more reefers 'out ther' (actively participating in the community - on forums, in clubs, etc), but there are more retailers, and prices are generally quite a bit less expensive. I have stopped buying things from retailers for good though. I will only buy frags from fellow reefers now - why take the hit when you can get the same stuff for way cheaper, and meet some great people in the process? So I've been busy assembling a frag garden in my little NC. I definitely have more sps than anything else now.
Here's a fts from today.
But... I have started running out of room. Which is why I just bought a used 135 from someone from SoCal that was getting out for awhile. Will have plenty of space to grow these frags out! I'm sourcing parts and getting some stuff together. The new tank is going to LED driven as well. I bough one Aquaillumination module to see exactly how bright they are, how the controller works, etc. All I can say is WOW! 1 12" module is easily way brighter than a 250 halide. I've ordered 2 more, and will pick up the final 2 when the tax man brings me a check. Can't wait to get this thing up and running! Have to find a house first though. We've started looking around, so I figure I'll probably have it up and running in 6-7 months. Woo-hoo!
