Orphek Nilus -Orphek Nilus's channel

Orphek Nilus

Orphek Nilus's channel

1.  Setting the time

Video #1 in the series of programming your new Orpehk Nilus unit. This unit is designed for coral reef tanks containing SPS, LPS, soft corals, clams and anemones. They also provide perfect lighting for FOWLR systems and predator tanks.





2. Setting the daylight

Video #2 in the series of programming your new Orpehk Nilus unit.

3. Setting the moonlight

Video #3 in the series of programming your new Orpehk Nilus unit.



where to buy:

Marinedepot.com  Orphek Nilus 24 Inch LED Light Fixture - Black

coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures



Read More:

marine-engineers.org   Orphek Brings on the Dimmers With “Nilus” 120 Watt LED

reefbuilders.com            Orphek Nilus LED is a 120 watt multicolor SPS coral light

blog.aquanerd.com       Orphek Releases Their New Nilus LED Fixture

reeftools.com                  Orphek Nilus – 24” 120 Watt LED Fixture











coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures

coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures



coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures



coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures



coralreefshop.com  Thread: Orphek LED fixtures

Orphek review

Orphek review by:clients

"Pictures tell a thousand words."

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096730&page=5





Video Links:

"amazing reef"

"We are extremely happy with theses lights. They are a showboat for shimmer and growth."

"Link"

Nice tank



Ying and Yang" shaped tanks at a Children's Hospital in upstate NY.

Orphek DONATED all of the DIF-30 units we used to light them!

The pic makes them look darker but they actually light the tanks well and they aren't even mounted at the right height yet in the pic. Those are 6' deep tanks by the way.

Thanks again Orphek you guys are the best!"

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=300952443290253&set=o.170548713004448&type=1&theater

Comments and Photos of Orphek client’s tanks

http://orphek.com/led/2011/10/comments-and-photos-of-orphek-clients-tanks/

"Re: ORPHEK PR-156 LED Lights

by Juzza34 » Sun 25 Sep, 2011 11:13 am

And IMO you couldnt have gotten better or quicker service. I will always speak highly of this company and their product. I definitly will be buying three more units from them for my new build.

I have recently had a guy from Oceanreefs in Perth come have a look/experiment and was quite taken back on the style,brightness, build etc of the lights but what got him most was we have done an experiment with some acros under these lights and the growth and colour has been exceptional....Considering i never had any under there before and am still suffering from NEW tank blues............Orphek say these lights are replacements for 250W-400W metal halides and thats exactly what they do.........."

“It took me maybe 5 minutes to figure out the timer, pretty easy the only negative is the button are very close together and small so sometimes you hit 2 button at once. No big deal really, how often do we mess around with timers, the unit is very sweet it looks sharp and well build, the fans are really quiet. I am very happy with it.”

Link

“Today is the first day the Orphek has been running. I really can’t believe the size of the corals in particular the acans.

They are huge and the colour is amazing, they were never this size under the previos lighting.

This has to be the best mod so far on this tank and for lps highly recommended.”

Link“with 4 fixtures, they equal to 480w compared to 800w of the 2 x radium. So in a long run it would save me electric and running fan from the heat. the color is very bright, but I don’t get the spread like the 2 x radium. I noticed that there are spots with low light. However when I compared the PAR reading, I am getting much more from the ORPHEK LED. The color is a little more toward 10-12k, if they take out the white and add more blue bulbs, maybe 4 more. This unit would be a great 20k color. It’s pretty much new, so maybe my eyes are not adjust or use to the changes. But I like it for sure. The system is long and wide, 96″ long and it’s 36″ wide. for regular tank like 36″ long, 1 unit would be great for regular tank like 48″ long, 2 unit would be great and so on.”

Link

“As for my new LED’s I am very happy with them so far. I can wait to see how my power bill would be this quarter?”

Link

“Hi All,
Here’s my tank under two Orphek PR156W’s… i really like the colour they put out.”

Link

“at last our Orphek lights are over our 6ft tank and they look the dogies do dars”

Link

” We are now the proud owners of 2 Orphek Lights the are destined to go over our 6ft tank but for now we are trying one out on our 165ltr cube and are well pleased with them”

Link

“Here is mine”

Link

“Very nice spread on these lights. My tank is 48″x48″x21″

Link

“The corals are looking real good, polyp extension like crazy and my acans are huge!”

Link

“30 Gallon Upgrade with Orphek PR-25UV LEDs”

Link

“Mounted both the Orpheks must say one difference I find is the shimmer which is excellant. The UV brings out blue color more.Worth a buy anytime.Diehard Orphek Fan….”

Link 

“I now have two of these lights…. OMG is all i can say “

Link



We’ve seen several local hobyists cautiously try out one Orphek unit before committing to buy more,

without exception, once the first unit is operating, they ALL quickly bought the remainder and haven’t looked back.

We’ve had ours since Oct 2010 and loving the colours it produces, far better than what we were getting with out MH & T5 setups.
Check out this link …..!!

Link

“I have to say that at the moment I am very happy with them. All corals are coming out better than ever, and seem to be happier.”

Link

“All;
Just thought that I would put a quick picture up of the coral which I had put in a number of months ago.
This coral was given to me as a free bee from an Aquarium store down here in Adelaide
because it was nearly bleached and all colour was lost (looked brown in the coloured parts).
Hope you guys can see a difference, look closely at it.”

Link

Color pop.

Sunday, February 12, 2012 10:51 PM

I gotta be doing something right. This came to me a couple of weeks ago. It was purple and fadedand none of that blue. It’s got purple polyps and the purple/blue color is amazing. Purporites. It’s already encrusting the rock that I glued it onto. This photo is untouched by photoshop. THANKS ORPHEK!!!!



January 15, 2012 5:16 AM

" Here's some preliminary photos of the lights.  Has unpacking through installation and operation.  I improvised using the hardware you sent with the lights.  It is working perfectly, and there are many other ways to do it.

David"

[nggallery id=26]



Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 4:34 AM

"2 units have arrived perfectly packed and secured.

It was immediately installed with no problems providing good coverage all around.

Attached please find my aquarium diagram. It was installed 30cm above water level.



I'd like to thank you for the best service and above all superior product.



How can I make best use of the fact that It has 16 programs on the timer?

Each unit start with the night light first and continue with the day light and goes off the opposite way.

What use can I do with other programs?



Regards,

Eyal."



August 19, 2011 12:37 AM

"I hung the new lights and purchased new corals last weekend.  The fluorescence under the blue light is incredible!

I am very happy with your products, and hope to improve my coral skills.

Gary"



Monday, February 13, 2012 7:17 AM

"I am very satisfied and we have a lot of interested customers .

The lamp are hanging on the definitely place now.

In the attachment I send you some pictures .the colors are very beautiful.

Greetings arie"





Monday, February 20, 2012

" I have had many compliments on the lights.  They not only meet the corals needs, they look fabulous.
Thank you !!!  Doreen"

Re: ORPHEK PR-156 LED Lights

by Gibbon01 » Sun 25 Sep, 2011 11:35 am

 
Thanks for sharing Justin, we've had the same experiences with our tanks, which are now all running on Orphek LED models PR-156 & PR-156W.
We used to have both 400W & 250W MH's plus a few T5's, but our tanks have certainly improved since these LEDs were installed.
Customer service between us and Orphek have been execellent at every step of the way for over a year now.
Can't recommend them more highly enough. A certain individual at the Gold Coast could learn a very valuable lesson from them..... 

Testimonial by clients

Orphek PR-156 LED Units - The Salty Box Reviews

Orphek PR-156 LED Units - The Salty Box Reviews

By: Ged  18-05-2011

http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews.html

Lee and Craig from Marine Aquatics, have very kindly arranged for me to loan an Orphek PR-156 LED Unit (in white) for a couple of months, so as to give the forum some good old honest feedback, as well as performance details etc

I have been using full LED lighting on my 3x2x2 tank since February 2010 in the form of Reef Beam 120w LED units. As a lot of people already know, I have had several problems with them reliability wise, as in the drivers have failed numerous times.

Lee and Craig offered the loan of a set of the, (new to the UK) Orphek LED units whilst I got my other units repaired.

I declined the loan of the LED unit, as I had managed to solder a new driver in myself. I also told them that I would be happy to do a review on the new units, but in the future. So as when I get them, I am in a neutral position, and it's not just because I needed some replacement lights.

Apart from the failures of my current LED units, I have managed to successfully keep Softies, LPS and more recently SPS corals, whilst using LEDs. Although predominately, my tank is now SPS frags growing out.

I have just found out that the new Orphek LED unit will be landing at my house on Tuesday, next week.

I am so excited tbh as I have already read up on these, and seen some stunning looking pictures from other people already using them. I suppose in a way, I am just like a kid on Christmas Eve, Eve. 

I will take a shed load of pictures between now and Tuesday of my current LED lighting, as well as all my corals, so as the journey and results can be fully documented.

As above I cannot wait until Tuesday, so I decided to start my thread early, so as people can chip in and ask anything that they would like answering, once I have received and setup the brand spanking new Orphek LED unit.

My tank is 3x2x2 and I am sure that one of these units would be fine for SPS - It's when it gets bigger from this point I think another would be needed for sure.

I got 2 of the other units that are not the most reliable LED units (in my opinion) and when one failed, moving the other unit to cover in the middle was not too bad.

But.... The Orphek ones certainly look more up to the job. 

One thing for sure, I know my tank back to front now, even down to the issue I had the other week, I could instantly tell something was not right. The only thing I had done was add ozone, but I eventually lost 3 SPS corals almost. Removing the ozone has turned it back around and in the end I lost one, with the other 2 coming back around.

Therefore, I am more than confident in trialling these, everything I have seen and read, just smacks you in the face of 'It's going to be a quality unit, built for the job'

The price is a little off putting is you were setting up a new tank, but then if you take into account the electricity that you would save over x amount of years, they are very cost effective.

As for the look of the units, it's got to be just like owning a Ferrari or a Porsche. They look like dog's danglies, and one thing they have definitely got, is style. 

http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews-14.html

I was at Nev's last night, and there was a coral at the far right, that had like a bluey / purply / violety hue to the tips etc and I pointed it out to him how nice it looked etc - This is exactly the same effect I am seeing now. I appreciate the corals will need to adjust to the new light, but it is just like being under the sea now.

I liked the old lights, when they worked, and they were certainly very bright, but no way did they make the tank, corals, or fish look as natural as the Orphek's do. 

These still need to come down yet, (from 40") but one thing is for sure, I bet my algae cleaning days are over. 

 

http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews-15.html

Few more piccies.









This had to be changed to 1/1000 to get the colours etc - That's how bright they are 



Sorry about the quality of pictures, but my camera is doing really strange things for some reason. 

http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews-15.html

I got the blues setup to come on / stay on at 9pm (it has 4 blue LEDs) and the effect is stunning.

It looks like the motor or summit in my camera lens has broken so the autofocus is goosed.





http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews-17.html

Day 2, absolutely everything looks fine, apart from my camera the autofocus has definitely failed. 

My duncans, hammer, and trumpets are puffed up like mad.

All SPS seem to be fine, and the tank still looks as good as yesterday. It is a totally different look to using Reef Beams, as in the light looks a lot more natural and as if the sun is cutting through the water. I know these are still quite high above the tank, but the overall look is a good one.

Here's a few piccies. (sorry for the unfocussed ones)







 

 

http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/equipment-reviews/93389-orphek-pr-156-led-units-salty-box-reviews-21.html

Yes definitely, the whole look of the tank has changed.

The test will be the corals, and if they improve I guess in all reality.

The looks of the kit are certainly there, they are definitely very bright, and remember they are still 14" above the water surface at the moment. (I dropped them down from 39.5" to 37" above the tank base, before)

Just as a point of interest, the old LED units were 4.5" off the surface of the water, so the Orpheks are 10" ish higher then they were, at the moment.

 

And after using 1 x Orphek PR-156w - At 16.5 inches above water level (approx 39.5 inches from base of tank)

t's very hard to describe, but they are both good, it's just the Orphek looks a whole lot more natural, and remember this is 120watts against 2 x 120watts on the old LEDs

I am just a little bit peed about my camera as it does not give the Orpheks the justice that they deserve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2XuOMSbE1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deAu5FMDtPU

 

 

Testimonial

Testimonial

"Pictures tell a thousand words."

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096730&page=5





Video Links:

"amazing reef"

"We are extremely happy with theses lights. They are a showboat for shimmer and growth."

"Link"

Nice tank



Ying and Yang" shaped tanks at a Children's Hospital in upstate NY.

Orphek DONATED all of the DIF-30 units we used to light them!

The pic makes them look darker but they actually light the tanks well and they aren't even mounted at the right height yet in the pic. Those are 6' deep tanks by the way.

Thanks again Orphek you guys are the best!"

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=300952443290253&set=o.170548713004448&type=1&theater

Comments and Photos of Orphek client’s tanks

http://orphek.com/led/2011/10/comments-and-photos-of-orphek-clients-tanks/

“It took me maybe 5 minutes to figure out the timer, pretty easy the only negative is the button are very close together and small so sometimes you hit 2 button at once. No big deal really, how often do we mess around with timers, the unit is very sweet it looks sharp and well build, the fans are really quiet. I am very happy with it.”

Link

“Today is the first day the Orphek has been running. I really can’t believe the size of the corals in particular the acans.

They are huge and the colour is amazing, they were never this size under the previos lighting.

This has to be the best mod so far on this tank and for lps highly recommended.”

Link

“with 4 fixtures, they equal to 480w compared to 800w of the 2 x radium. So in a long run it would save me electric and running fan from the heat. the color is very bright, but I don’t get the spread like the 2 x radium. I noticed that there are spots with low light. However when I compared the PAR reading, I am getting much more from the ORPHEK LED. The color is a little more toward 10-12k, if they take out the white and add more blue bulbs, maybe 4 more. This unit would be a great 20k color. It’s pretty much new, so maybe my eyes are not adjust or use to the changes. But I like it for sure. The system is long and wide, 96″ long and it’s 36″ wide. for regular tank like 36″ long, 1 unit would be great for regular tank like 48″ long, 2 unit would be great and so on.”

Link

“As for my new LED’s I am very happy with them so far. I can wait to see how my power bill would be this quarter?”

Link

“Hi All,
Here’s my tank under two Orphek PR156W’s… i really like the colour they put out.”

Link

“at last our Orphek lights are over our 6ft tank and they look the dogies do dars”

Link

” We are now the proud owners of 2 Orphek Lights the are destined to go over our 6ft tank but for now we are trying one out on our 165ltr cube and are well pleased with them”

Link

“Here is mine”

Link

“Very nice spread on these lights. My tank is 48″x48″x21″

Link

“The corals are looking real good, polyp extension like crazy and my acans are huge!”

Link

“30 Gallon Upgrade with Orphek PR-25UV LEDs”

Link

“Mounted both the Orpheks must say one difference I find is the shimmer which is excellant. The UV brings out blue color more.Worth a buy anytime.Diehard Orphek Fan….”



“I now have two of these lights…. OMG is all i can say “

Link



We’ve seen several local hobyists cautiously try out one Orphek unit before committing to buy more,

without exception, once the first unit is operating, they ALL quickly bought the remainder and haven’t looked back.

We’ve had ours since Oct 2010 and loving the colours it produces, far better than what we were getting with out MH & T5 setups.
Check out this link …..!!

Link

“I have to say that at the moment I am very happy with them. All corals are coming out better than ever, and seem to be happier.”

Link

“All;
Just thought that I would put a quick picture up of the coral which I had put in a number of months ago.
This coral was given to me as a free bee from an Aquarium store down here in Adelaide
because it was nearly bleached and all colour was lost (looked brown in the coloured parts).
Hope you guys can see a difference, look closely at it.”

Link

Testimonial by clients

Orphek Review PR 156

Orphek Review PR 156

by: marine-engineers January 19, 2012

Awhile back I reviewed a PR-156 LED light from Orphek, and recent testing by Sanjay Joshi revealed these lights to be a very focused deep water PAR monster, but what happens when you want some more spread? This question has led me to try removing all the lenses to see what it can do with less focusing. For testing, I put the light over a four-foot by three-foot coral flat full of soft corals, and so far it has pleasantly surprised me. Details after the break.











Removing the optics is an easy process.

Simply remove the bolts that run all the way through the fixture, and take off the acrylic lens cover. After this the optics simply pop off of each diode.

I found that with the optics removed the acrylic lens cover acts almost like a large fiber optic conductor throwing light straight out the sides and in to viewers eyes, but that was easily solved with a strip of black electrical tape to cover the edge.

The first thing I noticed after turning the fixture on over its new flat is the color mixing. With the focusing lenses out, the reds easily blend in with the scheme making for nice even color across the entire area.

The PR-156 easily cover the entire four-foot by three-foot with nice even light that doesn’t seem to lose intensity towards the edges, but the proof is in the PAR readings.

The flat in question is not packed full of high light acropora, so large numbers were not what I was looking for.

The PR-156 put down readings of around 120 on center and faded out to about 75 at all edges which, considering it replaced eight bulbs of T5, is pretty amazing for a 120 watt LED fixture.



After about a month of use in this scenario, the soft corals have exploded. Color is better than it ever was with the T5 fixtures, and growth is through the roof.

Smaller areas would work even better with the lenses out depending on the mounting height of the PR-156.

For this test the light was mounted over two feet from the water.

The success of this test also brings to light ideas that could work with many other sizes of tanks.

Selective removal of just some of the optics could effectively spread the light where it’s needed while leaving higher power areas in some.

It may even be possible to light four-foot tanks with just one PR-156 by removing some optics around the edges and leaving the optics to pound the down the power in the center.

Stay tuned for more testing with selective optic removal in the near future.

Orphek PR156XP Reviewed By marine engineers

Orphek PR156XP Reviewed By marine engineers

November 22, 2011

http://marine-engineers.org/2011/11/22/orphek-pr156xe-reviewed/

Awhile ago I mentioned that I was purchasing a PR156 for review, and after having the fixture for a while now, I feel I’m finally ready to give you the details. This fixture, and this whole company for that matter, get some interesting press, so I decided to do this review to try to help clear the waters on the subject. Like most things, testing didn’t go exactly the way I had expected, and I do owe a few disclaimers before we get started. Over-all though, I feel that I personally can now recommend Orphek to anyone who would ask. Follow along with the details after the break.



First of all I need to get in to the disclaimer. Orphek has been plagued in the past by allegations of reviews being extremely biased and even paid for, so I want to be 100% clear as to the details of how this review went down right from the ordering direct from Orphek. First of all, yes I do know people at Orphek just like I know people at many other companies, so when I decided to order the PR156 I contacted them to get the ball rolling. Originally I had planned on ordering the standard light that would come to everyone’s door, but upon first talking to Orphek, they mentioned that they were interested in trying some new stuff and would like me to get involved. Naturally I didn’t want to pass this up.

So here are the additions that would be tacked on to the light I got:

Red LEDs were the main thing they wanted to experiment with, so four of those were added to the unit.
A few UV diodes were also added.
The XP package, which we’ll get in to later was added.
And least favorite to me, they refused to build the unit in black. We’ll get in to that later as well.

So there it is straight as I can give it to you. Yes, I paid the full price for this unit, but yes, they did add-on some things that they wanted to get honest feedback on.

Lets jump in with the upgrades they added first because most people already know the basic run down of this light otherwise. The red LEDs were added to give a more complete spectrum. After playing with EcoTech Marine’s Radion XR30w, I must say I’m a huge fan of red diodes, so I was happy to hear it. The UV diodes were something new to me because I’m yet to run them on any tank. The XP package is one addition that needs some more clarification which I will give you to the best of my knowledge. The primary difference within these low production fixtures is the way they’re wired. In standard lights the diodes are wired in a series which means that when one LED goes out, a whole line may drop out of use. With the XP series, each individual diode is wired separately to lessen the impact of problems. As I was told, the XP package only ships in white which in theory is more reflective and increases light to the tank. I’m not a big fan of white only packages because they don’t fit with some design schemes, but luckily I run a hood.



Ok, with that out-of-the-way, we can get in to the details of the fixture. The PR156′s aesthetic design is second to none! The use of acrylic and stainless steel grates give this fixture a look that could be proudly out in the open over even the most high-end tanks. The bottom of the fixture bristles with LEDs from edge to edge and the nice etching on the acrylic cover is another nice touch. On the top of the light there are two fans which pull air in through the stainless side grates, through the heat sink and out the top. The fans are just a touch on the loud side for me compared to the AI unit on the tank before. The biggest sore spot for this light is the combination timer, driver box. It looks nice, but it seems rather oversized to me. The timers are simply terrible. The buttons are way too small for my fingers and to unlock them, I had to refer to the internet. If you found this review looking for that, you just press the cancel button four times to unlock. The fan location is also a bit odd on the driver box. The timers are oriented so that it appears the box should lay on its side, but then the fan would be on the bottom and could get no air. I was really tempted to open this one up to check out the unique wiring and Meanwell drivers, but apparently the entire fixture is sealed by a silicon ring which I did not want to disturb. Unfortunately this fixture it’s not yet dimmable or controllable, which I’m a huge fan of, but I hear that may be in the works soon.

Performance is where the Orphek PR156 really starts to shine. In the LED world, I see two types of fixtures. There are those with a tight array which mimics halide lighting very well, and there are those with LEDs spread across the entire surface which yields a more clinical T5 look. The PR156 falls in to the second category and easily fills every square inch of my 40 breeder with nice even light. The red diodes in this fixture are tightly packed near the center to give us a direct look at what they would do, but to my amazement, the red light spreads evenly across the whole tank. Like I said before, I am a fan of red diodes. The color rendition they give to red animals is simply amazing and they do it with only four on the fixture. The blue spectrum is still powerful enough to give greens amazing pop, and the whites help to balance out the whole scene. With all of that added together, the light gives a very nice even color that doesn’t appear to be blue heavy for looks or white heavy for growth. This may be a prototype spectrum for Orphek, but I would venture to say that they got it about right. I’m not sure as to the effects of the UV lamps yet, but I’m sure my clams and anemone will color up nicely in the coming weeks.


Unfortunately at the time of this writing, I do not have a quantum meter on hand, but an anemone you are comfortable with can be just as good an indication of PAR output. My rose bubble did not at first come out as much or as far under this light as it did under an AI SOL white which should be expected due to the increased wattage. My clams didn’t seem to react any differently which would indicate that it’s not pounding down numbers as huge as I had predicted.

To sum up I have to say, Orphek missed a few details on their flagship unit, but they nailed the important parts. The timer may be annoying, but color rendition is spot on. These fixtures may be expensive, but for the discerning eye, I would say they are worth it.















I feel that due to Orphek’s stressed interactions with the public lately, this review should also reflect on the company itself. They seem to be a still fairly new company with some great products but extreme problems with public presence. I hope that they can move past the public relations problems and more hobbyists can get a closer look at their products.

I’m sure more details will unfold about this light as I give my animals some more time under it, so check back for future updates as well as some PAR testing.

*Update 11-17-2011*

I have just a small update to correct something in the original review. I complained about the lack of instructions for the timers and the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to unlock them, but after later opening the hanging hardware, which I didn’t use, I realized that the instructions were packed in there. This may not be the best place for them, but I felt that a correction was needed.

The light is still one of my favorites, and it does seem that my clams have begun to color up a touch under the UV diodes. More updates to come.

CaptiveReefs Nano Contests

CaptiveReefs Nano Contests

WIN The New Orphek DIF 50 XP , Orpehk DIF 50 20K and New PR 25 XP

2012 Nano Contest

Contest Dates
Here is the schedule:
Stocking Period: January 9 to February 26, 2012
Last Day to add Livestock: April 30, 2012
Last Day of Contest: June 4, 2012
Judging Complete: June 25, 2012

To enter in the contest, start a build thread in the Nano Contest forum. Be sure to select 2012 Nano Contest from the Subtopic menu.

Judging

Overall Best Nano - The prize will be awarded to the overall best nano and will be voted on by CR general membership. To qualify you must update your contest thread at minimum as specified below. Better documentation will likely impact your chances of winning. 

This year's contest is being sponsored by Orphek. Orphek, is going to donate their new (yet to be released) DIF50 LED pendant. Note the photo below is of the current model... the exact details of this new pendant are not released yet. The winner is going to be the first person to have this amazing product! 

System Requirements

Tank: Display tank with a water volume of 30 gallons or less may be used

Sump: Total water volume may not be more than 30 gallons (e.g., 30 gallon display may not have an additional sump, a 10 gallon tank could have a 20 gallon sump).

Equipment: You may use any equipment (pumps, powerheads, skimmers, reactors, etc.) that you want.

Additives: Any additive is also allowed.

Livestock Requirements

Spending Limit: The spending limit on corals is $400. Corals purchased fromCR sponsors count half toward the spending limit. For example if you spend $100 from non-sponsors, you can spend another $600 from sponsors and will have spent the $400 limit. You must post a receipt with a picture of the stock to allow for others to see what you have spent. Receipts will be necessary to prove source of purchase for corals that are purchased from sponsors. If you are also participating in the grow out contest, you can put those in your nano and it will count $40 against your spending limit.

On hand Livestock: You may stock your nano with livestock you already own from another system. You need to clearly identify which pieces you are adding and document the size. You will also need to post a market price for the piece which will count against the $400 spending cap. Live stock obtained "free" from other sources also is subject to this requirement. A generic price guide is presented below to help determine value of livestock.

Temporarily Exceeding Spending Limit:You may temporarily exceed your limit if for some reason you need to move stock from another system to your nano or use it for a quarantine tank. This will not automatically disqualify you from the contest. However, by April 30 (one month before the end of the contest) you must show that you haven't spent more than the contest limit based on the purchase price or determined value when the coral was added to the tank. In other words if you spent $20 on a colony of zoas and it doubles in size by April 30, this colony will still count as $20 toward your limit.

Trades: You may trade any corals in your tank with other CR members. All trades will be public knowledge, this means that after the trade you must make a post stating who you traded with, what came out of your nano and what you got in return. Trades from your nano tank won't count toward the contest spending cap.

Fish and Inverts: You may add any other non-coral livestock you wish to your tank. These additions must be documented on your build thread. The last date any livestock may be added is April 30, 2012. In general, Fish and other livestock do not count toward the coral spending limit. However, anemones and clams (and other sessile invertebrates..e.g., sea apples, filter feeding cucumbers, etc.) count toward the spending limit as they are more coral-like than fish-like....crabs, shrimp, snails, and starfish would not count toward the coral budget.

Macro Algae: If your macro algae is in your sump or fuge, then it is part of the filtration system and not counted toward the livestock spending limit. If macro algae is in your display, it is considered part of the aesthetics of the display and is counted toward the spending limit.

Lost Livestock: Should any stock die, this should also be noted in the build thread. Excessive deaths would likely impact winning the Overall Best Nano Category. As the goal here is to build a healthy sustainable nano tank. Deaths cannot be deducted from the spending limit.

Additional Contest Rules

• You may start your construction and cycle at any time. You may not stock the tank with corals until January 9, 2012. To insure this on January 9, 2012 at 12AM EST, an announcement will be made about an item that must be placed in the tank and photographed showing the tank is not yet stocked. This picture must be the first photo in each members contest thread. It will be a common item e.g., canned food, a key word written on paper and placed in the bottom of the tank, each member giving a thumbs up next to the tank, etc.

• You may also start with cured rock if desired.

• Tank stocking may begin on January 9, 2012.

• You are welcome to start on the contest up to Febraury 27, 2012.

• Each participant will need to start their own build thread in thecontest forum. At a minimum each participant is REQUIRED to update their contest thread at least 2 times a month WITH pictures, updates can be whenever the member would like. The update must be made at least 7 days apart. Participants are encouraged to post updates more often if they would like.

• No additional livestock can be added within 30 days of the contest end, April 30, 2012.

The following is a list of prices to help determine value of on hand corals or free corals obtained from other reefers.

Zoa/Palys-
No names- $1 PP
not really colorful at all
Common- $2 PP
EE, Whammin' watermelons, red skirts, dragon eyes, pink panthers etc.
Nice- $5 PP
Nukes, PD's, Tubbs blues, Bam Bam's,AOG's, RPE etc.
Rare- $20 PP or more depends on what one
Magicians, PPE, Hornets, Captain America
LPS-
Fungias- any color $45 to 60
Brains frags 1 1/2 inch- $25
Frogspawn/Hammer/Torch/duncans- $10 per head being nice on this one well sell the them for $20 per head and the duncans $15 per head
Trumpets any color- $10 per head
Blastos- $10 to 50 per head depends on color
Micromussa per polyp -$30
Favias frags 1 1/2 inch -$25
Gonipora 5" -$50 <- Poor Survival rate
Dendros- $25 per head
Sun Coral frag-$10 to $25 depends on size
Acans-
--Common -$5 per head
--Nice -$10 per head
--Rare -$20 per head some may cost more.
Chalice-
--Common -$10 per SQ inch
--Nice -$10 per eye
--Rare -$50 to $400 per eye
Leathers/softies-
Mushrooms - $10 per polyp some may cost more
Ricordea $20 per polyp and up depends on color
Yumas- $30 and up per polyp depends on color
GSP- 10$ per 1 inch square
Kenya trees- 10$ per Sm frag
Xenia-
--Pom Pom -$10 per stalk
--Blue xenia - $10 per stalk
--Anthelia frag 1 1/2 inchs - $10
Other leathers frags brown $10 green leathers $25 and up depends on size and where it comes from
green Clove polyps - $10 per polyp, Reg cloves $10 per inch
SPS-
Any Morph- branching, encrusting, caps etc.Some may cost more!!
1/2" -1" -$10
1"-2" -$20
2" - 3" - $40
3" - 5" $60
Other inverts-
Feather dusters- $10 to $30 depends what kind of duster
Gorgonians, sea fans, sea whips, sea rods-Sm frags $10,and up to a $100 depends on size
Sponges-$20 and up depends on size

Nems- - $30 and up depends on what kind and size
Macros-
Any Macro - $2 a sandwich bag
Mangroves- Sm $10 MD $20

Aquatic Exhibits International Dual 3,500gal

Aquatic Exhibits International Dual 3,500gal

"Ying and Yang" shaped tanks at a Children's Hospital in upstate NY.

Orphek DONATED all of the DIF-30 units we used to light them!

The pic makes them look darker but they actually light the tanks well and they aren't even mounted at the right height yet in the pic. Those are 6' deep tanks by the way.

Thanks again Orphek you guys are the best!

Aquatic Exhibits International Dual 3,500gal

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=300952443290253&set=o.170548713004448&type=1&theater

Aquatic Exhibits International

300 gal super efficient reef at Fauna NYC is ready for the sand and water!