Close-to-water lighting solution - Help!

[NigelRichardson]

First post in the community [And brand new reefer] - Please be kind!

I have what I think is a unique challenge / question I have never seen posted....

I have a new 122cm (Odd width I know) x 50 depth x 50 height tank coming this week..... which is being slotted into a space under a wall mounted cabinet

I have a maximum of around 18-20 cm / 7-8 inches "Head height" from water surface to the underside of cabinet - Meaning that's the maximum height I can get lights away from the water

Does anyone have any suggestions for super-wide-beam lights that can be mounted close to water surface? (Every BRS Light review I see says lights need to be 10-12 inches off the water - which I just cant do)

I've looked at a couple of options - 3 x AI Primes / 2 x Hydra 32s / 2 x XR15s, but don't know if I'm thinking about this all wrong, or if I've just planned poorly and am putting a tank somewhere thats just not going to work... I can find lots of information about what to do when you have lots of head height to play with, but nothing when you have the opposite situation...

[Planning on starting simple with Softies / LPS, but at the same time I don't want to "outgrow" lights if / when I go to a mixed tank]

Any ideas more than appreciated!

 

[Peace River]

I'm sure others will jump in soon with lighting suggestions, but I want to say welcome to Reef2Reef! We're glad you're here!

#WelcometoR2R

 

[Poochaku]

The new ecotech G5 recommended mounting height is 8". Reefbrite strips also mount very close to the top of the tank.

 

[Jvesche20]

Ive seen many videos on the brs doing t5 lights at different heights. one is specific is the aquatic life t5 hybrid. I was watching their videos because I have the t5 and kessil setup. If im not wrong they have it mounted ontop of the tank. like 1 inch off. they just did it to compare par. if it says recommended this is because the light will hit all spots and be effective. now if you put them closer it will just be more intense right under and not get the further corners as much. so if anything just add more lights if your worried about it.

 

[CookieRdReef]

I watched I believe the most recent BRS video on lighting and they mention how low reefbrite strips can be mounted.

 

[oreo54]

Just remove the lenses off black box LED's Diodes themselves are lensed at 120 degrees

Catch:
May need to DIY some sort of shield if used over anything but a glass covered tank.
There is a cheap brand that still uses 90 degree lenses (reflectors actually) but much bigger panels..

The size of the aquarium light led is 22 x 12”. Ideal for 32x18”coverage.

Consider this a reference NOT a recommendation..and no they are NOT 300watts each..
and consider them more disposable lights after, hopefully, a few years use.
You'd need 2.


See it's really not the lensing but the surface area so to speak..though w/ multi-colored LED's there are other problems.
You can put any lights lower but their spread pattern gets tighter meaning you need more to cover the same surface area.

Which leads to another point.. depends how much you want balanced light top to bottom left to right

Reference 120 degree lens spreads a cone out at about 10" at 3" off the tank top..

122cm is almost exactly 48"
Say 20" wide and deep..

Hopefully someone has a tested solution for you..

at 7-8" max height your going to need some thin lights..not to mention some breathing room on top if you want them to last.

Next up:

3" height 3" off the water line 1" air space (or "something")
Hmm.. not sure about the height of the dimming knob.
Think you can find programmable version w/ out it.
Remove all the lenses.

Really things like AI Primes can also have their lenses removed..possibly replaced by plate or even diffuser glass.
Height is 1.34"..
first 30 seconds


Edge diodes may have a bit of a hard time escaping nothing a Dremel tool won't solve.. just kidding about cutting the top cover of your $200 light..but it's creative..

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi and welcome @NigelRichardson

So I had to break out my own article to do the math from cm to inches.

I want to mention I am not actually worried so much about the actual height as I am the enclosed space and humidity that can effect both the light longevity and surrounding environment due to humidity in the area. There are lots of options for a full coverage of light.

T5 is the best bet. I would recommend a lamp that comes with a shield, unless your tank has a lid. If your tank has lid any T5 would be good. The reason I mention that is you will end up cleaning reflectors from salt spray if the t5 is too close. You can also get some AI HD or primes and get some different angles lenses or radions with diffusers.

Lots of options. Send us some pics and that may help

 

[X-37B]

I run 8 T5's 3.5" off the water on my 120. Just measured it as I thought it was at 4".
I have t slot siliconed onto the rim. The ati unit sits on sliders so you can slide it out of the way.
Total height of the unit is 4" above the rim.
If your tank has a rim you are good to go.
If no rim and you want to go led look at orphek light bars.

 

[Pistondog]

Could start with 1 ai prime and purchase as required.
Put 1st corals under 1st light.
Welcome Nigel, hows the winter down there?
Do you get a nice selection of corals off the gbr?

 

[Homebrewer]

AquaRay Lighting Thread

Starting this thread for AquaRay users to discuss this brand of lights and show off some pics... and for anyone else to chime in with questions or discussion points. I’ll kick it off... I run 2 x AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g Oceanic. I’ve had these lights for over 4 years...

www.reef2reef.com

Not the most popular option but no moving parts, extremely water resistant, and a 5 year warranty. I love ‘em.

 

[CookieRdReef]

Lol it's crazy how helpful people are here. If the world was populated by reefers all would be good.

 

[NigelRichardson]

Lol it's crazy how helpful people are here. If the world was populated by reefers all would be good.

My thoughts entirely - I've been really struggling with this for several weeks. 1 post on here and I have a whole load of fantastic ideas within the hour - great group of people on here...

 

[NigelRichardson]

Could start with 1 ai prime and purchase as required.
Put 1st corals under 1st light.
Welcome Nigel, hows the winter down there?
Do you get a nice selection of corals off the gbr?

Second hand and see-what-happens may be the way to go - something I had not thought of before.

Thanks for the welcome - Glad I found this site - amazing to see so many helpful responses so quickly.

Winter in Australia - It depends a lot where you are in the country - hot in the North and surprisingly cold where I am in Melbourne (South East) - No one would expect temperates down to about 4 degrees Celsius overnight and about 1 metro snow at ski resorts about 3 hours drive out of the city !

Available coral selection here appears to be amazing - I'm a newbie just getting into this fascinating hobby but from what I've seen so far there's some amazing things around. I have been diving on the GBR for real, so want a piece of it in my house - Yes - I know I'm very very lucky to live here...

 

[NigelRichardson]

I'm sure others will jump in soon with lighting suggestions, but I want to say welcome to Reef2Reef! We're glad you're here!

#WelcometoR2R

Thanks for the welcome - very glad I found this site - so much useful information - looking forward to using this site a lot (and hopefully contributing to support the group that supports me!)

 

[NigelRichardson]

Hi and welcome @NigelRichardson

So I had to break out my own article to do the math from cm to inches.

I want to mention I am not actually worried so much about the actual height as I am the enclosed space and humidity that can effect both the light longevity and surrounding environment due to humidity in the area. There are lots of options for a full coverage of light.

T5 is the best bet. I would recommend a lamp that comes with a shield, unless your tank has a lid. If your tank has lid any T5 would be good. The reason I mention that is you will end up cleaning reflectors from salt spray if the t5 is too close. You can also get some AI HD or primes and get some different angles lenses or radions with diffusers.

Lots of options. Send us some pics and that may help

Great input - thank you.

I was exclusively looking at LEDs - Newest tech / Focus of most of the reviews / definitely what most of the shops are pushing at this time - so hadn't looked into or considered T5s

They look like they might be the way to go for me though - thanks for the suggestion !

 

[NigelRichardson]

I run 8 T5's 3.5" off the water on my 120. Just measured it as I thought it was at 4".
I have t slot siliconed onto the rim. The ati unit sits on sliders so you can slide it out of the way.
Total height of the unit is 4" above the rim.
If your tank has a rim you are good to go.
If no rim and you want to go led look at orphek light bars.

Wow - I think you may have just solved my problem for me - thank you so much.

I absolutely love the solution you've come up with - let me know how much I owe you to copy it !

Combination of T5 setup and the mounting solution you have looks like it might fit the top bracing of my tank, and tank location perfectly.

I have just found an ATI setup that is dimmable (I had no idea that these units could ever be dimmed) - additional bonus.

 

[NigelRichardson]

AquaRay Lighting Thread

Starting this thread for AquaRay users to discuss this brand of lights and show off some pics... and for anyone else to chime in with questions or discussion points. I’ll kick it off... I run 2 x AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g Oceanic. I’ve had these lights for over 4 years...

www.reef2reef.com

Not the most popular option but no moving parts, extremely water resistant, and a 5 year warranty. I love ‘em.

Thanks - definitely something I'll look at.

As someone who's new to this I've already started to wonder if the "Premium" brands which come with premium prices are the only way to go - many thanks for your input.

 

[NigelRichardson]

I watched I believe the most recent BRS video on lighting and they mention how low reefbrite strips can be mounted.

Thank you for your input. Definitely looking at the Reef Brite strips - Very compact and good looking form is certainly interesting.

 

[X-37B]

Wow - I think you may have just solved my problem for me - thank you so much.

I absolutely love the solution you've come up with - let me know how much I owe you to copy it !

Combination of T5 setup and the mounting solution you have looks like it might fit the top bracing of my tank, and tank location perfectly.

I have just found an ATI setup that is dimmable (I had no idea that these units could ever be dimmed) - additional bonus.

Glad I could help.
It works well with no light spilling into the room.
You owe me your first born frag, lol.

 

[NigelRichardson]

First born frag - you're on...

If NorCal translates to Northern California - you're definitely on - Love your part of the world !