Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
Ouch! How did that happen?
Rebuild and recovery of a dead tank
- Thread starter jason2459
- Start date
Ouch! How did that happen?
jason2459
Well-known member
Oh we were refinishing the basement as there was mold under the wall boards and styrofoam the previous people put up. I got all the wall board and foam down and had to go out of town for work. While I was out of town the wife was very nice to have some of her family come over and help do some mold removal all around the basement walls... Sump is in the basement... the two together did not go well. The sump wasn't covered or protected at all.
Pretty much any invert that wasn't buried in the sand or deep in a rock died. I then started to loose many fish.
jason2459
Well-known member
Buckeye Hydro said the prefilter rinse valve I added is in a good spot and not to move it.
This is quite the system though and was a little more involved in getting setup then the basic 5 stage I had before but overall wasn't very hard. The instruction manual laid out all the steps needed to do and it came with everything needed to get it running.
And even had fittings put into place already
This is quite the system though and was a little more involved in getting setup then the basic 5 stage I had before but overall wasn't very hard. The instruction manual laid out all the steps needed to do and it came with everything needed to get it running.
And even had fittings put into place already
jason2459
Well-known member
Created a thread for The Gapper in the equipment subsection.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24964950
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24964950
jason2459
Well-known member
Well, I haven't gotten anywhere with SB Reeflights. I was able to get some email exchanges about the brightness and I have a violet LED out. When I would get an email back it would be they will look into the brightness and will send a strip out to replace the one with the violet LED. Hasn't happened.
I also plugged all the strips into a Killawatt and turns out the lack of brightness is due to them being WAY under powered. The 60" is supposed to be pulling 135watts. According to killawatt they are all pulling between 50-55watts.
I told SB Reeflight and they did look into that and the reply was that the people they buy their lights from, (I thought they put them together...) slightly under powered them so they wouldn't run at 100% and burn out to quick. Which makes sense. But over 50% less? Needs to change their advertising. And I'm still waiting to get the replacement LED....
So, I'm not so happy with them right now and moving on. Pretty much everything in the tank by now is "reaching". Sucks I like the strips and like the color they are giving out and I don't want to go back to reefbrite as I wanted more watt's pulled especially for the price.
So, I'm keeping the T5 in place and that is awesome and love the retro down the middle. Now to figure out how to put LEDs around it. More to come on that but it wont be with SB Reeflights.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
Typical! They advertise the rated wattage, then underpower them so they can short on the heat sink needed and increase the lifespan. Instead of having a proper heat sink and a cooling fan...hmmmmmm
I see this a lot on the stock LED growth lamps that people link to when looking for algae scrubber lights, it doesn't completely shock me that others are doing it too, but for a niche market like aquarium lighting where the intensity is kinda the main thing, eh....not a good sign for SBRL I think.....
I see this a lot on the stock LED growth lamps that people link to when looking for algae scrubber lights, it doesn't completely shock me that others are doing it too, but for a niche market like aquarium lighting where the intensity is kinda the main thing, eh....not a good sign for SBRL I think.....
jason2459
Well-known member
I was rather disappointed. I just was surprised at how much they talk about how they custom everything and seem to know what's best through lots of testing yet it seems like they don't actually know there products that well and haven't tested at all which are dropped shipped right from china.
They also said they will be coming out with a dimming controller they can offer me at cost but I don't want to dimm these any.more. I want them brighter.
This is what I bought and didn't get
We also wanted to actually drive the diodes at a full 3w. Most competitors run diodes at 1.5 to 2.2w on a 3w rated diode, by using 375ma drivers. To do this we needed the best quality diode you can buy, CREE! Yes our units have Cree 10K Hyper White and 450nm Royal Blue diodes. The ratio is 2 Royal Blue to each 10K white. This provides a great aesthetic with some pop for corals. The Cree 10K is the brightest white diode on the market.
The 50/50 works great for Fish only tanks or with an Actinic bar for a reef tank.
Units have sliding swivel mounts for almost endless mounting combinations.
24" - 54W
36" - 81W
48" - 108W
60" - 135W
72" - 162W
Comes with the standard SB Reef Lights 2 year warranty!
They also said they will be coming out with a dimming controller they can offer me at cost but I don't want to dimm these any.more. I want them brighter.
This is what I bought and didn't get
We also wanted to actually drive the diodes at a full 3w. Most competitors run diodes at 1.5 to 2.2w on a 3w rated diode, by using 375ma drivers. To do this we needed the best quality diode you can buy, CREE! Yes our units have Cree 10K Hyper White and 450nm Royal Blue diodes. The ratio is 2 Royal Blue to each 10K white. This provides a great aesthetic with some pop for corals. The Cree 10K is the brightest white diode on the market.
The 50/50 works great for Fish only tanks or with an Actinic bar for a reef tank.
Units have sliding swivel mounts for almost endless mounting combinations.
24" - 54W
36" - 81W
48" - 108W
60" - 135W
72" - 162W
Comes with the standard SB Reef Lights 2 year warranty!
jason2459
Well-known member
Ok, so here's the plan and going to blast my tank with leds shotgun style but this time I have some more control and coverage compared to what I tried with the ocean revive fixtures.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-32-v2/
Getting 4 32" Photon V2 fixtures from Reef breeders. For one they have been giving good customer support from what I have seen over the past few years. I like that the fixtures support the ability to use legs for tank top mounting and come with the fixtures. I have a plan to be able to use them to mount up into the canopy and attach two together to make 2 pairs.
I'm looking to keep my dual T5s down the middle of the tank. Then put a pair on each side and tilted inward slightly. Maybe. Will start out like that and see if I like it. I'll flip the directions between the pairs. Which if I'm looking at the layouts right will help the two rows complement each other better. Having the two rows will also put up a LOT of leds up into the canopy which will hopefully give a lot of coverage. Also, if what I'm thinking of doing with the legs I should be able to mount them up higher in the canopy which was another issue I had with the ocean revive fixtures.
I really did not like the red and green leds in the old fixtures I had and made for an annoying shimmer. These have 6 channels to be able to control and the reds and greens are on their own channels which is perfect as I can play with their intesities individually from the rest of the leds to maybe even having them turned off. If that happens I'll look into just swapping those leds out all together for a different color temp. I also plan to remove their lens to help their spread to reduce spot lighting. I also shouldn't need to get anywhere near 100% which I was with the ocean revive fixtures. 100% both channels left no where to go and wearing out those leds.
I do like the ratio of blue to whites which is just over 2 to 1. With the coral plus bulbs I'm hoping for a nice crisp 14k look. I also notice with the 16/32 length fixtures the leds are more tightly packed compared to the 24/48 lengths. May be a good thing for blending in better.
Then I'll have to play around with timing and for the first time ramping. That's actually not something I'm looking forward to. I like just old fashioned on and off. No guess work. But after this maybe I'll be hooked into the scheduling ramping thing.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-32-v2/
Getting 4 32" Photon V2 fixtures from Reef breeders. For one they have been giving good customer support from what I have seen over the past few years. I like that the fixtures support the ability to use legs for tank top mounting and come with the fixtures. I have a plan to be able to use them to mount up into the canopy and attach two together to make 2 pairs.
I'm looking to keep my dual T5s down the middle of the tank. Then put a pair on each side and tilted inward slightly. Maybe. Will start out like that and see if I like it. I'll flip the directions between the pairs. Which if I'm looking at the layouts right will help the two rows complement each other better. Having the two rows will also put up a LOT of leds up into the canopy which will hopefully give a lot of coverage. Also, if what I'm thinking of doing with the legs I should be able to mount them up higher in the canopy which was another issue I had with the ocean revive fixtures.
I really did not like the red and green leds in the old fixtures I had and made for an annoying shimmer. These have 6 channels to be able to control and the reds and greens are on their own channels which is perfect as I can play with their intesities individually from the rest of the leds to maybe even having them turned off. If that happens I'll look into just swapping those leds out all together for a different color temp. I also plan to remove their lens to help their spread to reduce spot lighting. I also shouldn't need to get anywhere near 100% which I was with the ocean revive fixtures. 100% both channels left no where to go and wearing out those leds.
I do like the ratio of blue to whites which is just over 2 to 1. With the coral plus bulbs I'm hoping for a nice crisp 14k look. I also notice with the 16/32 length fixtures the leds are more tightly packed compared to the 24/48 lengths. May be a good thing for blending in better.
Then I'll have to play around with timing and for the first time ramping. That's actually not something I'm looking forward to. I like just old fashioned on and off. No guess work. But after this maybe I'll be hooked into the scheduling ramping thing.
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jason2459
Well-known member
Oh man, I just did the software upgrade to v2 for the SCA. It's awesome. It added out of water alerting and along with PAR and LUX it includes now PUR as well. That's an awesome value.
Who knows if its accurate but should be good enough for tracking and matching purposes and with BRS testing the PAR readings being better at LEDs then the older 200 series Apogee and the newer Apogee 500 series being slightly better the seneye is a great value just for being a light meter.
Going to put this in my return section now for a backup ATO has failed alert. No slides needed for that fyi.
And my dismal PAR/LUX readings [emoji53]
Sandbed under the LEDs. I want this over 100 and closer to 200.
The T5 strip I think has saved the tank
About half way up under the T5 strip
Near top under T5
Not sure what happen to my near top under LED picture. It was 150-180's. I want that near 400+ near top. Dual T5 by itself basically isn't doing to bad thank goodness.
Who knows if its accurate but should be good enough for tracking and matching purposes and with BRS testing the PAR readings being better at LEDs then the older 200 series Apogee and the newer Apogee 500 series being slightly better the seneye is a great value just for being a light meter.
Going to put this in my return section now for a backup ATO has failed alert. No slides needed for that fyi.
And my dismal PAR/LUX readings [emoji53]
Sandbed under the LEDs. I want this over 100 and closer to 200.
The T5 strip I think has saved the tank
About half way up under the T5 strip
Near top under T5
Not sure what happen to my near top under LED picture. It was 150-180's. I want that near 400+ near top. Dual T5 by itself basically isn't doing to bad thank goodness.
jason2459
Well-known member
From the Seneye
LX20000
New member
Do you use the Seneye to monitor anything else ?? How does that thing work? It sits in your tank collecting data, then every now and then you plug it into your PC and dump the data?? I notice there are monthly cards you have to buy... ugh.... do you need to buy the cards just to use the light meter ???
jason2459
Well-known member
No card needed for the light meter or the out of water alerting. I think temp too. I do keep it in the sump and attached to an old laptop so it's always syncing with their cloud interface. Some times the slide expires and I'll get it replaced but will definitely always make sure it has a fresh slide in there when ever I go out of town.
Good device. Such a shame though they never added monitoring for other params. I remember ages (years) back they were saying salinity and some others were going to be available imminently. Still nothing though AFAIK?
jason2459
Well-known member
Yeah it would be good to see them develop it further but the challenge will be keeping the cost of the slides down. Like the mindstream (if it ever comes out) is supposed to be like $35/month. The Seneye is like $30 for 3 months worth. But you can stretch that out a few days.
But for me it's not huge as I have my Apex that is my primary monitor and controller that provides pH, Temp, ORP, and Salinity.
Alk, Ca, Nitrate, Phosphate, Mg etc would be awesome to see come out someday. Alk looks to be soon and is out for over $1000 with the kH Guardian. Apex and Profilux are working on it too. Profilux I hear is also working in Ca. Pinpoint has had a Ca monitor but has very mixed reviews and mostly not good.
jason2459
Well-known member
Now to figure out the remote and programming.
As I just finished getting this done. Got a late start. Family time first...
Getting things lined up and marked where some pilot holes need to go
Nice stainless steel eyelets and stainless steel snap rings. Notice the size difference and will tilt the fixtures inward
Getting them in the canopy and back on the tank...sucker was heavy! Should have been a team lift. lol
T5s back in and ready to go. If I want less angle I'll break out some zip ties
Excited to fire them up tomorrow...just hope they all light up. Then will get some par measurements. I'll probably start at 15% max each fixture and see where that's at and go from there.
As I just finished getting this done. Got a late start. Family time first...
Getting things lined up and marked where some pilot holes need to go
Nice stainless steel eyelets and stainless steel snap rings. Notice the size difference and will tilt the fixtures inward
Getting them in the canopy and back on the tank...sucker was heavy! Should have been a team lift. lol
T5s back in and ready to go. If I want less angle I'll break out some zip ties
Excited to fire them up tomorrow...just hope they all light up. Then will get some par measurements. I'll probably start at 15% max each fixture and see where that's at and go from there.
