New Opae Ula tank (in a giant lab reactor)

[Corucia]

I broke ground today on my fourth Opae ula tank, this time using a great vintage lab reactor that I found on eBay. It's pretty massive in size, and it took over 11 gallons of distilled water to fill it. I also seeded it with water from each of my other three tanks as well as some micro algae. It's still pretty cloudy but I'll post some pics in the coming weeks as it stabilizes / sets up. Shrimp and snails (hopefully) to be added next month. Also, does anyone have experience with the new Zetlght UFO series? I just received one and will try to use on this tank but I must say it's really bright and I'm wondering if it might not be optimal for this setup. Curious to hear opinions (I've been using Zetlight's Nano on two of my smaller tanks and it's Mini on my larger tank all to good effect.

[KenCotigirl]

Very nice tank! As I have said before I am a big fan of spheres. Can't wait for the water to clear. Keep the pictures coming.

KenP

[Corucia]

Here is an updated shot of the reactor with some sea fans, coral, microalgae and snails. Also, when enabled by the wifi controller, the Zetlight UFO is really quite dynamic. Shrimp coming soon!

[JennyPenny]

This tank is gorgeous!!

[jcfrank922]

Your tank is Awesome! Beautiful!

[Arquisto]

It feels like that light was made just for that tank! Was it hard to get everything through that small opening and place things where you wanted?

[Corucia]

Many thanks for the kind comments. Indeed, the UFO from Zetlight is almost a perfect fit for the sphere and has the added benefit of forming a reasonably tight fit with the top preventing evaporation. It's also water proof so moisture penetration shouldnt' be an issue. Re: getting the contents through the top, it wasn't that hard. I soaked the sea fans overnight to get them pliable enough to bend/fold into the opening and I broke up the stone/coral so it would fit the opening. I'll post some more pictures tomorrow as I just introduced the shrimp and some additional snails & algae. Stay tuned

[Corucia]

Some new pics of the tank with the shrimp added. I also added some additional calcium carbonate base rock. Water is a bit cloudy (proabably due to the new shrimp biomass) but will post some new pics once everything settles in.

[KenCotigirl]

Beautiful tank. Don't think I could replicate it. I will live vicariously through your pictures.

KenP

[JennyPenny]

It is looking great!! I hope to have a sphere someday, and yours is really tempting me to do it.

[Mustafa]

Great looking tank! How did you get that coral in there? Is it flexible?

[ryangiggs]

i love your Zetlight UFO... but i am concerned whether will the UV from the light kills off the beneficial bacteria that is needed for the opae ula tank? And also is the built in fan loud? I am also concerned whether the vibration from the fan will stress out the shrimp since you are using in direct contact with the tank as a cover?

[Corucia]

Thanks for the note Mustafa and Ryan. Regarding the coral and sea fans, I broke up the coral just enough to fit it into the top and then reassembled the pieces in the sphere. The sea fans weren't that flexible at first but I soaked them in water overnight and they were malleable enough to bend into a cone and squeeze through the top.

Regarding the UFO fan, it's been a really nice addition and very flexible with the Zetlight wireless module which allows you to program an almost infinite array of light spectrum and variances throughout the day based on time settings (one can recreate dawn through dusk light conditions). The fan is pretty quiet and doesn't really produce any noticeable vibration. It also only comes on periodically when the light setting is at full daylight. The shrimp don't seem to mind it at all over the past month since the set-up has been up and running. I can't comment on the potential impact to beneficial bacteria from any UV light exposure, but algae growth has been fine, there are tons of copepods in the system and the shrimp and snails have been very active with no loses thus far that I've noticed. I suspect the UFO is also tunable to reduce the UV output but I don't have the technology to measure the wavelengths its producing to have a good sense for this. In any case I'll post some update pics over the weekend if I have a chance. Stay tuned

[ryangiggs]

I fell for the poison and got the Zetlight UFO myself!!! I bought the white version as it compliment my furniture.

Like you said... it looked great... it can create a wide range of lighting scenarios... It can even create cloudy and lightning conditions... but i turned off that function as it seems to overwrite my lighting intensity programming...

Wow but the light was so intense that it burnt the plastic wrap when i was still fiddling with it in the packaging (i plugged in while the light is still in the wrap) and charred the surface of the box!!! The LED is that strong! I must say that the iOS app for the wireless module was not very well built though. It was pretty hard to configure the schedule and light intensity. No instructions on what is A, B, C and D. But the demo function can help you in planning the lighting schedule.

Overall i am quite please with the lights. The only problem for me is that it does not sealed properly with my tank (which has a round opening on top as well). Just afraid that the intensity of the light will evaporate the water faster and i might need to top up frequently. Will have to monitor that aspect.

I do noticed the snails and shrimps seems very active while the light is on... especially the snails... even those malaysian trumpet snails which usually just feed on the bottom climbed onto the glass for a feast... i guess my suspicion on the UV light might be over-concerned...

Keep us posted on your tank progress yeah...!

[Corucia]

Ryan, totally agree with your observations. When I first plugged in the light before I picked up the wireless module / IOS it was clear that these additions are definitely not optional. The light in native format is bright enough to illuminate an operating room! I was able to set up and link the wireless module without much fuss but, to your point, the written instructions with the control / IOs is definitely lacking. I did the same thing as you did - - watched the video and also pulled up some addl demos from youtube. Once the controls were clear however, I was able to modify both the light intensity and timing in a pretty controlled manner. The "A" channel (white light) clearly needs to be dampened along with the "B" channel (blue). I've been able to create a pretty seamless flow from morning, through mid-day, dusk and night. I've continued to tinker with it a bit but feel pretty good about the cycle now. It's clearly growth stimulating as the microalgae / angle hair I have in the tank is in bloom...

On the seal, I haven't witnessed any significant evaporation yet nor had to top off the sphere. It's clearly creating some condensation bit I think it's dropping back into the sphere. The UFO also appears to be fairly water resistant (if not totally water proof) so I don't see any moisture penetration into the lens assembly let alone th PCB with the LEDs. So far, so good...

Will continue to post with my experience here regardless