LED light

[00youknowit00]

The only other potential problem I could see with putting it on the glass is whether or not the light will spread out to the edges (left/right). I just purchased one of these (blue and whites only) and, as with most lights, the higher they are, the more area they will cover.

This is very true.. Even with 120° optics

 

[dragonfisher33]

Not that attractive to go in my living room. How's the PVC hooked on the tank if you don't mind me asking

an easy way of doing it is have a Tee PVC on the bottom with one vertical PVC and two horizontal PVC to balance it out. do the same thing on the other side. then connect both sides through a longer PVC running across as seem in the picture. and this way you have a balanced rack. hopefully the explanation is not too confusing

 

[bugarte1]

A picture if one of the sides would be helpful

 

[bugarte1]

an easy way of doing it is have a Tee PVC on the bottom with one vertical PVC and two horizontal PVC to balance it out. do the same thing on the other side. then connect both sides through a longer PVC running across as seem in the picture. and this way you have a balanced rack. hopefully the explanation is not too confusing

A picture of one of the sides would be nice

 

[dragonfisher33]

A picture of one of the sides would be nice

the explanation i gave is the easy way i would approach it. no need to be handy dandy. but the person who posted the picture might have some other way of balancing it out. i figure it would be easier on you if you do it my way (although not aesthetically pleasing)

 

[bugarte1]

like dragon said

something like this

Can you send a picture of the side of the tank where the PVC is hooked on the tank

Thanks

 

[bugarte1]

You just have to start low and slowly raise the intensity. That light looks fine to me, its essentially the same thing as the taotronics that were mentioned earlier but with a different label. They're all Chinese fixtures.

Edit: you can use a PAR meter if you have one. But I just do what I said above. Work your way up to where everything is happy and growing well and nothing is bleaching.
Bleaching = too much light
Browning = not enough light

Hey just got my new light in today had a question when I add new coral to my tank am I going to have to go threw the same steps as you said above "dim the light all the way down and work my way up"

 

[mr_X]

You can also go to home depot and buy a piece of galvanized conduit, and bend it to an "L" shape. You can do it right there with a pipe bender.
Bring it home and paint it black and use a couple of these to fasten it to the side or back of the tank-

 

[mr_X]

I did the same thing right here to hang this halide pendant-

 

[00youknowit00]

Hey just got my new light in today had a question when I add new coral to my tank am I going to have to go threw the same steps as you said above "dim the light all the way down and work my way up"

I don't, I just start everything on the sandbed for a week and that has been fine for me. If they are lower light stuff I try and find a piece of "shade" sometimes to start them off at. Visually you can see when the corals are happy again, I use that as an indicator as well.

Don't be deceived though, LED's can be dimmer than your old lights and much much more powerful. I started mine at about 15% to start. I'm happy at right under 50%, have LPS on the bottom, SPS wherever I want, and softies on the bottom. With great growth all around.

 

[bugarte1]

You can also go to home depot and buy a piece of galvanized conduit, and bend it to an "L" shape. You can do it right there with a pipe bender.
Bring it home and paint it black and use a couple of these to fasten it to the side or back of the tank-

That's perfect looks good too. How far should I hang the light from the tank ?

 

[bugarte1]

I don't, I just start everything on the sandbed for a week and that has been fine for me. If they are lower light stuff I try and find a piece of "shade" sometimes to start them off at. Visually you can see when the corals are happy again, I use that as an indicator as well.

Don't be deceived though, LED's can be dimmer than your old lights and much much more powerful. I started mine at about 15% to start. I'm happy at right under 50%, have LPS on the bottom, SPS wherever I want, and softies on the bottom. With great growth all around.

Thanks so much can't wait to start seeing some growth. Had my coral for almost a month now haven't seen much of anything yet and my BTA hasn't looked good sense I got him. I'm hoping this will change everything.

 

[00youknowit00]

Thanks so much can't wait to start seeing some growth. Had my coral for almost a month now haven't seen much of anything yet and my BTA hasn't looked good sense I got him. I'm hoping this will change everything.

Anytime!
Just be patient, you'll see results, but as it's been said so many times, nothing good happens fast, and this really applies to the switch to LED.

 

[bugarte1]

Anytime!
Just be patient, you'll see results, but as it's been said so many times, nothing good happens fast, and this really applies to the switch to LED.

Got it thanks again

 

[mr_X]

That's perfect looks good too. How far should I hang the light from the tank ?

High enough to get even coverage. I would say 8 to 12 inches, give or take.

 

[bugarte1]

High enough to get even coverage. I would say 8 to 12 inches, give or take.

Ok thanks light just came in yesterday have it on the top of the tank now. See what you mean about not covering the whole tank. Love the light I'm hoping it's going to bring back my BTA.

 

[mr_X]

Easy with it...it's quite potent. Start it at about half power.

 

[bugarte1]

Easy with it...it's quite potent. Start it at about half power.

I started it at 15% white and blue. Should I wait a week and bring it up to 25% ? I was thinking every week bring it up 10-20%. What do u keep yours at ? Just so I have some kind of idea where to stop.

 

[mr_X]

I generally have a lot of sps, so I want to eventually get to 100% if possible. I recently sold my 300 gallon and with it, the buyer took all of my led panels. Right now I'm using an old hydroponics T5 fixture I had hanging in the garage.

 

[00youknowit00]

This is 29 right? I have a 20 with mine set at 50% each, with the tank focused at sps.