Lighting advice.

[SeaJay]

My thread about setting up a nano reef tank turned into a “upgrade your lights and turn your current tank into a reef” thread. So I’m posting this here to continue what turned into a discussion about lights.

Here is my original thread.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/help-me-get-started-reefing.586261/page-2#post-5973156

I’ve decided to pull the trigger on the t5 hybrid fixture and use my current LEDs for the time being.

It’s been my understanding that these leds I have basically need to be as close to the water surface as possible, so they currently sit directly on the glass canopies. Now I will want to raise my existing canopy to house the new light. My ceiling is 25 feet, so hanging them isn’t really an option. I’m going to have to fabricate a pretty hefty wall mounting system to support the heavy oak canopy that will house the lighting. Needless to say, I only want to do this once.

My main question is, high above the surface should this hybrid setup be?

Thanks!

 

[Spitty]

Mine are 12” above the water. I have spent the morning testing par with the apogee 510. Par at the surface is 450, 200 in the middle and 100 at the bottom. That’s with gen 4 radion pros running coral ab at 100% intensity. This is a 29” deep tank. Needless to say I discovered I need 2 more x15s.......

 

[W1ngz]

Check out this BRS TV episode.

 

[SeaJay]

I was about to pull the trigger on the aquatic life hybrid when I saw the info about the upcoming release of their DX18. I think I may wait for that.

 

[W1ngz]

I was about to pull the trigger on the aquatic life hybrid when I saw the info about the upcoming release of their DX18. I think I may wait for that.

Same, waiting to see price. Honestly I'm more excited about the single power cord than the dimming... lol

 

[SeaJay]

Same, waiting to see price. Honestly I'm more excited about the single power cord than the dimming... lol

Yeah, it seems weird that a company would hear the same complaint over and over again for so long and not do anything about it.


I emailed them an inquiry. We’ll see if I get a response.

 

[W1ngz]

Yeah, it seems weird that a company would hear the same complaint over and over again for so long and not do anything about it.

I think this is them doing something about it. Let us know what they say!

 

[SeaJay]

I think this is them doing something about it. Let us know what they say!

“Thanks for checking, the new DX18 will be arriving in the next 30 days. Many of the online retailers have already placed their orders so as soon as they are ready they will be shipping out to customers.

Regards,

Dave”

 

[SeaJay]

Also said we are looking at roughly double the price.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Just to confirm you are intending to keep those current LED bars and use them in conjunction with a T5 kit? Personally I wouldn't bother with the aquaticlife fixture for that kind of situation. Those are better used when you have a big powerful LED unit that you want in the center with the T5s on the edges of it. If the T5 is going to be the most powerful unit above the tank I'd just buy a normal 4 or 6 bulb T5 fixture and DIY some brackets to mount those lightbars to the side of it and angle them in. I did something to that effect using Reefbrite strips and a 4x24w T5 unit.

However if you are going to potentially upgrade the LEDs down the line to something big and fancy then you should stick with the aquaticlife fixture for now so you don't end up buying a T5 unit twice.

 

[SeaJay]

Just to confirm you are intending to keep those current LED bars and use them in conjunction with a T5 kit? Personally I wouldn't bother with the aquaticlife fixture for that kind of situation. Those are better used when you have a big powerful LED unit that you want in the center with the T5s on the edges of it. If the T5 is going to be the most powerful unit above the tank I'd just buy a normal 4 or 6 bulb T5 fixture and DIY some brackets to mount those lightbars to the side of it and angle them in. I did something to that effect using Reefbrite strips and a 4x24w T5 unit.

However if you are going to potentially upgrade the LEDs down the line to something big and fancy then you should stick with the aquaticlife fixture for now so you don't end up buying a T5 unit twice.

I see your point and it is something to consider. That may be most practical, but I’m afraid I will want to upgrade the leds down the road and would like to keep that option open. That’s not the plan now, but I know how I am and my commitment to a hobby tends to evolve as I learn.

 

[SeaJay]

So the new aquatic life dimmable t5 fixtures are available for preorder. They don’t come in a 61” length like the old ones, which is what I was going to use. They’re available in 24”, 36” and 48”. Should I do two 36” over my 72” tank? Would two 24” be ok?

 

[rjgspr]

Does anyone know what specific controllers besides Apex, if any, allow for taking advantage of the two separate channels built into the new DX18? I checked the Kessil Spectral Controller X and it doesn't - it addresses everything connected via the 0-10v port as one single channel. Not sure if the original Spectral Controller is able to do so. I have a Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite controller and don't really need to or want to move to Apex. I know they used to have the ALC module with 0-10v control capability but hard to find one of those now that the company dissapeared, and I'm not sure if it is limited in that sense too anyway.

 

[rjgspr]

BTW, not sure if this was the right thread to post this dimming controller question at, but sorry if not, and happy to post it elsewhere if there is a more relevant one! Thanks in advance.