GHL Mitras Club

[slief]

Scott - Now that you've been running these for a few weeks, how many would you recommend for a 300 deep dimension to achieve maximum coverage with minimal shadowing? 72x36x27 Would 6 be overkill/detrimental?

6 would insane in a good way! You'd be able to run them at less intensity and have great coverage and no shadowing. If you could angle them inwards towards center to maximize coverage, that would be even better as it would reduce light bleed onto the viewing panes and increase overlap and intensity along the center line of the display.

 

[Zalick]

6 would insane in a good way! You'd be able to run them at less intensity and have great coverage and no shadowing. If you could angle them inwards towards center to maximize coverage, that would be even better as it would reduce light bleed onto the viewing panes and increase overlap and intensity along the center line of the display.

Thanks! They would be mounted to a rack system in a large mostly enclosed canopy so i could position/angle them any way I want. Would you see any benefit of keeping my a360ws in between the LX7s? Like LX7 - a360 - LX7 - a360 LX7? Two rows of that? Or just sell them. I have 6 and wouldn't have any other use for them.

 

[slief]

Thanks! They would be mounted to a rack system in a large mostly enclosed canopy so i could position/angle them any way I want. Would you see any benefit of keeping my a360ws in between the LX7s? Like LX7 - a360 - LX7 - a360 LX7? Two rows of that? Or just sell them. I have 6 and wouldn't have any other use for them.

Only benefit would be additional shimmer. With 6 Mitras going up, you might as well sell them unless you want to keep them up there and use them to acclimate the corals to the new light.

 

[Zalick]

How long is the cable from the unit to the driver? I didn't see any options for a longer cable and I'd need 10'+ from unit to driver.

EDIT: Looks like the cable is 118" to power supply.

 

[mtraylor]

Anyone seen the GHL LX7's vs the GHL 6300's (Lx6's with LX7 pucks). Wondering how well the power balancing works on the LX7's...how much more light can you get out of the LX7

 

[slief]

Anyone seen the GHL LX7's vs the GHL 6300's (Lx6's with LX7 pucks). Wondering how well the power balancing works on the LX7's...how much more light can you get out of the LX7

Power balancing works very well! While I haven't compared the 6300 to the LX7, I do have a 6200 that was over one of my tanks before I switched to the LX7. How much more light you gain depends on your settings but if you figure that you will never use channels like white, red, green or UV at full power, having the ability to shift that power over to channels you actually use can pay dividends. Especially if you really need to crank the lights up to get the most out of them. Having run both the 6200 and the LX7's, it's a no brainer for me since I only had one 6200 and needed several new lights over my main display. LX7 was the best and only choice. I suppose if I had a bunch of 6200's I might have played with the LX7 clusters but even then, I think I would have gone with the LX7's.

 

[CWR24]

I just mounted my lx7s. I made the mount myself out of 8020 series 10. By just luck the wire fits snuggly into the slot. Im pretty happy with how it came out.

I have them 13 inches over my tank. Im not sure if that is good for a 60x22x22 tank. I think it may be a little high. I can move them down, but i kinda like having the space. Still playing with the color I have it set pretty blue.

Mako.......your mount and idea look awesome!!

I am setting up a Reefer 350 and just purchased 2 new GHL Mitras LX7's and want to mount them this way.
Was gonna also get the standard GHL mounts but figured to poke around first and see what other guys came up with.

Would it be possible for you to provide me in detail a parts list of things I would need to accomplish this?
I saw you used the company 8020 and gave their site a looking over, but I'm admittedly not the sharpest DIY'er and get confused looking at all those parts.

Also, did you use any special part or bracket between the light itself and the arm it's mounted to? As it appears that theres something there but can't tell what it is in pictures.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give........Craig.

 

[CWR24]

M4 and the bolt holes are 17 cm apart.

I did an fully adjustable mounting system using 8020, with the 1020 profile.

Got my lights running today. How do I turn on the lunar lighting and program/turn on the clouds?

Thanks!

Great looking setup buddy!!

I just bought a pair of the GHL Mitras myself and will be using them on a Reefer 350 that's 48" long.
If I were to mount these from front to back like you did instead of side to side, do you think they will provide enough coverage from left to right for my size setup?

I really like the look of yours, and another reefer the page before had his done sideways......and both seem like solid options.

Would it be possible for you to provide me a detailed parts list of what you ordered off of 8020, along with any extras I might need that weren't from their site?

Any info and help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.......Craig

 

[CWR24]

Can you tell me what kind of mounts you used for your GHL Mitras?

Just received my order last week and want some mounting ideas/options.

Thanks, Craig

 

[CWR24]

GHL mounts

GHL mounts

So who is excited for the upcoming LX7's ?

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Are these the standard GHL Mitras mounts or something non-GHL that I would need? And additional mounting hardware to hold them like that??

Just received my 2 Mitras for my Reefer 350 last week and considering mounting them sideways instead of forward facing for more left to right coverage.

Thanks to any help anyone can provide soon as I'm looking to get things ordered and mounted.

 

[slief]

Are these the standard GHL Mitras mounts or something non-GHL that I would need? And additional mounting hardware to hold them like that??

Just received my 2 Mitras for my Reefer 350 last week and considering mounting them sideways instead of forward facing for more left to right coverage.

Thanks to any help anyone can provide soon as I'm looking to get things ordered and mounted.

Those are discontinued 8020 mounts. You could use the GHL Flex mounts and then add an Articulating Mount to the Flex Mount to rotate and angle them.

 

[CWR24]

Thanks so much for your input on this Slief......it's much appreciated.

I had seen you had mentioned those when I was looking over your thread a week or two ago and wasn't sure if the articulating mounts were a GHL product or after market.

My Reefer 350 and Mitra lights are all black, and I would like the mounts to be all black as well if possible.
So in the other posts above that I sent messages on but didn't get any feedback......where the other 2 guys used the 8020 product, can I use the articulating mounts you suggest on the 8020.....or won't it fit/fasten in the tracks?
Not sure if you are familiar with that stuff and would know.

Thanks again for responding as I wanted to send you a PM, but being new on here and not having enough messages, it would not let me PM anyone.

 

[scuzy]

Are you need to do is drill a hole in the 8020 profile and put a long enough screw in with washer. Think the screws are m8 threaded.


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[slief]

Thanks so much for your input on this Slief......it's much appreciated.

I had seen you had mentioned those when I was looking over your thread a week or two ago and wasn't sure if the articulating mounts were a GHL product or after market.

My Reefer 350 and Mitra lights are all black, and I would like the mounts to be all black as well if possible.
So in the other posts above that I sent messages on but didn't get any feedback......where the other 2 guys used the 8020 product, can I use the articulating mounts you suggest on the 8020.....or won't it fit/fasten in the tracks?
Not sure if you are familiar with that stuff and would know.

Thanks again for responding as I wanted to send you a PM, but being new on here and not having enough messages, it would not let me PM anyone.

The mounts work great with any T Slot alumina extrusion just like those from 8020. You just use carriage bolts to slide into the T slot and then nuts on the articulating mount button or the nuts that you can get from 8020 that go into the T slot and matching screws from the outside to hold the articulating button in place.

This is a rack I built for a customer using his existing lights and some T slot extrusion I had laying around. These are mounts from the same source mounted to T slot extrusions similar to thiose available from 8020. The slot is the same and in this case, I used carriage bolts. If I were to do it again, I would likely use the nuts that go into the extrusion instead of the carriage bolts.

 

[mako61]

@Craig sorry i missed your post/questions.

I created basically an adapter plate out of black acrylic. Its 9 x 1.5 inches 3/8 thick. It has 4 holes 2 go to rail and 2 go to light. The rail and light holes are close to each other so it doesnt flex the acrylic. I had the plate made at tapplastics. They rounded the corners and polished the edges for me. I drilled the holes myself to make ordering easier. ( I got 4 in case I messed up)

I used black plastic spacers and metal screws from bolt depot to attach light to plate and plate to rail. It all works very well. If you are interested I can show some close ups.

I think the ability to change the angle like steve would be nice, but I needed something a lot more elegant. These are exposed in my living room. I added a third light since that pic, so series 10 8020 is plenty string.

 

[CWR24]

Thanks for reaching out Mako.....

I also will be using in the living room and want things looking nice.

If you can send some various pics that would be great!! Maybe of that black acrylic you used and the positioning of screw holes.
And for the 8020 pieces I am assuming you mounted it to the backside of the stand.....or did you buy those pieces to make a base? I was curious if those probably would not be weighted enough at the bottom to keep everything in place.

Also did you use the 10 Series 2" X 1" for both the mount going up n down as well as the piece over the tank holding the light? Or is it the 1" X 1"?

Another thought was if using 8020 if you are able to lower or raise the light if needed or are you stuck with it at a certain height?

Much thanks for your time......Craig

 

[CWR24]

Solid ideas and help my friend......I think my light is starting to go on now!!

Nice work btw on that rack. And for helping with mu questions. Hope you don't mind me hitting you up if I need anything else clarified.

 

[mako61]

<a href="https://imgur.com/Ka6JP14"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Ka6JP14.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

That shows the three lights currently.

here are a few close up - warning I didnt resize these

https://i.imgur.com/P3q2G0Q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6hE9qyc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aQwcRoe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lSMu16H.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nKBffT6.jpg?1


The 2 Up parts and the 2 arm parts are 1x2 t-slot. The front cross member is 1x1 with slots on three side so the front edge doesnt have a slot. There are 2 cross members in the back that are 1x1. They help it stay square when slide up and down and attaching.

The last image shows the acrylic piece I have extra and few spare parts. Note that I didnt use that black nylon washer. I order a few different sizes of spacer they fit inside each other to get the diameter I wanted. The center screw holds the weight the nylon spacer is for spacing. ( and looks) You need enough space/seperation to get a little allen wrench in to tighten once you slide the light into place.

The picture of the back shows how I connected to the stand. I offset it a bit with stacked 3-1x6 wood glued parts so I can clean glass etc. The mistake I made is I should have done 2 sets of blocks and made the up/down arm longer. That block flexs the stand a bit because of the torsion ( it wants to spin). 2 block 18ish inches apart would be better with the anchor on each block instead of both on the same block. This will adjust in height. It can also adjust front to back a little since the top forward arm sits on top of the up t-slot. I ended up all way forward - i made the arm 1 inch longer that ideal. In the end the lights can adjust up/down, forward/back and left/right. They cant spin or change angle.

The acrylic is 1/4 not 3/8 like I said early. Also the 2 holes on the acrylic could be a little closer. The farther they are apart the more flex it puts on the acrylic. If they are close it wants to shear ( which it cant) instead of bend/flex. Thats why I have 2 anchors to the t-slot not one in the middle -- that would flex for sure.

anyway thats what I did...

 

[CWR24]

First of all.......nice looking tank and quite the job on the mount. Looks really sleek and great!!
Thanks for taking the time on the detailed breakdown along with the pics, gives me a better idea on how to piece things together and how the parts work.
I'll see what I can come up with moving forward. I would like to incorporate your ideas along with those articulating mounts that Slief uses in some way.

Appreciate your time in doing so.......Craig

 

[dirtrider225]

For a mixed tank favoring lps, softies and anemones (48lx30wx20h) will 2 lx7's be enough? I plan on mounting them around ~10 inches above the water or so. They also will be mounted perpendicular to the front pane of glass l l and not parallel