YouCubed
New Member
Hello all,
I've been kicking around the idea off adding some additional LED strips to my current LED setup in my 29g BioCube. It's not that I am totally unhappy with my setup, but there is almost always room for improvement. Coral growth has been steady but that could probably improve as well. I'm really looking to get more of a POP out of the corals when the lights are all on. I did gain some after adding the 2nd Current USA Tru Lumen Pro strip (in just Deepwater Blue). I would like to get some more if possible though. I would say the tank still has a predominantly white appearance. I also do not have much room remaining to work with under the stock hood / splash guard, so linking a 3rd Tru Lumen 12" strip is not really an option. That would probably be the easiest but I'm not looking to cut into the hood or keep anything unprotected by the splash guard.
Here is my current setup and photos:
(1) 30w TMC AquaBeam XG 1500 "Ocean Blue" (has 5 3w x 9,000K high output Cree XG crisp-white LEDS and 5 3w Blue XP-E LEDS) Ran off of a TMC AquaRay Lighting Power Control.
(2) 9w 12" Current USA Tru Lumen Pro LED Strips. 1 Marine Fusion and 1 Deepwater Blue.
I see a lot of people recommending Reef Brite. I'm not looking for a DIY project and would prefer another plug and play strip, so to speak. I have done this in stages since the initial Aquaray, so I would like to still make use of what I have already paid for. Thinking back on what I already spent, I could have probably done this much easier with 1 larger panel with more power, but that's not how everything always goes.
I only have 8.5" of space remaining from the 2nd Tru Lumen strip to the back wall of the splash guard on each side. This of course, really limits my options. I see that Reef Brite does have 9w 8" 6 LED Tech Strips (listed as actually as 7.25" which would probably be perfect size.) I was considering maybe running one of these front to back down each side of the Aquaray panel. I currently have no heat or venting issues, as I run the fans under the hood on a DC power cord.
Here is what the tank currently looks like with all lights at 100 percent.
[video=youtube_share;kN9nbT_Mjl0]http://youtu.be/kN9nbT_Mjl0?hd=1[/video]
Now for the questions...
1. Do you think adding 2 of these 8" 9w strips to the middle of the tank in all blue would make a significant difference in the pop when all lights are on or would it mainly be when the whites go down? I tried dimming the whites on the Aquaray panel some but the tank loses too much brightness but does gain additional pop of course.
2. Do you think adding these would drown out the brightness or just add to the overall color? Would it have an effect on the appearance of the fishs' color (positive or negative?)
3. Do you think this may be too much under the hood as far as a heat increase or possibly too much strength for the corals or any other foreseeable issues? 18 additional watts added to the current 48w, in a 29g cube.
4. Any better suggestions or easier way to do this?
5. Am I crazy and should I just leave well enough alone? lol (optional to answer) :tongue:
All in all, I'm not looking to cause any potential problems and was just hoping to get more of a pop, as I see in some tanks that really stand out. The price of these particular lights is a little high (over 50 percent more than the Tru Lumens that I have) and since I have no experience with them, I was wondering if they were really worth it? They do not appear to be able to be linked together, so I'm guessing 2 additional power supplies and plugs. Their site does not offer much detail on the equipment or specs.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info and detail as possible for this decision. Any and all help / suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much!
Mike
I've been kicking around the idea off adding some additional LED strips to my current LED setup in my 29g BioCube. It's not that I am totally unhappy with my setup, but there is almost always room for improvement. Coral growth has been steady but that could probably improve as well. I'm really looking to get more of a POP out of the corals when the lights are all on. I did gain some after adding the 2nd Current USA Tru Lumen Pro strip (in just Deepwater Blue). I would like to get some more if possible though. I would say the tank still has a predominantly white appearance. I also do not have much room remaining to work with under the stock hood / splash guard, so linking a 3rd Tru Lumen 12" strip is not really an option. That would probably be the easiest but I'm not looking to cut into the hood or keep anything unprotected by the splash guard.
Here is my current setup and photos:
(1) 30w TMC AquaBeam XG 1500 "Ocean Blue" (has 5 3w x 9,000K high output Cree XG crisp-white LEDS and 5 3w Blue XP-E LEDS) Ran off of a TMC AquaRay Lighting Power Control.
(2) 9w 12" Current USA Tru Lumen Pro LED Strips. 1 Marine Fusion and 1 Deepwater Blue.
I see a lot of people recommending Reef Brite. I'm not looking for a DIY project and would prefer another plug and play strip, so to speak. I have done this in stages since the initial Aquaray, so I would like to still make use of what I have already paid for. Thinking back on what I already spent, I could have probably done this much easier with 1 larger panel with more power, but that's not how everything always goes.
I only have 8.5" of space remaining from the 2nd Tru Lumen strip to the back wall of the splash guard on each side. This of course, really limits my options. I see that Reef Brite does have 9w 8" 6 LED Tech Strips (listed as actually as 7.25" which would probably be perfect size.) I was considering maybe running one of these front to back down each side of the Aquaray panel. I currently have no heat or venting issues, as I run the fans under the hood on a DC power cord.
Here is what the tank currently looks like with all lights at 100 percent.
[video=youtube_share;kN9nbT_Mjl0]http://youtu.be/kN9nbT_Mjl0?hd=1[/video]
Now for the questions...
1. Do you think adding 2 of these 8" 9w strips to the middle of the tank in all blue would make a significant difference in the pop when all lights are on or would it mainly be when the whites go down? I tried dimming the whites on the Aquaray panel some but the tank loses too much brightness but does gain additional pop of course.
2. Do you think adding these would drown out the brightness or just add to the overall color? Would it have an effect on the appearance of the fishs' color (positive or negative?)
3. Do you think this may be too much under the hood as far as a heat increase or possibly too much strength for the corals or any other foreseeable issues? 18 additional watts added to the current 48w, in a 29g cube.
4. Any better suggestions or easier way to do this?
5. Am I crazy and should I just leave well enough alone? lol (optional to answer) :tongue:
All in all, I'm not looking to cause any potential problems and was just hoping to get more of a pop, as I see in some tanks that really stand out. The price of these particular lights is a little high (over 50 percent more than the Tru Lumens that I have) and since I have no experience with them, I was wondering if they were really worth it? They do not appear to be able to be linked together, so I'm guessing 2 additional power supplies and plugs. Their site does not offer much detail on the equipment or specs.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info and detail as possible for this decision. Any and all help / suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much!
Mike
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