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12.5 gallon w/nanotuners PAR38 led

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    Posted: June 06 2010 at 2:56pm
I recently got my 12.5 gallon up and thought I'de start a thread.  I've been wanting to try led's for a while now, and the PAR38 bulb from nano tuners seemed about perfect for my nano.  I was also trying to build this tank on a small budget.  My 30g is getting crowded so it will be nice to have a place to put extra coral.  I plan on keeping mostly lps and zoas, with some sps as well if it does well under the lights.  Here's the specs
 
Tank:  12.5 gallon all-in-one from AquaEuro Usa, w/glass top.  Bought this for cheap from lfs, with no hood which was perfect for the leds.  The quality seems a little on the cheap side, but it looks nice and the price was right. Measures 13.5" H x 16.5" W x 15" D.  Ive also hooked up an ATO from autotopoff.com.  The stand was built by Exceljoe here on the board, super nice guy and the stand turned out great.
 
Filtration:  This is an all-in-one style cube, I plan on just running some filter floss and chemi-pure elite in the back.  I will also put some chaeto back there with a light.  Tank is too small to worry about a skimmer, ill just rely on water changes.  Ive got about 20-25 lbs and fiji live rock that was donated by a friend(thanks again Amy), I probably wont use it all.  Also 1" of fiji pink sand. 
 
Flow:  return pump w/hydor flo and a koralia nano.  Gives me about 36x turnover, I may upgrade the return pump for more flow in the near future. 
 
Lighting:   Nanotuners Par38 lamp, 20k with 60degree optics. The bulb is hung 14 inches over the water surface, which seems to have pretty good spread.  I should be able to keep most everthing with the lamp, as long as Im careful about placement.  For those who are curious, the par plots from this lamp are found in this thread- http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=221433.  So it looks like sps/lps in the middle, with softies and low light corals on the edges.  I may decide to add another lamp in the future but for now I will try it with one. 
Mounting the lamp was my biggest challenge, I looked around the net for ideas but never liked any that I found.  So I went to home depot and $8 later I have it mounted on an arm above the tank.  It still looks a bit ghetto to me, but for now it works and does the job.
 
Thats about it, not sure what livestock I want yet, the tank needs to cycle for a bit so I have time to decide.  Now a few pics.
 
TANK AND STAND
And we have light!
Rock and Sand go in, water still cloudy.
I'll get some more pics after I do my scape, to be continued...


Edited by kellerexpress - August 21 2010 at 1:05am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bugzme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 3:16pm
That's a cool looking setup. Looks like you have plenty of light also.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 4:26pm
Thanks! I'm hoping 1 bulb will be enough, it seems pretty bright.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote npatching Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 5:30pm
Exceljoe did an awesome job on your stand.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 5:45pm
yes he did, Im very happy with it
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jwoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 5:47pm
You are me but with more drive. I thought about doing this exact thing when I saw those tanks down at reefrunners. I was going to get the same light to put on it! Congrats for being the alternate universe me who went through with this plan! I'm eager to see it with fish and coral. Looks awesome.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ahanix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 7:07pm
Oh nice, you got everything in it.  I'm excited to see how this turns out Big smile


Looks awesome so far Kevin!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kay181 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 7:22pm
looks good i was going to do that but my wife said no cause just put that nanotuners 4 24w pc kit in my hood  so was mad about up grading keep this going want to know more about the par lights thanks Thumbs Up
day light scares me im going back under
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ahanix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 06 2010 at 8:21pm
Kay, did your wife tell you to do that because she doesn't like the open top look?  if so I can help and show you how to do an led retro (I had the same issue Big smile)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 07 2010 at 10:31am
Got my rocks moved around, water has cleared up nicely. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ahanix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 07 2010 at 12:06pm
I like it! Great aquascape for when you start throwing corals in there.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 07 2010 at 12:42pm
thanks, I think ill be able to throw some coral in real soon, the rock cured in a bucket in my garage for a couple weeks before I put it in the tank, so hopefully Ill have a quick soft cycle.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 14 2010 at 6:20am
Need some opinions,
 
Tank has been running a over a week now, did some tests yesterday.  Nitrates, nitrites and ammonia were all 0.  Im wondering if I will have much of a cycle, or maybe just a really soft cycle.   The live rock was taken from an established system, and was out of the water for 6 hrs, so I expected a bunch of die off.  It was then cycled in a bucket in my garage for 2.5 weeks before being placed in the tank.  I added 5 gallons of water from my 30g, and the sand was new sand with just a little bit of live sand placed on top to seed.   I havent seen any diatoms yet.
Do you think its ready to try some coral or should I wait it out another week? 


Edited by kellerexpress - June 14 2010 at 6:21am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kay181 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 21 2010 at 3:54am
Kay, did your wife tell you to do that because she doesn't like the open top look?  if so I can help and show you how to do an led retro (I had the same issue Big smile)
 
no it was the money i spent to get 4x24watt kit


Edited by kay181 - June 21 2010 at 3:55am
day light scares me im going back under
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kay181 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 21 2010 at 3:57am
updates please
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 23 2010 at 10:33pm
Update:  things are moving right along, have had a diatom bloom for about a week now, added a small CUC consisting of 4 astrea, 2 cerith and 1 nass snail.  I also added some corals to see how they would do, and so far everything is doing great! 

Edited by kellerexpress - July 02 2010 at 2:45am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 02 2010 at 3:02am
Another update for anyone who cares.... 
Tank is doing awesome, so far I am loving the led's!  The light is mounted far enough away from the tank that there is virtually no heat transfer to the tank from the lights , my temp is rock solid around the clock!  Also with the glass top there is hardly any evaporation , I only have to top off the tank once or twice a week tops, and even then is a very small amount of water.  I havent been using the ATO because right now its really not needed. 
All this = stability, which is something I was worried about with the small amount of water volume in the tank. CUC so far just consists of snails,  I have no fish yet but have added a the following corals:
-ora green birdnest
-orange monitpora digitata
-orange monti-cap
-pink acropora
-tri-color acro(was kinda bleached before hand, hoping it will color up)
-rainbow montipora
-blue candy cane
-6 head duncans
-pom pom xenia
-6-7 varietys of zoas
-4 varietys of acans
All corals look very happy and have kept there color. Pics coming soon I promise!
 
 


Edited by kellerexpress - July 02 2010 at 3:07am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kellerexpress Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2010 at 4:48am
Pics as promised!
Zoas:
various acans:
sps:
duncans:
and FTS
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jdskidawg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 11 2010 at 5:08pm
any updates on this tank? would love to see some
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ksmart Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 11 2010 at 6:23pm
me too!






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