Deeznutz Hd 120 Shallow rimless (Pics)
- Thread starter deeznutz1
- Start date
d2mini
Premium Member
I was going to ask the same thing about the lighting choice.
I have the same length tank. 7x2x2.
I hung my Radion Pros lengthwise and had 4 of them, which is double your amount of pucks, and I still questioned the amount of light being not enough. It's not the intensity (my lights were around 60%) it's the coverage. I see this tank is in the SPS forum. That's just not enough light coverage IMHO. You will have a lot of shadowing.
After nearly two years, I got tired of the shadowing and poor sps growth and color and switched back to 3 MH and 4 T5's. Color and growth exploded. A result of what I believe is both spectrum AND much much much better light coverage. The undersides of my sps are no longer bald/colorless.
Other than that, great build. Been following along.
How's the "fish room" coming along????
deeznutz1
New member
Thank you for the kind words
We are loving the lights right now as well
I hope this build has been some help for your new build
I was going to ask the same thing about the lighting choice.
I have the same length tank. 7x2x2.
I hung my Radion Pros lengthwise and had 4 of them, which is double your amount of pucks, and I still questioned the amount of light being not enough. It's not the intensity (my lights were around 60%) it's the coverage. I see this tank is in the SPS forum. That's just not enough light coverage IMHO. You will have a lot of shadowing.
After nearly two years, I got tired of the shadowing and poor sps growth and color and switched back to 3 MH and 4 T5's. Color and growth exploded. A result of what I believe is both spectrum AND much much much better light coverage. The undersides of my sps are no longer bald/colorless.
Other than that, great build. Been following along.
How's the "fish room" coming along????
Thanks for your thoughts/review on the lighting. I've not had much time lately to admire the tank as I'm still working on other things around the house. With the rock work fairly bare, I can't see much shadowing as of yet. My lights are still in acclimation mode at 30% of 60%.
Originally I was going to go with 3 XR30 pros, but the 4 XR15 sounded like a better idea because I could space out the lighting equally. The idea of adding a 5th one is not out of the question.
Were you running the 120 degree optics on your lights? I wonder it your dimensions were just too wide for the lights? My tank is very narrow and shallow.
What was your light cycle like and what were your lighting settings?
I'm very new to leds and I'm still looking for more info on manual colour settings.
I've always been a die hard MH guy. But after using t5, found it to be the best. For me anyways. LEDS are hit or miss when it comes to growth and coloration from what I've read throughout the years. I'm hoping I can get great results with this lighting.
At the end of the day, colour and growth is the most important. I hope it can get it with these XR15 pros.
As for the fish room, it's a lot smaller then I imagined
Everything in there is kind of thrown together late minute and I've not had a chance to clean it up and make it presentable. But I'll get to it soon!Thanks for stopping in, I'm a fan of your builds as well
-deez
Henchmen27
New member
Wow, sick updates! The build looks amazing!
d2mini
Premium Member
Thanks for your thoughts/review on the lighting. I've not had much time lately to admire the tank as I'm still working on other things around the house. With the rock work fairly bare, I can't see much shadowing as of yet. My lights are still in acclimation mode at 30% of 60%.
Originally I was going to go with 3 XR30 pros, but the 4 XR15 sounded like a better idea because I could space out the lighting equally. The idea of adding a 5th one is not out of the question.
Were you running the 120 degree optics on your lights? I wonder it your dimensions were just too wide for the lights? My tank is very narrow and shallow.
What was your light cycle like and what were your lighting settings?
I'm very new to leds and I'm still looking for more info on manual colour settings.
I've always been a die hard MH guy. But after using t5, found it to be the best. For me anyways. LEDS are hit or miss when it comes to growth and coloration from what I've read throughout the years. I'm hoping I can get great results with this lighting.
At the end of the day, colour and growth is the most important. I hope it can get it with these XR15 pros.
As for the fish room, it's a lot smaller then I imagined
Thanks for stopping in, I'm a fan of your builds as well
-deez
Yes, I had the wide angle lenses.
And nothing against Radions, they are a really nice led unit backed by a great company... i just think, based on personal experience, that with the length of your tank, you will need more pucks than you have now. Due to the narrowness of your tank (front to back) I agree that you only need the single pucks, the same reason i hung my radion pros lengthwise over my tank (i have a coast to coast overflow taking up 5-6" of my 24" of space). I don't know if somehow Ecotech improved the coverage of these individual pucks vs the dual pucks in the the original units, but I had twice the amount of pucks over the same length tank. That's what I was getting at earlier.
Your T5's give the ultimate in light wrap/coverage and LEDs give the least. When you look at the coverage diagrams they have, intensity is really dropping off out at the edges and this is with nothing in the way. Once that light is coming down and hitting coral, the coral will block most of it. Since its a pinpoint light source, the light doesn't wrap around and under the coral anywhere near like it does with T5. Once I switched back to MH/T5 you could see my corals regaining color and growth underneath. Here's an example pic that I had posted in my build thread. You can also see an improvement in the growth pattern, after just a few months.
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-TwpdJsB/0/O/i-TwpdJsB.jpg
Here's my last saved schedule if you want to upload it and give it a go.
Just remember to save your current one first so you can revert back to it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2385073/SavedSchedule2014-02-26.etg
As to the fish room... i'll be redesigning mine and I'm in the same boat! Trying to cram everything into a rather small space. From what I had seen yours had started off pretty good so I'm curious how it turned out.
deeznutz1
New member
Thanks dude. I'm glad you are still following lol
Yes, I had the wide angle lenses.
And nothing against Radions, they are a really nice led unit backed by a great company... i just think, based on personal experience, that with the length of your tank, you will need more pucks than you have now. Due to the narrowness of your tank (front to back) I agree that you only need the single pucks, the same reason i hung my radion pros lengthwise over my tank (i have a coast to coast overflow taking up 5-6" of my 24" of space). I don't know if somehow Ecotech improved the coverage of these individual pucks vs the dual pucks in the the original units, but I had twice the amount of pucks over the same length tank. That's what I was getting at earlier.
Your T5's give the ultimate in light wrap/coverage and LEDs give the least. When you look at the coverage diagrams they have, intensity is really dropping off out at the edges and this is with nothing in the way. Once that light is coming down and hitting coral, the coral will block most of it. Since its a pinpoint light source, the light doesn't wrap around and under the coral anywhere near like it does with T5. Once I switched back to MH/T5 you could see my corals regaining color and growth underneath. Here's an example pic that I had posted in my build thread. You can also see an improvement in the growth pattern, after just a few months.
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-TwpdJsB/0/O/i-TwpdJsB.jpg
Here's my last saved schedule if you want to upload it and give it a go.
Just remember to save your current one first so you can revert back to it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2385073/SavedSchedule2014-02-26.etg
As to the fish room... i'll be redesigning mine and I'm in the same boat! Trying to cram everything into a rather small space. From what I had seen yours had started off pretty good so I'm curious how it turned out.
I totally agree with your statements on the light not wrapping around like t5. I can't believe the difference in the growth. MH and t5 is the the best proven combo to date. I'm pretty sure the the XR15 pros are exactly the same as the XR30s -1 puck.
As you mentioned about the intensity dropping off on the edges, is one of the reasons why I find the lights work well for my tank. The diagrams that they provide on their site is over a 24x24 area with about 2-3" all along the edges is were the significant drop off lays. I think I might be in the sweet spot.
I'll just have to wait and see how the lights pan out for me. I just want to get the lights up to 60%. I shouldn't have to go any higher then that right? I still have a long way to go just to get the tank stable and consistent.:uhoh3:
I'll get pic of the fish room once it's been organized. I'm looking for a wire management type system. I still have to integrate my controller back into the mix as well. My Alpha 250 over flowed again
So I have to run a float switch to it. I wonder if I'm over skimming this tank? Sitting at about 180g total water volume.I appreciate your input and I'll give your schedule a try. I just have to figure out how to upload it lol :smoking:
-deez
ReefCowboy
New member
I completely agree with D2mini. I've had sps only tanks with all kinds of lighting and I can honestly say having come from t5s you will be disappointed in the long run with any leds.
The pop,modern look and cleaningless led fixtures bring are unbeatable, but if you are a true reef enthusiast you will miss color in the long run.
I now have in my apartment a high end lps only tank and it's only a 65gal(36").
I decided to go with leds because I figured those corals don't need that much light so I got two hydras(I have friends with radions and felt would go with hydras due to my own taste). After a few months running them at only 50-60% I noticed the corals glued to rocks(at angles) had their bottom parts losing color and the top where the light reached all looked healthy. I agree t5s and MH "wrap" light around them WAY more efficiently.
I don't go by the light spread manufactures instruct us. The 24"x24" spread per fixture will not be enough on the outsides, especially sps. I decided to buy a third hydra 26(the pucks are very similar to the radions) to get better light spread since the outside corners of the tank had low coverage.
If you are set on LEDs, I would get a fith fixture and try to spread light as evenly as possible. Now IMHO you would be on a certain success path going with a proven method such as the ATI hybrid with t5s and the LEDs with the blues for pop...
I also believe that it is not the intensity, but the coverage that gives leds bad results. People try to make up for dark spots with intensity and end up with even more problems.
I am still investing on the led option, but if I was going with an sps only tank, would not think twice and would go T5s or MH.
Don't mean to make this become an ledxT5 battle(we are all tired of it) but all I gotta say is try it for yourself and make your own conclusions...
Good luck either way and very nice set up and thread BTW
The pop,modern look and cleaningless led fixtures bring are unbeatable, but if you are a true reef enthusiast you will miss color in the long run.
I now have in my apartment a high end lps only tank and it's only a 65gal(36").
I decided to go with leds because I figured those corals don't need that much light so I got two hydras(I have friends with radions and felt would go with hydras due to my own taste). After a few months running them at only 50-60% I noticed the corals glued to rocks(at angles) had their bottom parts losing color and the top where the light reached all looked healthy. I agree t5s and MH "wrap" light around them WAY more efficiently.
I don't go by the light spread manufactures instruct us. The 24"x24" spread per fixture will not be enough on the outsides, especially sps. I decided to buy a third hydra 26(the pucks are very similar to the radions) to get better light spread since the outside corners of the tank had low coverage.
If you are set on LEDs, I would get a fith fixture and try to spread light as evenly as possible. Now IMHO you would be on a certain success path going with a proven method such as the ATI hybrid with t5s and the LEDs with the blues for pop...
I also believe that it is not the intensity, but the coverage that gives leds bad results. People try to make up for dark spots with intensity and end up with even more problems.
I am still investing on the led option, but if I was going with an sps only tank, would not think twice and would go T5s or MH.
Don't mean to make this become an ledxT5 battle(we are all tired of it) but all I gotta say is try it for yourself and make your own conclusions...
Good luck either way and very nice set up and thread BTW
Last edited:
d2mini
Premium Member
Yep, at your depth you shouldn't need any more than 60%.
My lights were about 8" off the water and my tank is 24" deep and i think I maxed out at 65%.
deeznutz1
New member
ReefCowboy
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the lighting. The lighting so far seem to be working out for the most part. The tank is still settling in and I'm finally starting to see a how the chemisrty is in this tank.
This is a whole new experience for me. Instant ocean salt and Leds are the two big changes this time around.
I'm hoping I will get great results with this new tank. Only time will tell and I'll be sure to update this thread as time goes by.
thanks again.
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the lighting. The lighting so far seem to be working out for the most part. The tank is still settling in and I'm finally starting to see a how the chemisrty is in this tank.
This is a whole new experience for me. Instant ocean salt and Leds are the two big changes this time around.
I'm hoping I will get great results with this new tank. Only time will tell and I'll be sure to update this thread as time goes by.
thanks again.
ReefCowboy
New member
Great! We gotta remember to also have fun, or the hobby isnt worth it, right? Yes keep us posted your set up is a very promising one!
deeznutz1
New member
Thanks man, I sure hope so. God knows I've invested a lot of time and effort into this build, not to mention $$$. The wife reminds me every time I want to buy something other then fish related stuff lol.
Sometimes we just have to sit back and enjoy the tank for bit. Relax and just take it in...
-deez
Sometimes we just have to sit back and enjoy the tank for bit. Relax and just take it in...
-deez
Reefvet
New member
Oh good no battle, because I'm one of those guys with 40+ years in the hobby, I have used every lighting system every offered and love my Kessil LEDs. Great color and growth. All the T5s and MH are sitting in the garage.
Do try it for yourself and make your own conclusions. You'll be happily surprised.
GroktheCube
New member
Looks awesome!
This has been a great build thread.
I will echo the others that you might want to add some more LEDs over the tank. Most of the best LED lit tanks I've seen dramatically exceed manufacturer recommendations in terms of the number of emitters they use. If you choose to stick with LEDs, keep an eye on the sides/undersides/bases of your corals to make sure they're getting enough light.
Make sure you watch Ca and Mg. IME, plain ole IO tends to be a bit low on both.
This has been a great build thread.
I will echo the others that you might want to add some more LEDs over the tank. Most of the best LED lit tanks I've seen dramatically exceed manufacturer recommendations in terms of the number of emitters they use. If you choose to stick with LEDs, keep an eye on the sides/undersides/bases of your corals to make sure they're getting enough light.
Make sure you watch Ca and Mg. IME, plain ole IO tends to be a bit low on both.
deeznutz1
New member
Thanks man, like most, the idea of LED's over a tank is very beneficial in terms of energy consumption and overall maintenance is very appealing. In terms of success with SPS. It can be a mixed bag.
I really hope these work for me and like you said, I have to come to a point where I'm either happy with the end results or not.
I think over all results are subject to personal taste. I know for a fact that some of the fluorescences I get now, I could never get with t-5/MH. Actinic view is pure pleasure when it come to LEDS.
thanks for the motivation.
Thank you for the compliments and thanks for the point on the extra lighting. I'm far to new to see lack of lighting on my corals, since they are all frags. I'm still in the acclimation stage so the lights are only at 50% of 60% of total intensity. I think they are drawing less then 100watts right now
As for the IO salt, I have noticed the lower numbers in CA and MG. I've been dosing my make up water. Maybe I should swap to Reefcrystals? Same stuff, just a bit more go the Mg and CA right?
deeznutz1
New member
Update time!
So it's been a while since my last update. I've been busy like most with summer coming to an end and my youngest starting school this year! Boy do they grow up quick. Not to sound cliche, but where does the time go?
Anywho, when I got my lights and MP40 I wanted to get everything setup and running. I was uber excited to say the least. Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to figure out a way to get the rats nest of wires cleaned up.
The lighting and MP's come with a plethora of wiring, d/c boxes etc. Having 8 different units under the tank you can image the amount of wiring I had to deal with. Wish I had of taken a picture of the before. It was pretty embarrassing to say the least. I couldn't find the wire management system I wanted, but this coil system works well. I used 16' of the coil. I have to buy some more for the mess in the fish room
Heres a list
2 Mp40esw
4 Xr15 pros
1 Battery back up
1 Tunze combine wave box.
I thought the LEDS came with a lot of wiring, but when I say the wires that came with the wave box I was like :fun5:I could have installed it on the other side of the room with wires to spare.
As for the tank, it's coming along nicely now. The sand bed and rocks still have a light dusting of diatoms. I hope I've avoided the dread algae bloom.
My parameters are pretty solid right now, but nothings really taking off.
Ca 420
Alk 8.5
Mg 1420
P04 0.12-0.08
NItrate-0.00
Now on to the pics.
The tank as she sits right now.
Night time Shot. I'm having a real hard time shooting the blues. Any photog tips? Shooting with a Canon 5D
Wiring all cleaned up!
Battery Back Up!
Here you can see the power suppy's for the Mp 40s and wave box under my stand. I was going to put the power suppys for the LED there as well, but they are clearly labeled to put them in an area with some ventilation. They do get warm.
Ahhhhhh, opening the door and not having a heart attack. Nice and clean. If I could do it all over again. I would have tucked the drains to the left side more and have everything on the back wall. I guess you can't thin of everything in advance oh well. At least it's done. I still have to add the Reef link to the mix, but that will have to come later.
So it's been a while since my last update. I've been busy like most with summer coming to an end and my youngest starting school this year! Boy do they grow up quick. Not to sound cliche, but where does the time go?
Anywho, when I got my lights and MP40 I wanted to get everything setup and running. I was uber excited to say the least. Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to figure out a way to get the rats nest of wires cleaned up.
The lighting and MP's come with a plethora of wiring, d/c boxes etc. Having 8 different units under the tank you can image the amount of wiring I had to deal with. Wish I had of taken a picture of the before. It was pretty embarrassing to say the least. I couldn't find the wire management system I wanted, but this coil system works well. I used 16' of the coil. I have to buy some more for the mess in the fish room
Heres a list
2 Mp40esw
4 Xr15 pros
1 Battery back up
1 Tunze combine wave box.
I thought the LEDS came with a lot of wiring, but when I say the wires that came with the wave box I was like :fun5:I could have installed it on the other side of the room with wires to spare.
As for the tank, it's coming along nicely now. The sand bed and rocks still have a light dusting of diatoms. I hope I've avoided the dread algae bloom.
My parameters are pretty solid right now, but nothings really taking off.
Ca 420
Alk 8.5
Mg 1420
P04 0.12-0.08
NItrate-0.00
Now on to the pics.
The tank as she sits right now.
Night time Shot. I'm having a real hard time shooting the blues. Any photog tips? Shooting with a Canon 5D
Wiring all cleaned up!
Battery Back Up!
Here you can see the power suppy's for the Mp 40s and wave box under my stand. I was going to put the power suppys for the LED there as well, but they are clearly labeled to put them in an area with some ventilation. They do get warm.
Ahhhhhh, opening the door and not having a heart attack. Nice and clean. If I could do it all over again. I would have tucked the drains to the left side more and have everything on the back wall. I guess you can't thin of everything in advance oh well. At least it's done. I still have to add the Reef link to the mix, but that will have to come later.
GroktheCube
New member
Thank you for the compliments and thanks for the point on the extra lighting. I'm far to new to see lack of lighting on my corals, since they are all frags. I'm still in the acclimation stage so the lights are only at 50% of 60% of total intensity. I think they are drawing less then 100watts right now
As for the IO salt, I have noticed the lower numbers in CA and MG. I've been dosing my make up water. Maybe I should swap to Reefcrystals? Same stuff, just a bit more go the Mg and CA right?
Personally, Red Sea Blue-Bucket (not Coral Pro) is my favorite "budget" salt. It's slightly more expensive than IO, but pretty comparable to RC. Everything mixes to slightly above NSW levels, and it mixes faster and clearer than IO or RC. RC does have much higher Ca and Mg levels than plain IO, but also seems to precipitate much more during mixing, leaving a lot more crud in the mixing bucket.
Now that's some clean wiring! You're making me feel embarrassed about my rat's nest!
