Stercus Accidit 20g Build

Thanks, I had it in my 55g and thought at first I wouldn't do it again but the colors of everything in the tank just pop against it so... it's here to stay. Of course I'll put white in the fuge soon.

 

Cool! I do black with my FW tanks.

 

This looks like it's going to be a great setup!

I'm trying to get started in the saltwater hobby with a 20T. What LED fixture did you purchase? I've been researching but have found more questions than answers.

 

I'm really liking the scape and substrate! Looking forward to seeing this progress

 

Thanks everyone...was starting to think this thread was falling on it's face lol. I might try and get the scape up a tad bit higher I think.

Aqua,
After allot of searching and reading and more reading I finally decided to order a kit from aquastyle. They use the 3w Bridgelux LED's and are on the cheap end of the spectrum of LED's but I haven't really seen anything bad about them. I ordered a 14 LED kit and got to specify what colors I wanted in the kit (I got 5 10kW, 5 RB, & 4 420nm Violet) I will run the 5 whites and 2 royal blues on one driver and the other 3 blues and all violets on the other. It is a dimmable kit with everything included to DIY and it ran me about $100 with shipping. I should be getting the kit within the next 2 weeks, it shipped today so I am hoping to have it next week. I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on the more expensive LED's and not give something else a try first. Don't get me wrong, the CREE LED's are AWESOME, my brother has them on his 20T and everything is taking off like wild fire, I just am on a strict budget with this.

I will post pics of the build and obviously keep this thread updated with the tank progress.

Thanks again, and I hope this thread doesn't dissapoint.

**any questions on ANYTHING on this setup that anyone has let me know and I'll do my best to explain**

Temp - 77-78*
Salinity ppt - 32 (1.023-24 SG)
Nitrate - 1
Cal - 400
Alk - 9.6

 

Thanks! That sounds awesome I wish you the best of luck.

I may have been looking at that fixture earlier today, at least one with that brand of Leds. I thought it was an interesting name.

I'm also on a budget too so I can understand your choice. I'm going to be following the progress of this setup and hopefully develop into something half as spectacular.

What are you hoping to achieve with that array of color leds? What will you be trying to grow?

 

IMO that amount of LED's is overkill on a 20g, but that's the smallest kit they have in dimmable. I am going to be keeping all types of coral, I'm not a fanboy of any one type. If I like it, I'll get it. With 14 LED's on a 20 you can have anything you want, my brother started with 6 LED's and now has 9 and he keeps SPS corals.

The colors I choose are to make the colors in the tank really pop. The RB and the V are what gives corals their bright vibrant colors, whites provide growth.

 

Awesome awesome. That sounds great. If 9 work well then 14 should be perfect. Do you have a link to the kit you purchased? I found one but want to see if it's the same thing.

Have you thought about your CUC?

 

Here is the kit I bought - Aquarium 42 watts Dimmable DIY LED kit with optics

My CUC will consist of a couple cleaner shrimp, and I'll start with 6-8 various snails. I don't like having hermits because they tend to drag their shell over corals and can/will pick at things too. I had only snails in my 55 and it worked perfectly. I was told, and experienced, that having different types of snails works the best instead of all one kind. I'll get a couple Bumble Bee, Astrea, and probably some generals.

 

That sounds great. Do you plan to do a Moonlighting system as well? That kit seems very nicely priced.

Are you going to build a housing out of plywood, pexiglass, or something to house the heatsink and fixture?