Flippers reef 125 gallon

GoVols · Aug 3, 2019

Retro Reefer said:
Ha! I miss the days of thimble size components and wide open pcb’s.. no microscope, flow table or steady hand required brings back fond memories of my heath kit days.

You know,
Angelia and I still have our ole Pioneer tube receiver / amp. Round tuner dial too.

Still sounds as good, as day one...

Flippers4pups · Aug 3, 2019

Got one done and back up. White channel is much more "crisp" with less yellow, more blue white. Uv's are not visible, as expected.
I suspect the blue channel driver is putting out less light than the white channel. I may switch drivers between them tomorrow to see if that's true.

Some of the blue leds I replaced some years ago, that I didn't use thermal paste on, had some very visible discoloration on their back sides that touch the PCB board. I did apply thermal paste to all the replacement LEDs this time.

Flippers4pups · Aug 4, 2019

Back at it again. Noticed two of my 6000k diodes not lighting up. Took the fixture out and flipped poles on them and fired it back up. Both are now lit! Now on to the second fixture. Should go faster this time.

Flippers4pups · Aug 4, 2019

Second fixture is done and up. Tank looks more "clear". Won't post pictures yet. Third and final fixture yet to do. Probably won't get to it till next weekend. Need to do some stuff around the house now.

Flippers4pups · Aug 6, 2019

Okay, I said I wasn't going to post a picture till I got them all done. Well,
Here's a picture anyway:

It's blue, but it's more cool white as well. Corals are responding well to the change.

PanchoG · Aug 7, 2019

That monti on the left looks awesome :jeleous:

Flippers4pups · Aug 10, 2019

Lights done. Light intensity is set low for acclimation with corals. I'm now running 395 UV's, so slow and steady. It's "more crisp" looking to me in person than what the pictures show.

I love it.

RichtheReefer21 · Aug 10, 2019

So balanced. Thanks for sharing and happy to hear the diode swap went smoothly. Nice doing projects like that and having the confidence and experience to just overcome an issue when u run into one.

Nice job.

Flippers4pups · Aug 10, 2019

RichtheReefer21 said:
So balanced. Thanks for sharing and happy to hear the diode swap went smoothly. Nice doing projects like that and having the confidence and experience to just overcome an issue when u run into one.

Nice job.

Thank you! Swapping them out was in my wheelhouse. Piece of cake to do.

NDIrish · Aug 10, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Thank you! Swapping them out was in my wheelhouse. Piece of cake to do.

Glad to hear swap went will.
Couple of questions. How many of mars aqua would you recommend for 60" long tank? My tank is a 125 gal tall. Plan on a mixed tank.
Will you show which leads you switched out? Would appreciate it. Know nothing about leds..
Thanks

Flippers4pups · Aug 10, 2019

NDIrish said:
Glad to hear swap went will.
Couple of questions. How many of mars aqua would you recommend for 60" long tank? My tank is a 125 gal tall. Plan on a mixed tank.
Will you show which leads you switched out? Would appreciate it. Know nothing about leds..
Thanks

I would still do three boxes on a 60" long tank.

My layout:

I changed all of mine this time.

3w LED's. You can get them from eBay. Takes a little digging, but can be found.

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Peace River · Aug 10, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Lights done. Light intensity is set low for acclimation with corals. I'm now running 395 UV's, so slow and steady. It's "more crisp" looking to me in person than what the pictures show.

I love it.

Well done! I can only imagine what it looks like to be there - even in the pictures the tank looks excellent!

Flippers4pups · Aug 10, 2019

Here's a better picture of the Mars factory layout

PanchoG · Aug 10, 2019

Good pics, the torch look awesome, how many torch heads are there?

Flippers4pups · Aug 10, 2019

PanchoG said:
Good pics, the torch look awesome, how many torch heads are there?

Last count, ten.

NDIrish · Aug 10, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
I would still do three boxes on a 60" long tank.

My layout:

I changed all of mine this time.

3w LED's. You can get them from eBay. Takes a little digging, but can be found.

3W High Power LED Chip Light Beads White Red Blue Green IR light-emitting diode | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 3W High Power LED Chip Light Beads White Red Blue Green IR light-emitting diode at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Thanks. Being 26" tall, should they be 13" or closer to water surface?