Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.

[TommyP]

Im Defiantly looking into these for my 55G, I was originally looking at Vertex and Eco Tech, But at 1,200-2,000 bucks into just a light setup is off the wall crazy IMO. Let alone getting the wife to approve, I feel she would be more on board at at a third of the cost then she cant say no! The only things holding my back is A. Broke at the Moment, and B. Mounting them. How did everyone else get these mounted? The only thing I can think of is 12In Wall Brackets from the hardware store. Whats some tips on how you guys have em set up, and how far from the water do you have them?

I should be getting my 2 units on friday that I ordered the other day so I'll def follow up here and let you know what I think and I'll put up some before and after pictures. I am going to hang mine from my ceiling because the wall behind the tank is half closet door half wall. I would love a tip as well though on how high to hang them above the top of the tank. That would be so helpful.

 

[Ingy]

Not having one of these units yet, I will give you the simple mathematical formula to calculate maximum hieght to hang them.
First thing is to understand the lenses. They tell you the -3dB point on the light beam. That is to say, how far to each side can you go before you get to 1/2 the light energy available. So if you have a PAR value of say 50 directly under a LED, then at the -3dB point you will have 25. Nice to know, but doesn't help you hang your lights.

Measure the distance from the last row of lights to the front or side of the tank, whichever distance is less. So a std 55 gal is 13" by 48". LED is 8"x16" each (2).
48/2=24" section - 16" LED = 8" gap / 2 = 4" each side gap.
13" - 8"LED = 5" gap / 2 = 2.5"gap Front and back. (smaller number).
It appears that the rows of LEDs are about 2" inset from the edge of the light, so add that to the gap and get a 4.5" GAP.

If you have 90Deg optics, or 45deg from centre, then math says
Height = Gap/Tan(45) or Gap/1
Height = 4.5"

120Deg optics
Height = Gap / Tan (60) = 2.6"

60 Deg Optics
Height = Gap / Tan(30) = 7.8"

If you hang them higher than those distances, you will have more light spilling out of the top of your tank. Any lower and you will not get optimum spread to the edge of the tank, but at least the light will be in the tank. So lower is better than higher (except for maintenance).

 

[TommyP]

That's amazing information, Thank you. So the 2 fixtures I bought are 120* optics. Therefore I should hang them 2.6'' above my 55 g tank? That seems kind of low. Don't people usually hang their lights 6-12'' above the tank? Now i'm confused.

 

[mwilliams]

Lighting your reef...Best bang for your buck.

Not having one of these units yet, I will give you the simple mathematical formula to calculate maximum hieght to hang them.
First thing is to understand the lenses. They tell you the -3dB point on the light beam. That is to say, how far to each side can you go before you get to 1/2 the light energy available. So if you have a PAR value of say 50 directly under a LED, then at the -3dB point you will have 25. Nice to know, but doesn't help you hang your lights.

Measure the distance from the last row of lights to the front or side of the tank, whichever distance is less. So a std 55 gal is 13" by 48". LED is 8"x16" each (2).
48/2=24" section - 16" LED = 8" gap / 2 = 4" each side gap.
13" - 8"LED = 5" gap / 2 = 2.5"gap Front and back. (smaller number).
It appears that the rows of LEDs are about 2" inset from the edge of the light, so add that to the gap and get a 4.5" GAP.

If you have 90Deg optics, or 45deg from centre, then math says
Height = Gap/Tan(45) or Gap/1
Height = 4.5"

120Deg optics
Height = Gap / Tan (60) = 2.6"

60 Deg Optics
Height = Gap / Tan(30) = 7.8"

If you hang them higher than those distances, you will have more light spilling out of the top of your tank. Any lower and you will not get optimum spread to the edge of the tank, but at least the light will be in the tank. So lower is better than higher (except for maintenance).

How about for a 125 gallon tank:
L 72 1/2" x W 18 1/2" x H 23"

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I just picked up an Acan 300 series light unit. These are new and just came out, but they are great. Everything is fully adjustable. 7 cycle auto feature or fully adjustable cycles. Lightning mode also. $200 for an 18" unit, you can't beat it.

 

[BenPadelski]

I just picked up an Acan 300 series light unit. These are new and just came out, but they are great. Everything is fully adjustable. 7 cycle auto feature or fully adjustable cycles. Lightning mode also. $200 for an 18" unit, you can't beat it.

You forgot to mention its only 40 watts. I hope this is going on a 10 gallon tank or else you just wasted money.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

You forgot to mention its only 40 watts. I hope this is going on a 10 gallon tank or else you just wasted money.

Doesn't matter. It's on a Nuvo 38 and ALL of my corals, including by RBTA has responded wonderfully. Everything is growing, including things at the bottom.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

I should be getting my 2 units on friday that I ordered the other day so I'll def follow up here and let you know what I think and I'll put up some before and after pictures. I am going to hang mine from my ceiling because the wall behind the tank is half closet door half wall. I would love a tip as well though on how high to hang them above the top of the tank. That would be so helpful.

I have mine 6" apart and 10" above water line. 2.5" seem low and would most likely get salt creep and wet. Great spread and more than enough light. I was going 8" but glad I went 10".

 

[TommyP]

I have mine 6" apart and 10" above water line. 2.5" seem low and would most likely get salt creep and wet. Great spread and more than enough light. I was going 8" but glad I went 10".

Thanks, I'll play around with it. Most likely i'll hang them 10'' like you mentioned from personal experience.

 

[Ingy]

That's amazing information, Thank you. So the 2 fixtures I bought are 120* optics. Therefore I should hang them 2.6'' above my 55 g tank? That seems kind of low. Don't people usually hang their lights 6-12'' above the tank? Now i'm confused.

As I said, that was the mathematical formula. As the 55 is a real narrow tank front to back, if you raise it above the 2.6", there will be more light spillage. If course you can move them back a bit, increasing the gap in front, allowing you to raise the light and avoid spillage in the front.
This formula is just to give an idea what will happen. Raise the light 10" and you may be blinded yourself from light spill. Salt creep shouldn't be too much of a problem if there is a cover over the leds. My T5 hang about 3" over the tank and there is no issue a wipe every month or 2 cant solve. But, as I said, it's just a starting point.

 

[TommyP]

As I said, that was the mathematical formula. As the 55 is a real narrow tank front to back, if you raise it above the 2.6", there will be more light spillage. If course you can move them back a bit, increasing the gap in front, allowing you to raise the light and avoid spillage in the front.
This formula is just to give an idea what will happen. Raise the light 10" and you may be blinded yourself from light spill. Salt creep shouldn't be too much of a problem if there is a cover over the leds. My T5 hang about 3" over the tank and there is no issue a wipe every month or 2 cant solve. But, as I said, it's just a starting point.

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

[Gti_Leo]

I have mine 6" apart and 10" above water line. 2.5" seem low and would most likely get salt creep and wet. Great spread and more than enough light. I was going 8" but glad I went 10".

not to mention burnt corals and spotting and a lack of spread of the different colors

rapid LED has their LED university which offers good info of optics an fixture heights

 

[Gti_Leo]

As I said, that was the mathematical formula. As the 55 is a real narrow tank front to back, if you raise it above the 2.6", there will be more light spillage. If course you can move them back a bit, increasing the gap in front, allowing you to raise the light and avoid spillage in the front.
This formula is just to give an idea what will happen. Raise the light 10" and you may be blinded yourself from light spill. Salt creep shouldn't be too much of a problem if there is a cover over the leds. My T5 hang about 3" over the tank and there is no issue a wipe every month or 2 cant solve. But, as I said, it's just a starting point.

then all you need is a thinner heat sink.

i would not put a rapid LED fixture that close to the water surface, these LEDs ar incredibly powerful and like greg mentioned hes getting 400 PAR at the bottom of a 16" deep tank with his fixture 18" above the tanks wit h60 degree optics. this is alot of punch from a single unit which im guessing is over a 40 gallon. any closer and i don't see anythign other then high light stony corals lasting.

also not a good idea as it leaves you less workign space and the heat that will come off the heatsink has more of a risk of heating up the water then if they are further away

 

[Gregcoyote]

then all you need is a thinner heat sink.

i would not put a rapid LED fixture that close to the water surface, these LEDs ar incredibly powerful and like greg mentioned hes getting 400 PAR at the bottom of a 16" deep tank with his fixture 18" above the tanks wit h60 degree optics. this is alot of punch from a single unit which im guessing is over a 40 gallon. any closer and i don't see anythign other then high light stony corals lasting.

also not a good idea as it leaves you less workign space and the heat that will come off the heatsink has more of a risk of heating up the water then if they are further away

It's actually two fixtures over a 6' long approx. 90 gallon. And I have an intentional darker are in the middle where the bracing is. I use that to acclimate new corals. Otherwise I would have used 3 fixtures for coverage of a 6' long tank. They can be had with wider angle lenses like 90 or even 120 degree I believe. That would greatly reduce the distance they need to be above the tank for proper coverage. As they are very powerful, if you can't raise them higher to break the corals in, I highly suggest a dimmable unit. In a pinch you can use sheets of diffusing material to cut the light back.

 

[Gti_Leo]

It's actually two fixtures over a 6' long approx. 90 gallon. And I have an intentional darker are in the middle where the bracing is. I use that to acclimate new corals. Otherwise I would have used 3 fixtures for coverage of a 6' long tank. They can be had with wider angle lenses like 90 or even 120 degree I believe. That would greatly reduce the distance they need to be above the tank for proper coverage. As they are very powerful, if you can't raise them higher to break the corals in, I highly suggest a dimmable unit. In a pinch you can use sheets of diffusing material to cut the light back.

my bad when you said 16" deep i assumed, not thinkign it may be a odd dimension tank

 

[Gregcoyote]

my bad when you said 16" deep i assumed, not thinkign it may be a odd dimension tank

No, you were right, it is 16" deep, just long.

 

[Gti_Leo]

No, you were right, it is 16" deep, just long.

was it custom built for you?




Dimmable Onyx by Rapid LED - Rapid LED

for all those lookign for an non DIY dimmable low cost fixture

 

[Gregcoyote]

was it custom built for you?

Dimmable Onyx by Rapid LED - Rapid LED

for all those lookign for an non DIY dimmable low cost fixture

No, it's a pretty common glass aquarium.
I used the pre-built Onyx fixtures. Would have bought the dimmable ones but they weren't available then. No worries as I had plenty of room to raise them on chains as needed.

 

[Gti_Leo]

you could also just turn down the output current of the drivers to lower the output of the LEDs strings

 

[Gregcoyote]

you could also just turn down the output current of the drivers to lower the output of the LEDs strings

It usually requires a PCM style driver to safely dim most LEDs. They didn't include that type of driver in the first Onyx fixtures.