Swope2bc
New member
One of the 65w units would be plenty, it will cover 2x2, I'm not positive if there is one smaller than that.
Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)
- Thread starter Atomic081
- Start date
One of the 65w units would be plenty, it will cover 2x2, I'm not positive if there is one smaller than that.
tonyftlaud
New member
Total noob here. Was hoping someone could answer a question for me.
I have a 50 gallon column aquarium. IT is 20x20x31 deep.
would one of the Mars Aqua 165W fixtures paired with a coral life 2x65W PC fixture
be sufficient lighting for a 31 inch deep tank? Id like to be able to keep some softies, GSP or leathers near the bottom of the tank.
Thanks for any feedback!
I have a 50 gallon column aquarium. IT is 20x20x31 deep.
would one of the Mars Aqua 165W fixtures paired with a coral life 2x65W PC fixture
be sufficient lighting for a 31 inch deep tank? Id like to be able to keep some softies, GSP or leathers near the bottom of the tank.
Thanks for any feedback!
Any overheating issues????
Any overheating issues????
cthetoy- I noticed that the fan you reference is only 24 cfm flow, now that you have used this for a while have you noticed any overheating issues???
Any overheating issues????
cthetoy- I noticed that the fan you reference is only 24 cfm flow, now that you have used this for a while have you noticed any overheating issues???
Swope2bc
New member
According to the documentation and reviews these lights will grow SPS at 24" depth. That being said, I cannot see why it wouldn't grow softies at 30". Assuming you will have sand on the bottom you raise up a tad too, and you can run it closer to the waters surface (the reviews I referred to put it at 10")
For the price, I would give it a whirl. Good luck!
tonyftlaud
New member
Thank you for the reply.
I will have sand and some rocks and shelves throughout the tank so maybe one or 2 corals at 29 inches deep the rest from 24 inches and shallower,
I will be going with one of the following scapes so I do have some nice spots if I decide to try some more light demanding corals in a year or so.
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[/img]I just ordered 6 of the (165)Mars Aqua's for my 200. This tank is 28 deep from water surface to sand bed.There are 3 sections separated by the top braces . they are about 19 by 19. there is a return manifold that takes up some of the space etc. I plan to hang 2 fixtures per section. I hope they will reach down that deep. I just read this thread and overall, have a good OP of these fixtures So we shall see! Thanks!
Swope2bc
New member
Ok swope You were right! here is a pic with 6 of these over my 200. I have since moved them much higher and still have "double" the lighting I had with the M/H. This is with a Quantum flux meter . I was completely surprised with the results,thought for sure they would be less than the m/h lighting. Also they are set around half. any way here is a pic at 4 inches You can see a lot of shading. Once I moved them up to 12 inches the shading is a lot less.
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Swope2bc
New member
Ok swope You were right! here is a pic with 6 of these over my 200. I have since moved them much higher and still have "double" the lighting I had with the M/H. This is with a Quantum flux meter . I was completely surprised with the results,thought for sure they would be less than the m/h lighting. Also they are set around half. any way here is a pic at 4 inches You can see a lot of shading. Once I moved them up to 12 inches the shading is a lot less.
Looks great! I've just learned how to run mine into the variable speed ports on my apex. I have yet to implement it but it should work flawlessly
SassyAngel111
New member
Ok I have a 72gl pentagon and bought the 300W I get great light coverage front, back and sides, my only question is that the tank is 24" deep and I have the blues on full and the whites about 50%, corals just softies, zoas and mushrooms and I am not getting any growth. I have had the lights since I sat up the tank about 4 months ago and then about a month and a half after that I had started adding the zoas some of them have no color unless only the blue lights are on. Should I turn down the whites? I am also getting bleached out hair algae, after I had just battled a real bad out break of it.
Swope2bc
New member
I wish I could link you to it but no it does not concern the odd power jacks. Those are for international power options. If you open your black box you will see two circuit boards that are your dimmers. Coming from the power supplies to the dimmer board will be a (typically white) 4 wire strand. Two of these are for power from the supply and two are for dimming information. Basically the two for power get jumped together forming a constant on (you may want to plug into a timer to allow the unit down time to extend life). The other two wires attach to a cat5 network cable (each cat5 can dim two power supplies) then the cat5 plugs into the variable speed port on the Apex.
Google Chinese black box to apex for a short 40 second video that will only make sense with the case opened. Then Google apex to DIY LEDs for info on the cat5.
In a week or so I'll post pics of the process on here when I do it.
Swope2bc
New member
Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)
Ok guys, I'm going to post a quick write up on converting the Chinese black box to operate with the Neptune Apex.
Opening up your black box will look similar to this inside.
Disconnect the power and over temp sensors from the LED board to allow easier work.
Your dimmer board will resemble this, in the next photo you will see the back side of this board. Be sure to look closely at this so you know which white feeds your power and switch and which two are your 0-10v and ground. My two dimmers were reversed, meaning that the symbols on the wires cannot be trusted.
The apex uses pin 3/4 and 7/8 on a standard network cable. 3&7 being grounds. Depending on the connector you use be sure your pins line up.
The power from your LED power supplies is being jumped together creating a constant ON, but your APEX will turn it on and off.
(Conclusion in next post)
Ok guys, I'm going to post a quick write up on converting the Chinese black box to operate with the Neptune Apex.
Opening up your black box will look similar to this inside.
Disconnect the power and over temp sensors from the LED board to allow easier work.
Your dimmer board will resemble this, in the next photo you will see the back side of this board. Be sure to look closely at this so you know which white feeds your power and switch and which two are your 0-10v and ground. My two dimmers were reversed, meaning that the symbols on the wires cannot be trusted.
The apex uses pin 3/4 and 7/8 on a standard network cable. 3&7 being grounds. Depending on the connector you use be sure your pins line up.
The power from your LED power supplies is being jumped together creating a constant ON, but your APEX will turn it on and off.
(Conclusion in next post)
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Reef Aquatics
Member
I purchased one of these for my 30 gallon reef and
although I'm very happy with the color it produces.
It has been running for 3 weeks and doesn't seem as
bright as it was in the first week of running it.
In the beginning I had the actinics running at 75% and
the daylights at about 50%. Now to get that brightness
I have the actinics at 90% and the daylights about 75%
and the fixture is only 3 weeks old.
Anyone else have this issue with these?
although I'm very happy with the color it produces.
It has been running for 3 weeks and doesn't seem as
bright as it was in the first week of running it.
In the beginning I had the actinics running at 75% and
the daylights at about 50%. Now to get that brightness
I have the actinics at 90% and the daylights about 75%
and the fixture is only 3 weeks old.
Anyone else have this issue with these?
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Martini5788
New member
I purchased one of these for my 30 gallon reef and
although I'm very happy with the color it produces.
It has been running for 3 weeks and doesn't seem as
bright as it was in the first week of running it.
In the beginning I had the actinics running at 75% and
the daylights at about 50%. Now to get that brightness
I have the actinics at 90% and the daylights about 75%
and the fixture is only 3 weeks old.
Anyone else have this issue with these?
I would contact the seller and have them send you a replacement for sure.
Rwiesner20
New member
So any updates on anyone using.
