Poll: How high above the water line is your LED only fixture?

[Pntbll687]

Mine are probably 3in from the water.

I use older marineland reef lights, and they sit on the glass top I use. They grow lps great, sps ok if the coral is in the top 1/3 of the tank. I'm more of a softy and lps guy so they work great for me.

 

[anemonesaur]

I have my AI hydra26s about 6" above the water, but theres about another 4 inches to the tip of my highest acro.

 

[redfishbluefish]

13 inches here with three SBReef fixtures on a five foot tank.....mounted in a canopy.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I have a perfecto 125, water depth is 21" (excluding the 2inches of sand bed)

I am in the midst of building a DIY canopy fixture to house my Hydra26HD's... right now I'm at 12" with the HMS mounts.

I am getting a PAR reading done once I am ready to mount the canopy over the tank to determine a good PAR map footprint in the tank before I finalize the height I am going to put them.

But I would think that the height you put the lights at should be somewhat-based on the depth of your water and the angle of projection down to the tank so you maximize the coverage?

Interested to see what height others with 26hds set theirs at.

 

[anemonesaur]

Im in the process of doing a new build 100 gal around 48 in w. What do you recommend the number of hydra26s to use and spacing to get good spread and strong light? I already have 1 hydra26 and would like to just get one or two more instead of getting new 52's.

 

[XLOR8T]

It’s interesting to see how 14+ is the least selected choice.

Behind the scenes, this seems to be the height that many of the pros are going to with their systems. Just goes to highlight the differences between the needs of an install for a tank in an average living environment and something implemented for ideal results. I know there is a solution that blends these two needs, just wish someone would bring it to market.

Ryan, would you still go that high of a mount if you had a hybrid t5/LED? Or are you strictly talking about LEDs?

 

[AdamNC]

Maxspect R5X R5-150 on stock 6” legs plus another 2” to the water surface.

 

[Ryanbrs]

Ryan, would you still go that high of a mount if you had a hybrid t5/LED? Or are you strictly talking about LEDs?

All depends on the goals for the tank but it would be a lot better distribution. It is just hard to get around the fact that most of the LED designs are small pinpoints of light or compact pucks. They are going to have hot spots right under them and it is hard to disperse light even when a light like this is 6-9 inches over the tank. Adding the T5s in makes it much easier to blend and create a blanket of light rather than spotlight.

End of the day very few people are going to mount a light that high in a home environment because it would be blinding. It is too bad that the Philips light never came to the US. I am certain that someday someone will provide a highly diffused even light source with a properly blended spectrum. Until then we just do the best we can

 

[sghera64]

I have my SB Reef Lights 10” above the water over a mixed reef. Most SPS’s near top of rocks and a giant blue clam on the sand.

Max power my SB’s put out is from 12:00-17:00 is 60%. I also have 1 T5’s mounted to each side of the LED boxes

 

[Shigshwa]

Mine are a little under a foot above the water. Cranked on max, I get 150-250 PAR on the sand, and 700 at the water line. I'd pull it up higher, but there would be too much light spill. SPS and clams don't complain about the PAR though.

 

[Mical]

My Kessil 360w(s) are 8" above water level - tank is 24" deep, LPS lower, SPS towards top

 

[dallast]

Due to my tank being built into the front desk, my lights sit less than 3 inches above the water. I purchased a SBReeflights Ultra for this. Great light!!!

 

[Roush427R]

GHL Mitras about 10" above water.

 

[srad750c]

8” for my Kessils

 

[Dburr1014]

7" on my reef breeders photons. I took all the lenses out so I don't get the disco effect. I also have I acrylic lid.

 

[ca1ore]

Depends on the light ..... and on the height and width of the tank. I hate light spill into the room, and I'm not particularly keen on illuminating the front of my tank. With my radions, I have them about 12" above the water; Kessil spots much closer at 5". But, although my tank is 36" front to back, I have the lights positioned as if it were only 24. That way I can get the lights up a bit higher but not get much spill.

 

[hwntunda]

My Reefbreeders photon v2 10”above the water line.

 

[Rich1987]

I took off current USA,s from my reefer 750. They were fantastic but I wanted them off so I could upgrade so I sold them and just got 4 hydra 26 HD’s. And I have them on acclimation at 11 inches above my reefer 750. No SPS all softies Zola’s Palys and LPS. So far I love the lights only one week 2 of having them though so who knows how it will end up going

 

[Timfish1]

5 1/2 ' ;Happy

And here's some PAR levels:

 

[saltyhog]

Three Hydra 52HD's that are 10.25" above the water line.