"New" 275G Custom Peninsula Build

[AKReefing]

The water went from crystal clear to cloudy with a poopy residue, lol. I stirred the mud a little bit to embed some in the sand. We'll see how things progress in a couple weeks.

 

[AKReefing]

So after more than two months and multople attempts to stir the AF Life Source mud, it refuses to dissolve. I'm resorting to sucking it up and putting it in the sump rubble.

 

[AKReefing]

So after 2 1/2 months of dark cycling I'm finally setting up the LEDs. It took some trials to figure out the best location to keep the power supplies out of sight and still have enough cord to reach the farthest LEDs. I finally settled on placing a piece of plywood at the rear of the hood and securing the six power supplies for my old reliable Radion XR30W Gen 3 Pros. I've got some new generation XR15 Pros that I'll also be mounting soon.
After contacting Ecotech sales multiple times, I was finally able to convince them to sell me 10 blue tooth chips so I could upgrade to Mobius control. I installed them in sex of the Radion Gen 3s and was finally able to get all sex working together. Here's a test fire where they're just standing on their sides, so the light in the water isn't very bright. Mounting will probably happen this weekend.

 

[AKReefing]

I kept overloading the circuit when running other appliances, so I had an electrician install two new 20 amp GFCI circuits just for the aquarium. Now I can run whatever I want without fear of tripping the breaker(s).

 

[AKReefing]

The lights are mounted. I have a couple used XR15 Gen 6 LEDs that came with the EcoTech Marine Radion LED Hanging Kits ($54 plus shipping).


There was no way I was going to spend well over $350 for six Gen 3 Radions. I determined the four screw holes on top of all Radions are M5 x 0.8 (5mm diameter and 0.8 thread pitch). Through a LOT of searching online I found the perfect mounting screws on Amazon (uxcell M5 x 25mm 304 Stainless Steel Machine Shoulder Lift Eye Bolt Rigging 10pcs). They were $8.09 for ten, so I ordered three sets.

I also bought some eye screws from Lowes for a few bucks. I pre-drilled into the wood crossbeams in the aquarium hood for the eye screws. The holes in the eye bolts allowed me to use paracord to hang the Radions easily, and allow for easy height and tilt adjustments.

So for less than the cost of a single fancy hanging kit I was able to securely hang six Radions.

 

[AKReefing]

So I raided my old LED stash and loaded up the aquarium hood with two rows of XR30 Gen 3 Pros, and five XR15 G6 Pros down the middle. Not all are visible here. I have them all set to the AB+ on a 12-hour schedule at 40% max intensity.

Excessive? No. First, I already owned all of the Radions. Second, the new array gives me full coverage with almost no shadows. Third, running them at low intensity will keep them cool enough to last another decade. The only downside is zero shimmer.

My PAR readings range from 100 on the sand bed to around 300 higher up. Once the hundred frags are acclimated I may increase the intensity a bit.

 

[Jimbo327]

That's pretty awesome. I applaud the use of the existing equipment. We don't need to upgrade every time something newer comes out. These will work just fine and probably better because of the spread. Good job! I got a shed full of "junk" (according to my wife). But I always say I can use it somewhere. Hoarders unite!

 

[AKReefing]

Thanks. Sometimes cheap is better than new. I think if I cranked them to 100% I'd hit 1,000 PAR.

 

[AKReefing]

Old tank frags are in the sand for now, and new frags are mounted. Still need to add the control system (CoralVue X10 Aquarium Controller and XP8 Energy Bar), but things are looking great so far. Corals are already showing signs of new growth.

 

[Nonya]

Old tank frags are in the sand for now, and new frags are mounted. Still need to add the control system (CoralVue X10 Aquarium Controller and XP8 Energy Bar), but things are looking great so far. Corals are already showing signs of new growth.

I've been using an Apex for several years. It caused a crash not long ago--not sure why--but I'd be interested in another system. Keep us posted .

 

[AKReefing]

A few colonies I picked up when in Seattle.

 

[AKReefing]

Today's status. The corals are established, with more coming in a few months.

 

[EliMelly]

Following along, nice tank :)

 

[AKReefing]

Following along, nice tank :)

Thanks. Still in early stages. I still need to hook up the Hydros controller and probes, add dosing pumps for Ca, Alk and kalk, etc. Other than lighting, temp and flow, it's all manual right now.