Mars Aqua LED lights intensity for softie tank

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

I have a 75gal about 2 months old that I’m beginning to add some corals to. This is going to be a softy tank for the most part. I’m wondering what intensity people have their B.B. leds at for their softies. I have removed the lenses from mine (didn’t like the look they gave off) and the light is about 6 inches above the water.

So what’s working for you guys with B.B. on softie tanks for intensity settings and duration?

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

I just pulled the lenses on my sbreef 16" last night. I didn't get a chance to take par readings yesterday but I plan on doing it tonight. I'll let you know what I get and what settings

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

Cool. I’ve looked around for a while and couldn’t find info in regards how much the intensity drops when lenses are pulled

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

mamedina said:
Cool. I’ve looked around for a while and couldn’t find info in regards how much the intensity drops when lenses are pulled

It dropped a lot but I don't know how much, the light is a lot more spread out so I'm guessing the hot spots are gone so I will need to turn things up to get the par I had in the middle which was my goal in pulling he lenses. My tank is only 7" tall so the reading will be shallow but you can get a general idea from what I see

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

Sounds good anyone else?

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

So I took some readings tonight.

The light is 10" above the water

In the center of the tank at about 6" the par was 275 at 100% blue and white. With the reflectors it was around 650 par so more than a 50% reduction

I ran my tank before at 275 par (I had blue at 75% and white at 50%) in the center with reflectors the issue was the edges of my 24" tank were <100 par. With the reflectors off the edges are now 170 par with a center of 275 so a much better spread. I have to use alot more power to get there but I'm happy with the results

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

Are you running the Mars aqua 165w leds?

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

Nope the sbreef 165w. Not exactly the same but should be similar

mamedina · Feb 13, 2018

Surprised the drop off the hard but it sounds like it’s a more even and spread out par

NY_Caveman · Feb 13, 2018

lbacha said:
So I took some readings tonight.

The light is 10" above the water

In the center of the tank at about 6" the par was 275 at 100% blue and white. With the reflectors it was around 650 par so more than a 50% reduction

I ran my tank before at 275 par (I had blue at 75% and white at 50%) in the center with reflectors the issue was the edges of my 24" tank were <100 par. With the reflectors off the edges are now 170 par with a center of 275 so a much better spread. I have to use alot more power to get there but I'm happy with the results

Also shocked the drop was so drastic. I am considering pulling the lenses off of mine, but waiting until testing with a PAR meter first when the tank is ready. Thanks for including the edges. I will also have the 16" SB Reef WiFi over a 24" aquarium, so this is very helpful. Thanks

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

Yeah I didn't expect as big of a drop. My tank is a shallow 7" tank but it's 12" x 24" so the intense par in the center was tough as the edges were really low.

Personally I would stay with the lenses or at least only pull some of them on a 75g as the par at the bottom will really be low with them pulled. With them on you will have hot spots but they won't be too crazy I would think

NY_Caveman · Feb 13, 2018

lbacha said:
Yeah I didn't expect as big of a drop. My tank is a shallow 7" tank but it's 12" x 24" so the intense par in the center was tough as the edges were really low.

Personally I would stay with the lenses or at least only pull some of them on a 75g as the par at the bottom will really be low with them pulled. With them on you will have hot spots but they won't be too crazy I would think

And I thought the SB Reef may be overkill on a JBJ 30, LOL (display is approx. 24 x 14 x 15"). Always nice to know you can grow anything.

lbacha · Feb 13, 2018

NY_Caveman said:
And I thought the SB Reef may be overkill on a JBJ 30, LOL (display is approx. 24 x 14 x 15"). Always nice to know you can grow anything.

Yeah I think it would be good on that tank my issue was how shallow the tank is. With a little more depth I would keep the reflectors as you can then turn up the power and it will make it down to the bottom with some good spread.

Here is what my setup looks like

The top tank has a couple different acro's that are doing great, some pocilliopora, montipora and favites. I also have kryptonite candy canes that are really bright and doing well.

The sump has a cheato in the skimmer section with Xenia, polyps and shrooms in the fuge area.