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Supernova - from eBay to NA

squid102

Member
Joined
4 Aug 2010
Messages
209
Location
Surrey
I've just had the phone call from Natural Aquario in Portugal to say that my tank is on its way! I can't promise that this will be a pretty tank or that it will be problem free. I'm sure that at some point someone will say 'the problem is your lights/flow/co2/substrate/plants/fish/water/fertilisers' (delete those not applicable) At some point it will need the use of a sledgehammer. I'm looking forward to that bit.

It's called Supernova for want of a better name because I think that's what 108w of LEDs is going to look like in my sitting room. 'From eBay' because it's going to replace our £15 ebay tank that has become really tatty. Ok, it was tatty when I bought it. But what a bargain!

Tank: NA 90cm x 45cm x 50cm
Lighting: NA SUN LED 6 x 18w led strips
Filtration: 2 x Eheim 2217 (aka Classic 600)
Heater: Hyder external 300w
Fertilisation: EI
Co2: Easy Carbo and FE/pub bottle pressurised to 3 tanks
BOC 8500 regulator
Glassware from ebay and co2art

Plants: I'll mostly be using ones I already have so crypts, anubias sp., staurogyne repens, pogostomon helferi, HC, micranthemum sp. Monte Carlo.

Some of them are growing emersed but not too well. I think I cooked them at some point and the greenfly aren't helping.
 
Up to now I've done everything on the cheap and diy but not been satisfied with the results. For me, diy co2 = algae! But rather than keep patching up a scratched tank with rusting hinges, inadequate filter, no co2 I decided to take the plunge. Going from 3 non-co2 tanks to 3 high tech tanks is going to be quite an adventure!
 
The 120l tank it is replacing has a Fluval 204 filter. The Fluval 204 and I have a love hate relationship without the love bit. :mad:
 
It's called Supernova for want of a better name because I think that's what 108w of LEDs is going to look like in my sitting room. 'From eBay' because it's going to replace our £15 ebay tank that has become really tatty. Ok, it was tatty when I bought it. But what a bargain!


Looking forward to see this setup.

But let me tell you that i've seen this light unit live, and it is amazing. It is so powerful that can't look straight to it for a long time.

Just comparing ELOS e-lite3 has got 54,60W. NA just doubles it.

ELOS led efficiency is 83Lm/w while NA is 105 lm/W, not only NA has more power it also has more lumen (it emits more light).

Comparing with ADA AQUASKY602 witch is the most powerfull ADA has, it have 5700 lumen total, well has got NA has got 11340 lumen total.

In the end what i really wanna say it that i wish i have 1 and you made a good choice.


Filtration: 2 x Eheim 2217 (aka Classic 600)


Well 1 will be more than enought, there is no need of using 2 what so ever

Co2: Easy Carbo

There is no need to use, if your CO2 bottle system is good.

cheers wish you luck.
.
 
The tank is 182l. A single Eheim 2217 has a flow of 1000lph so to get 10x flow I would need to supplement with a powerhead at least. Then I spotted another 2217 on Gumtree for £25 and I thought "That will do!" But I can't decide on lily pipes or spray bar. I'm leaning towards a spray bar. It should be easier to make. :D
 
It's arrived! We're really impressed with the quality and we still can't tell if the veneer is real oak or not. I can't set it up until we have moved the other tank and its inhabitants out of the way. It will have to wait for the weekend as it involves moving 5 pieces of furniture, 3 tanks and a 3' dolls house. If the cabinet looks a bit shorter than normal that's because it is. I'm too short for their normal height cabinet so they kindly offered to make me a smaller one. At the normal height the top of the tank would have been level with my nose!

NT4Huyn.jpg


I'm a little confused about the lights though. The website says "You can set all the light individually with a timer." I took this to mean that there would be an individual plug or control over each of the 6 led strips. But there are 2 plugs. One with 3 thin black wires going into it and one with 2 black and one yellow and green wire. I guess I won't know until I plug them in. I'll post more pictures when it is set up.

OUV3hND.jpg
 
Hello

Great, you got to show us more photos please.

Yes, it kind of confuses the idea when they say it is individually controlled. But it does not make much send to control lamp by lamp. What can you grow with 1 lamp only? nothing :D. But i going to tell them about this misguiding statement on the website.

So it seams you can make 0 lights, 50% light, and 100% light, that is what you can control.
 
It is now confirmed - you can have 3 led bulbs/strips or all 6. And yes, it does look like a supernova! This is with 3 bulbs:

QxAgxKP.jpg


With 6 bulbs:

Bfqw3Zv.jpg


None:

li3TNsG.jpg


But sometimes I hate my house. We moved the tank after this photo and thought we'd got it level but filling it up to test for leaks proved otherwise.

0D1DNxh.jpg
 
Getting closer to setting up. I now have my rocks! I didn't want to spend silly money on them so went down my local landscaper's and bought some big chunks of green granite for 30p/kg. So for just over a tenner I have:

qSYn1uJ.jpg


Sledgehammer time!
 
Plastic shims off ebay will level that tank out. Or snap off wedges
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=360697327414

We put a strip of 5mm thick board under one in the end that seems to have levelled it. We're now looking at how to modify the light to reduce the light spill onto my chair. I put the propagator in there with some of the emersed plants but within the first hour it had given me a light induced migraine, even at half strength. We think we might be able to tilt the light backwards so the tank will still get as much light but my eyeballs won't.

When I called it Supernova it was because my husband would always shield his eyes when I had the hood up on the old tank and I thought he might moan about this one. I didn't expect that I would be the one to have a problem with it!
 
Hi Lydia,

Lovely looking set-up. :)

I'm thinking about going for the 65cm with the same lighting.

Can you do me a favour and put something red in the tank so we can see the colour rendition, please? :)

Have you tried running the light unit with LED tubes missing to reduce the overall output?

You can always raise it further from the tank but then light spill increases. :/

Cheers,
George
 
Ooh look! My staurogyne repens is fruiting!

JsHoSbd.jpg


r6XREff.jpg


The stuffed doorstop is naturally faded. We don't seem to have many red things.
 
These photos are with half the bulbs being used. I'm not sure I'll ever need to use all of them. I haven't tried removing bulbs but it wouldn't alter the spill of the light anyway. It's like someone shining a torch in your eyes. It doesn't matter whether it's three torches or one, it's still uncomfortable. I think I just need to angle the light back a bit.

The colour rendition is a very crisp white. It's 8500k but seems to show most colours well, as you can see in the photos. I won't be able to tell further until I plant it up, and I have to make the pipe work first.
 
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