soul4surfin
New member
so 2-3 inches off the water is okay?
Chinese LED Lights
- Thread starter cmac23
- Start date
soul4surfin
New member
so 2-3 inches off the water is okay?
U brace attached to the stand.
Thats great! Thanks!!! Been looking for a nice looking hanging set up as my tank is going to be in my livingroom. Going to have the hubby make this for me!! What did you use?
:spin3:
Getting my IT2080's into my canopy was way easier than I thought it would be. And more importantly, they look way better than I thought they would. I set them at 80% blue and 60% white for the picture below, then I dialed them down. They don't have much purple tint to them at all. They look a lot better than the IT2040 over the nem tank. But Elaine, my wife, says she thinks the purple tint is due to the fact that everything in the tank is mostly purple. There's a ton of coraline algae on 3 glass sides and all over the rocks, there is a fair amount of purple macro algae and I hate to admit it, but there is a bit of purple cyano that bloomed a few weeks ago but id dying back now.
What kind of canopy do you have? Kind of like the look!
:spin2:
Does the plastic brace in the middle cause a shadow with only one unit? I too have a 48" tank (48x17x18). Also, how much more would an it2080 be thand 2 d120s?
bhazard451
New member
Friend came by with a pipe bender and conduit piping. Two pieces connected together. Spray painted black.
bhazard451
New member
Nothing wrong with it. It does blend pretty well. I like my blue channel to be fully blue though.
A pipe bender huh...don't have afriend with one of those. :-( Can I get it done somewhere cheap??
Also a couple of questions...been reading through the thread and I have a 60+ gallon (around 63) that measures 48x17x18. Will have around a 2" sand bed. No canopy. Tank has a black plastic center brace. Will have a mixed reef. Tank will be in livingroom side by side with my entertainment center so dont want to be blinded, but dont was spotlights either. 1: 2 d120s or 1 it2080 (i think its it2080...its the RB 32" 200watt with 99 LEDs).
You said "Stick with 90 degree optics and hang them 6-10" off the water" if I purchased 2 d120s. Still kind of leaning that direction as I am worried about the brace and coverage with only one light. Also would be about $100 more (i know it has other bells and whistles but trying to set up a new tank tanks a lot of $$$)
What's your thoughs?
:wave:
Last edited:
nikesb
New member
My IT2040 is 10.5" from the surface of the water. Currently running at 50% blue, 20% white. Can someone possibly measure this par 6" under water for me at a similar distance? My goal is 80% blue 50% white if that can be measured too.
Also I had some questions for people thats slowly ramping up their lights. Are you guys ramping both channels up by 5% a week, or just one channel going 5% a week?
I've been doing 1% a day on a single channel, skipping wednesdays and saturdays for a total 3% blue and 2% white increments a week. Am i going too slow? I dont have access to a par meter right now and Im afraid to bleach my corals since my tank is only 12" tall
Also I had some questions for people thats slowly ramping up their lights. Are you guys ramping both channels up by 5% a week, or just one channel going 5% a week?
I've been doing 1% a day on a single channel, skipping wednesdays and saturdays for a total 3% blue and 2% white increments a week. Am i going too slow? I dont have access to a par meter right now and Im afraid to bleach my corals since my tank is only 12" tall
Ron Reefman
Active member
Thanks. :beer: I made it myslf. The ends are 1.5" square, solid PVC trim glued and screwed. The 'cross braces' (2) are 2" square aluminum tubes (lanai framing). Then a 1/2" sheet of plywood on top. The front and sides are fabric hung on cheap curtain rods. Everything but the fabric came from Home Depot. My wife found the fabric online and it almost matches the tile on top of the stand. We like the way the light shines thru, kind of adds some depth to the tank. Besides, we like doing things different from what everybody else does.
Here is the tile:
and here is the fabric:
The total look and it's biggest fan:
Found another reefing site with tips and tricks on how to connect your apex to one of the base "value" units, as long as it has dimmer knobs.
I'm having a hard time understanding how these LED fixture makers are charging people more for a unit after they simply remove the control dimmer knobs so you can connect to the +\- wires.
What am I missing here?
I'm having a hard time understanding how these LED fixture makers are charging people more for a unit after they simply remove the control dimmer knobs so you can connect to the +\- wires.
What am I missing here?
bhazard451
New member
Link?
It's not that simple with the drivers used on the Evergrow fixtures. They use resistance dimming, which is not the same as the 0-10v analog that the Apex uses. It doesn't work right. You would have to replace the drivers to get it working, which is where the cost comes from.
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
Can you point me in the direction of the thread?
Not sure, there are a lot of restrictions on RC and I do not want to be the one to get this thread shut down again.
A google search for "LED Lighting thread* Tips/Tricks/Mods/Issues" should be the first result and the instructions are on page 6. I think that is safe, I'm sure big brother will let me know.
Biohazard- In this specific fixture the ballast is labeled 0-10v, maybe that makes a difference? I'm no expert on this stuff
bhazard451
New member
Not sure, there are a lot of restrictions on RC and I do not want to be the one to get this thread shut down again.
A google search for "LED Lighting thread* Tips/Tricks/Mods/Issues" should be the first result and the instructions are on page 6. I think that is safe, I'm sure big brother will let me know.
Biohazard- In this specific fixture the ballast is labeled 0-10v, maybe that makes a difference? I'm no expert on this stuff
Huge difference. 0-10v are the drivers you need for it. It looks like those are Greensun fixtures. Would save a lot of money and time going with those to make it apex compatible.
Ron Reefman
Active member
If I get a chance I'll check it out for you. It shouldn't be much at all. Air/distance has only a very small affect. Water/distance is probably 10 times the affect.
Brightness follows the inverse square law.
Intensity = 1/d^2 or 1 over distance squared.
here is something about sunlight penetration (which is single point source with parallel beams)
http://oceansjsu.com/105d/exped_briny/13.html
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