Note: I won the lights from the Noopsyche giveaway.
The fixtures got here really quickly from Noopsyche, and there weren't any quality control issues.
The cord management is quite nice with the supplied mounting hardware. You may like to use a zip-tie or two though.
Good quality connectors to be used near water- nice touch.
I assembled the stand mounts despite planning on not using them, and they were really stiff and good quality. Plastic near the tank, then the metal parts powder coated for protection.
Here I was making sure nothing would overheat and making sure everything functioned before putting them over my reef.
I have a rimless tank and like keeping it sleek. I felt that 6 light mounts would take away from that aesthetic, and made my own light mounting system.
Assembling the aluminum frame:
Painting:
Lights mounted:
And then above the tank!
So far, they seem like really nice lights. I haven't checked with a par meter yet, but they are WAY more powerful than my old lighting- an 8 bulb t5 fixture. Their SPS program would have burned my corals to a crisp at that height!
One drawback I have noticed is the limited user interface using their controller. Although all the lights synced perfectly, you can only have 7 data points. After the "Off"and "On" points, 5 is somewhat limiting. In addition, the light goes instantly to the next setting, without any sort of transition or ramping. This should not effect corals, but is a bit disappointing given the 1% capabilities of the LEDs themselves; a "smoothing" option where it slowly changes to the next point over an amount of time would be nice. Or, I hope, @noopsyche will be able to offer an update with more data points so we can make smoother programs.
This is what I have now, but I have not tested with PAR meter yet. Just eyeballed based on my older program.
I will keep everyone updated on the coloration and health of my corals! @Dana Riddle Were your par readings at 100% on all channels? The white channel seems crazy bright to me compared to the T5s I have been running.
The fixtures got here really quickly from Noopsyche, and there weren't any quality control issues.
The cord management is quite nice with the supplied mounting hardware. You may like to use a zip-tie or two though.
Good quality connectors to be used near water- nice touch.
I assembled the stand mounts despite planning on not using them, and they were really stiff and good quality. Plastic near the tank, then the metal parts powder coated for protection.
Here I was making sure nothing would overheat and making sure everything functioned before putting them over my reef.
I have a rimless tank and like keeping it sleek. I felt that 6 light mounts would take away from that aesthetic, and made my own light mounting system.
Assembling the aluminum frame:
Painting:
Lights mounted:
And then above the tank!
So far, they seem like really nice lights. I haven't checked with a par meter yet, but they are WAY more powerful than my old lighting- an 8 bulb t5 fixture. Their SPS program would have burned my corals to a crisp at that height!
One drawback I have noticed is the limited user interface using their controller. Although all the lights synced perfectly, you can only have 7 data points. After the "Off"and "On" points, 5 is somewhat limiting. In addition, the light goes instantly to the next setting, without any sort of transition or ramping. This should not effect corals, but is a bit disappointing given the 1% capabilities of the LEDs themselves; a "smoothing" option where it slowly changes to the next point over an amount of time would be nice. Or, I hope, @noopsyche will be able to offer an update with more data points so we can make smoother programs.
This is what I have now, but I have not tested with PAR meter yet. Just eyeballed based on my older program.
I will keep everyone updated on the coloration and health of my corals! @Dana Riddle Were your par readings at 100% on all channels? The white channel seems crazy bright to me compared to the T5s I have been running.
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