10 gallon Nano Reef

[jonathan10]

It has been a while since I have posted on here! I used to be on here alot and even met a few of our wonderful Admins at MACNA back in 2008! I haven't had a reef in just about a full year now, but had kept reefs for about 3 years prior. I had a 20 gallon long mixed reef and a 135 gallon reef. (I sold the tanks, coral, fish and all my BIG LIVE ROCK for one much smaller rock that now sits on my wife's left ring finger)

But I'm about to be back in the reefing business!!:bouncer: I ordered the tank today and it should be here in about two weeks. The tank itself is an All-In-One system from Advance Acrylic. It will 12x16x12. The display area of the tank will be 12x12x12. I will most likely be using the BoostLED PAR30 LED Lamp for the tank. I emailed BoostLED this morning seeing which lamp they recommended for the tank. I plan on keeping SPS, LPS and some softies.

I can't wait for the tank to get here and get things started! I also can't wait to get to know everyone again, and make some new friends here!

 

[BigAl07]

Hello Jonathon and welcome BACK! Yep I remember MACNA '08 and I met you and your GF (at least she was then . .).

I hope all is well and look forward to seeing your new tank come together.

Again welcome back

Allen

 

[jonathan10]

Hey Al! Yep that was my GF then but not my Wife now. Thugs didn't workout there.

I read through your thread the other day...I hate you had to break down the 90....I loved keeping up with that tank. It was a beauty. I hope your life challenges are being worked out, and when I read you were having life problems I sent a prayer up for you and the fam.

 

[jonathan10]

Just got an email from John at Advance Acrylic and the tank will e shipped next week! Woohoo!

 

[BigAl07]

Hey Al! Yep that was my GF then but not my Wife now. Thugs didn't workout there.

I read through your thread the other day...I hate you had to break down the 90....I loved keeping up with that tank. It was a beauty. I hope your life challenges are being worked out, and when I read you were having life problems I sent a prayer up for you and the fam.

Thanks buddy! That all means so much to me. I really appreciate it.

Just got an email from John at Advance Acrylic and the tank will e shipped next week! Woohoo!

Outstanding! How very exciting

 

[jonathan10]

I have a quick question for those of you who know about or have experience with LED lighting. I have never used them and like I said above, I plan on using the BoostLED Par30 Lamp 3 Blue and 2 White 60 Degree Optics on this tank.

I just keep reading about how strong/intense of a light they are, and I just worry about the possibility of bleaching the corals (planning on keeping SPS, LPS, and softies). I plan to keep the light about 10"-12" off of the water line. Is that ok? Should it go lower? Should it be higher? Sorry for so many questions! Just want to make sure I know what I'm getting into and to be prepared once I do start stocking the tank.

Also whenever I do eventually introdce the new corals should I have some screen or something on hand to put over the tank for a few days to lessen the intensity of the light and gradually acclimate them to the new light?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Robzilla]

I'm seeing most people with them 6-10 inches off the water but there are no rules. Boost LED makes a good product. I'm not sure if it is manual control or if it has a powered controller, but you should be able to lower the intensity no matter what. What lights do you have on your tank now? When most people switch over, they start the lights at about 20-30 percent power and ramp up the power about 5% per week to acclimate the corals.

Edit: Just saw this was a build. You should be fine starting with them. Do these lamps come with the mounting clip? I know boost has them if not.

 

[jonathan10]

This is a rough sketch of how I am wanting to build the stand.

 

[jonathan10]

Boost does sell a mounting clip, but I plan on having the light in the hood. That is subject to change, but for now I think that is how the build will go.

Also I don't believe you can set these lights up on a dimmer from what I understand. I think that is one of the only drawbacks that I'm seeing is that I can't lower the intensity if I needed too, but I could have some type of screen that I place on the tank to light acclimate them?

 

[Robzilla]

Yes, aside from raising the lamp, you could use egg crate or cut out a section of window screen. Both are cheap.

 

[jonathan10]

Ok great that's for your help!

 

[jonathan10]

While sitting here board at work and thinking about not being able to have the Par30 light on a dimmer I got to looking at other LED systems. I am highly considering the AI Sol Nano Blue. Would this be too much light for little 12x12x12 display section of my tank?

 

[BigAl07]

Jonathan another option would be a ReefPlenish unit (made and sold here in NC). I've got him working up a unit for my RSM 130D right now. He does each one custom to meet your needs and you can have a dimmer on either set of lights (some people want daylights on FULL all the time) or like me a dimmer on each set so I can tweak the control to meet Allen's likes!!

If you want John's information let me know.

 

[jonathan10]

Jonathan another option would be a ReefPlenish unit (made and sold here in NC). I've got him working up a unit for my RSM 130D right now. He does each one custom to meet your needs and you can have a dimmer on either set of lights (some people want daylights on FULL all the time) or like me a dimmer on each set so I can tweak the control to meet Allen's likes!!

If you want John's information let me know.

Thanks Al that would be great! I will definitely check them out.

 

[jonathan10]

Well after a lot of looking and debating I have decided to go with the AI Sol Blue Nano lighting system with the AI Controller. I think this system offered me exactly what I was looking for. I love that I will be able to set the intensity to increase thoughout the day to simulate the sun rising and setting and how sleek the unit looks. From everything I have read, it seems to be a very good light! Can't wait to get it :bouncer:

I ordered it from TBAquatics.com. Thank you Brian @ TBAquatics for all of your help! This was a preorder so I will be waiting for a little bit, but I feel that it will be worth the wait.

 

[BigAl07]

Good deal buddy! Brian at TBA takes great care of us. He was amazing recently when I went to order my Vortec MP10 (which I highly suggest).

You'll LOVE the AI Sol system. Reefmack has that on his tank (I think that's the one) and he LOVES it!

Keep us posted

 

[jonathan10]

Thanks.... I'm really excited about it! I checked out Reefmack's tank and comments on AI while I was trying to decide...really helped me out.

Yeah I think the Vortec MP10 will most likely be my next big purchase after I get the stand built. I'll just have to convince the wife that I NEED it!! Lol

Oh and thanks again for the info on John! I really considered him, but to do everything like I wanted it would have been about the same price as the AI unit so I just went ahead with that.

 

[Robzilla]

Definitely worth the wait. SOLs are one of the best units out there right now.

 

[jonathan10]

The tank will be here today. I just checked UPS and it's out for delivery!

I will be going tonight most likely to buy the materials to build the stand and the hood. This might be a slow build process, but it will be nice when it's all finished.

 

[jonathan10]

So I'm a dummy and totally forgot to take a picture of the tank!! But I got some work done on the stand this weekend. I hope to finish it up this week. The base will be 36H x 20L x 24W. I'm still working out how tall the support for the light canopy will be. I will work on that tonight. I also have to put the second coat of stain on the top of the stand and the shelf. Here are some photos of the progress. I'm certainly no master craftsman, but I'm pleased with it so far.