CDodge1's 30 Gallon Shallow Reef Journal

[Cdodge1]

Since seeing the new RadionXR30 pros on my brothers tank, I fell in love with them. I see my old HQI's and PC lights...and I feel like I'm looking at some relic. What I'm stuck on is this:

Do I go with the EcoTech Radion XR15w Pro LED Light Fixture


OR do I go with the EcoTech Radion XR30w G3 Pro LED Light Fixture

[Cdodge1]

Since my aquarium dimensions are 24x24x12, I think the XR15 would fit the tank perfectly, but leaves me little room If I move it to a different tank. Being $300 cheaper also helps its case. The XR30 will be kind of overkill, but gives me plenty of flexibility if I upgrade tanks.

I am still in college and the extra expense really impacts the build negatively and could possibly take away from other aspects of the aquarium. Not to mention increase the whole length of this build. I suppose I answered my own question here but I am asking for others input or advice on the matter. Should I bite the bullet and do my future self a favor?

Thanks all!

[dantdodge]

Originally Posted by Cdodge1

Since my aquarium dimensions are 24x24x12, I think the XR15 would fit the tank perfectly, but leaves me little room If I move it to a different tank. Being $300 cheaper also helps its case. The XR30 will be kind of overkill, but gives me plenty of flexibility if I upgrade tanks.

I am still in college and the extra expense really impacts the build negatively and could possibly take away from other aspects of the aquarium. Not to mention increase the whole length of this build. I suppose I answered my own question here but I am asking for others input or advice on the matter. Should I bite the bullet and do my future self a favor?

Thanks all!

For right now go with the smaller one I think that when it comes time to upgrade you will be able to sell the smaller one at an acceptable price coming from the Best... and put that toward the larger Radion. I know you can find some good deals on the xr15 out there from other people who are probably upgrading or something. Did you get the LEDs in? I am curious to see how they light up the stand.

How is cycling going If you need some water let me know and I will hold a water change for you.

[whiteshark]

Originally Posted by Cdodge1

Since my aquarium dimensions are 24x24x12, I think the XR15 would fit the tank perfectly, but leaves me little room If I move it to a different tank. Being $300 cheaper also helps its case. The XR30 will be kind of overkill, but gives me plenty of flexibility if I upgrade tanks.

I am still in college and the extra expense really impacts the build negatively and could possibly take away from other aspects of the aquarium. Not to mention increase the whole length of this build. I suppose I answered my own question here but I am asking for others input or advice on the matter. Should I bite the bullet and do my future self a favor?

Thanks all!

You might be surprised. While I know I was getting ample par from my Vega, there were darker areas of the tank that really needed the t5 supplementation. At least for my eyes.

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by dantdodge

For right now go with the smaller one I think that when it comes time to upgrade you will be able to sell the smaller one at an acceptable price coming from the Best... and put that toward the larger Radion. I know you can find some good deals on the xr15 out there from other people who are probably upgrading or something. Did you get the LEDs in? I am curious to see how they light up the stand.

How is cycling going If you need some water let me know and I will hold a water change for you.

Yeah... I've all but made up my mind on it. I'll probably pick up today since my LFS has one in stock. I honestly can't afford the XR30 on my budget... I looked, there's really no way I can swing it. And since I've got a shallow tank, I'll throw on the wide lens and call it a day.

Surprisingly there's been no XR15's on ebay.. and the people I've messaged on the for sale forums never hit me back. Plus I'd like to have new in case anything goes wrong.

LED's shipped from china so they may be here next year... Also still waiting on my PVC and gatevalve to come in from BRS...should be wednesday

Cyclings going good, started last week. Have yet to test, but I could guess that ammonia is through the roof. Yes, please hold some water for me.

[St Pete John]

Looking really good dude, like the color choices.

Only thing that would worry me is only having one drain, I have to put redundancy in or i cant sleep away from home lol.

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by whiteshark

You might be surprised. While I know I was getting ample par from my Vega, there were darker areas of the tank that really needed the t5 supplementation. At least for my eyes.

Whiteshak, I forgot to mention I'd put the wide angle lens on the XR15. I hope it would be enough. I'd have to but SPS in the center of course. I've never seen a vega in person so it's hard to judge the difference

Originally Posted by St Pete John

Looking really good dude, like the color choices.

Only thing that would worry me is only having one drain, I have to put redundancy in or i cant sleep away from home lol.

Thanks! I know I'm nervous about it as well. It's a 1" drain pipe with drain guard on it... and I'll only have one snail in the tank. Hopefully that'll be enough lol.

[naterealbig]

For the drain,I think you will be ok with the single....i would run the level in the overflow as more as you can - this will give you some buffer volume. With a strainer on the drain, some egg crate on top of the overflow, and a diligent cleaning regimen for the strainer should keep you out of trouble.

If you haven't stopped the cash on the light yet, I would enquire on the Ecotech forum. You will get an accurate and honest recommendation from a staff member. It would be a shame to get the light and it not be enough....

Things are looking great!

[Cdodge1]

I picked up the XR15 Pro today!
My colored PVC from Bulk reef supply has come in as well as my motion LED lights! I feel like its my birthday

Also picked up some live sand and a JBJ ATO

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by naterealbig

For the drain,I think you will be ok with the single....i would run the level in the overflow as more as you can - this will give you some buffer volume. With a strainer on the drain, some egg crate on top of the overflow, and a diligent cleaning regimen for the strainer should keep you out of trouble.

If you haven't stopped the cash on the light yet, I would enquire on the Ecotech forum. You will get an accurate and honest recommendation from a staff member. It would be a shame to get the light and it not be enough....

Things are looking great!

Thanks for checking in Nate, I remember we spoke about the drain. I'm comfortable with the set up. I'll only have 1 or two small snails and the overflow seems pretty well guarded. (I'll include some pics later) The eggcrate on top of the overflow is a good idea as well.

Here's a handy picture of the XR15 Pros lighting I pulled from EcoTech's site:
With the 120 degree lens, I'll get adequate coverage, with the exception of the far corners of the tank. The dimensions of the tank are 24x24x12...with it being so shallow, I'm not worried.

[rq786]

Hi i believe u also have the deep blue rimless shallow 30gal i drilled mine so i can to herbi method and i am glad i did it is dead silent and i can sleep peacfully (as far as drill the tanks goes i thought about it 100 times before i pulled the trigger) cant wait to see u tank up and running.

[Cdodge1]

I decided to DIY the hanging system for the radion. I know Ecotech sells one for ~$45...and as much as I'd love to support this company... It's tough to do when I know I can make a similar hanging system for $12-$15. All parts I can get from a local hardware store. Of course, It is not as sharp looking, but still nice enough and it gets the job done.

Here's a quick overview of how I made it:

Tools needed:


Parts:
Electrical grounding connectors

Stop set & some caribiners

and 1/16 stainless steel wire (not pictured)
Ceiling hook

I took off the plastic pieces on the connectors and clamped them to the wires. Screwed them into the fixture with screws provided



Then use the stop kit to create loops in the wire... add caribiners...and viola

[Cdodge1]

Not sure if it's noticeable...but I re-painted the inside red, instead of orange to better match the pipes. Almost done with the plumbing and I added 4 LED motion activated lights inside the stand. Works pretty well! Sourcing a return pump atm...

[whiteshark]

Looking good!

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by rq786

Hi i believe u also have the deep blue rimless shallow 30gal i drilled mine so i can to herbi method and i am glad i did it is dead silent and i can sleep peacfully (as far as drill the tanks goes i thought about it 100 times before i pulled the trigger) cant wait to see u tank up and running.

I saw your build, awesome sump & skimmer combo you got. Wish I had your sump! I've drilled tanks before, but this one came pre-drilled already and there was no room for a third hole. You have the same overflow as me I believe and it should do a good job of straining out any debris before it gets to the pipes.

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Looking good!

Thanks whiteshark! glad to see you're following along! I love the red PVC. really makes a world of difference.

[Cdodge1]

Few more pics I wanted to throw up here... Sorry there's no water or coral yet I'm just as anxious to get this build going! I'm so impressed with the Radion. Such a beautiful fixture and one thing I can appreciate is the lack of heat produced by it. My HQI's would heat my room up 10 degrees or more... to the point where it was unbearable. I also like that it doesn't compete with the aquarium. It's barely noticeable. I'm in love. Worth every penny so far. The less stuff in and around tank, the better. If I could somehow get rid of the power head and overflow, I'd do it.

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by A sea K

Looking good! Great idea on using the tension straps instead of clamps. I never thought about doing that and always have to borrow long clamps from a friend on every project.

When I built my stand I wanted it to be around 40" to help offset the shallow tank but ran into a design issue. I wanted a oversized stand and that would only allow me to go 32" due to door sizes as I was too wide in the other dimension. Now that all is said and done I actually like it. You can easily get a nice top down view any time you approach the tank and when seated anywhere in the room the height seems just about perfect.

Sorry A Sea K, missed this post,

Thanks for the compliment! Thinking back on using the tension straps, it probably would have been wise to use separate pieces of wood to get more even pressure. But nonetheless, it came out okay. I'd have had to drop $150 on clamps big enough to fit the stand .

My stand is around 40"-41" tall. It sinks about 0.5" when tank has water. I'm not sure I understand the issue you had with the design, however. You built the stand but purchased a pre-built door? 32" is still a decent height! Not sure how tall you are, but I'm 6'1" (73") and the top of the aquarium is approx. 53" high. So about 17-20" down from my view but I also see into the tank laying down or seated anywhere in the room. I'd love to see your stand and rock work for ideas.

[dantdodge]

Lookin Good! When is there going to be water in that puppy. Lets get this thing rolling.. I know you are still looking for a return pump did you decide what you want to put on there?

[whiteshark]

You know, you can get rid of the overflow

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by dantdodge

Lookin Good! When is there going to be water in that puppy. Lets get this thing rolling.. I know you are still looking for a return pump did you decide what you want to put on there?

Thanks man, I know I'm getting antsy. I've got water cycling in a 32gal Brute container in my closet lol. I also ordered a Sicce 1.5 Return pump(357 GPH).


Should be in by Friday if I'm lucky. If not then monday. I also need to pick up some of that Marco Rock in tampa. Love that stuff. Wanna get the rock cut and aquascaped before I add water & sand into the tank.

Originally Posted by whiteshark

You know, you can get rid of the overflow

Ohhhh man, don't give me those kinda ideas...this build will go into next year lol

[Bman562]

Man, I keep seeing these shallow 30g tanks everywhere.. so tempting. Loving the build!

[chillwill007]

Love the build stand tank equipment perfectly chosen and executed

[dantdodge]

Lookin good lookin good cant wait to see water flowing

[naterealbig]

Christian, for my next build I will be re running 2 smaller pumps in parallel for redundancy while I'm away. Have you considered this?

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by Bman562

Man, I keep seeing these shallow 30g tanks everywhere.. so tempting. Loving the build!

haha yes I have been seeing them pop up a lot. I like the dimensions and I happened to see one for sale locally. Thanks for the kind words!

Originally Posted by chillwill007

Love the build stand tank equipment perfectly chosen and executed

Thanks! Glad you like it! I really tried to put a lot of thought into this build.