Tiny funny reef on budget
- Nano Build
- Thread starter sikorskys
- Start date
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OP
OP
sikorskys
Active Member
Finally, here is the lighting. That's what I ended up with:
Wooden body, aluminium gooseneck and old Core 2 Duo CPU cooler as heatsink. This unit has been made with this particular tank in mind, so no protective glass or lenses were implemented. Tank's glass cover should be good enough protecting diodes from moisture, I hope. Still, I may add sand glass filter to the unit in the future, if the shimmer will be too distracting (don't like it much).
LEDs I've used:
Nothing special, just basic colors.
Could anyone tell me, why the light looks pinkish on the photos? It's blue in fact
The core of my LED unit, old used CPU cooler without a fan:
Body is made of round decoupage box I've bought online:
I've "ebonized" it with cooked oak bark
And covered it with matte water-based varnish:
A word of caution about LEDs placement. Four LED stars don't fit my heatsink well, so I was forced to cut them all. That's not something I'd recommend to replicate, but it may be done if needed. Just be very, very carefull with what you are cutting:
Sorry for such a mess, it works and that's enought for me for now.
The whole unit works from MeanWell APC-16-700 driver on simple electronic timer (no controller):
Wooden body, aluminium gooseneck and old Core 2 Duo CPU cooler as heatsink. This unit has been made with this particular tank in mind, so no protective glass or lenses were implemented. Tank's glass cover should be good enough protecting diodes from moisture, I hope. Still, I may add sand glass filter to the unit in the future, if the shimmer will be too distracting (don't like it much).
LEDs I've used:
- SemiLEDs C35L-W1-A (Neutral White, 3700-4750K)
- SemiLEDs C35L-B-A (Blue, 460-470nm)
- SemiLEDs N35L-U-A U70 (almost UV, 410-420nm)
- Cree XBDROY-00-0000-000000L01 (Royal Blue, 450-465nm)
Nothing special, just basic colors.
Could anyone tell me, why the light looks pinkish on the photos? It's blue in fact
The core of my LED unit, old used CPU cooler without a fan:
Body is made of round decoupage box I've bought online:
I've "ebonized" it with cooked oak bark
And covered it with matte water-based varnish:
A word of caution about LEDs placement. Four LED stars don't fit my heatsink well, so I was forced to cut them all. That's not something I'd recommend to replicate, but it may be done if needed. Just be very, very carefull with what you are cutting:
Sorry for such a mess, it works and that's enought for me for now.
The whole unit works from MeanWell APC-16-700 driver on simple electronic timer (no controller):
joshkirkland83
Valuable Member
Wow
ReefMadScientist
Valuable Member
Throw a wrench into the works and stick a tang in there...
BMMMW
Active Member
Doesn't seem like it from your custom light. Love this little project. Balancing water is going to be so hard I think. Not sure as I'm starting a nano tank, 12 gallons in the next 6 months. But that's one of my main concerns.
knukles55
Active Member
water changes are your friend on such a small tank keep it clean and dont overfeed youll be fine.
OP
OP
sikorskys
Active Member
So, how much I spent on this build?
As I stated before, I was trying to make the most of unused stuff that would otherwise just gather dust. So, few items I've got free of charge
Here is the budget:
Well, it's not $50 I was aiming for, but close enough
As I stated before, I was trying to make the most of unused stuff that would otherwise just gather dust. So, few items I've got free of charge
Here is the budget:
- Tank itself - $0
- Pump - $0
- Lighting - $31 (diodes and driver - $20, heatsink - $0, timer - $0, the rest - $11)
- Substrate - $0
- Skimmer - $32 (half of it for delivery from Hongkong)
- Airpump - $3
Well, it's not $50 I was aiming for, but close enough
JedClampett
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2015
- Messages
- 643
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Good job, can't wait to see progression pics
Dtackett
Valuable Member
12 gallons isn't difficult. my first reef was a 10 gallon with a hob filter, single t5 10k and 2 5k cfl lol. very simple setup. weekly 2 gallon water change, light feedings, light bioload. was actually pretty simple. only pain was top off. I suggest an ATO.
im currently working on a 1.5 gallon reef vase. itll hold about 1 gallon of water, but this wont be normal setup. im following in the steps on Brandon mason who currently runs the oldest reefbowl at 9 years (I believe it was 9 years) remember, in smaller tanks, the more equipment you have, the more failure points you have. keep your equipment to a minimum but make sure you have what you need at the same time.
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