Seattle center-drilled 150

[Nolan Shinn]

Me 2 I race eastern state cup and ride a lot

Sick pic! I go up all the time in the summer, but it’s never enough! If you find yourself out at Stevens pass, Galbraith or Duthy, hit me up! Haha

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Current tank lights ...


Shot with on iPhone X with polylab 15000k filter

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Finally got my desk put together... now I have a nice place to design at home... also a spot to set up the vive haha

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Let there be light!... in 3-4 days depending on shipping time...

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Water change day. I’m also adding insulation in the base and starting to tidy up my cord situation...

 

[Nolan Shinn]

We’re getting algae growth in the ATS! Just a little for now, but it’s the first positive proof of concept so far!


I think @TheWB pointed out that the built in overflow might have an issue with splashing. Spot on haha! The ATS box ends about 4 inches above the surface of the sump, and is the primary source of noise in my tank...


So, now I’ve made the first performance mod haha. I picked up a shop-vac head and cut it down to size, and cut a piece of clear acrylic to patch the end... this should eliminate the splashing noise by funneling all of the ATS outflow below the surface of the sump!

Not very pretty, but it should get the job done once the acrylic sets. If I can get good reoccurring algae growth, I’ll refine the form and rebuild it into a polished package (probably 3D print the funnel at least). Think this is something others might wanna try on their tank?

 

[TheWB]

I wish I had given you that good advice about the splashing but it wasn’t me. Your solution to the problem is awesome though. Love the diy ingenuity. Your system is really coming together nicely.

(Several hours go by......Reads back thru the thread......finds post.....I’m a moron, it was me)

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Finally got LEDs wired for the ATS. Until now I’ve just had a growlight propped up so it pointed at the lid...

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looking good!

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Looking good!

Thanks dude!

 

[Nolan Shinn]

ATS is re-installed, and finally a fully functioning prototype. Can’t wait to see the results after a couple months!

Also, the new funnel makes it practically silent. Now the loudest item in my sump is the skimmer- as it should be- haha

 

[NY_Caveman]

ATS is re-installed, and finally a fully functioning prototype. Can’t wait to see the results after a couple months!

Also, the new funnel makes it practically silent. Now the loudest item in my sump is the skimmer- as it should be- haha

Awesome news. I thought that modification was pretty clever.

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Awesome news. I thought that modification was pretty clever.

Thanks! I’m hoping it’ll be an algae beast haha. Anything to reduce necessity for water changes and maintenance...

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Your weekly dose of what the heck: this is my tank with the lights off. The columns you see are the drilled through holes, viewed through the edge of the bottom sheet of glass, illuminated by the refugium light below.

 

[Nolan Shinn]

The blues were on, and I couldn't believe how many pods were covering the glass! I tried taking a picture for y’all, but my phone couldn’t get the pods in focus. So I ended up with a pic of my sleepy zoa rock instead...

Either the 5280 pods I seeded from @AlgaeBarn last Wednesday have propagated far more guickly than I thought possible, or this big rock on the end:

Picked up pods somehow during ‘curing’, which survived sitting dry for a week while I got new bulkheads... and then multiplied like mad.

OR ....

Every single one of those 5280 pods are off the rocks and running around my glass...

Either way, I’m a happy camper!

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Happy zoas!

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Before:


After:


My lights didn’t arrive today thanks to the snow, so I spent some time organizing wires and cutting the whiteboard panels that cover up the wires on both ends of the stands! Much nicer now

Process:

 

[TheWB]

Before:


After:


My lights didn’t arrive today thanks to the snow, so I spent some time organizing wires and cutting the whiteboard panels that cover up the wires on both ends of the stands! Much nicer now

Process:

I’m not surprised your lights didn’t arrive. For our area this snow is brutal. It’s a foot deep in front of my house. Nice job on the wire management.

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Podcity, USA

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Lights finally arrived! I’ve never had T5s before, but I really like the color so far. Much less visible blue than I had with the LEDs, but it makes it possible to take decent pictures without a filter and the colors overall have better balance and pop across the spectrum. This means reds and yellows are looking great too rather than just blue and green corals standing out...

2X ATI blue plus
2X ATI coral plus
And one 61” @AquaticLifeProducts T5 hybrid in white


Instructions misprint...


Cable hanger


The meat of ‘er...
I’d read that these lights have cords that stick out of both sides, so I was expecting it, but it’s still annoying...
I get that it’s done for ease of manufacturing to save a few bucks, but c’mon AL. Details like this are what matters!


So now we’re doin surgery on a brand new fixture to solve a problem that shouldn’t still be a problem past prototyping. I’m Switching the ballast on one light around, and redrilling and mounting the end caps, so that the power cords both exit on the same side of the light...


The ol switcheroo.
Not actually a difficult fix, and the aluminum is soft, so it’s super easy to cut or drill.


I keep dropping these little effin screws in there...


These ones...


Here it is bolted together! Slim and sweet. I love the matte white! Horrible to the touch -lots of irregularities in the Powdercoat- but it looks perfect while hanging!


I was so worried I was gonna snap these super long/thin bulbs during install. Glad I only have to do that once a year!


At the end of the day, I’d definitely recommend this fixture to anyone looking for a smooth and still relatively affordable light. I chose it mostly for the modularity, and I think more companies should make their products crosscompatible with competitors. However, don’t expect a well polished product either. There are a few design tweaks that would, IMO, improve the usability and appearance of the light w/o adding significant cost to produce.


Unfiltered iPhone Shot.
I love this light fixture, and can’t wait to add the Kessils in the future. But mostly I’m just excited to finally see my entire aquascape illuminated. VERY pleased with how the overhangs all look.

Well I’m off to Alaska for a week, but once I’m back, corals here we come!