Anyone using a light mover?

S

Stoney Mahony

New member
Ok, in a nut shell....I am setting up a 125g and am going to be building an oversized canopy to house a light mover w/ one 400w 10k and use some sort of actinic suplemental lighting. I will only use about a 4ft track so the sides of the tank will be getting lower light. I am thinking primarily SPS with a few zoos and fish. Does anybody else use a light mover on there tank? Any body seen any tanks using them? I have seen some in grow out situations but not for display lighting....Any experiences would be appreciated!
 
I'm using one over an 8 ft tank. The fixure is about 6 ft long. I have it on a timer to run for about 2 minutes once every 2 hours.
 
hey stoney

hey stoney

ive been using a couple movers for some time. found them on ebay very inexspensive and simple ,aragamover or something like that it what the guys name was. super nice guy to deal with and they work flawlessly,theres a pic in my gallery:D
 
Thanks for the responses guys! Hi there Redox, your a lucky man! Awesome pics in your gallery:) I have one of those LR3 light rail movers, just need to get the track but when I get more, I will look for your guy:)

Greg, does the light stop at one end of the tank for two hours, then the timer comes on and it travels to the other end of the tank or does it start and stop in the middle? Also, any supplemental lighting? Thanks again!
 
Awesome Anti H...Did you ever experience any probelms with your movers? Also, is there any light swing at the end of the path when the motor switches direction? Thanks again!
 
I'm looking to set up a light mover over my 36" tank, well, just for the heck of it. Is it possible to cut the bar shorter and have it still function? If I can get one cheap enough, I think I'm going to go for it. I'll be moving a 150W pendant.
 
I have a question gang? What are these for and what perks are there to having one? Is one of them just saving on room and lighting? Is this good for the coral to have light then dark all day long? I mean I am not trying to stomp your setups or anything, I am just really curious to see what the perks are to have a moving light? I might lean this way when I set up my in wall 210 when I move. :)

Thanks.
Spankey:)
 
A moving light will expose things to coverages of light. I've noticed on a 10G that I have with a 70W halide pendant that the areas the "see" the light all the time are well colored, while the areas that are in the "shade" or don't get a direct dose of light don't have the same color or growth. A moving light will allow more of the coral to receive direct light. It's easier than putting your corals on little spinners. :)
 
Ahh thanks for explaining that. Makes sense. I hear from others it simulates cloudy days as well? Is this true?

Spank
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8611908#post8611908 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spankey
Ahh thanks for explaining that. Makes sense. I hear from others it simulates cloudy days as well? Is this true?

Spank
Click to expand...

I believe so:) On top of what Perpetual said which is 100% correct, it helps cut down on the power bill and it also creates a cool look when the light is slowly moving across your tank. I believe it will also effect growth patterns of the acros. You could even hook up a 1000w lamp and probably get awesome results(other than power consumption).

Many plants respond positivly to fluctuations in light levels. The intense light of say a 1000watter passing over creates a burst of metabolic activity and then the short period of shade after gives it time to rest until the next burst. Through controled tests it was proven that plants actually grow faster in this manner than the same wattage spread out over a specific area. They also do something in hydroponic controlled environment growing situations called an "inverse lighting scheem". Instead of having one 400watt light over a 4 x 4ft area, they have 2.... but run one for 2hrs, then switch to the next. It gives fuller plants with half the wattage. You might think that the ballasts would not last as long, but they stay so cool that they actually last longer.

Now I know that corals are not plants, they are animals....but they have so many things in common with plants that it is ridiculous. From the way they breed to the way they grow...it's nuts so that is why I want to experiment around a little with the light mover. And it looks soooo cool!:)
 
>Greg, does the light stop at one end of the tank for two hours, then the timer comes on and it travels to the other end of the tank or does it start and stop in the middle? Also, any supplemental lighting? Thanks again!<

The way I have it set up is that I put this light rail on a digital timer. I figured out how fast the light rail moved first. Then I have it set up so that the light rail comes on for 2 minutes. This moves the light back and forth and it comes to rest just a few inches to the right of where it started. The timer comes on several times during the day and night. The net effect is that the light starts on the right side of the tank in the morning, and ends on the left side of the tank in the evening, simulating the movement of the sun.

I didn't want the light fixture moving all the time it would drive me nuts.
 
I never had any problems with the movers. But yes the pendent did swing slightly when it would stop and move direction. Nothing to major but I did notice it was not as bad with pendants that had some more weight for some reason.
 
The LR3 lightrail I have is completely silent but ill bet it cost a whole lot more than one off of ebay. I know the guy that designed/makes the LR3 and he is super cool....He said that his average lightmover lasts for 5+ years and I believe him. It's a VERY simple design. He also owns a robotics company so I would hope that there QC would be good:)
 
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