My 47G Rimless T5/LED Hybrid SPS Tank

[kaserpick]

Gorgeous setup, Sahin! You've put some serious thought into this design. It's already stunning; the execution is top-notch. I can't imagine what it'll look like in 6 months...Aaaamazing!

Please, continue to keep us updated.

[clowndude]

Stunning looking tank. Wish I could see this one in person. Because I bet it's something. You have all the right equipment to be successful. Tell me your secret to getting those awesome looking colors? Keep up the nice work.

[sahin]

Originally Posted by rburns24

sahin, you have a wonderful tank. Also, the picture that you put up of your lights reflecting over the water taught me alot about t5s, without any effort on my part. Once again, very nice tank. All the best.

Thank you for the compliment.

Originally Posted by kaserpick

Gorgeous setup, Sahin! You've put some serious thought into this design. It's already stunning; the execution is top-notch. I can't imagine what it'll look like in 6 months...Aaaamazing!
Please, continue to keep us updated.

Hi there man, thanks for the really nice compliment. I can't wait for this tank to mature.

Originally Posted by clowndude

Stunning looking tank. Wish I could see this one in person. Because I bet it's something. You have all the right equipment to be successful. Tell me your secret to getting those awesome looking colors? Keep up the nice work.

Thanks.

I attribute the good colour due to the following:

1. T5/LED lighting. We know by now that T5 lighting provide awesome coral colour. With LED I am able to add more PAR to the over effect and enhance the colour and fluorescence even more.

2. Strong skimmer.

3. Good water flow.

4. Crystal clear water. I use carbon and Ozone to maintain clear water clarity.

5. STABLE water parameter: mainly Ca and Alk.

6. Low nutrients.

[westreef]

I totally agree.
I would like to add that it is a lot easier to change T5 bulbs to the color you like. There are numerous different tubes you could choose from. Of course the drawbacks are slightly higher temperature, higher wattage and needed to replace the tubes about every 8 months.
I just went to lfs and compared the shimmer of their MH tank. I found without the T5 on, I had more shimmer than that of their MH. I think the lenses might have something to do with it. However, when the T5s turned on the shimmer is reduced. I wonder if you have the same experience. I still love this level of shimmer -- just right.
I also have just installed RKL controller with ALC module which control all my lights with dimming capability for my DIY LEDs. I just love it.

[sahin]

Bad news. I lent my TDS meter to someone and so I wasn't able to periodically measure the TDS of my RO/DI to check when to replace various bits.... I noticed a sudden explosion of hair algae and other macro algae too. Thinking this was just a normal part of the process I didn't check the water. I then had a big invasion of Cyannobacteria take over the sand bed. The cyanno then started to encroach onto some corals and even coral tips.

It was only then that I realised I hadnt checked the RO/DI water. Once measured I found I had a TDS reading of over 50!!!

I started to carry out lots of water changes once I had sorted the RO unit out. But I couldn't get rid of the cyanno. I searched and cautiously decided to use Boyd's CHEMICLEAN. The stuff worked perfectly and I didn't had any problems.

I am now doing 20% water changes twice a week to bring the water quality back up. Most of the SPS corals have browned out!

[DML08]

Sorry to hear this Sahin..

[westreef]

Very sorry to hear that Sahin. I just got rid of most of the cyano recently without the use of chemical. Lucky me. I still see very tiny bit here and there. But it doesn't bother me and the corals.

[Denadai]

Sahin,

Every new tank has algae, it´s normal

We have to have patience , and normally after a couple of weeks or maybe a month, the algae will vanish

I don´t like to add medicine in the tank

Good luck

Best Regards

[sahin]

Originally Posted by Denadai

Sahin, Every new tank has algae, it´s normal
We have to have patience , and normally after a couple of weeks or maybe a month, the algae will vanish. I don´t like to add medicine in the tank
Good luck. Best Regards

Denadai, Ive never used chemicals in a reef tank before and this is my 4th reef setup. I had to use it because the Cyanno was affecting my SPS corals and I didn't want to lose any corals.

[westreef]

Sahin,
Any update? How do you like the hybrid light system so far?

[sahin]

Hi there.

Lights: I am very happy with the lights. No negatives with regards the lights whatsoever. The hybrid light is VERY POWERFUL and I get very good colours on the corals. At the moment I am experimenting with various tubes...I am aiming to get a sort of Radium 20K + VHO Actinic look - any ideas?

However, I am battling excess nutrients in the tank. And I know what is causing it. I used Livesand (the stuff in the wet bags that claim live bacteria are present in the bag/sand). I dont remember why I used it but it is causing lots of algae problems. My rocks are fine and there is no algae growing on the rocks, this makes sense because the rocks were from my old tank that had reached low nutrient levels. So the only thing to contribute to the algae issue is the sand. I've been running GFO in a reactor for the past few weeks but so far there hasnt been any improvement.

Also, the because of the algae growing on the surface of the sand, it is causing the sand to compact which isnt good at all.

I am thinking of getting all the sand out slowly and then introducing a larger grain sized sand. But I will wash the new sand thoroughly and test for phosphates before introducing into the tank.

[westreef]

I don't have any idea how to get to 20K kind of look. I have 12 cw and 12 rb led together with 1 purple plus, 2 blue plus over driven tubes. It is not bad, but I wish it could be a little bluer. Maybe next project is to add more rb to the system. Corals are doing fine though.
I had DSB before and had a crash a year ago because I stirred up all the junks from cleaning the sand bed. Now I have a very shallow, less than 1/2 inch thick of Caribsea Seaflor grade reef sand which is large enough not to be kicked up by the circulating pumps. This thin layer of sand is just for the look.
My rocks are more than 10 years old. And previously, the nutrient in the tank was high because I was keeping softies and large stoney corals. Only recently, less than a year, I started paying more attention to the nutrient level because I wanted to keep SPS. My nitrate is 0.2ppm and PO4 is 0.03ppm. I think the GFO and GAC are doing a good job. Even the SPS is doing fine, I believe the rocks are still leaching the junk out of them because the rocks are covered by very fine green algae and my two big tangs are keeping the algae in check.

[coralreefdoc]

Sahin

A combination I came across of 4 Blue + and a Fiji Purple that was centered in the mix produced a 20k look, IMO

[sahin]

Originally Posted by coralreefdoc

Sahin

A combination I came across of 4 Blue + and a Fiji Purple that was centered in the mix produced a 20k look, IMO

Thank you for the suggestion. Appreciate it.

[coralreefdoc]

No worries. Keep me updated on how it works out for you

[chrischin29g]

Man millis looks EXTRA nice awesome colors and PE!

So you get better color with t5 then mh?

[jbanks]

Fantastic job Sahin! Simply beautiful!

[sahin]

Originally Posted by coralreefdoc

No worries. Keep me updated on how it works out for you

See my post after this one.

Originally Posted by chrischin29g

Man millis looks EXTRA nice awesome colors and PE!
So you get better color with t5 then mh?

I hope so.

Originally Posted by jbanks

Fantastic job Sahin! Simply beautiful!

Thanks man, means a lot coming from reefkeepers of your calibre.

[sahin]

OK, here are the PAR measurements of my ATI Sunpower HYBRID 5x24watt T5 and 24 Cree LED's @ 700mA (approx 60watts). 20 of the LED's have 80degree lens, the remaining 4 have 60degree lens.

The tank is 18" tall, 30" long and 20" front to back. The water height is 16" from top of sand to water surface.

Excuse the bad quality of the photo. For some silly reason I took the photo at an angle, but here goes:


Some notes about the various numbers:

1. PAR measurements were made using the Apogee MQ-200 PAR Quantum meter. This meter underreads the PAR from narrow spectrum LED's (mainly in the blue section) by around 10-20%, so my PAR levels are probably a fair bit higher.

2. The T5 tubes, bar the actinic tube, are about 5 months old. When I put in new tubes I expect the PAR levels to increase slightly.

3. The light unit is suspended 7.5" above the waters surface. If I mount it lower, PAR levels get too high causing bleaching due to photoinhibition.

4. Numbers in RED are PAR readings on the SAND. The 175, 265,175 are right against the FRONT glass. 175's are in the extreme corners. The 390-A is the PAR in the centre of the tank on the sand bed.

5. PAR levels 1" below the unit are in excess of 2500!!!

6. PAR numbers just below the surface of the water is around 1100!

I am extremely impressed with this light modification. Since the purchase of the PAR meter, I have been looking at various PAR measurements carried out by other hobbyists and it appears that the PAR levels are in similar range to 400watt halide systems. All in all, I am very happy with the PAR levels and the possibility of supplying very good spectral quality via the use of various T5 tube combinations.

The unit has the following T5 Tubes/LED front to back:

Front:
ATI Blue+
ATI AquaBlue Special
Cree XR-E LED's: 20 x Royal Blue + 4 x Blue
KZ FijiPink
Arcadia 420nm 03 Actinic
ATI Blue+

The actual look of the tank is not as blue as the photo. It is a very nice 20K look.

Not content with modding my ATI Sunpower with high power LED's I decided to add LED "moonlights" as well:


A shot showing the "moonlights" in use:

[westreef]

Very nice Sahin. The par numbers are very impressive. I just wish I had a par meter to check mine. Thanks for sharing.

[Dynamic_Reef]

awsome setup sashin! I have always been a skeptic on LED tanks however your combo of t-5 and LED is starting to make me see the Light! please keep us posted will be tagging along cant wait to see this tank in 6 months! Great job!

[sahin]

Originally Posted by westreef

Very nice Sahin. The par numbers are very impressive. I just wish I had a par meter to check mine. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. You know, if you are in the hobby for the long term, I believe a PAR meter is just as useful to have as many of the other items in the hobby.

As soon as I finished this mod, I knew my PAR numbers would be as high as if not better than 250w halide systems. But, without the PAR meter it was an estimate. My younger bro saw the light and thought it looked less powerful than the light output from my JBJ 28G 150watt halide setup!

I told him that our eyes are deceiving and yellow/white light looks brighter to us than bluer light.

I'm so happy with this mod. I have PAR thats in the range of 400w 20K halide systems with less than 180watts in this unit. The light spread is excellent too. I got 175 PAR in the bottom corners of my tank!

Originally Posted by Dynamic_Reef

awsome setup sashin! I have always been a skeptic on LED tanks however your combo of t-5 and LED is starting to make me see the Light! please keep us posted will be tagging along cant wait to see this tank in 6 months! Great job!

I am so looking forward to seeing this tank progress another 6 months.
Thanks!

[Denadai]

Very nice Sahin

Did you change the aquascape ?

Best Regards

[sahin]

Originally Posted by Denadai

Very nice Sahin

Did you change the aquascape ?

Best Regards

Thank you my friend for the compliment.

Yes, I changed the rockwork, infact added more rocks due to two reasons:

1. More rockwork = more places for fishy homes.

2. More area to add the SPS gems

This rockwork is final though.

[kaserpick]

Looking great, Sahin! It looks like the algae problems are in the past.

The new 'scape looks nice; this thing is going to be an absolute rocker!