My 300g to 130g upgrade!

DaveMorris · Aug 2, 2014

I have run into some issues with my lighting set up. LEDs are working OK, but when either one of my 150w halides kicks on, it resets my RKE. I think it is because the Chinese ballasts that Coralvue uses emit tons of RFI. I'm going to have to do some testing and figure out a work around.

I transferred my fish into the tank and they seem to be happy now. My naso is swimming around in his new digs. Looks like I may actually keep this one alive for a good while. I am hoping that my RBTA comes back well. He was not happy at all with the change in tanks. My three clowns are looking for him everywhere.

footballdude2k3 · Aug 2, 2014

Very nice so far!

DaveMorris · Aug 3, 2014

So I completely forgot about the solution to the electronic ballasts nuking the RKE. It involves a lot of grounding (beyond the normal grounding in the power cable), some electronic chokes, and a couple of line noise suppressors. Electronic ballasts put out a ton of EMF and RF noise both through proximity as well as through the AC power line. The line noise suppressor and the chokes will address part of that and grounding the ballast chassis as well as the fixture chassis will eliminate the noise that interferes with the operation of the controller. This is not a problem that only the RKE suffers from. An Apex, Reef Angel or any other controller is susceptible to this interference to varying degrees. Looks like tomorrow I will be doing some more electrical work. Fortunately all of these items are very inexpensive and easy to come by. I will post how it goes.

dmort · Aug 3, 2014

sub'd

DaveMorris · Aug 17, 2014

So despite my efforts at electronic filtering and grounding, I could not get the ballasts and the RKE to play nice with one another. So on to option two...new ballasts. I bought two Aqua Medic Reeflux 150w HQI magnetic ballasts and got the hooked up. The controller is stable and all is good.

I really like the way the Phoenix 14k lamps look. I also picked up an acro frag pack from AquaSD so we will see how the corals do in the tank. I am hoping that my RBTA will finally get back to his original size and be a happy camper in the new bright light he has. My clowns will certainly appreciate it. A 1.5" clown hosting in a 3/4" wide anenome is kind of funny to watch. I'm going to do some water testing tonight to double-check parameters. The water has been nice and clear so hopefully the Prodibio has settled in nicely.

I picked up some New Era flake food and I have to say the fish absolutely go crazy with it. I really like using it and will probably keep it as part of my regular fish diet.

NeveSSL · Aug 18, 2014

Awesome. Phoenix 14k bulbs are hard to beat! I had one over my 28g nanocube back in the day and loved it.

Brandon

DaveMorris · Aug 18, 2014

Thought I would take a couple pics of the tank. Unfortunately we lost our Nikon DSLR so the iPhone shots will have to do.

I'm very happy with the tank at the moment. Things seem to be doing well so far.

DaveMorris · Sep 1, 2014

Somebody's happy with their new home. This is actually the second batch of eggs these two have laid. This pair of REAL/NORMAL clownfish is awesome. None of those crazy mutant clowns for me.

DaveMorris · Sep 24, 2014

Ordered some clean up crews and starter animals from IPSF.com yesterday. Pods, snails, hermits, macros, stars, etc. I love the diversity that IPSF critters bring to my tanks. I will also have my new Nikon D7100 by the end of the week and I'll get some real pics of the tank as it is now. The iPhone pics just don't look that great. So far the tank is looking good and I am very happy with it.

DaveMorris · Sep 28, 2014

Got the clean crew in from IPSF and they are making quick work of cleaning up the rock work. Got some bristle worms, spaghetti worms, hermits, various snails, pods, and some macro algeas. Yes folks, I said bristle worms. All of my rock in this tank was sitting out in the sun, dry for over 6 months so it was dead, deader, deadest. I am so much of a supporter of bristle worms in a healthy tank that I spent money to get some. I have a few more critters to put in the tank but most of them will be acquired locally.

Today I made a quick little ride up north to Murrieta to pick up a nice rainbow anenome. The RBTA that I already have in the tank isn't expanding much so my three clowns are anenome-less. I wanted to remedy that and Jamie had just what I needed. It is a truly beautiful specimen. Next week when I get my new Nikon D7100 I will get some shots of it in all of its glory. The clowns are already knocking on the door.

I also got three bergia nudies today. Amazingly enough, even though all of my rock was baked in the sun for 6 months, I have three small aiptasia nems. Those are some tough little buggers! I'm not taking any chances and do not want to wait until they take over so aiptasia control has been added. I am a true believer in using natural predators for pest removal so I will start with the bergia nudibranch. If that doesn't work I will probably get myself a filefish. They are cool looking fish and I wouldn't mind having one in the tank anyway. We'll see how the nudibranchs do.

I had planned on starting to work on the cabinetry to cover my stand this week, but due to some extraordinary back pain I am in no condition to start hauling wood around. I am getting more and more anxious to get it all completed. Hopefully soon. Work will be very busy for me next month so I really need to get it started or its going to be Christmas before I get anything done.

jason g · Sep 28, 2014

Those pesky aiptasia nems, I myself am using Peppermint Shrimp. So far so good, I noticed they are eating them away slowly.

DaveMorris · Oct 3, 2014

I got about 90% of the skin on my stand done today. Or more accurately, DavOcean did. He is a phenomenal carpenter and not only did he build the actual stand for me, but was able to get the skin built for me today and yesterday. All I have left is prime and paint and doors. When the doors come in, I will get frosted glass put in them and then Dave will get them mounted.

I wanted very simple detail and not a bunch of fluting, florets, etc. I will probably add some base moulding to it but we are going to replace our flooring so I will wait until we do that. The stand will be all white to match the inside.

DaveMorris · Dec 14, 2014

I did a water change and overall cleaning on my sump today. Pulled out the skimmer and bio pellet reactor and cleaned them up vacuumed out the sump real good, etc. When you make everything under your tank white, dirt and detritus really shows up fast. Its looking really clean now though.

I still do not have the outer part of my stand finished. I still need to get the doors finished and mounted and I still need to get it painted. Hopefully I can do that in a week or so. I have decided that I will not be building a hood. I am going to replace my current lighting setup which consists of two 150w halides and some Stevesleds supplemental lighting, which can be seen in this thread. I will be hanging two Reef Radiance LED fixtures over my tank and keeping the top of the tank open. I think it will look cleaner and will make feeding and cleaning much easier. Once i get the new lights hung I will post some pics.

I will also be replacing my RKE head unit with the new Archon system from Digital Aquatics. I have been beta testing the Archon and I am very impressed with the system. I will post some pics of it and some screen shots as soon as I get everything switched over. The Archon is compatible with all of my current modules so swapping over to the Archon will be pretty simple. Pics to follow...

DaveMorris · Dec 20, 2014

I picked up my unfinished doors a couple of days ago and I will get them and the stand face frame painted tomorrow. Next will be picking out the glass for the doors. We have a great glass place here in San Diego, Alpine Glass. Tons and tons of different styles and types of glass and great service. Custom cuts and they will mount the glass in my doors for free. I will post some pics as it goes. Gotta get my LED fixtures hung as well, but that may be waiting for a week or so.

DaveMorris · Feb 16, 2015

Well I am long overdue for an update, however I don't have a lot of changes to report. I just got through some back surgery so hopefully my health won't be failing me for a while. I have a nice little crop of bryopsis growing so no tank pics for now. No need to embarrass myself at how the tank looks. I will be starting the Tech M treatment this week since I'm stuck at home in recovery mode. I have managed to get one coat of primer on the doors for the stand. I'll be continuing that project this week as well. Hopefully I can get them to the glass shop by the end of the week. DaveOcean did a fantastic job building the stand elements and now I just need to get the final touches on it.

The big update is that I have very reluctantly succumbed to the pressure to switch over to exclusively using LED lighting. I'll see how it goes. I have two of the Reef Radiance 165w fixtures that I will be placing over the tank in place of my DIY LED setup and two 150w MH fixtures. I want to have a more streamlined look to the top of the tank so the two slim LED fixtures are my first try at this look. Hopefully the tank will look good under the lights. I'm pretty critical of LED lighting. I'll try to update more frequently.

PCygni · Feb 16, 2015

I dig this build.

Mr E Wrasse · Feb 16, 2015

awesome build! i'm about to start a 135 (48x24x27) build soon so i might be borrowing a few of your ideas. :angel:

DaveMorris · Feb 16, 2015

Mr E Wrasse said:
awesome build! i'm about to start a 135 (48x24x27) build soon so i might be borrowing a few of your ideas. :angel:

Borrow away. Let me know if you have any questions or need more clarification on anything. I am happy to share. I will be changing up some of the control aspect of this system very soon once my beta testing of the Archon controller is done. It isn't on my system yet because it is easier to do the testing with a small system on my bench. For the most part, all of the modules will remain the same anyway. Just the head unit will be getting replaced. I'll post info on that soon as well.

DaveMorris · Mar 10, 2015

Made a little more progress today. I finished 99% of my refugium light which is a StevesLEDs.com LED kit housed in a MakersLED heatsink. I say 99% because my heat gun died on me and I have two wiring connections that need heat shrink. I'll pick up a new heat gun tomorrow and get it finished and mounted over the fuge. Then I will have a refugium package from IPSF.com and get the huge going strong. That will hopefully help get rid of the algae in the display tank. I'll post some pics once I get it finished up.