Milwaukee makes a waterproof for $75.
You can also just put the meter in a ziplock bag.
The Modified Black Box Thread
You can also just put the meter in a ziplock bag.
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
Looking into my SB (and it appears similar to what I have seen on other BBs) this is the dimming circuit.
https://www.dhgate.com/product/dimmers-replacement-for-chinese-black-box/257420958.html
and these are the drivers that were in the SB 32" Basic.
http://www.nldriver.com/product/product239.html
The dimmer circuit is powered by an internal 12V supply, and drops it down to a 0-10V analog output (not PWM).
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
Correction, it does actually put out 0-10V PWM. 0-10V analog does not work on the SB basic.
hey, i have 3 of these over my 125 gallon.
mine came with ugly 460nm blues that were ugly as sin so i first replaced all the blues with 450nm rb leds. next i replaced 6 blues on each box with 420nm uv leds. i really couldnt stand the 3500k whites they looked so horrible and i was getting alot of algae, so next to go were the 3500k and replaced with 20 000k whites. i liked them so much that i replaced all my whites with them except for about 8 of the 10 000k on each box, i also removed the reds as ive read corals can not like red so much, some studies i read even found strong red leds to bleach some corals. i also replaced almost all the lenses with 90 degree clear ones from the 120 beaded ones it came with. very happy with the color and the corals seem to be equaly happy with it now, plus i have almost no aglae left now since doing the white changes. oh i almost for got they came with 2 green leds on each box witch i left alone.
on a side note i havent noticed anyone mention this....make sure to use thermal compound under each led you change!!! my first round of uvs and blues and whites i changed i didnt bother doing this and in a few months the lens of the leds were burned out and even started burning the colimer lenses (the colimer lens is the one we are able to change)
mine came with ugly 460nm blues that were ugly as sin so i first replaced all the blues with 450nm rb leds. next i replaced 6 blues on each box with 420nm uv leds. i really couldnt stand the 3500k whites they looked so horrible and i was getting alot of algae, so next to go were the 3500k and replaced with 20 000k whites. i liked them so much that i replaced all my whites with them except for about 8 of the 10 000k on each box, i also removed the reds as ive read corals can not like red so much, some studies i read even found strong red leds to bleach some corals. i also replaced almost all the lenses with 90 degree clear ones from the 120 beaded ones it came with. very happy with the color and the corals seem to be equaly happy with it now, plus i have almost no aglae left now since doing the white changes. oh i almost for got they came with 2 green leds on each box witch i left alone.
on a side note i havent noticed anyone mention this....make sure to use thermal compound under each led you change!!! my first round of uvs and blues and whites i changed i didnt bother doing this and in a few months the lens of the leds were burned out and even started burning the colimer lenses (the colimer lens is the one we are able to change)
Just. Can't. Go. Though. 164. Technical. Lighting. Posts. ;Dead
Can someone bottom line it for me - I have a Viparspectra 165w with what claim to be 90 degree lenses. I'm getting a little bit of disco. It's probably 10 inches off the water. Can I get away with moving it up higher, just removing lenses, or do I need to replace select lenses, and if so, with what?
Can someone bottom line it for me - I have a Viparspectra 165w with what claim to be 90 degree lenses. I'm getting a little bit of disco. It's probably 10 inches off the water. Can I get away with moving it up higher, just removing lenses, or do I need to replace select lenses, and if so, with what?
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Sorry about the technical stuffs.
How deep is your tank?
Duh, sorry, really should have given specs. It's a standard 180G, 6'x2'x2'. I bought one Viparspar to see what I thought, plan was/is to get two more (one for each 2' cube). Like I said, seeing a little disco.
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No problem. The idea is to get the white channel defused as possible. Keep the blue channel on 90s and the whites with 120s or lensless. If you ho without lenses might have to up the white channel. Really though if the blue channel is at a higher intensity with said alterations, you should see limited disco.
OK, great, am going to raise the light a bit tonight and see what that does, if not I will try removing the white lenses. Might be a "snow day" here in the northeast tomorrow, good day for tinkering. Right now I haven't added any coral, and I'm running something like 40% Blue/20% White.
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Do you have a par meter or access to one?
Don't have one - my buddy might, and I plan on getting more involved in my local club, so that might be an option, too. I see your point from asking the question, though - if I'm going to set this up and plan on using it to grow coral, I really should do it "right" to start.
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There are cheaper routes like using a lux meter but when you start adding and pulling lenses, you get shifts that can increase or decrease. I use a Seneye that I got on sale for $150. Definitely helps.
I pulled all the white lenses, left the blues. I kept the blue channel at 40, and cranked the whites from 20 to 60. Looked ok . . . Until I installed the two non-modified lights on either side for comparison. No matter what I do, Blue is a very prominent on the “middle” (modified) light. Oddly enough, the disco effect I noticed on the light - the reason I started this - seems to have disappeared on the “new” two outer lights. I’m not sure if it’s because the three are just blending together, if the diffused light out of the middle is having an effect, or both.
I think I may just put the lenses back on the middle light and see how I like it for a few months. Dumb question - what kind of glue?
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No disrespect here but how warm do you want your lights? I ask because the ideal spectrum of 14k to 20k is what we want if we are growing coral. Increasing whites over blues percentage wise will create a more disco effect. That disco effect can be seen across all LEDs unless you opt for a diffuser of some sort. And ya, more LEDs can create better blending depending on light spread.
I just use a tiny dab of gel super glue for the lenses. I do this for easy removal later on.
None taken - I don’t know what the heck I’m doing!! Here is what it looks like - middle was modified, outside are “stock.”
It’s not so much cool v. warm, it’s just that it looks dark and shadowed. I will play with it a bit before I unmodify.
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Weird. Did you remove the white LEDs? Almost looks like they arent even on??
Ha! No, just the lenses. Definitely a difference between channels, just blue overpowers the lensless whites on the modified light. That photo you saw was 40/20 Blue to white on unmodified, 40/60 on modified. That said everyone else has done this with success let me see what I can do.
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