HH's DIY LED 10g reef tank

[HeavyHittah]

Hey yall,
First let me say thanx for stopping by and checking out my thread. Its been a very long time since i posted here but im back. My last tank i had on here was a Biocube 8. I took it down so i could move from Houston back home to Columbia,SC. In the process of modding it when i got back home, I Broke it. Being that i had no livestock in it (gave it away in Houston) and i got the tank for free, i wasnt too upset but it did hurt a little. Anyway i started a 10gallon build and here it is.

---------From my other thread at NR-------

After countless hours of looking through other builds and asking a whooole bunch of questions. i finally stepped into a big mass of LED funk. The whole point of me building this was to light a 10g frag tank and to get some experience with Leds. I would like to thank My Mom(lol), Evil, Andru24,waterproof, everybody who has their build listed on LED list, and everyone who answered any questions for me.

equipment list
6-CW xre
6-RB xpe
2-Buckpucks with Pots (700ma)
2-Protrans PS's
2-Plugs from my old BC8 hood
Misc.-BQ pads,solder(63/37),40w soldering iron from RShack, wirestrippers, 22awg wire,knobs,heatshrink etc

Well lets just get into it
here are some of the supplies

these are the CWs, disaster99 helped me get these a whiiiilllee back from china. he had an awesome hookup

these are the RBs XPEs

The 700ma Bucks

Got the BQ pads stuck on. Man everything looked straight and right up close, you back away from it and well...not too aweful lol

Leds Stuck on the BQ pads

Soldering 1 Chain

Both Chains getting soldered

Closer shot

Another

Both Protrans in a project box(7x5x3)

Another Shot

whites down low, need to adjust my knobs, but i might get rid of these idk yet

another shot

Blues down low

 

[HeavyHittah]

Both Chains

 

[HeavyHittah]

Another shot of both chains

i also tried to use dc power connectors to connect the lights to the box but i dont know what i was doing wrong but i couldnt get it to work. i tried switching wires and hookups but i just scrapped the idea. that why you see the hole where the wires go into the box. Now all i have to do is figure out some kind of fixture for this and hang it.

to wire this up i just followed waterproof's schematic on the second page of his build thread. but it was still easy to figure out.

I would like to say that i am by no stretch of the imagination good with electronics and projects like this. BUT with patience you can do this. Of course mine is not the prettiest girl at the prom, but she still can dance.LOL. So if you're on the fence about doing one, just jump into it with both feet, the water isnt that bad.

-------------UPDATE---------------------------------

Well here's a little update. I painted the back and bottom black.
Got the fixture hanging on a PVC fixture I made

You can see how I completely botched this corner piece. Cuz I can't cut straight for shizz. I'm going to do it over though. It will sit midway at 6in.

And here's the other corner piece. This one will sit higher at 9in.

I guess I'm ready for water. . .

---------------UPDATE----------------------

Well I got the new jacks wired up. I knew the others were bad

Got water in the tank and threw some pellet food in there to start the cycle

I got my Pico evolution in there now until I get my tunze 6015. Huuuh lets go cycle... I guess I could redo that frag shelf while I wait

-------------------UPDATE---------------------------

Updated the frag shelves. One of my legs got a little off but oh well. Its a frag tank.

------------UPDATE----------------------

Well I had these old pieces of live rock just sitting outside from my BC8. So I tossed them in.

-----------------QUESTION?----------------------------

Hey guys quick question. Originally I was going to go with the tunze 6015 Ph. But I read its more of a direct flow pattern. I currently have my hydor Pico evolution 1200 (300gph) pump circulating water. And it has a direct flow pattern (of course). Should I get something with a wider flow like a koralia nano (425 gph)?

---------UPDATE----------------

My whisper 30 came in today, got it on the tank but without the carbon that came with it. Thinking of a way to mod the intake so it pulls from the surface. Maybe using some 1/2 PVC . Still brainstorming though. Trying DrTims one and only also. Will let you know how its going as I monitor the tank. Other then that nothing really going on. I think the pump in the whisper filter adding some heat to the tank but I'm not sure yet. Oh and I also painted the PVC black. Wondering if I should raise the fixture to.

-----------------QUESTION------------------

Got another question though. Which would be more beneficial for me if I'm trying to keep Zoas, palys, acans, lps running the filter with chemical media or turning it into a fuge?

--------------------QUESTION-----------------

first let me say i hate trying to match up these damn colors. but i know im far from color blind.
how does this look?

i have NO idea what could have caused that spike in nitrates. my only guess is that i put some purified bottled water in the tank. but would that have caused a huge spike in nitrates?

(You guys are all caught up now, LOL)

 

[ErinCahir]

Looks cool!!

"she's not the prettiest girl at the prom". hahahahaha.

 

[613ReefGuy]

With my recent interest in LED's I am fascinated by this. Good job on the lights, is there a splash guard or anything over the LED's? I wish I could find some MH retrofit into LED's. I like how sleek and stylish most of them are, and how they can sit over the tank. I wish I could rip out everything and install LED's, so everything would close together and look the same.....except now LED's. If anyone has seen this done please msg me a link.

Nice job on the tank. If this is a frag tank, where is the link to your main tank?

 

[HeavyHittah]

With my recent interest in LED's I am fascinated by this. Good job on the lights, is there a splash guard or anything over the LED's? I wish I could find some MH retrofit into LED's. I like how sleek and stylish most of them are, and how they can sit over the tank. I wish I could rip out everything and install LED's, so everything would close together and look the same.....except now LED's. If anyone has seen this done please msg me a link.

Nice job on the tank. If this is a frag tank, where is the link to your main tank?

My main tank isn't running quite yet (a very long story) but this is just something to keep me going til I get the 75g going. Huuuuuh damn this economy.

 

[Bifferwine]

Welcome back! That is an AMAZING JOB on those lights. They look pro!

 

[HeavyHittah]

Thanx biff, I'm thinking about getting rid of the chain and using some of that picture hanging wire but I got to figure out how I could raise it on the PVC. And I think I want to put a simple splash guard on it. Just get a piece of acrylic drill four holes and use nuts to keep it where I want it. And maybe some sleeving for the wires.

 

[reeftanker84]

where did you get the leds at? any idea what the PAR readings are? i have thought about DIY for leds myself but im afraid they will not have the par to go well with a 75 gallon,seen the 10 watt spotlight type but they are only 6500k not sure about algae growth

 

[HeavyHittah]

where did you get the leds at? any idea what the PAR readings are? i have thought about DIY for leds myself but im afraid they will not have the par to go well with a 75 gallon,seen the 10 watt spotlight type but they are only 6500k not sure about algae growth

My whole purpose for this build was to get comfortable wi th LEDs so I know what to do with my 75g. I'm going to use around 48LEDs for that build, and I think I'm going to do an arduino controller with it. As far as actual par readings I'm not sure cuz I don't have a par meter. There are similar builds at NR with all kinds of par info. But I'm not worried about it being enough light for anything includibg clams. I can keep anything. If you like the spotlight look check out par38/30 bulbs from boostled, or rapidled, or nanotuners. All are awesome. Orphek and ecoxotic also make them. LEDs can also be found on those sites. All are great to order from. My drivers I got from ledsupply. Any ?s ill try to answer.

Made a simple splash guard today

 

[Dana42078]

Id get rid of the chains IMO.....zip ties would work fine dont ya think? A piece of acrylic for splash guard would be ideal or plexi glass not sure what is normally used. How hot do those get? Looks good but im still waiting for the price to drop.

 

[HeavyHittah]

Id get rid of the chains IMO.....zip ties would work fine dont ya think? A piece of acrylic for splash guard would be ideal or plexi glass not sure what is normally used. How hot do those get? Looks good but im still waiting for the price to drop.

Yea I just added the splash guard today. I dont knw if zip ties would work cuz then I can't raise and lower it. And the heatsink doesn't get "hot" at all. It barely gets warm. It's a 9x6in heatsink.

 

[HeavyHittah]

Soooooo I think I might have gotten ganked on eBay. I bought this refracto used. Guy said it's in perfect condition but shows normal wear. I said cool if it works and can be calibrated all is well. I got it today and it seems that I can't turn the calibration screw. >:(. I don't know what to do. Here it is. It does say marine depot through the lens.

 

[buddy08]

can you return it back to him? hopefully you didnt pay much for it. i got mine brand new for a 15$ + s&h

 

[Bifferwine]

Is the screw rusted out? You can remove it and replace it with a new screw, if you can get one that's the same size.

 

[HeavyHittah]

The seller did mention that he didn't know much about it. So I'm guessing he didn't know what should screw or not. And I don't want to go through that hassle. I did measure some distilled water from Wal-Mart with it and it did read zero. So I'm just going to use it til I get another one. I did try wd 40 and that "Bish" didn't budge. I think the lesson here is when it's something as a measuring device, just buy new. Since it's so crucial. Lesson learned

 

[HeavyHittah]

Hey y'all, if my nitrites are high and my nitrates are high should I do a WC? I don't have any ammonia but I'm still cycling. Nothing is in the tank. I use API test.

 

[Bifferwine]

If nothing is in the tank, I would not do a water change yet.

 

[HeavyHittah]

Another ?. Do I need at least one fish to provide ammonia for the nitrifying bacteria so they don't die off, even if this is just a frag tank?

 

[HeavyHittah]

Anyone?