Upgrading lighting!

[Chiefmaster30]

Was considering 2 Mars Aqua for my 60 gallon DT but the wife don't like the hanging part of it. Says it looks trashy. Would a 30" basic sbreeflight be enough for a 60 gallon 48" long tank? Or would the 32" pro sbreeflight be enough?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Hey Bud. I thing the two 16" fixtures would be the best, but look at SB's instead of mars. I like my SB.
The 2 16 will give you better coverage. IMO. the 32 would work too im sure. the 30 would be fine.

I agree with the Mrs there, I like my tanks to have "furniture" quality. And its in my(her;)) living room so I dont want to look at the lights, or into when i sit on the couch. I also think it takes away from the tank personally.
Id look into a canopy or at least a floating canopy.
Are you a diyer? Im a terrible carpenter btw.

give me a few for a couple pics

 

[Chiefmaster30]

I get by being a diy'er but not the best.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Ok thanks!

 

[Chiefmaster30]

And btw just order 2 of the Mars Aqua not 5 mins before your post.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Aww. Now your gonna miss the magic. But ya probably saved $75.
K here's a couple pics.
My lil 30 w the SB and a floating fabric canopy. Hardware from ikea and the Mrs vetoed my fabric choice. I was trying to finish that this week too. Ding dang it.

It's basically a shelf braket. This is an ikea curtain holder. Dish towel there for demo

The 55 canopy I cut holes. In the canopy. I used thick plexiglass to support the light. I did mention I'm a terrible carpenter. I didn't notch the holes for the cords well enough. Add that to the to do list. I've been buisy in the guts and dc conversion.

Pretty simple construction. I would should have used a 10 in piece of wood.
To get the lights that close and keep good super wide spread and coverage I pulled several of the lenses.
And really. The over shimmer makes me nuts.
This is the SB configuration.

The ai sol's in the 55 are much more powerful than the 30. Prob Because of the more narrow lens configuration. Neither are at full intensity.
If I had kept the lenses in both tanks and set it at full it would boil the water.

 

[reeferfoxx]

DIY a floating canopy

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Nice! I like it! How do you no which lenses to pull

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Nice! I like it! How do you no which lenses to pull

calculated guess. in the 55 I pulled the back ones as the rock is highest there and the leaving them in the front left good penetration. in the ai they come w 40 and 70 degree so i only used the 70(wider) angle lenses. and all the emitter pucks are the same.
the SB kinda the same lens rock scheme, but I looked at the individual colors a bit more, fortunately the B/w distribution was luck and I just left a line along the middle and center, like what you see in the pic.

were I made of money Id get a used mars and pull em all and read them on the meter to see what happens.

when yours come in the mail. check the spread by testing them dry over a taped off area on the floor. that will tell you how high you need to hang them. If its really high, fro a canopy or floating one(or the mrs) that's when I would pull lenses. A narrow lens is 20 40 60 degree. A wide is 75 80 90 etc No lens on an led is close to 180 degree. The new kessil ap700 uses 160 lenses.(and refletors fwiw)
I used a carpet the same size as my tank in this. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lighting-upgrade-with-a-lux-meter-saltyfilmfolks.248417/
I wanted to hit the whole square. It didnt with that Razor led.(bad choice by me:() I switched to the SB after that.

the razor is made for a long tank. I just wanted one.:oops:

 

[Chiefmaster30]

What intensity should I set my Mars Aqua at? And how far away from my tank when I hang them? Anyone have any ideas/suggestions??

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Im a lux meter guy. I think it is SUPER important with led. those Mars are super powerfull.
read this thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-high-are-your-leds-off-the-water.264612/page-2#post-3172375
I think you should start at 15,000 lux and go up 1500 lux per week and try to hit 20,000 lux.

you have to play w the lights to guage the height.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

So.. I probably should buy me a lux meter

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So.. I probably should buy me a lux meter

yea read that thread. itll hep you out on all those questions. the meter is $14 bucks.
and yea. nickels and dimes in this hobby right?

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Ain't that the truth!

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Got my 2 Mars Aqua today! So far, loving them! Got them hum minus a few minor mods.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Already having a small cyano issue. I wander what this is gonna do to that?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

lol. turn em down and acclimate too.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Approximately how long will it take until I start noticing some growth with these black box leds. Currently, I have a few small shrooms, Gsp, and about 10 Zoas!

 

[reeferfoxx]

Approximately how long will it take until I start noticing some growth with these black box leds. Currently, I have a few small shrooms, Gsp, and about 10 Zoas!

Give the coral a month to settle in. Check all water parameters and see if you have things where you want them. Check your lighting schedule too

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Give the coral a month to settle in. Check all water parameters and see if you have things where you want them. Check your lighting schedule too

this.....+1