My 150G - a build thread in pictures

[TrishW]

Did you get your LED lights from Reef Radiance?

Mine was sitting on the front porch when I got home. I just putting it up over my 180 as a test and the corals look wonderful!!

I need to order a set of them for my 180, too. I may order the DM-132e for them as well since I really don't need all the extra control functions such as a gradual dawn and dusk effect and a wireless remote control. The two potentiometers that allow me to control the two channels separately seem enough to me. Unless someone can tell me the benefit of having the extre bells and wistles control functions, I like to go with DM-132e instead of more expensive Lumentek pro 120's with fancy functions.

Mine were here when I got home as well. I wasn't on the forum last night because I had to remove the old lights and modify the canopy a bit to get the three new fixtures mounted. By the time I got through programming all three of them I was tired! With the blues only on my corals really pop. I ended up standing there and staring at the tank for ten minutes when I was on the way to bed

I had a Peppermint Shrimp disappear a few months ago. The only things that could have eaten it was the Green Emerald Crab or the 2 inch Yellow Watchman Goby. My bet was on the Crab. He's a voracious brine shrimp eater. So, into the sump he went.

Loved the story about Burrito. Must have been an amazing experience!

I am sure it was my wrasse as I watched him eat them. He couldn't get them down his throat so he would bump the end of the shrimp that was hanging out of his mouth against the overflow column or the glass and push it down his throat. If I could catch him I would banish him to my settling tank but I would have to remove everything from the tank including all the crushed coral in order to catch him. I plan to try a bottle trap I just haven't done it yet. Now that I have removed my huge T5 fixture I will room to get a bottle trap into the tank.

Burrito was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I am pretty sure that I saw him at the hummingbird feeder a couple of times in the week or two following his release. At least I managed to get some decent photos and one good video of him while he was our house guest.

I won't be able to do that unless I unmount a MH lamp with Lumenbright reflector. Reilly is away at the moment, and I only have one pair of hands to hold it above my tank. Since the light fixture is relatively heavy, I need to hold it with both hands. I'd be blocking the view of the tank with my body even if I put my camera on a tripod. When I get it hung above my tank, I will post some pictures. The color temperature looks to be somewhere between 14K and 20K.

My only experience with MH bulbs was with whatever was in the used MH fixture I had over the right side of my tank for the last month and a half so I can't say what color temperature the LEDs would compare to. I know that with blues and white/full spectrum at 100% the tank is much whiter than I prefer. I don't think I will be running the whites at anywhere near 100% though so maybe I will be okay. I will supplement with a couple of single bulb T5 fixtures if I don't like the look during the brightest daylight setting.

What kind of skimmer are you using?

I run a Super Reef Octopus 3000 internal skimmer. It has done very well for me. I do have to clean the inside of the neck of the skimmer cup once a week but it pulls out some nasty looking stuff.

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I am experimenting with my DM-132e tonight a bit more. It's on my 29 now. Last night I was concentrating more on the way the LED colored up the corals and not looking the overall effect of the LED fixture.

Looking at the 29 and 180, which is lit with Phoenix 14K, at the same time, I am beginning to feel that I might want a bit more blue appearance like my Phoenix 14k. DM-132e brings out a bit more pink and purple than blue. When I turn up the white channel, it looks more daylight and lose some of the pinkish color, but it's not as blue as Phoenix. I am wondering if your Evergrow is closer to the appearance of Phoenix 14K MH lamp.

Tomoko you are welcome to come view my lights any time. Just let me know when you want to come. I would love to hear your opinion of the color and any recommendations of supplemental bulbs.

Tomoko... you could always toss in some actinic t-5 or led supplementation

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Lindsey, did you build your single bulb TR fixtures you use for supplemental lighting?

 

[markkazdad]

I am sure it was my wrasse as I watched him eat them. He couldn't get them down his throat so he would bump the end of the shrimp that was hanging out of his mouth against the overflow column or the glass and push it down his throat. If I could catch him I would banish him to my settling tank but I would have to remove everything from the tank including all the crushed coral in order to catch him. I plan to try a bottle trap I just haven't done it yet. Now that I have removed my huge T5 fixture I will room to get a bottle trap into the tank.

I don't think you'd have to remove everything from your tank. It sounds to me like you just need a peppermint shrimp and a hook.

 

[TrishW]

I don't think you'd have to remove everything from your tank. It sounds to me like you just need a peppermint shrimp and a hook.

I was actually planning to use a peppermint shrimp for bait in the bottle trap. I have four of them in my settling tank. I wish I had put four in the display and ten in the settling tank :doh:

 

[markkazdad]

I guess you'll just have to make the settling tank into a peppermint shrimp breeding tank.

 

[Rothgar]

We want pics of your new lights!

 

[TrishW]

We want pics of your new lights!

I will try to get some decent pics today. I tried on Wednesday but like other people have said "my iphone doesn't know how to process the blue"

I need to get a tripod for my camera but I can buy a pretty decent looking coral for that much money so you may just have to deal with the blur

 

[Tomoko Schum]

It would be nice if someone with a good camera and photography skill (including processing) can go around taking photos of club members' tanks. We can start a member's tank thread and get a sticky on it.

 

[TrishW]

I would be all for that one Tomoko.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Anyone wants to volunteer ?

 

[Rothgar]

If i didn't just sell all my camera gear i would have!!

 

[Hassablad]

I have all the camera gear we need. I would love to take photos. Let me know whose interested. Maybe photos for frags? Just a thought, my tank is rather bare at the moment...lol

http://www.finelight-photo.com/ My photo site. I can post the images here for download

 

[TrishW]

I never did get PAR readings with my old lights on the tank before removing them and installing the three Evergrow IT-2040 fixtures. I started to have no polyp extension on my cabbage coral today and was afraid it was from too much light since it looked wonderful when I first put the LEDs over the tank.


So tonight we simulated what my 6 bulb x 54W Teklight would had at water level when the fixture was 5 inches above water level. The readings ranged from 56 to 444. This was taking readings all across the light from the extreme front and sides to the extreme rear. This fixture is a little more than and inch shy of the measurement from the front to the back of my 150 so I didn't get a reading that would relate to that right on the glass . Midlight readings were an average of about 435 or so.


Then we took readings of the LED with the fixture 10 inches above water level. The readings are at water level. The LED was set to 40% channel 1 (blue) and 20% channel 2 (white/full spectrum). These readings were taken in a 24" x 24" area under one of the LED fixtures. The readings ranged from 12 right at the glass to 594.


I was shocked that with the fixture at 40%B 20%W and 5 inches higher it still produced a much higher PAR than the Teklight T5. The bulbs in my old fixture were about 3 months old and the Teklight has good quality reflectors. The bulbs were all ATI and I was running 3 Blue +, 2 coral + and a purple +.


I just wanted to share this info since I read so many questions about the settings to use during acclimation to new LEDs. IMO the answer to that question is VERY LOW lol.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Cabbage coral and other sinualaria corals, such as leathers, periodically go through a phase to shed their outer skin/algae tunic. When they do this, they tend to pull their polyps in (close up) and look angry. Are you sure if your cabbage coral is really affected by the light intensity? How are other nearby corals doing?

I found that most sinularia and even xenia were pretty tough and took a huge amount of light. They don't seem to get too affected by a sudden change in the light intensity, either. After all, some leathers get exposed to direct sunlight at low tide. They must be really tough. When I changed my light on my old 29 gallon tank (not the current Oceanic cube) from a 70W MH bulb to a 250W MH halide many years ago (2004?), my acropora changed colors drastically (never bleached, though), but my leathers and xenia never looked affected. My Bali Green Slimer amazingly turned weird maroon color rather quickly, bringing up its pink and purple pigments/chromoproteins to the skin surface to absorb harmful portion of the light in order to protect itself from sunburn. This was totally unexpected. Individual polyps of zoanthids got much smaller over the next day or so. Mushrooms popped off its rocks and floated away, too. That was quite an experience. It affected me more than my corals, though .

 

[TrishW]

Cabbage coral and other sinualaria corals, such as leathers, periodically go through a phase to shed their outer skin/algae tunic. When they do this, they tend to pull their polyps in (close up) and look angry. Are you sure if your cabbage coral is really affected by the light intensity? How are other nearby corals doing?

I found that most sinularia and even xenia were pretty tough and took a huge amount of light. They don't seem to get too affected by a sudden change in the light intensity, either. After all, some leathers get exposed to direct sunlight at low tide. They must be really tough. When I changed my light on my old 29 gallon tank (not the current Oceanic cube) from a 70W MH bulb to a 250W MH halide many years ago (2004?), my acropora changed colors drastically (never bleached, though), but my leathers and xenia never looked affected. My Bali Green Slimer amazingly turned weird maroon color rather quickly, bringing up its pink and purple pigments/chromoproteins to the skin surface to absorb harmful portion of the light in order to protect itself from sunburn. This was totally unexpected. Individual polyps of zoanthids got much smaller over the next day or so. Mushrooms popped off its rocks and floated away, too. That was quite an experience. It affected me more than my corals, though .

Perhaps it is just a shed. I was starting out really low but then decided to move up a little faster and the cabbage chose that time to stop extending. It has not had any polyp extension since yesterday. It also reminds me of a plant that is withering from lack of water.

I also noticed that the smallest of my acans isn't extending as much and the other small one appears to have a head that shows tissue recession.

Now that the lights are much dimmer the cabbage is starting to show some PE but it is also looking a little like it has either slimed or been slimed.

My toadstool also has not looked good today but my GSP, hammer, frogspawn were good and my Duncans looked great.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I have an opposite experience with my LED light so far.
I have my 132e right on top of the glass top of my 29 gallon Oceanic cube, which is about 2 inches above the water surface. The intensity level is 50% on whites/colors and 50% on blues right now. I started up at 15% and 25% and gradually increased the levels to the current. All my corals are looking good so far. I intend to raise my light so that the light spread is better on my tank, but I have not found an appropriate support to mount the light on. I wish I had the same suspension cables and eyes on the light fixture as yours do.

 

[TrishW]

I like the bluer look so I was ramping up to 60B 25W. I have backed it down to 35/15 and will increase very slowly this time.

I am waiting to be sure that the LEDs are going to work for me before modifying the canopy but when we do the mod I will have the lights mounted on a rail and have the ability to slide the entire rail to the back of the canopy and to slide each fixture from side to side on the rail. This should give me plenty of room for tank maintenance.

 

[Rothgar]

Guess we need to have another gathering at your house Trish so i can see you lights!

 

[TrishW]

My cabbage coral looked bad last week so I cut way back on the light intensity. I am back to almost what I was at before I backed the settings down. Things are looking much better.

This is just a phone shot but I wanted to share since people had asked. It is not quite this purple in person but I did think it odd that my iphone picked up the purple instead of blue like it did with the T5s and MH

 

[eric.battani]

Wow that tank looks real good.

 

[TrishW]

Thanks Eric.