Onedesign1: (or anyone else with some good insight!)
Background:
First, due to lack of time and budget, the main differences in my goal from most of the DIY threads here are that I intend (somewhat as in the Sfiligoi Genesis LED or Sirius) to wire up GU10 sockets in a hood/pendant rather than stars and heatsinks. Also, I plan to get the (e.g. blue) GU10 bulbs from China via eBay vs using high power/high-dollar Crees (which only seem to be offered in white anyway).
Saving time and money both up front as well as in the longer term are the main design objectives (after growth and beauty of the corals of course). There's a pretty good thread over at nano-reef about the GU10 bulbs and related successful tanks, but of course (almost) nobody there has a tank near the size I have, or plan to have.
Customization - to an extent at least - seems not to be a problem for the eBay seller I'm considering, so I'm thinking of getting bulbs made for the main lighting with two cool white (CW), two blue (BL) LED's (4x1w) or one CW, two BL (3x1w), as well as a mix of a few other bulbs that are all blue, all NW, all CW, all green and all red - all 1x3w or 3x1w. I may also try to get a few different sets of optics (30, 60,90, 120 maybe?) at the time of purchase - haven't investigated this possibility yet.
Obviously, I plan on some experimentation with bulb combos to dial in the right color (to hopefully match my Radiums), so I plan to wire in as many receptacles as seems practical in whatever hood I make.
My main question concerns thoughts on use of optics. I read that Onedesign1 (who has one of my favorite tank sizes - 120g) recently "upgraded" to 90deg optics (IIRC) from no optics. I'm guessing from here (assuming lights are about 8" from the water surface) that Onedesign1 is getting about a 16" spread (down from 28") on each lamp after the upgrade. Wondering if optics went on everything and/or if there was strategic placement of the lenses at particular locations or on particular colors?
My guess is that the 2:1 bulbs I sepc'd above will be the staple and I'll probably lens them to 60deg or 90deg - maybe tighter if I decide to suspend the new hood higher up - then the solid color bulbs (CW, NW, Red, Green) with no optics or 120deg will be fewer in number and more spread out.
Also, anyone have thoughts on using RGB GU10's instead of discreet colors or even instead of the mixed 2:1 bulbs? Although the flexibility would be awesome, I feel disinclined due to lack of intensity after color adjustment, but have never seen one in action. (I remember the PFO Solaris well - yeah, it could look 20K.....but could only keep fish alive.) maybe if I had upwards of 40 of these per 24"x24" of tank surface agea it would still be sufficient at 20K? ( up to a 7 x 7 bulb grid should fit)
Finally, getting these bulbs with dimming circuits built in doesn't cost much more and it's easy to wire separate channels - what colors/bulbs do you think you'd have as dimmable on this kind of rig? Do you think it'd be worthwhile to get them all dimmable, or is the number of sockets/ease of changing a bulb probably enough adjustability? (I'll probably have at least the red's and/or NW's dimmable for sunrise/sunset.)
Thanks in advance - let me know if I left anything pertinent out!
-Matt
Background:
I'm currently growing SPS in an 18" deep, 50 breeder.
Light is currently by two 150w Radiums on M81 ballasts (so they're really ~175w, measured with a KillAWatt) in a Coralife Aqualight Advanced fixture.
I plan to upgrade in the Spring (funds willing) to a larger system - 24" to 30" deep, undecided at present - so keeping this in mind as well.
Light is currently by two 150w Radiums on M81 ballasts (so they're really ~175w, measured with a KillAWatt) in a Coralife Aqualight Advanced fixture.
I plan to upgrade in the Spring (funds willing) to a larger system - 24" to 30" deep, undecided at present - so keeping this in mind as well.
First, due to lack of time and budget, the main differences in my goal from most of the DIY threads here are that I intend (somewhat as in the Sfiligoi Genesis LED or Sirius) to wire up GU10 sockets in a hood/pendant rather than stars and heatsinks. Also, I plan to get the (e.g. blue) GU10 bulbs from China via eBay vs using high power/high-dollar Crees (which only seem to be offered in white anyway).
Saving time and money both up front as well as in the longer term are the main design objectives (after growth and beauty of the corals of course). There's a pretty good thread over at nano-reef about the GU10 bulbs and related successful tanks, but of course (almost) nobody there has a tank near the size I have, or plan to have.
Customization - to an extent at least - seems not to be a problem for the eBay seller I'm considering, so I'm thinking of getting bulbs made for the main lighting with two cool white (CW), two blue (BL) LED's (4x1w) or one CW, two BL (3x1w), as well as a mix of a few other bulbs that are all blue, all NW, all CW, all green and all red - all 1x3w or 3x1w. I may also try to get a few different sets of optics (30, 60,90, 120 maybe?) at the time of purchase - haven't investigated this possibility yet.
Obviously, I plan on some experimentation with bulb combos to dial in the right color (to hopefully match my Radiums), so I plan to wire in as many receptacles as seems practical in whatever hood I make.
My main question concerns thoughts on use of optics. I read that Onedesign1 (who has one of my favorite tank sizes - 120g) recently "upgraded" to 90deg optics (IIRC) from no optics. I'm guessing from here (assuming lights are about 8" from the water surface) that Onedesign1 is getting about a 16" spread (down from 28") on each lamp after the upgrade. Wondering if optics went on everything and/or if there was strategic placement of the lenses at particular locations or on particular colors?
My guess is that the 2:1 bulbs I sepc'd above will be the staple and I'll probably lens them to 60deg or 90deg - maybe tighter if I decide to suspend the new hood higher up - then the solid color bulbs (CW, NW, Red, Green) with no optics or 120deg will be fewer in number and more spread out.
Also, anyone have thoughts on using RGB GU10's instead of discreet colors or even instead of the mixed 2:1 bulbs? Although the flexibility would be awesome, I feel disinclined due to lack of intensity after color adjustment, but have never seen one in action. (I remember the PFO Solaris well - yeah, it could look 20K.....but could only keep fish alive.) maybe if I had upwards of 40 of these per 24"x24" of tank surface agea it would still be sufficient at 20K? ( up to a 7 x 7 bulb grid should fit)
Finally, getting these bulbs with dimming circuits built in doesn't cost much more and it's easy to wire separate channels - what colors/bulbs do you think you'd have as dimmable on this kind of rig? Do you think it'd be worthwhile to get them all dimmable, or is the number of sockets/ease of changing a bulb probably enough adjustability? (I'll probably have at least the red's and/or NW's dimmable for sunrise/sunset.)
Thanks in advance - let me know if I left anything pertinent out!
-Matt