Aquasculpture of 50 gallon Reef Tank & Radion XR30w Installation

The Radion LED light fixture was installed over the 50 gallon tank. I used 1/4" Molly toggle bolts to install the custom hanging kit to the ceiling. I had to make over-sized, messy holes (I should have read the link and used the nylon toggle anchors, instead) in the ceiling and will have to putty and re-paint it, but the aquarium kinda takes away from you ever noticing the holes above.

I installed the software and programmed the fixture to Natural mode.

Then, I aquascaped using a minimalist approach; I used only 4 large live rocks from my main 110 gallon reef tank. Two of the largest rocks were drilled to accept an acrylic rod between them so that they could support each other with no wobbling. I tried using acrylic rods on several small pieces of live rock, but it just looked too much like Shish Kabobs to me. So, the small pieces went to the refugium for later use.

I had to pluck off dozens of green majano anemones from the rocks. And, with a lot of diligence, I plan to keep up with removing these pests until they're completely eradicated from this tank. It should be easier to access the rocks with this cube tank, but I have a feeling the Aiptasia will move in once the majanos are gone. My main tank kept sprouting majano anemones from areas I could not access, so I just gave up.

Here's a night time pic of the tank in its bare-bottom format. I'm thinking of buying some sugar grain sand to cover the bottom. Then, I'll fill it up with livestock from my main tank. I was trying to avoid the "pile of rocks" look, but it still looks like a pile of rocks! Ha! I'll be sure to separate the pieces when the sand bed gets installed.

Corals, Amphipod and Sea Spider

Who says you can't grow SPS corals under LED lighting? In the background is a flourescent green "acorn stag" Acropora sp. and in the foreground is an A. valida coral. I originally had the green stag mounted alone on a rock, but a portion of my wildly growing A. valida grew onto the same rock and declared war at the base where they met. Several months ago, I moved the rock to a higher location in the tank and broke the connecting coral. Today, I dislodged the rock and turned it around in order to show more of the A. valida. And, because it is positioned closer to the LED lights than the mother colony, the polyps are more colorful.

This variability in color quality as a consequence of lighting intensity is a similar property in reef tanks using metal halide, T5 or PC lighting. So, one must figure out the optimal placement for each coral before committing it to its permanent location.

This amphipod was found in between the glass and the Subcurrent filter in the Nano tank. I wanted to get a clear picture of it because of the fore claws. I can see how it can easily be confused for a baby Mantis shrimp. Although, I should do some research to see what a baby Mantis really looks like!

At the base of a Devil's hand leather coral, I found this sea spider. They have a bad reputation for feasting on soft corals and prized collections of zoanthids. I really wouldn't mind if it mowed down the uncontrolled yellow zoanthids in my tank. I shouldn't take the chance and find that a mate is ready to do some serious multiplying. So, I'll have to extract it soon.

Orange Zoanthids

I moved some corals to the Nano tank from my refugium frag rack. The Aquaillumination LED unit went into moonlight mode and these orange zoanthids became highly fluorescent. The lighting unit was a little too bright during moonlight mode, so I decreased its output to 0% white and 1% blue.

The Nano build has become a little bit of a headache. The AI LED unit's mounting kit does not fit properly on the 10 X 20" frame of the tank. Luckily for me, Reefgeek's AI LED package had already discounted the price of the mounting kit without my knowledge. I'll have to build a canopy since I can't go with the suspension kit. Then, the AquaClear 110 Power Filter arrived with a crack in its return area. I can't have this breaking apart on me in the future. So, I'll have to exchange the defective merchandise.

But, on the bright side, one of the main reasons I've wanted a glass Nano tank is so that I could take crisp macro photographs of the creatures in residence. I'm getting a little better, I think. I had to adjust the images to reproduce the fluorescence I was seeing with my eyes.

Aquaillumination LED: Back from the Dead

Back from the Dead

The 5' Aquaillumination LED is back. In case you're wondering about shipping a 5' box to the Midwest, just be prepared to shell out more than $250 for packing, insurance and S&H. Unfortunately, when they mention "modular design", that doesn't mean you can take it apart and stack 1' units in a simple box. Threatening to delay the entire process, this exchange was happening after the Midwest flooding and right before July 4th holiday.

My corals were placed under PC lighting. The Acropora were not pleased; they lost color and turned brown. The fish and softies could have cared less. In fact, some of the softies seemed to be responding more to the PC lighting!

After struggling with the legs, the unit is now situated on top of wooden spacers inside the canopy. I can slide it front to back when I'm doing tank maintenance. None of the LEDs on the sides are being blocked.

More "vital information" concerning the operation of this device:

VITAL INFORMATION #2

Cool down the adaptors with a fan as now suggested by Aquaillumination.

After getting my refurbished unit, I started to increase output of the blue and white LEDs at a rate of 5% per day. When I reached 55%, the unit shut itself down. It turns out that the adaptors will shut down the entire unit when a specific, high temperature is reached. To avoid this, one should install a fan to disperse the heat. So far, I've managed to avoid another shut down albeit with a faulty RKE (high tech these days....:rolls eyes:) controlling the fan. I'm up to 95% blue and 95% white.

VITAL INFORMATION #3

Attach the unit to a QUALITY power surge device. Apparently, my initial situation didn't provide enough surge protection. The small battery backup shown here is mainly being used for its power surge capabilities. This is a temporary solution until I can get a newer batter backup model.

Otherwise, I'm sittin' back and relaxing while the corals bring back their colors and the dialed-in calcium reactor doses my tank! Looks like we're back in the game with only one possible loss.

Aquaillumination Aquatic LED Illumination

This 5' LED fixture was ordered December 27, 2007 from ReefGeek. The LED fixture was manufactured by Aquaillumination. I knew they'd be on back order for a few months, but it finally arrived and was installed on March 5th, 2008. And, meanwhile, my corals had finally had enough of the expired 2X 175W Metal Halide, 2X 96W PC bulbs. Their growth was inhibited and some were visibly retracting from their skeletons. I couldn't even keep a Montipora capricornis happy! It was around this time that I decided to concentrate on the water parameters that I previously blogged about on "Pulsing Xenia: The Rebound Story". With the improved water quality and AI LED in operation, coral response has become 100% better.

Other AI Users?

I've noticed that there does not seem to be much discussion about these units on the internet, so I've decided to contribute to the blogosphere by recording my experiences here. One other blogger that I know of can be found here. Maybe I'll impart some vital information to one of the 100's of users out there? As it turns out, I do have one vital piece of information found below. Unfortunately, (okay, the real reason why I'm blogging on this subject) I've got another, new major problem which might just be specific for my device.

VITAL INFORMATION #1

Check the fan units and make sure that they are all working when you have the LED's at high output. Don't assume that the controller will be able to notify you of this type of malfunction.

Fan Trouble Discovered

Toward the end of April, I decided to use my hand to feel the heat being blown away by the 5 pairs of variable speed fans on top of the unit during peak lighting output. I noticed the central pair was not operating at all. I was disappointed to find that the controller was not indicating anything unusual about overheating or fan malfunctioning because the heat sink was really hot. Maybe there wasn't enough overheating to trigger a "CHECK FANS" or "OVERHEATED! See Manual" trouble code as indicated in the online AI Manual? Or maybe the heat sink was doing a good enough job dissipating heat with the help of the neighboring, working fans? Regardless, I contacted AI tech support. They promptly sent out a pair of replacement fans after I was able to show that the problem followed the fans when I swapped positions on the unit with a known working pair.

Fan Replacement

At first, it was hard to figure out how to unhinge the plastic protector from the fans and have it snap back in without feeling like you might break something during the process. The pieces were flexible and strong and I soon became an expert AI technician. I had to power down the entire unit before removing and adding a fan pair. Then, I had to wait until the unit provided enough excess heat to trigger fan operation. The replacement fans still did not work. Another pair was sent to me. I must note here that I could visibly see that the replacement fans' wiring was a lower gauge than the originally installed fans.

Electrician Neighborhood Pal (ENP)

In the meantime, I took the fans to my ENP. With his fancy equipment he was able to determine that the diodes in the leads were installed in an opposite configuration. In other words, all I had to do was plug the fans' red/black leads in the polar opposite direction and they would work. And, because of the design, the fans would still rotate in the proper direction. While we were working with the replacement fans, the wiring on one lead came apart. My ENP seems to think that the soldering wasn't applied correctly.

Fan Summary

My ENP also opined that there could have been a batch of these fans that might have been installed in the production line of these devices. While I have no clue on how the intricacies of the AI production line works, I would still like to bring this issue up for other AI users to investigate. I'm currently on ReefGeek's and AI's mailing list and, besides the usual coupon code announcements, I have not received any other notifications. In addition to Googling, I've also perused the ReefCentral Sponsor Forums where ReefGeek, but not AI, maintains a presence.

The Next BIG Problem
(Why Me on a Friday Night?!)

Yesterday, the power went out on one of my home's circuits. This is basically what happened because no other electronic equipment suffered from any unusual power surge. Nor did the neighborhood complain of anything unusual concerning our electricity. In fact, my ENP happens to keep records of this sort of activity! His report: nothing unusual during that time. Also, our neighborhood power lines are located underground away from lighting strikes.

When the AI LED's were powered back on, they went into a constant flickering mode. After having them powered off and powered back on, they continually cycled into a complete shut down mode. While at work, I sent an e-mail out to AI tech support and by the time I got home, they called me. We were able to troubleshoot and at least get the unit down to 0% White and 50% Blue, but the unit continued to completely shut down. At this point, it seems like the power adapters may not be at fault.

AI tech support decided to send out a replacement circuit board which will arrive on Tuesday. My ENP has volunteered to join me on that occasion. So, my reef tank is headed for 4 days of darkness. My fish are in a perpetual state of being in their Pajamas. I've read about people using several days of darkness to combat algae problems in their tanks with no ill effects on their coral. We shall see.

....UNTIL THEN: SAVE MY REEF!!!