Corey's 90 Gallon build

OK this is a minor update but a big deal to me. I have been trying to figure out the source of my micro bubbles since March. After changing a few things in my sump I was still getting bursts of bubbles every few minutes. Finally after reading some other post on 3reef I pulled out my return line with a 'Y' split locline (loc-line) and put a bunch of silicone on all the joints that were exposed to air and the where it screws into the pipe. I didn't actually see air getting sucked in but it was! My tank looks 10 times more clear now that I don't have any Micro bubbles. You don't realize how small they get how long it takes them to burst until they are gone.

 

LED Project

Ok so I finally decided to pull the trigger and build some LED lights. I ordered the 24 Ultra Premium package from Rapid LED.
24 Ultra Premium LED Do-It-Yourself Retrofit Kit

It came with everything I needed except the 1" Aluminum U channel you can get at the Big Hardware Stores. I was able to put these together pretty fast. It was better to glue the stars in place and let them dry a few hours before I did anything else. I also did 1 bar start to finish so I could figure out issues before I started the second. I ended up changing the spacing a bit on the 2nd bar.




I decided to make 1 bar the Blue's and 1 the White XPG's that way I could add more later if I wanted to. First I marked the spacing using the pre-cut wire that was included in the Box which were about 3 inches apart but you have to make sure you have them exact if you glue them first like I did.


I taped the wire in place since the bulbs were already glued nothing would move while I soldered. Make sure you start + to - all the way down the line when you glue.



I didn't use lenses because I have them so close to the water they gave a spot light effect. They look great like this and really Shimmer a ton as you can see on the wall behind the tank.


You can see I ended up offsetting the 2 string of lights I wanted the Whites closer together. This meant cutting down the wire pieces and stripping the new ends but that didn't take long.



This is what they look like off. The next project is to build a hood to make this all look nice. The bars do get hot so I plan to add a fan to the hood design.



Maybe tonight I can get some good tank shots with the lights on.

 

Very cool I am intrigued and looking forward to the images of the tank with the lighting (FTS).

 

Nice work

 

LED Tank Pics

It is hard to capture the look of these lights because they shimmer so much but there is a lot of light for only 24 LEDs. I don't have much coral I was waiting to upgrade my lighting. I think I will try more now.







My mushrooms have closed up a bit hopefully just to Acclimate. Or maybe this is how they are supposed to look and didn't have enough light before.
A few pics with only the 12 royal Blues. These look different in person the blue really messes with the Camera. The coral and fish glow.

 

Nice. Those blues are off the charts.

 

And that is only 12 of them. Rapid LED recommends a 1 white to 1 blue but I think if anything I could add 12 more whites and still have enough blue.

 

Wow, looks great.