Lighting ideas for mr aqua 12L

[nathan1986]

Okay so i have a mr aqua 12g long tank in my bedroom. I only have 1 fish in it (havent seen it for a few weeks haha, TINY circus goby) and 1 frag of zoas. The only thing i do not like about the tank is the lights. I have a finnex ray2 50/50 led light. I like the blue accent with like maybe 15% white. I run my other 2 tanks at 75% blue and 10-15% white. There isnt very many 36" fixtures that will fit my tanks odd dimensions and that have dimmable chanels. I have a feeling ill have to build my own light but ive never done so. Looking for some suggestions. Thanks in advance, nathan

Oh and dimensions are 36" long and roughly 7" wide 8" deep

 

[sageblade24]

current satellite?

 

[jfoltz]

Ecoexotic

 

[snake1]

36" t5

 

[nathan1986]

Ecoexotic

Ive thought about using them on the biocube when i converted to led. for a few led strips plus if i have to add a dimmer i might be in the same ball park as building something similar with a mixture of leds. Ill check their site again tho, as its been over a year since ive looked at their stuff. Maybe they have something new

 

[rogergolf66]

36" t5

+1

 

[CrazyEyes]

I really don't think you'd need a 36" T5 fixture, a 24" fixture should be absolutely plenty, a 2x24w would work, it would just limit you to a small selection of bulb combos. That tank is so narrow you could literally do a row of LEDs and it would be plenty of light.

 

[nathan1986]

I really don't think you'd need a 36" T5 fixture, a 24" fixture should be absolutely plenty, a 2x24w would work, it would just limit you to a small selection of bulb combos. That tank is so narrow you could literally do a row of LEDs and it would be plenty of light.

I agree with you. Ive looked at both 36" and 24" led fixtures. And i found a guy that makes 3w bridgelux led fixtures in a single strip, but how he makes them, the strip is dimmed as a whole. There isnt seperate control from the blues to the whites. So either i can find an already made custom led fixture and have it as over kill, build my own to my likings or buy a fixture that is pre made but might not have exactly what im looking for. The tank dimensions make it tough to find a out of the box fixture that will work perfectly.

 

[CrazyEyes]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of budget did you have in mind?

 

[nathan1986]

Well i dont mind spending the money. But on the flip side its only a 12 gallon long tank so i dont want to have a ton of money invested in a light. Thats why im considering buying a light that would be a little over kill, that way if i part ways with the tank id be able to sell it with my current led light and sell/keep the over kill light. If that makes sense lol i havent seen a 12g tank sell for $400+ is what im getting at LOL

 

[CrazyEyes]

You could probably build a really nice 3-4 channel light for around $200-$250. Could do it for even less if you opted for less channels.

 

[nathan1986]

You could probably build a really nice 3-4 channel light for around $200-$250. Could do it for even less if you opted for less channels.

Ya ideally i only need 2 chanels for this tank. I just found someone that makes single strip fixtures and i have options of 20" 24" 30" 36" for my tank. He also uses 3w bridgelux leds. And he gives you 3 options. Light plus power supply, light plus power supply and dimmers (for 2 chanels, blue and 12k white) or light plus power supply plus sunrise sunset controller (that also does dimming on both chanels) the 36" light plus power supply and dimmers is only $129

 

[nathan1986]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=271429057014&alt=web

What are your thoughts?

 

[CrazyEyes]

I think 50/50 RB and white looks good, that should be plenty of light for what you want.

 

[nathan1986]

Thats what i was thinking, and the tank is narrow enough to where the single strip would do just fine. For some reason i must have overlooked that light while i was searching around.

 

[Webmanny]

If you find a heatsink that fits your tank and a 12Vdc power supply for cheap, I will build you the light for free. I have a crap-load of 3W LEDs and love building these DIY lights.

If you want fancy things like programmable dimmer switches or controllers, then you will need to buy those, but the main work of building the light, I can do in no time at all.

 

[nathan1986]

If you find a heatsink that fits your tank and a 12Vdc power supply for cheap, I will build you the light for free. I have a crap-load of 3W LEDs and love building these DIY lights.

If you want fancy things like programmable dimmer switches or controllers, then you will need to buy those, but the main work of building the light, I can do in no time at all.

Manny ill look into heatsinks. Dimmer switches can be manual ones. As far as doing it for free, thats un acceptable. I can/will pay you either cash, tank/fish supplies, case of beer? LOL ill browse my options and see what i can dig up. As of now its either that ebay light i just found or having you create something for me. Let me look up heatsinks and what not first

 

[Webmanny]

Beer is always an acceptable form of payment. LOL

Let me know.