The new 210 gallon!

[Scott Allen]

What about purchasing or trading something else for a decent size Green Monti?

I'm interested, what are you looking for?

[Scott Allen]

I had some trouble with my AI lights and customer service had to send a new board for one of them. Not too hard. Hardest part was pulling down the lighting rack and getting the AI in the middle out to replace the board. Here is a pic of the lights down on top of the tank then the AI taken apart. I am working on adding 2 KZ figi purple t5ho and I added 2 VHOs. The KZ aren't in yet so the pics are just 5 AI and 2 VHO true actinic





And back up and on!!


All back together and looking great!! I still don't have the T5s in yet though... And I still need some way to close the gap between the tank and the canopy to block all the extra light that the VHO and t5 through into the room. No idea how I'm going to do this...

The tank with my crappy phone camera (I need a new phone)

[Redfish]

Your going to need a tank up grade soooon, there is no room for anymore corals.

[Scott Allen]

Your going to need a tank up grade soooon, there is no room for anymore corals.

I felt like I had run out of room.. then I saw this tank! And realized.. I just need to be more creative!!

[Redfish]

[evo832psi]

What about purchasing or trading something else for a decent size Green Monti?

I'm interested, what are you looking for?

Im in Montana now. Ill let ya know when i get back in town if you dont find something by then.

[Scott Allen]

new phone pics... much better! More coming later.

[goalk33p3r]

Man the tank looks awesome

[Sandy]

Tank looks really good Scott!

[Redfish]

I can't wait to see this tank in person.

[Scott Allen]

After a lot of experimenting with lights I'm finally biting the bullet and building my own DIY led kit.

I want to add UV (well true violet) and a peak closer to 880nm (red). This spectrum addition will bring my AI's overall spectrum very close to that of a Ushio 14k with VHO supplement. A lot of people are having a lot of luck with adding 420nm True violet and I like the way having a little more red makes pinks and reds in the tank pop (these colors look a little anemic under the AIs due to such a blue color mix)



Ok, got my total order together. Let me know if anyone notices I'm missing something.

From LEDgroupbuy:
30 True Violet 420 NM Cree LEDs w/ 60degree optics
18 XML Warm White 3200k Cree LEDs T3 Group
18 XML 60 degree optics

From RapidLED:
1.1" x 60" Aluminum Heatsink
3 Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable drivers
50 Thermal Pads
LED Tester
3 Power cords
20 ft each wiring: red, blue, white, and black
2 10K Ohm Linear Potentiometer - (did I even need these?)



I plan to use 14 of the XMLs and 28 of the UVs, then cluster them in groups of 3s. I want to control the dimming through my apex. I have an Apex powerbar 4 in the Canopy and can move my Variable dimming module to the canopy easily. The power of the XML is about 20% greater than the XP-G that the AI uses for white. I expect the actual par of this unit to be about the equivalent of 2 AI with PUR being even higher! So dimming is a MUST.

Anyone see anything I'm missing? Anyone a pro at soldering??

[bluwtr]

You won't need the potentiometers Scott, because you Apex is going to control the dimming. As far as soldering, when I bring your tanks to you I will give you a few pointers that I picked up when building Shellie's lights. Word to the wise though, the pretinned wire that Rapid sells was too short to me. I feel it needed to be about another 1/2" longer. I ended up buying wire from Radio Shack because of it.

[Scott Allen]

You won't need the potentiometers Scott, because you Apex is going to control the dimming. As far as soldering, when I bring your tanks to you I will give you a few pointers that I picked up when building Shellie's lights. Word to the wise though, the pretinned wire that Rapid sells was too short to me. I feel it needed to be about another 1/2" longer. I ended up buying wire from Radio Shack because of it.

Nice, I got the bulk wiring anyhow because I had no idea how long I was going to need. I hope the heat sink can handle the XMLS


Do you have a recommendation of a decent Soldering iron and what solder to get?

[bluwtr]

Yeah, go ahead and get a high watt "iron" that they sell at either Lowes or Radio Shack. I wouldn't get a soldering gun however, as they produce a LOT of heat. They work well, but can/will melt smaller items as well as insulation and can burn through the copper strips on the puck. Weller is a good brand. Also, buy some extra tips because they WILL wear out. Make sure the solder you get is 1) acid free for electronics, and 2) a smaller diameter. The smaller stuff melts faster and therfore won't require as much transference of heat. The acid free won't damage components. I would recommend getting the iron, some solder and some stranded wire and practice "tinning" pieces. Tinning is the process of precoating the exposed wire with solder. Basically you strip the wire back (duh) and then heat it. You then touch the solder to the exposed wire and as soon as the solder melts it will flow into and around the wire. Makes the copper look like it had "tin" on it. When you go to solder the wire to the pucks it will solder much faster to the LEDs if it is tinned. Are the LED pucks you ordered pre-tinned?

[Scott Allen]

Yeah, go ahead and get a high watt "iron" that they sell at either Lowes or Radio Shack. I wouldn't get a soldering gun however, as they produce a LOT of heat. They work well, but can/will melt smaller items as well as insulation and can burn through the copper strips on the puck. Weller is a good brand. Also, buy some extra tips because they WILL wear out. Make sure the solder you get is 1) acid free for electronics, and 2) a smaller diameter. The smaller stuff melts faster and therfore won't require as much transference of heat. The acid free won't damage components. I would recommend getting the iron, some solder and some stranded wire and practice "tinning" pieces. Tinning is the process of precoating the exposed wire with solder. Basically you strip the wire back (duh) and then heat it. You then touch the solder to the exposed wire and as soon as the solder melts it will flow into and around the wire. Makes the copper look like it had "tin" on it. When you go to solder the wire to the pucks it will solder much faster to the LEDs if it is tinned. Are the LED pucks you ordered pre-tinned?

No, they are not pre tinned. I watched a bunch of you tube videos and found a decent guide on www.marine-engineers.com . It doesn't seem overly difficult, more tedious than anything. I got a few extra LEDs just in case. I'm going to see if I can swap my XM-L for something that runs cooler like the XP-G. I don't need the extra punch anyhow.