20141126 180 Gallon Reef Ready Tank Build part 5

Now all the livestocks in!

I am spreading all three clams into three corners. Built two mounts of rock work to hide the overflow columns. And the wave maker hides perfectly in the corner.

20141104 What Light for your Saltwater tank? Part 1.

One of the most commonly asked questions is the choice of lighting. What's appropriate for your critters? What's the best color temperature combination to bring out those colors? All lights seem so expensive, can I just DIY?
First, I must say that without proper training in light, physics, and electrical, everything I am going to discuss is entirely based on observation and real life experience.

LED light reflecting from the surface

Currently some there are many options for aquaria lighting. Among some of the less expensive but least light output are:
Regular T7 florescent tubes, incandescent bulbs, power compact lights
These lights are suitable for fish only aquaria or some of the non-photosynthetic or least light demanding soft corals. But in most cases will not provide enough energy for higher end corals and inverts to thrive
Some of the more sophisticated lightings are:
VHO T5 florescent tubes, Metal Halide bulbs, and LED lights
These lights tend to have a higher cost and drains more electricity, but can sustain some of the most light hungry creatures such as small polyp stony corals (SPS), large polyp stony corals (LPS), clams, anemones, etc.
Another option is DIY- if you are skilled in electrical, you can also design and put together your own lights. You can find many light parts, ballasts that are suitable for your project. Warning, if you do not construct the light correctly it can result in fire.
There are many other aspects of lights such as PAR, light's distance from the water surface, water depth, and light color temperature. We can save all them for the ensuing parts of this series.

In the mean time, there are some good readings I recommend from a couple reputable online livestock retailer:
Liveaquaria Light article
Pacific East Aquaculture Light article

20141029 Reef Tank Update

Real quick update of my reef tank here. I did some change over the weekend- I decided having 2X 150W LED hanging over the 92G corner is a bit too much for the tank. So I removed one of the two light fixtures. moved one to the center and increased the intensity slightly. So far everyone is happy.

2014-05-17 Gear Spotlight- Chiller

So what's the deal with Chillers? Until I began keeping salt-water aquariums, I've never even heard of it! Why chillers? Well, there is an excellent article here on Marine Depot taking about it: http://www.marinedepot.com
I also want to credit Marine Depot for this illustration below:

Tank Chiller Set up according to Marine Depot

So why do you need Chiller, if you already have to use a heater to "heat" up your tank?

Well, While terrestrial day time and night time temperature swings can be quite big- here in Wisconsin we have 80 degree days with nights in the 30's, it's ridiculous!

Also, while fluorescent lights and LEDs do not emit as much heat, reef tanks with metal halide can boil eggs and more! So it is vital to ensure your tanks does not over head by the end of your photoperiod (light-on hours). 

A couple ways you can get by without a chiller- have well ventilated tank/sump area with central air/AC on for the house, not just for the tank but for your own comfort. But let's face it, it's cheaper to cool down the tank than the entire house.

Or, you can choose a low-heat emission lighting system such as LED light, which can emit almost as much, if not more energy than that of metal halide.

But if the above are not in your option, a chiller might be the better choice.

Natural tropical sea water's temperature range from low 70's to mid 80's, depends on the current, time of day, and the depth. Many people say the sea water is very constant, that's not true. 

I used to spend years living in Belize and swim in the barrier reef on weekends. The real ocean water comes in waves of warm pockets followed by cool pockets, and the surface (top 3 feet) is significantly warmer than the deeper region (5-30 feet). So don't worry too much if your temperature swings a little between day and night. It's OK and it's natural.

2014-04-29 Deal of the Day-Acan

Ok, I really don't understand why are Acan frags so freaking expensive! I have kept them and they grow really fast for me!
Anywho, I found this on Pacific East Aquaculture and man is this a gem!
And $89 price tag for a frag of this size- 12 heads, is a steal~
http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com

If you have never kept Acan, here are some tips:
Water quality- the usual reef parameter- no trace of nitrate.
Water Temperature, I would say that the polyps and tentacles expands the best when it's slightly cooler at around 75-77
Calcium- it is a large polyp stony coral so you need adequate amount of it
Light- T-5 seems to be the universally best light source. If you use LED or Metal Halide, make sure to place them medium to bottom. The color will become very light and eventually bleach out when there is too much light. They can actually do pretty well in dimmer condition because you can also supplement their energy by spot feeding- I've used a turkey baster to feed them grind up shrimp, mysis shrimp, spiraling enhanced brine shrimp, etc.
One word of warning, do not put them on sand, especially if you have something in your tank who likes to stir up the sand, they get irritated by sand quite easily.

Coral growth under LED

Now that the new LED AI Sol superblue is set up, I will begin a photo journal to document the effect of this light to my corals' growth, sps, lps, and soft polyps. 

My previous light, 250w metal halide with 4x 24w T-5 didn't exactly promote much coral growth. Like I said, you get what you pay for. So I'm hoping this light will alllow faster growth.

After three days of light acclimation, I increased light intensity to: w25, b55,r55. My plan is to gradually increase 2-3% every 2-3 days until I reach the level where corals can all achieve maximum growth without bleaching.

One of my good light indicators will be my RBTA as they stretch with insufficient light and bubble up when lighting is ideal!

Aqua Illumination SOL super blue LED- Tank lighting illustration

Hello all!
So today is the final installment of my installation instruction for this awesome lighting system.
And you will all get to see my tank under this new light!

The shot below is the light test option, you can test each color individually or a combination of two or all three to determine what look is the right "look" for your tank.

This is White 100%, blue 0%, royal 0%.

This is white 0%, Blue 100%, royal 0%

This is white 0%, blue 0%, Royal 100%. difference between blue and royal is very sutble, with the royal containing somewhat of a purple hue.

This is combination of White 100%, Blue 100%, and royal 0%

This would be White 100%, blue 0%, Royal 100%

This is white 0%, Blue 100%, Royal 100%

After playing with different mix for a while, my light is currently set at:
White 22%
Blue 53%
Royal 53%
I plan to increase the intensity slowly as the corals acclimate to this light.

Aqua Illumination Sol Super Blue LED Part 1

I finally did it! spent $500 on this new lighting system! The Aqua Illumination Sol Super Blue LED

I was trying to cut corner and being cheap when I first set up my 92 Corner. I bought the cheapest Metal Halide+T5 system available online at that time- The Odyssea from Aquatraders.com.
Don't get me wrong, I got exactly what I paid for- not a whole lot of coral growth and not so pretty color.

So I then bought some LED system try to make the color "pop"
The color looked a lot better after that but the coral growth was still painfully slow.
So then I decided it's time to step into the 21st century.

I first saw this fixture at the local aquarium store. They hung four Ai Sol super blue over their coral frag tanks and the color looked amazing. I then did some research and read some reviews online then decided to give it a shot.

Placed the order on Drs. Foster & Smith online pet supply store. The order was placed late Saturday night and even with standard ground shipping I received it Tuesday morning. I am very pleased with the shipping time.

The coolest part of this light is the ability to program sunrise, sunset, lunar cycle, and weather. So the controller is a must (see above). I will go over details of the controller and its functions in my next post.

The controller looks like of like an old generation ipod nano. It comes with a simple velcro and screw so you can mount it near the tank. The power cord comes with a USB cable and adopter. My only complain is the connection between the USB cable and adopter is rather loose. So you must make sure all components remain stable and that no one trips over the cords or it'll just fall off.

The light is surprisingly a bit heavier than I thought, and also larger when compare to the photos online. I do like its sleek design, it definitely add value to the overall appearance of the tank. The hanging kit is optional, depends on how many units you are purchasing and how is your aquarium cabinet built, you might be able to skip it since the fixture itself does come with screws that can conveniently offer easy hanging option.

Alright guys, I will save the best for last. Tomorrow I will go over how to program and set up this light over the tank, and then I will wrap up the final post with some awesome photos to show off what this light can do.

Water ripple

Here is a photo I took of the turbulant water surface under my actinic T-5 and 420nm + magenta LED lights

Best LED color combo for coral color

What is the best LED lighting combo to make your coral color 'pop'? Well, I visited a friend to pick up some coral for trade, and this was what he had 2:1 ratio on 420nm and the magenta. You be the judge!