SuncrestReef Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Several of my SPS colonies at the top of my rock work have been growing quite large, and they're starting to cast shadows on some of the corals lower in the tank. I don't really want to cut them back very much, so I decided to rotate my ReeFi LED lights 90 degrees and add a 3rd light in the middle to provide more coverage, in particular in the front and back of the tank. Since I originally mounted my ReeFi's on the Ecotech RMS arms from my old Radions using custom adapters Daniel from ReeFi provided, I contacted him to see if he could design a new adapter for the rotated orientation. Here's what he came up with, and it works perfectly! The adapter slides right into the aluminum channel from the RMS, and is angled by 3.6 degrees to account for the sagging slope RMS mounts are notorious for. After test fitting this prototype, now I'm just waiting on Daniel to print the additional adapters and for my 3rd RMS mount kit to arrive so I can rearrange my lights. For now, I have one rotated 90 degrees. Here are some before and after photos: Before: After: I'll post an update once I have the new RMS arm and adapters for all 3 lights. I want to give a big Thank You to Daniel @danlu_gt. Such awesome customer service! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Well that is going to be a lot of light! Second the customer service aspect... we are pretty spoiled having @danlu_gt in the local community. It's pretty impressive how having someone who is handy with 3D printing can really customize their products on the fly to accommodate all the unusual use cases we come up with in this community. He helped me a lot as well with some unusual tank mounts that made it possible to do a rack installation. Good stuff! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 If I remember right, your tank is a 4' setup. If so, I did the same thing to my tank. Rotated my Radion's and added a 3rd in the middle. I like the extra coverage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, albertareef said: Well that is going to be a lot of light! Second the customer service aspect... we are pretty spoiled having @danlu_gt in the local community. It's pretty impressive how having someone who is handy with 3D printing can really customize their products on the fly to accommodate all the unusual use cases we come up with in this community. He helped me a lot as well with some unusual tank mounts that made it possible to to a rack installation. Good stuff! Are you rockin' ReeFis now too, Sean? Pics please! That is awesome, John. We'd better measure the PAR on your tank after you add the third light. You might be giving Mattv a run for his money. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, Lexinverts said: Are you rockin' ReeFis now too, Sean? Pics please! Indeed I am. Have three of them over the 125 so one for every two feet (72 inch tank). I have given up posting pics until I have time to actually do so with my "real" camera and work them up - John gives me too much grief for the crappy cell pics 😃 I will eventually do an update to the build thread one of these days... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 For sps grower 1 Reefi per 12" -18" apart will be awesome 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveZ Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Thanks for the info on here guys. Been thinking about lighting setup for my 120g (standard 4x2x2) as my AI hydra 52s have LEDs burning out. Could be cool to think through something different with lights. Other option was 4x XR15s. Has anyone tested the ReeFi par output on max? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 26 minutes ago, DaveZ said: Thanks for the info on here guys. Been thinking about lighting setup for my 120g (standard 4x2x2) as my AI hydra 52s have LEDs burning out. Could be cool to think through something different with lights. Other option was 4x XR15s. Has anyone tested the ReeFi par output on max? Since you asked, I pulled out my PAR meter and took these measurements just now. My ReeFi's are 8" above the water surface. All channels at 100% 1/4" below water surface: 902 Top of rocks, 6" below surface: 604 Sand bottom, 18" below surface: 273 Normal daytime peak lighting: 1/4" below water surface: 632 Top of rocks, 6" below surface: 404 Sand bottom, 18" below surface: 165 Here's my normal ReeFi lighting schedule where those last numbers were measured: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveZ Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 18 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said: Since you asked, I pulled out my PAR meter and took these measurements just now. My ReeFi's are 8" above the water surface. All channels at 100% 1/4" below water surface: 902 Top of rocks, 6" below surface: 604 Sand bottom, 18" below surface: 273 Normal daytime peak lighting: 1/4" below water surface: 632 Top of rocks, 6" below surface: 404 Sand bottom, 18" below surface: 165 Here's my normal ReeFi lighting schedule where those last numbers were measured: Thanks @SuncrestReef, that is awesome to know. And are you currently running two fixtures? I would most likely want to use a minimum of 3 fixtures going perpendicular to the peninsula. Also planning on dual T5 Blue+ on sides as well for a hybrid setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, DaveZ said: Thanks @SuncrestReef, that is awesome to know. And are you currently running two fixtures? I would most likely want to use a minimum of 3 fixtures going perpendicular to the peninsula. Also planning on dual T5 Blue+ on sides as well for a hybrid setup. Yes, if you read my post above, I currently have 2 ReeFi's while I'm waiting on a 3rd RMS mount to install an additional light. This is on a Red Sea Reefer XL 425 which is 48" x 23" and 22" deep. I switched to ReeFi last August after previously using two Radion XR30 Pro G4's, but I kept the Radion RMS mount arms to use with the new ReeFi's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 John, what is the distance of light fixture to water surface? Some people may hang the light fixture higher for more coverage with less par Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 4 minutes ago, goldenbasketreef said: John, what is the distance of light fixture to water surface? Some people may hang the light fixture higher for more coverage with less par 8" above water surface. The RMS arms are not height adjustable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 IME, hybrid may not be necessary anymore if using LED fixture 2 years old till current. In the past T5 supplementation used for more coloration and avoiding shadow effect and growth because not enough royal blue in the fixture. Most of uptodate LED Fixture design consist of enough royal blue, more so compare to the older unit so T5 supplementation no longer needed. For aesthetic purpose adding T5 will be a great enhancement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 I use Kessil A series mounting arm for my tank at show. I modded the fixture to be able to hang with the kessil arm. Kessil mounting arm is adjustable height and adjustable front to back to center the fixture. It is another option that readily available with some modification. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveZ Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 22 minutes ago, goldenbasketreef said: IME, hybrid may not be necessary anymore if using LED fixture 2 years old till current. In the past T5 supplementation used for more coloration and avoiding shadow effect and growth because not enough royal blue in the fixture. Most of uptodate LED Fixture design consist of enough royal blue, more so compare to the older unit so T5 supplementation no longer needed. For aesthetic purpose adding T5 will be a great enhancement. @goldenbasketreef I do agree, Rudy. I don’t think it’s “necessary”. But as I plan on SPS, I like the idea of additional spread to combat shadowing. Might as well start the tank with the lighting will be in the tank long term and also help get more par down to the bottom of the tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 My 3rd RMS mount arm arrived today, so I finally have all 3 ReeFi’s mounted. Looks great! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Looking good John. Did you adjust the individual light intensities to compensate for the additional fixture or do a slow ramp up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 13 minutes ago, albertareef said: Looking good John. Did you adjust the individual light intensities to compensate for the additional fixture or do a slow ramp up? I reduced them to 80% acclimation over 7 days. I have no scientific analysis whether that's the correct amount, but just following gut instinct. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 How about a famous @SuncrestReef Single Sliderbar picture, of Before and After? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 37 minutes ago, obrien.david.j said: How about a famous @SuncrestReef Single Sliderbar picture, of Before and After? Before: After 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I like the colors better on in the two light picture. (okay I think its a camera setting thing, looking at the background/non-tank aspects of the photo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Just now, obrien.david.j said: I like the colors better on in the two light picture. (okay I think its a camera setting thing, looking at the background/non-tank aspects of the photo) Unfortunately the two photos were all I had from the same angle, but one was taken in the evening and the other was mid day. So it's a combination of different ambient lighting in the room, different LED spectrum, and I think one was taken without my orange iPhone filter. If I had planned ahead to do an exact comparison I wouldn't have introduced so many variables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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