SomVan
09-25-2012, 09:41 PM
Hi. A little history, scroll down to the first break to skip =). I have been in the hobby for about over 5 years. My first tank was a 55 gallon FWLRO tank. Two years later I learned about the dreaded-money-eating reef systems from a friend, and fell in love. I quickly upgraded to a 100G, using the 55g as a sump/refugium. Things went well for about 3 years. Then money problems happened, and I couldn't keep up with all of needs of a sucessful tank: cleaning, water changes, phosban, etc. So 6 months ago, I broke down the tank, and have been wondering what to do with myself. Two months ago, I decided to get back into hobby, but small sized. I was able to get my hands on an aquapod 24 for very cheap ($40), and the seller gave me a return pump and a mini korali since I was starting fresh again.
So far, I have the tank setup, with some live rocks and corals I favored and kept in a bucket.
I've read about scrubbers in the past, and thought this would be great for me.
I am using the slot that flows to the back sump area as my waterfall point.
I saw a few builds, and would like some recommendations. I have an old CPU heatsink from when I bought my i7. I already have a 4"x6" screen attached to the sump area. I would like to do an LED with the heatsink, because I was using a Spot light, but it made the tank temp raise very quickly.
P.S. I just spent almost $300 on a DIY led build for the display area, as well as for an arduino project to automate most of the functions. So the wife is mad(but she's not saying it since I'm no longer bothering her in my boredom), and would like to keep costs as low as possible.
First question: How many leds and what kind do you recommend?
2: Can I use 1w LEDs? Or should I stick with 3W? The distance from the LEDs and the screen is approx 4: with 1/4" glass inbetween
3: Can I install the leds inbetween the "fins" on the heatsink? Or does it have to be a flat surface?
More questions to come, time for work =)
Front
3288
Back
3289
Heat sink
3290
So far, I have the tank setup, with some live rocks and corals I favored and kept in a bucket.
I've read about scrubbers in the past, and thought this would be great for me.
I am using the slot that flows to the back sump area as my waterfall point.
I saw a few builds, and would like some recommendations. I have an old CPU heatsink from when I bought my i7. I already have a 4"x6" screen attached to the sump area. I would like to do an LED with the heatsink, because I was using a Spot light, but it made the tank temp raise very quickly.
P.S. I just spent almost $300 on a DIY led build for the display area, as well as for an arduino project to automate most of the functions. So the wife is mad(but she's not saying it since I'm no longer bothering her in my boredom), and would like to keep costs as low as possible.
First question: How many leds and what kind do you recommend?
2: Can I use 1w LEDs? Or should I stick with 3W? The distance from the LEDs and the screen is approx 4: with 1/4" glass inbetween
3: Can I install the leds inbetween the "fins" on the heatsink? Or does it have to be a flat surface?
More questions to come, time for work =)
Front
3288
Back
3289
Heat sink
3290