120 mixed reef lighting

Johnae · Jul 29, 2021

Hey guys, I am new to this forum. I previously had a 40G mixed tank for about 5 years but had to take it down when I moved. It has been 3 years now so Im a little rusty on everything. I am starting a new 120g build and was trying to figure out lighting. I was wonder if I would be okay using 1 300W Viparspectra Led unit opposed to 2 of the 165 units. I read removing the lenses helps. Thanks in advance!

mrlavalamp · Jul 29, 2021

This thread has a ton of good info on modifications to the vipars and other black box lights.

The Modified Black Box Thread

So, over the past year I've been changing LEDs and lenses to find a good spectrum, light dispersment, limited shimmer and most importantly less "disco" effect, on my 165w wifi black box. I think I've found a combination. I decided to keep the 120° lenses and mixed 90° beaded and not beaded...

www.reef2reef.com

Removing the lenses will increase spread, but decreases the PAR. I think there is good balance to be had if you swap some of the lenses for a wider angle spread. The good news here is that you can remove/swap the lenses pretty easily and it is not permanent at all.

if you buy one the vipars these days, you are likely to get one with the chips glued down, very hard to remove. I have three like this and after attempting to remove one of the chips I just left them, didnt want to risk the damage.