Cbs / Crs Office Distraction

[New_from_Peru]

Hi all,

I have got the tank up and running (4 weeks) and finally got some colourful critters in!!

It does distract me slightly as the tank is on the corner of my office desk but it's great to look at and beats watching the snow fall =)

Here is a little video (very little) and more will follow as they grow and hopefully breed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYPmHjnqATE&sns=em

Thanks

Editted for photo and link

Edited March 14, 2013 by New_from_Peru

[hackerberry]

Wow, very distracting indeed. Very nice setup!

hb

[jjabraham]

Nice Setup.
Also, what kind of plants do you have in that tank?

They look great!

[New_from_Peru]

Hi there,

Star grass

Hydrocoytyle verticillata - clovers

Ludwigia repens showing a nice red under the leaves

Fluval edge

Ada amazona

Up graded hood light from the guys in New York, way more light for plants in centre and still have dark areas around edge for mosses (coming) and shrimp to get out of the glare.

CRS - grades a, s

CBS - same grade

Amano shrimp

2 x Oto cats on clean up

[New_from_Peru]

Hi all - this is a repeat of a post in the planted tank section but it's an update on this tank so here you go.

Hi all,

Just thought I would show a couple pictures of my solution for lighting the full area of the Fluval Edge 6g.

My first thought was to upgrade the original light (which has been done) but that doesn't solve the problem of lighting the edges (ironic given the name of the tank). So here is my solution!

This light bar is bonded pieces of Aluminum acting as a heat sink for high power LEDs, the bar should be giving out between 750 - 850 lumens additonal light to where it is needed most in this type of tank. These are the highest power LEDs I could source to fit inside this type of heat sink, they are capped, bonded and soldered into the frame. I'll be monitoring the tanks temperatures closely as I have a good handle on what they are without the extra light bar.

On first impressions the whites of my CRS really pop out making them standout in lot of plant life. The edges of the tank are fully illuminated and I'll be keeping an eye on the plant growth!

If anyone is interested I am considering making a lower profile version (depending on the temps) so PM if you think you might like one, I bought all the tools and seems a shame only to build one with all the gear.

Edited April 23, 2013 by New_from_Peru

[Cgy_Betta_Guy]

Very nice looking Edge

your U light is similar to what I had done on mine but with a little cleaner implementation. How much was the build in total?

[New_from_Peru]

Hey,

If you include all the tools I purchased etc then way too much! Luckily I have enough basic materials for another one the same.

I sourced the materials from the US which was very silly, having done some home work now I realise I can get everything I need either here in Calgary or Red Deer for a fraction of the cost!

I reckon the 2nd one with high power LEDs would be in the region of $40 - $50, maybe less from the original materials, if people are interested the I would price up from local materials and provide a cost. This isn't for cash, I just enjoy making stuff.

I mentioned above a low profile version and following that I reckon I could get a few powder coated in Black, pewter or white to match peoples tanks! I think that would be very cool.

I had ordered the materials when I spotted the pictures of your two tanks (which are awesome btw), how much does the light around the edges help your plant and coral growth?? I think you may have the best Fluval Edge set up that I have seen to date.

[Cgy_Betta_Guy]

Thanks for the compliments on my setup and glad that I gave ya a bit of inspiration. The light definitely helps grow plants along the perimeter of the tank. I have hairgrass growing out there and used to have HC growing tall instead of low in one corner until my CO2 ran empty on me. My light strips were probably no where near as much light as what you are putting out though which is why the HC never really stayed as low as I would have liked. The DHG is still looking ok.

The saltwater tank is another story and I never did get around to putting corals into it so dont know how they would have done under the light strips.

[Claudiohv]

Nice tank,

BTW are you from peru? b/ci was born in peru LOL

[New_from_Peru]

Hi there, I am from Alberta - grew up in Scotland - lived in Lima for three years - returned to work in Calgary =)

We arrived here in Calgary in December last year. I love being able get a hold of everything you need or at least the stuff to make what you need. It's great

NFP

[New_from_Peru]

Update with short video - the tank is going great!

Here is a short video of the wee guys loving the place.

[hackerberry]

Wow, they look amazing. Great setup.

hb

[New_from_Peru]

All,

Something new for the tank!! My office has been freezing as I have been keeping it cool so the tank stays cool for the little guys. I really didn't like the office being 18/19°C to keep the tank at 22°C.... so..... I made a TEC. Here is a video of it with the tank, if I did another (which I will for one of my home tanks) then I would do better job of routing the wires and turn the peltier / cooler arrangement upside down from this setup.

My Office Distraction with TEC Cooler added

CBS / CRS doing great - blue diamonds moved to this tank after some heat issues in their original tank. That is an IAL sitting in the middle and a tiny sprig of HC that tagged along on one of the other plants too.

Next project - much bigger cooler for 16 gallon tank at home! Going to upgrade to a PC power supply and double 120w peliters to get it cool.

[Cgy_Betta_Guy]

Peltier cooling would be interesting but where are you going to hide the heatsinks?

[New_from_Peru]

Unfortunatly on this build they sit out in the open in my office - looks a little "mad proffessor" but ok for now. Had to move the intake around a little so the flow is high enough not to cause freezing and the hose to pop off (this did happen and the office carpet got wet). No harm to the wee guys though - all still happy.

For the 16 gallon build I am working on - I think one of the mini / micro atx PC cases would work well. I found a resonably nice looking one for less than $50 in memory express - I also found a 450W power supply in there which would happily run 2 x 168W peltiers. This would make for a better looking system / box and allow it to be less obvious in the dining room of the house.

The one in the video above cools the water from 22°C to 21°C in around 50 minutes and allows me to have my office at 22°C.

I have moved my Blue Diamond neo's in here until the project in the house is done - my house has alot of glass and heats up pretty quick even on a cool day.