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11/14/2018, 07:04 AM | #1 |
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Jesse's Plasma 130 Cube
Finally after much fluffing and months of organising my migration to the new tank is done.
For many years I've wanted a nice big cube style tank, I love the depth from all angles. I'm renting so really I cannot go any bigger for now. I also wanted a tank that would take advantage of the square output of the Gavita, they cover a 3 to 4 foot square area. Tank: Custom 130 gallon (39" X 39" X 20" high) eurobraced with an external overflow. Starfire front. Sump: Custom Stand -Custom steel Lighting - Gavita Plasma LEP bloom version and two Ai Prime Flow- Three MP40 One of the main reasons for this tank is to test out Plasma lighting, something that didn't really take off in reefing for many reasons, but offers an insanely near perfect light spectrum. I couldn't find any tests of the bloom version in reefing, so I wanted to specifically test for that reason. The bloom version has less red spectrum, which in away mimics what happens when sunlight passes through water. I have tried all lighting types over a decade and each have their place, for me halide has been the most successful , T5 and then led. Again personal preference and lots of debate in the community The light is 300w and sits in between T5 and LED for efficiency so it puts out a good punch over a tank this size, maybe similar to 400w halide with way less heat. I am flanking the light with two Ai prime to add more blue peak to the plasma and normal lighting when the plasma is off. Photoperiod is 12 hours with only 4'hours of Plasma for now. I have to be really careful as I simply have no idea how much par I'm pushing and that plasma is a constant light source. The tank has been running for a month, the corals are picking up after a troubled time in the old tank where they were neglected. i want to remain non biased about plasma and try and just let the tank tell me the results over the coming year. I may end up with drab looking brown sticks or it may provide that missing spectrum other lights don't catch and provide a super healthy stunning result, or simply fit in equal with other lights. Couple of quick photos, I haven't done any proper aquascaping yet, as you can see a fair amount for room for some new coral and fish. I will take some shots of the plasma running on the weekend when I'm home, it looks very much like coral under normal sun light, which I tend to like as I like 10k halides for looks. |
11/14/2018, 07:28 AM | #2 |
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Nice looking tank. Interesting on the light, I haven't really heard much about plasma lighting for our tanks. I'll be curious to follow along and see how it goes!
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My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1. |
11/14/2018, 08:54 PM | #3 |
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That thing looks amazing! Thats gonna be a pain to move if you decide to move out hah
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11/15/2018, 05:41 AM | #4 |
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11/15/2018, 06:00 AM | #5 | |
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Older, wiser, and have more money then back strength. I hear you there. Used to be, strong back, weak mind and wallet. Now that I'm an adult(damn near retirement age)it's strong mind and wallet, weak back. lol I am no where near as mobile or handy as I used to be. I would gladly pay someone to do something for me, then do it myself and hurt myself.
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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work" |
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11/15/2018, 08:54 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
It made me seriously consider converting my 125g freshwater into a saltwater last night haha |
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11/15/2018, 08:25 PM | #7 | |
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11/15/2018, 08:29 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
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11/15/2018, 08:32 PM | #9 |
Moved On
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That's a really sweet looking tank.
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11/15/2018, 08:41 PM | #10 |
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11/15/2018, 09:55 PM | #11 |
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11/16/2018, 12:11 PM | #12 |
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Sweet looking tank
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11/16/2018, 01:56 PM | #13 |
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Cool! can't wait to see the plasma fired up. maybe a shot of the sump too?
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11/16/2018, 05:09 PM | #14 |
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Nice. You still skimmer less?
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32 gallon Biocube, DIY LEDs and Triton Method. My N=1 study of me, validated by me, and supported by completely anecdotal evidence, states that my advice is 100% correct, most of the time. |
11/17/2018, 03:39 AM | #15 | |
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https://youtu.be/YjLeOH4c4iw |
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11/17/2018, 03:49 AM | #16 |
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Not at this point, I ran skimmerless in my other tank and for the most part had no issue. I may go back, some of my best coloured sps has been when I'm not running a skimmer. I'd actually like to go to a mix, maybe skim for a few hours a day and run a scrubber. Just my view but I think skimming takes out good stuff too, scrubbers take out bad and different bad to skimming. Both may be the key in some kind of balance.
I have 3 fish in this 130g tank, so my bio load is next to nothing |
11/17/2018, 08:22 AM | #17 |
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That’s insane, looks like the reef crest at high noon. Bet you’ll get some great acro growth. I’m in the skimmerless/algae refugium boat. I’m going with a shallow cube on my next build for sure. Not sure about plasma yet, metal halide is my choose at this point. Can corals benefit from 100 CRI?
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11/17/2018, 10:34 PM | #18 | |
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11/19/2018, 06:06 AM | #19 |
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And some pics, I'll have to get the DSLR out at some point as the iPhone just can't capture the look.
Very very happy so far, things are colouring up well, dead neglected sticks are colouring I added one of my old DIY royal blue LEDs to bring the colour up when the plasma is on, the tank feels like it's at about 12k for looks. Plasma cranking, with leds it would be around equal to 600w of halide during the 4 hour midday blast. I'm particularly interested to see how the UV spectrum of the plasma plays its role in exciting the pigments. Simple but sweet skimmer. Once a week clean keeps life simple. All electrics housed in a giant metal tool box, my attempt to keep a would be fire contained to some degree also waterproofed to some degree, over estimated and have quickly run out of space needs a tidy though. |
11/25/2018, 07:25 AM | #20 |
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Goni Gone Big!
In the last few days I have seen a huge pickup in colour! but.... I have noticed my Gonis's are going nuts, swelling up way bigger than they used to, maybe now they are getting higher par. Either way I hadn't planned on owning gonis this big! They now take up the front view which means I'll probably have to raise the rocks a bit at the back.
No that's not a baby tang |
11/25/2018, 09:25 AM | #21 |
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That’s nuts! Sounds like the plasma is a success. Any issues with heat build up?
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11/25/2018, 01:00 PM | #22 |
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Those Gonis are amazing and huge. I wish mine had that extension. Great work bud,.
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32 gallon Biocube, DIY LEDs and Triton Method. My N=1 study of me, validated by me, and supported by completely anecdotal evidence, states that my advice is 100% correct, most of the time. |
11/25/2018, 03:59 PM | #23 | |
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Long way from success yet I remember my old tank when I put a 400w 10k XM bulb on, my corals loved that thing, but man the heat ! Chiller ran all day apart from a month or two in winter. |
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11/25/2018, 04:00 PM | #24 |
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11/26/2018, 07:32 AM | #25 |
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I tried to move my Goni tonight without luck, in just a month it's grown onto the bottom which means I've now gotta move these guys onto their own rocks. Or tiles of some sort. It would be horrible to have to move tank and they can't be pried off! How big is too big ? , the guy I bought these from said he's had ones as big as huge beach balls that he used to drop onto concreat to split them up.
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