My 280g Custom upgrade.....
- Thread starter SPotter
- Start date
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
How far are the LEDs from the screen?
SPotter
Active member
Scrubber wasn't a diy build. I had someone buikd it for me. This was the first time this led fixture was being used for something like this so it has been a lot of trial and error.
@newbiereefer....the leds are about 3-4" away from the screen. The way the box was designed there really isn't much room to pull them back any.
As I stated earlier, Im very happy with the results thus far as Im not running or dosing any carbon sources. My no3 and po4 levels are good and my water is crystal clear. not that I mind cleaning my glass but I only do it every 4-5 days which is great considering tgat at peak lighting I have over 900w's of light going into the tank. I will continue making adjustments to try and get a full growth on the entire screen.
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@newbiereefer....the leds are about 3-4" away from the screen. The way the box was designed there really isn't much room to pull them back any.
As I stated earlier, Im very happy with the results thus far as Im not running or dosing any carbon sources. My no3 and po4 levels are good and my water is crystal clear. not that I mind cleaning my glass but I only do it every 4-5 days which is great considering tgat at peak lighting I have over 900w's of light going into the tank. I will continue making adjustments to try and get a full growth on the entire screen.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Thanks for sharing the ATS progress. It'd be nice if you could dim the eshine fixture so it would allow you to dial down the intensity. If I end up running 1-3 of these I'll likely go the DIY LED route and make sure to get dimable drivers to be able to scale it back since LEDs are much brighter than we realize
SPotter
Active member
Thanks for sharing the ATS progress. It'd be nice if you could dim the eshine fixture so it would allow you to dial down the intensity. If I end up running 1-3 of these I'll likely go the DIY LED route and make sure to get dimable drivers to be able to scale it back since LEDs are much brighter than we realize
thats a great thought!!! I wonder if there is any way to pop this fixture open and put a dimmable driver on it. My faith in the scrubber continues as I am seeing very good growth with all of my sps. I will post new pictures of the scrubber in 2 weeks.
SPotter
Active member
The build quality is excellent and was definitely worth the investment. I really like have it totally enclosed as opposed to the first one that I built. I had spray everywhere but I see now that people are putting saran wrap over the screen to cut down on that. My second build was an enclosed box and looked nothing like what was built for me.
SPotter
Active member
Thanks for following along! I think the HRV handles the humidity very well in the fish room since my relative humidity never goes above 55%. But we also have a large Santa Fe Dehumidifier system that takes care of the rest of the basement so I dont know if that is kicking in any help. The ac unit I orginally ordered I ended sending back because I couldnt come up with a good way to exhaust it and heat has been a big issue for me. Temps in my fish room are hitting 82 degrees and the funny part is the living area in my basement which is on the other side of the wall never goes above 72 degrees. I have been controlling my water temps with two large fans hung over my frag tank and it has done a pretty good job of keeping the temp in the tank from going above 80. Down side to the fans is I am going thru about 10g a day in evaporation. Also, I might be imagining this but my fish seem more aggressive with the warmer temperatures. I know the warmer temps increase their metabolisms and activity levels but I am seeing more than normal "chasing" going on in the tank lately. I was all set to order a mini split ac unit but my brother in-law came up with a way for me to install a portable ac unit. So I ordered a 11.5k btu unit from costco for $300 and it will arrive on thursday. It has a built in dehumidifier so I will turn off the Fantech and see how effective this unit is at cooling and dehumidifying. If it works, I will sell the fantech unit and just stick with the ac unit. If it doesnt work, I will have to spend the money on a mini split syste for the room.
I read you had some ac issues while traveling.....is everything back to normal again?
danfeig
.Registered Member
It's all good. When the powere went out (we get monsoons in the summer) the a/c unit came back on in "Fan" mode and and my caretaker didn't know that she had to reset the A/C button.
I am told though that it is still humid in the fish room and I am looking for some additional alternatives that won't produce too much heat. I do have an outside wall that I can vent to as long as the appearance is unobtrusive (it goes out to my rear porch). I have been reading good reviews on the Fantech equipment.
SPotter
Active member
Thats good! The fantech definitely makes a difference in the fish room and I have long runs for the exhaust and fresh air lines. Its extremely quiet and throws off no heat at all. I would go to their site and see which one would be best for you.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
I bet if you bust it open you could. With a little soldering don't see why you could not put the new dimmer in and a POT. I don't think it's your photoperiod, I think it's the intensity of your light.
SPotter
Active member
maybe I will send an email to eshines and see what they have to say before I start busting anything open.
What if you put a light diffuser between the LEDs and the screen? Not eggs crate but the clear thin plastic stuff. On my phone now but if you need me to find a pic later I can just let me know.
Does who you bought out from have a website or is it just a local guy to you? Can you put me in touch with him?
Does who you bought out from have a website or is it just a local guy to you? Can you put me in touch with him?
SPotter
Active member
I put the diffusers in two weeks and that improved the growth tremendously for the area where there is growth. I will pm you details on who to contact for the scrubber.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
I was just going to suggest diffusing the light but also dimming it
I'd use door/window screen and try one/two layers, much like using it to acclimate coral to new lighting or when you added new MHs previously. It stood up to the heat of MHs so I'm sure it would stand up to the little heat the LEDs put off.
I'd use door/window screen and try one/two layers, much like using it to acclimate coral to new lighting or when you added new MHs previously. It stood up to the heat of MHs so I'm sure it would stand up to the little heat the LEDs put off.
SPotter
Active member
I was just going to suggest diffusing the light but also dimming it
Well I definitely have extra diffuser left over so thats worth a try too. I was also thinking about looking into non translucent acrylic too.
