Reefbreeders/(Evergrow OEM) Fixtures D120/IT20** series

[tennisstudrogie]

I am a complete noob when it comes to lighting and I'm having an issue with one of my Evergrow D120 Led modules.

My blue channel is completely not working even though the power looks to on. I noticed it looked a lot bluer than my other D120 module today so I went to adjust the dimmer and the blue leds immediately shut off and won't turn back on.

I emailed Evergrow but I'm not sure how great of a response I'll get. Anyone got any steps I need to take? Again, I'm a completely rookie with lighting and would appreciate any advice

 

[bromdad]

Please post a note when you get the problems resolved with Evergrow and tell us what it cost. I purchased my fixtures from Reefbreeders and although I may have payed a little more, the two year warrantee with free shipping was very attractive.

 

[Jone]

Planning on setting up a 24 x 72 x 12 frag tank..I am considering 3-24" photons,,but the lights will be hung so that the sides will be touching each other or very little space between them..Are there going to be any heat/cooling issues with the 24" lights or should I just get the 16" lights?? Maybe possibly 2-24" lights and 1-16" just to maintain an air gap between fixtures..Would love the most coverage but dont want any issue/problems..

 

[bromdad]

3-24" photons is probably overkill assuming you can get at least 9-10 inches above the water with 90 degree optics. There should be no heat problems assuming normal room temperatures and adequate space in front of and behind the fixtures. If this is the case, I would recomment 3 photon sixteens or 2-32s.

 

[Jone]

Thanks for the reply..I can mount the fixtures any where from the tank water to 20" above the tanks..Also thinking of getting 120 degree optics verses 90 degree optics...What do you think???

3-24" photons is probably overkill assuming you can get at least 9-10 inches above the water with 90 degree optics. There should be no heat problems assuming normal room temperatures and adequate space in front of and behind the fixtures. If this is the case, I would recomment 3 photon sixteens or 2-32s.

 

[bromdad]

Go with the 90 degree optics. I have a standard 180g tank with two cross struts. My lights are mounted 10" above the water and the 90 degree lights all areas well. Corals come to within 7" from the top (SPS) and are growing well and getting light all over. I use 3 photon 16's and have to use two 250 watt heaters to maintain 79 degrees.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I just replaced my Phoenix 250W MH bulbs with Lumenbright reflectors with three Evergrow IT2040 on my 180.

Do you have any recommendation for acclimating my corals? Should I start with much less intensity than 100%? I measured the intensities of the lights with a lux meter and the intensity of my MH fixture is higher than that of the LED fixture. I understand that the lux values are not too acculate for our purpose and only serve as a guideline.

Everything looks great so far. The colors of the corals under LED look very close to how they were under the MH. I just hate to see them getting slowly burned over the next few days...

 

[bromdad]

I would recommend playing it on the safe side since under lighting the corals will not cause any harm but over lighting will. Do not go by the par meter. Assuming same depth of the corals and same height of the fixture as previously I would recommend a max of 50% power to start with and a 10% increase of either channel (not both) each week. Be patient and you will be rewarded. If you have any doubts, I would start even lower as some corals will be directly under the bulb(s) that were not before.

 

[overkill1125]

Reefer freak,
So I have a spreadsheet that is for a lighting cycle that is a sine curve as a natural sunrise/sunset follows a sine curve. I got it somewhere here on RC but can't find it so I will try to upload it for you guys. It is not what I use, but if you want it to be as natural as possible it is the best schedule to use. You just put in what you want your max intensity to be for each channel and it tells you how to program your light cycle to mimic the suns sine curve. Hope it helps.

Can't open the link attached. Had a power failure and now my custom setting has been reset. I searched many pages and still can't find the intensity program for the 1hr setting interval.

Let me know if you have it.

Thanks!

 

[bromdad]

Go to the Reefbreeders Photon Series page and open the link to the programable guide.

 

[pompeyjohn]

For a zoa frag tank - 4'x2'x8" - what do you recommend? Thanks.

 

[ca1ore]

Linking Fixtures

Linking Fixtures

Has anyone been able to successfully link multiple units to a single controller? If so, could you post which wires to connect together. I've asked this question over on the RB forum, but it gets ignored which suggests that RB don't really want us mucking around with it.

I have a pair of photon32 units that I cannot keep synchronized and it is becoming a real PitA.

 

[bromdad]

Regarding the frag tank. This can be a matter of personal choice. I prefer two photon 16s. This allows better control for different frags, ie. deep water or shallow zoas and if one fails you can at least keep the tank lit while awaiting repairs. The value fixtures would save some money if you don't need an automatic program and don't care about two wires and external timers. The 32 inch fixture would result in light fall off at the ends and the 48" one would result in over spill. Use 90 degree optics.

 

[Esage]

I'm using a 32" evergrow over my 48x24x12, light is hung 12" above the water line

 

[P3t3r]

Ca1ore let me know if you find out interested as well

 

[pompeyjohn]

Thanks Bromdad, - I'll go for two units with 90 optics unless an absolute steal comes up locally for a t5 setup.

 

[bromdad]

Let's see.
Steal on T5 unit say $200.00
6 bulbs every year for 2 years $300.00*
Electricity for 2 years @ .50 cents/day $365.00 not counting the electricity consumed by the ballasts.
Total $865.00

LED fixtures
two photon 16s on Reefbreeders group buy $520.00 with 2 year warrantee
electricity for two years at 50% power $95.00
Total $615.00

* Actually they should be changed every 9 months. The unit you get is used and you cannot assume that the bulbs are not spent. You will have to wipe the bulbs frequently as well as clean the reflectors which will have to be replaced eventually as they get spotted unless the T5 unit you acquire has a glass cover like the LED fixture. Beyond 2 years, the difference in price becomes astronomical. Therefore, unless you have a compelling reason to purchase T5, perhaps for growing SPS instead of zoas or your mother raised a fool, I would not even consider the T5s.

 

[H.reidi.MN]

Man its crazy how all these lights are basically the same how can someone end up choosing one over the other? Reef Breeders, Reef Radiance and Ocean Revive?

What I'm looking at are Either Reef radiance or the OR Arctic s026 over a 20 Gallon. Problem is RR has so many dang lights and they all look the same just different prices? Which RR light would compare to the Arctic-S026? I like the RB value fixture which has 2 year warranty as well but trying to stay closer to $150 not $180..

Thanks

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Problem is RR has so many dang lights and they all look the same just different prices? Which RR light would compare to the Arctic-S026? I like the RB value fixture which has 2 year warranty as well but trying to stay closer to $150 not $180..

Thanks

I don't know how RR light differs from Arctic-5026, RR's own light, such as DM-132e, looks a lot warmer than Evergrow IT2040 in person. Evergrow is bluer and has a lot closer look to 14K MH light such as Phoenix 14K. It's hard to compare them with just online pictures alone. I had to see them in person to really appreciate the difference (I have both of these lights.)

 

[AkoAung]

Hey guys, I've had the Evergrow D120 (v2) for a couple of months now and I'm quite happy with the lights. The light is very bright, and intense. Fan is very quiet.

However, they don't give the same pop to my corals (especially when looking for colors under blue or actinic light). I think that's because their version of actinic is blue instead of actinic or royal blue. The same corals I have under par38s with royal blues have dazzling colour but with the blues they aren't coming out flourescent.

I want to change half of the blue LEDs for royal blue. How easy/difficult is it to do that? what's the experience of other people who have done it?
Thanks