Any MarsAqua users out there? (165 watt LED)

[NHreefguy]

The fans just come on regardless? Just trying to cross all the T's and dot all the i's.

Yes. As soon as either the whites or blues come on so does the fan.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Mounting the fixture is still something I'm trying to figure out. Will one of those Kessil Mounting Arms work? I'd rather not hang it from the ceiling if I can , so right now I'm considering one of the metal clamps that are use to hang plants. You screw one side into the wall or a post and then it extends out about 12 inches. The one I was looking at was like $10 at OSH.

@reeferfoxx Where did you get that TV mount at? How high above the tank is the fixture? Is that just a standard 165 watt unit or have you upgraded it in any way?

Thank you everybody.

Sorry, I missed this post! I purchased my TV mount from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WXIFS4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The light I used with this TV mount is the Popular Grow 165w WIFI programmable. The top fan locations are different between the Mars Aqua and popular grow. I do not think this particular TV mount would work with the mars aqua without restricting air flow.

*Ignore the dust*
Mars Aqua


PopularGrow


The Mars Aqua is easier for upgrades, imo. They have more wiggle room and less glue. For some reason the Popular Grow is sealed with glue on the inside. However, it's like a easy to remove rubber cement. I think they do that for warranty purposes. I did trade lenses between the two. I took some of the 90 degree lenses from the mars aqua and replaced some center 120 deg white LED lenses with the 90s. Then took the 120s from the Populargrow and replaced the red, green and 4 white LED lenses on mars aqua.

Hope this helps.

 

[reeferfoxx]

And FWIW i looked into mounting arms for this type of light. Ultimately the weight of the Chinese black box, might be too much for any arm to withstand. Shipping weight is 8 pounds.

 

[sirmixa]

I have 3 mars aqua led lights. I modded them so I can control the dimmers. one light the whites are not as bright as the others. Has this happened to any of you guys ? if yes, what did you do to fix it. don't know if it was like that when I got it. modded it right out of the box

I'm not sure what you mean, they come with dimmers built in, I wired my dimmers to a remote central panel, instead of on top of the lights, so easier to access. Did you wire all 3 to 1 control each channel? I would love to do a digital control for it, like a current USA controller, but the wattage is too high for that

 

[willieboy240]

Yes. I wired all 3 in series. Someone said on RC that the ballest has a adjustment. Going to check that out tonight. Have you ever heard of that ?

 

[willieboy240]

just a update for you guys in the future. if you buy more than 1 light and 1 of them is dimmer than the other. inside the ballast there is a little blue box with cocking on the top. scrape off the cocking and turn the adjustment screw all the way to the left ( counter clock wise ). this will make the light brighter.

 

[dragon99]

OK, here is some pics, not good, but they are pics, different tanks. The purple one is dsuny, the blue is mars aqua. The dsuny is the 12" unit. You can see, very purple and blue & red same channel

Have you opened up the dsuny to see if the LED's can be swapped? Changing out those red LED's with another blue/royal (or maybe a warm white) would probably fix the purple issue.
I actually just ordered a pair of them. They had an ebay listing for $200 for a set I bid the minimum thinking I wouldn't win. /shrug

 

[reeferfoxx]

just a update for you guys in the future. if you buy more than 1 light and 1 of them is dimmer than the other. inside the ballast there is a little blue box with cocking on the top. scrape off the cocking and turn the adjustment screw all the way to the left ( counter clock wise ). this will make the light brighter.

I opened my mars aqua and didn't see anything of the nature?

 

[Slammed01]

Anyone use a marsaqua/galaxyhydro or SB Reef on a 40 breeder?

 

[reeferfoxx]

Anyone use a marsaqua/galaxyhydro or SB Reef on a 40 breeder?

I'm sure many have. Whats up?

 

[Slammed01]

I'm sure many have. Whats up?

I had 1 16" in a 10" canopy I built on a 46" bow. Trying to see if I can pull off 1-16" on a 40B. Mainly frags and polyps. Starting as FOWLR.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I had 1 16" in a 10" canopy I built on a 46" bow. Trying to see if I can pull off 1-16" on a 40B. Mainly frags and polyps. Starting as FOWLR.

You can most certainly start with 1 unit but eventually you'll need two. If you opt for the MA, they come with 90 deg lenses and I would advise 120 deg lenses like what the galaxyhydro comes with. However, you can purchase new lenses to replace any to achieve a wider coverage. The difference between the two is the MA has less reds and less warm whites compared to the GH. So, it's kind of a toss up but both grow coral very well and are easily customizable with both lens and diodes. If you can afford $130 the basic 16" SB reef lights have better spectrum than both MA and GH.

 

[Slammed01]

You can most certainly start with 1 unit but eventually you'll need two. If you opt for the MA, they come with 90 deg lenses and I would advise 120 deg lenses like what the galaxyhydro comes with. However, you can purchase new lenses to replace any to achieve a wider coverage. The difference between the two is the MA has less reds and less warm whites compared to the GH. So, it's kind of a toss up but both grow coral very well and are easily customizable with both lens and diodes. If you can afford $130 the basic 16" SB reef lights have better spectrum than both MA and GH.

Thank you, leaning towards the SB basic 16" on the Black Friday sale. Plus 2 year warranty doesnt hurt. You provided just what I needed to hear. Thank you!

 

[lotus02]

mod them to control the dimmers any info will help

 

[lotus02]

typhon reef led controller will it work on the modded mars lights

 

[lotus02]

willieboy240 you modded mars aqua led lights so I can control the dimmers can you give the info as to what you did? i have 6 of the 165w lights on my 300gal DP tank that I can to mod.

 

[Reefer5640]

I used two of these for about a year and a half over a 75 Gal tank. About 10” off the water at around 20% whites (full spectrum) and 50% blues. Didn’t see tons of growth but they did grow coral. I later raised them higher and supplemented with 2 T5’s which definitely helped. I’ve heard that you can remove the lenses and/or get different lenses so the light is more evenly diffused.
I’m now running ocean revives and they are working quite a bit better. I can’t complain about the black box LEDs though. They will definitely support a reef tank for cheap.

Bulk Reef Supply did a pretty cool video on these. Worth watching if you’re looking into running them.