You're probably right better to get the right thing once than the wrong thing multiple times. I do kinda feel like the xr30 g4 is overkill for this size of tank for Lps and softies. I'd probably have to run it at below 30% considering the tank is only 13" deep. You have an xr30 on a nano that size?
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They start ramping up at 9:00 AM, reach peak intensity (75%) at 12:00 PM, start ramping down at 8:00 PM and turn off at 10:00PM.
I have been watching the ethereal's for a while. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me info on the light over that tank. I was worried it would be too large or the LED pattern would not be right for the style of tank. Good to hear that it is a good option for me should I decide to go with it. I have a question for you though. You say the icv6 controller adds a cord etc, I'm trying to keep this as low tech as possible. It will sound crazy but I cant much surpass 3 outlets... Currently I have a heater the return pump and a crappy little LED stick to view the tank with for now. Do you need the icv6 to have power and the ethereal? Also if so could the icv6 be say 15 feet away in my other tanks cabinet? Its for wireless control of 200 ethereals... Could I use the advanced controller that I already have for my gyre? It looks the same and if I can save money... What is your max intensity for your channels? I was fearful even at its lowest it would be overkill at the 5-6 inches from the water surface it needs to be mounted. Do you have a glass lid or acrylic lid to prevent as much evaporation or do you have an ato? I'd like to avoid an ato if at all possible. This is on a kitchen counter top and there really isn't much room for the equipment let alone a reservoir. I've noticed here in Colorado (very dry) it takes about 1 day to go from as full as you'd want to fill it without bypassing the socks to nearly running the pump dry. Thanks again. Great to have so much help from you guys and the reasons you cited are the reasons that the ethereal seemed like it would be a match for my tank.I used the SB reef Lights Pro 16" for a while and it grew coral pretty well, sadly though its pretty ugly and takes up a lot of space.
I went to the Maxspect Ethereal for a couple of personal, yet well-thought-out reasons:
Other cool things about the Ethereal:
- Ramping and scheduling features were a must for me. The timer from the SB light turned everything on at full blast, which I could imagine was somewhat traumatic for my fish and corals. Even if you staggered the channels, which I did, the sudden turning on or off of an entire spectrum was still very noticeable.
- The light needed to mount to the rear of the tank. Now there are many different lights that do this, but the Ethereal's mounting hardware is included in the box (as opposed to having to buy the mount like with ecotech, AI, and kessil lights). The SB light had side mounting legs that were very awkward and got in the way during maintenance.
- The light needed to grow SPS. My Acros and Monti's love it so far with no weird color shifts (although my PC Rainbows turned back to their famous red color after turning green under the SB light).
- The light needed to be controllable via wireless connection. The Ethereal uses the ICV6 controller from Maxspect, which I will admit was a pain in the butt for me to get connected to the light. But now that it works, it works pretty well. I still wish that the light had a built-in controller like the AI's do because the extra hardware means more space and plugs on my power strip are used, but if the controller does die, the Maxspect will keep it's current programming until another ICV6 controller is connected and changes the programming.
- Really personal reason: the light needed to look cool. The Ethereal looks like some sort of spaceship and it is very thin vertically. It has curves and textures on the top heat diffuser that make it look worthy of its price in my opinion in addition to a really neat fan in the center that only turns on if the light gets above a certain temperature. The AI Hydra 26, which was my second choice if the Ethereal didn't pan out, looks like a thin brick to me and so do the ecotechs. The ecotechs also look like a plastic box to me (I know they are built well so please don't get on to me too much
I think it is one of the more underappreciated lights out there and I also think it is a great fixture for a tank like the IM 20, as well as any cube style aquarium bigger than say 20 gallons or so. I believe you already have seen it in one of my threads, but for everyone else here is a picture of it on the tank:
- It has built in programming assistant software that will help you create your own light scheduling based off of color temperature. You tell it what color temperature you would like and from what times during the day, and it will go ahead and adjust the spectrum and ramping schedule for you.
- You can change the color of the fan/moon light to anything you want and schedule it's on/off cycle too. There's a RGB diode in the same spot as the fan and it makes just enough light to pose as a moonlight but not enough to make your corals confused.
- The thing is a conversation starter for sure.
Hopefully I dont run into water quality issues. I plan to do 20% or so water changes every other week when I do changes from my 175 the 4 gallons will feel like nothing on the nuvo. I wont be running a skimmer however or at least theres no plan for a skimmer yet. Will see if trates or phates force me into that purchase down the road.
Thanks for the kind comments, I've put a lot of work in to my tank, yours will get there too!
