Apollo Reef LED SolarBlast Dimable Review

Sorry but I failed looking at this last night:) I got my meter from local club, maybe you can do the same? I would not expect the PAR measurements will be much more different honestly considering we just lost 4 of the whites to red LEDs.
 
i own a par meter and set mine up close to what i was running my AI sol and mh

well growth was slower than expected, comes to be way more light than par meter showed turned mine down on my 200dd
was set at 85% whites and blue
to 75% whites and blues with noticable growth


frag tank was runnign at 75% down to 60%

and mine are 12 inches off the water
 
chadfarmer said:
i own a par meter and set mine up close to what i was running my AI sol and mh

well growth was slower than expected, comes to be way more light than par meter showed turned mine down on my 200dd
was set at 85% whites and blue
to 75% whites and blues with noticable growth


frag tank was runnign at 75% down to 60%

and mine are 12 inches off the water
Click to expand...

Just for clarification as I'm playing with my numbers as well..

The percentage values are for White only, correct? Meaning, do you have Blues set at 100% in your aforementioned mixture?
 
+1 on clarifications. Can you also include your tank sizes/depths as the depth matters a lot when your talking about height of the fixture! My frag tank is 18" deep but yours might be 12", etc...
 
Pics anyone?

Here's some with my phone from last night...

Yuma:
20120822_215610.jpg


Zoas:
20120822_215640.jpg


Hard to get any shots of the SPS/LPS as they are not on the skirts of the tank where I can snap good shots.
 
Dustin,
First off, thanks for starting this thread. Great to go back and re-read the specs you posted.

After all your modifications, what are you finding to be the best ratio of Blue to White for aesthetics. Would you recommend this same value for growth as well?

I'm running a fairly mixed tank, still quite new (only 2 months in) but I can't seem to get the colors I'm looking for. Other variables are always a factor when it comes to this, but I'm noticing a little more "faded" look on my reds and blues (War coral, Watermellon Chalice, Miami Chalice..)

Looking to see how your doing with your lights so far.
 
100% full blast puts out nice color.

The reds should have taken care of the warmer tones, and the violets should have helped as well.

Give it more time and see if things pick up.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 
Got mine up and running this weekend . . . First, as an LED noob and never having had them before, the moonlights are freakin awesome!

Second the overall look from the Arctic reds is about what I had with my 150DE Reeflux 15K by themselves without actinics, as is out of the box. So I need to play with the controller to work on color. Would like to blue it up some.

Third the "apollo made" controller is pretty nice considering its bare bones style. Wasn't ready for how well it worked out of the box. Need to put it in an enclosure of some kind and mount the ethernet connectors somehow, cuz while I was setting things up I got a little rough and pulled one connector off the board. (anyone have experience mounting stuff like this and want to send me some ideas?)

The room temp not getting outta hand is priceless! So nice to not depend on a chiller. I will get some roughed in pics Monday. Still have some work to do on the stands but all in all the project was simple and is looking good. . . I think.
 
Last edited:
Here are some very rough pics of what I am trying to do . . .

Remember I never claimed to be a photographer:


Used the screws from the fixture with 1/8 inch aluminum angle
<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=0825122344-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/0825122344-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Aluminum angle"></a>

angles mounted on both sides
<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=0825122343-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/0825122343-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

built two of these to hold the 1" conduit braces
<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=0826122100-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/0826122100-00.jpg" border="0" alt="one of the stands"></a>

The light rack resting on the bent tubes
<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=Rack1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/Rack1.jpg" border="0" alt="Side view"></a>

<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=0826122043-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/0826122043-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Apollo LED"></a>

And the controller I need to build a box for. . .
<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/?action=view&current=0826122053-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/0826122053-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Apollo controller"></a>
 
gcfiend said:
Dustin,
First off, thanks for starting this thread. Great to go back and re-read the specs you posted.

After all your modifications, what are you finding to be the best ratio of Blue to White for aesthetics. Would you recommend this same value for growth as well?

I'm running a fairly mixed tank, still quite new (only 2 months in) but I can't seem to get the colors I'm looking for. Other variables are always a factor when it comes to this, but I'm noticing a little more "faded" look on my reds and blues (War coral, Watermellon Chalice, Miami Chalice..)

Looking to see how your doing with your lights so far.
Click to expand...

I think giving a ratio on color is really all determined based on what is aesthetically pleasing to you. For me I've cranked back the intensity due to the shallow depth of the frag tank but like the ~14k look of 85% Blues and 70% Whites. I'd also say that your fading is likely due to too much light. Having a PAR meter really helps to give an idea of the intensity of the light.

Most of us come from keeping Metal Halides and the spectrum provided by the bulbs has lots of yellows/greens which in our eyes we perceive as brighter. I'd say move the corals that are faded to a location of less light and give them some time to acclimate. How slow did you ramp things up? I started low and raised a few percent each week.
 
Mike, thanks for sharing your experience with the controller and how you mounted. Looks good, do you happen to have pics of the full tank shot?
 
Dustin1300 said:
I think giving a ratio on color is really all determined based on what is aesthetically pleasing to you. For me I've cranked back the intensity due to the shallow depth of the frag tank but like the ~14k look of 85% Blues and 70% Whites. I'd also say that your fading is likely due to too much light. Having a PAR meter really helps to give an idea of the intensity of the light.

Most of us come from keeping Metal Halides and the spectrum provided by the bulbs has lots of yellows/greens which in our eyes we perceive as brighter. I'd say move the corals that are faded to a location of less light and give them some time to acclimate. How slow did you ramp things up? I started low and raised a few percent each week.
Click to expand...

I came from a 14K spectrum so I like the bluer side in terms of aesthetics. I'll have to borrow a PAR meter for sure just to see what my true reading are. I was gauging based on yours.

I'm actually at 65% whites and 100% Blues.. In your opinion, do you think excessive blue can cause lightening? Of course, water parameters, etc, all play a role so not ruling that out but just curious on the Blue spectrum.. Why at 85% and not 100%?
 
Dustin1300 said:
Mike, thanks for sharing your experience with the controller and how you mounted. Looks good, do you happen to have pics of the full tank shot?
Click to expand...

I will get one soon I wanted to get the canopy built and mounted before I do this but I am working on cords right now and I might have to snap one to put up:bounce2:
 
gcfiend said:
I came from a 14K spectrum so I like the bluer side in terms of aesthetics. I'll have to borrow a PAR meter for sure just to see what my true reading are. I was gauging based on yours.

I'm actually at 65% whites and 100% Blues.. In your opinion, do you think excessive blue can cause lightening? Of course, water parameters, etc, all play a role so not ruling that out but just curious on the Blue spectrum.. Why at 85% and not 100%?
Click to expand...

Based on the depth and PAR readings, I've dialed back the lighting as it was too intense for an 18" deep tank even with the fixture mounted 12-14" above the water:)
 
Dustin1300 said:
Based on the depth and PAR readings, I've dialed back the lighting as it was too intense for an 18" deep tank even with the fixture mounted 12-14" above the water:)
Click to expand...

Interesting- Now I should think about dialing back my fixture. I have mine about 6" above the water line for a 24" depth my blues are at 100% and my whites are at 60%... Should I dial back more on my Blues? Right now everything seems to be fine it been like this for a couple weeks now... It sucks not having a par meter
 
Tank2379 said:
Interesting- Now I should think about dialing back my fixture. I have mine about 6" above the water line for a 24" depth my blues are at 100% and my whites are at 60%... Should I dial back more on my Blues? Right now everything seems to be fine it been like this for a couple weeks now... It sucks not having a par meter
Click to expand...

Use your coral as your PAR meter. I no longer am in possession of a PAR meter but based on the coloration of coral it gives me a good idea. Quick rule of thumb for me....
If coral is bleaching or losing color = too much light/low nutrients.
If coral is brown = too little light/high nutrients.

This is very subjective but if it's not bleached/white or losing color, you should be good:thumbsup: Our eyes don't always perceive LEDs as bright as they actually are due to the way in which we interpret brightness (Especially in the yellow/green spectrum) so use your corals as the cue.
 
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