My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[GoVols]

Two should work fine.

Thanks Slief

One more question, if you don't mind.

With my display area being 42" wide by 22" deep. Which way would you mount the 2 for the most even led spread?

Would you mount the 2 mitras 12.8" length, side by side going across my 42" width
or do you feel it would be better to mount the 12.8" side by side from front to back of my 22" dept?

 

[scuzy]

Think your first option will have the best spread.


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[GoVols]

Think your first option will have the best spread.


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Thanks,

I have an older RSM S 400 with the original T5 canopy and modded leds into the mid section and still pushing the remaining 8 T5's on the the outer sections that flip up.

Red Sea released their led upgrage kit last year. It comes with 2 AI hydra 26 hd's.

So, I'm thinking about getting my (lfs) to order the Red Sea led mount bar that fits my 400 and it fits inside my upper rim so I can slide it back and forth to were it want my led's.

Get the new Mitras and mount them to that upgrade kit bar and it will look factory and I can hide the wires inside the bar.

 

[scuzy]

I'm going to order mine soon


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[slief]

Think your first option will have the best spread.


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I agree. That said, it will depend on how the rock work is setup. If there is sufficient open space on either end of the dispaly, I might run them front to back instead of left to right down the length of the tank. That would help with shadowing. If they are being mounted inside a canopy or to a lighting mount, articulating mounts like the ones I am using could be used to angle the lights towards center to help with spread and reduce shadowing as well as reducing light on the side viewing panes. Height of the lights or distance from the water will also be a factor in what will ultimately be the best layout. As I mentioned before, these lights are insanely powerful which allows for higher mounting without sacrificing much if any PAR. I have the luxury of being able to raise or lower my light rack so if needed. I can raise my light rack for better coverage and increase the intensity as needed.

 

[GoVols]

I agree. That said, it will depend on how the rock work is setup. If there is sufficient open space on either end of the dispaly, I might run them front to back instead of left to right down the length of the tank. That would help with shadowing. If they are being mounted inside a canopy or to a lighting mount, articulating mounts like the ones I am using could be used to angle the lights towards center to help with spread and reduce shadowing as well as reducing light on the side viewing panes. Height of the lights or distance from the water will also be a factor in what will ultimately be the best layout. As I mentioned before, these lights are insanely powerful which allows for higher mounting without sacrificing much if any PAR. I have the luxury of being able to raise or lower my light rack so if needed. I can raise my light rack for better coverage and increase the intensity as needed.

I thinking both of you are correct going long ways with the length of the tank for the spread. The RS led bar is fairly tall witch is going to help with spread too. With that bar I side were I want it and angle the two fixtures if needed after I find the front to back sweet spot.

I guarantee they will not even be close to push at 100%. I've have better results in the past with led's to buy over power, choke it back and make sure to get the spread correct.

Thanks for both of you to take the time to give me guidance.

 

[slief]

I thinking both of you are correct going long ways with the length of the tank for the spread. The RS led bar is fairly tall witch is going to help with spread too. With that bar I side were I want it and angle the two fixtures if needed after I find the front to back sweet spot.

I guarantee they will not even be close to push at 100%. I've have better results in the past with led's to buy over power, choke it back and make sure to get the spread correct.

Thanks for both of you to take the time to give me guidance.

If you can raise the lights like you say, I would probably run them side by side and see of that works. It will provide less shadowing from front to back. I'd likely place them 1.5' apart or each one 9" out from center of the tank and see how that works. If you can angle them towards center, you could probably space them 20" apart or even 22" apart. If that doesn't work, then run the length wise but you will be really surprised by the spread and becaue of the power, you will have more than one option for mounting.

 

[GoVols]

If you can raise the lights like you say, I would probably run them side by side and see of that works. It will provide less shadowing from front to back. I'd likely place them 1.5' apart or each one 9" out from center of the tank and see how that works. If you can angle them towards center, you could probably space them 20" apart or even 22" apart. If that doesn't work, then run the length wise but you will be really surprised by the spread and becaue of the power, you will have more than one option for mounting.

Thanks again Slief,

The RS led bar is high enough that Red Sea puts the hydra's in the way you just said.
They run the (2) hydra's 7.3" length front to back.

The hydra's are 7.3" x 5.375 with two round leds pucks (But I would not call it corner to corner spread)

The Mitra's are 12.8" x 7.9" with the six square pucks more spread out (If I get lucky I may be able to run them the 12.8" length with my 42" length to get a better corner to corner spread) the 7.9" Mitra depth is a tad longer than the Hydra 7.3" length.

 

[sfsuphysics]

If you have a lot of open space why would you care about how much light the sandbed/tank bottom gets?

 

[slief]

If you have a lot of open space why would you care about how much light the sandbed/tank bottom gets?

Not sure if that question was for me or not. I don't really care about the light the bottom of the tank gets. It gets what it gets and it's not something I even bother measuring. I don't really keep corals that need high intensity down there anyway. That said, because of the way I have my lights mounted around the perimeneter of the tank (with with fixtures tilted a bit to aim the light towards the middle of the tank), the bottom of the tank still gets more than enough light for most any corals.

Jim will be here around 1PM with video cameras in hand to film the lighting upgrade for an up coming LA Fish Guys episode as well as to film an LA Frag Guys episode. The new Mitras will be installed and setup today! Stay tuned. Pictures to some later this afternoon or evening. :dance:

 

[GoVols]

Not sure if that question was for me or not. I don't really care about the light the bottom of the tank gets. It gets what it gets and it's not something I even bother measuring. I don't really keep corals that need high intensity down there anyway. That said, because of the way I have my lights mounted around the perimeneter of the tank (with with fixtures tilted a bit to aim the light towards the middle of the tank), the bottom of the tank still gets more than enough light for most any corals.

Jim will be here around 1PM with video cameras in hand to film the lighting upgrade for an up coming LA Fish Guys episode as well as to film an LA Frag Guys episode. The new Mitras will be installed and setup today! Stay tuned. Pictures to some later this afternoon or evening. :dance:

 

[slief]

Mitras are installed!! Install went very smooth thanks to good planning. We filmed the entire install and even dedicated an entire part of the episode to software setup and basic programming.

I still have work to do on the lighting project (programming) as I am starting with minimal intensity in order to acclimate my corals slowly to the new lighting. I dropped the intenisty on my Kessils a bit and will take my time with the adjustments.

Here are some pictures. I will work on some tank shots as well but at this point, it would be though to tell the difference from one light to the next with the camera.

 

[GoVols]

Slief,

Looking good!!!!!!!!!

Tagging along

 

[sfsuphysics]

You're sexy and you know it!

 

[worm5406]

Looking good. Like the way the mounts let you angle the lights.

Did you test PAR in the episode too?

How are the sea swirls holding out?
I purchased 4 for my 265 last year, just waiting to start that build.

 

[slief]

Looking good. Like the way the mounts let you angle the lights.

Did you test PAR in the episode too?

How are the sea swirls holding out?
I purchased 4 for my 265 last year, just waiting to start that build.

Thanks! We didn't do any PAR testing. It was more about getting the lights installed and running through setting them up on the network and in the GHL program as well as with the My GHL(GHL's cloud interface).

I have to work my way up on the intensity anyways since this is a major lighting change and I can't afford to risk damage to my corals as a results of the change.. Truthfully, I've learned that PAR numbers are just for bragging rights and aren't as important as people make them out to be when it comes to coral growth. At least when it comes to higher end lights. They are much more powerful than meets the eye and produce the right spectrum that corals need for growth. I learned that with the Kessils long ago. That is where the whole PUR Vs PAR debate comes into play. At this stage, the only thing PAR numbers will be useful for is getting a gauge on where my Kessils are as far as intensity goes and using that number as a reference point as I work my way up in intensity with the Mitras and work my way down in intensity with the Kessils. The numbers will be somewhat useful even if they aren't all that accurate. The there is the fact that my PAR meter is the MQ-200 and not the MQ-510 means my meter won't be very accurate with the blue spectrum anyways. I do need to send my MQ-200 into Apogee for an upgrade to the MQ-510 which I may do this week. I already have the RMA number and Apogee has a very reasonable upgrade program which is nice.

 

[cpllongjk]

I found it.

What bracket are you using to mount your Mitras? I currently have my ATI Hybrid mounted by two wires from the ceiling, does the Mitras have a similar hanging kit or would I need to make one?

 

[cpllongjk]

When can we expect the youtube video to be published?

 

[slief]

I found it.

What bracket are you using to mount your Mitras? I currently have my ATI Hybrid mounted by two wires from the ceiling, does the Mitras have a similar hanging kit or would I need to make one?

The Mitras don't included a hanging kit but they do offer a hanging kit separately like what you are using now. That said, the Mitras use an M4 screw in the top of the light for the mounting point. I don't recall what the AI's use but I think it's an M5 thread. You could probably get a M4 die at the hardware store and cut the threads down to M4 on our hanging kit.

My articulating mounts are designed for light racks and canopy mounting can be found here:
http://aquariumledmounts.com/products/ghl-mitras-articulating-mount-for-lx6-lx7-series-leds

 

[slief]

When can we expect the youtube video to be published?

The LA Fish Guys Youtube video will likely go online in the next week or two and will be posted here. Jim has a lot of editing to do which he does in his spare time. I will share it here once it's uploaded.