New 300w Viparspectra setting

[Firepony]

Hello. I just got the 300w (31") Viparspectra light. My tank is 75 gallon (48" long 18" deep 18"wide) I plan on setting it 8" high above the tank. I have a 6 month old tank with LPS, SPS and soft corals. What are the settings I should start out with as not to stress or kill anyone Plus how often do I raise/change the settings until I get desired results. If I left out any needed info...I apologize.

 

[Spare time]

Is there any chance you can raise it much higher?

 

[Robert Binz]

Hello. I just got the 300w (31") Viparspectra light. My tank is 75 gallon (48" long 18" deep 18"wide) I plan on setting it 8" high above the tank. I have a 6 month old tank with LPS, SPS and soft corals. What are the settings I should start out with as not to stress or kill anyone Plus how often do I raise/change the settings until I get desired results. If I left out any needed info...I apologize.

8 inches is way too close UNLESS you do @telegraham ‘s mod (remove the lenses and put on a piece of acrylic to diffuse the LEDs)

before seeing the mod I hung mine @16 inches

 

[Jekyl]

12 inches above the tank. 20 white 60 blue is how I ran my black boxes

 

[Robert Binz]

Hello. I just got the 300w (31") Viparspectra light. My tank is 75 gallon (48" long 18" deep 18"wide) I plan on setting it 8" high above the tank. I have a 6 month old tank with LPS, SPS and soft corals. What are the settings I should start out with as not to stress or kill anyone Plus how often do I raise/change the settings until I get desired results. If I left out any needed info...I apologize.

Also if it’s helpful to you there’s a BRS video comparing black box lights that gives their ideal heights. Just skip to the parts about the viparspectra

 

[Firepony]

I watch them all the time I'm going to put it 12 inches high. I just need to know what to set the controls to starting out and how often to bring it up a little at a time

 

[Firepony]

Is there any chance you can raise it much higher?

Yes...I'm doing 12 inch high

 

[diver22]

Hi, I wanted to share in case someone had a similar tank like mines, I got a par meter today and adjusted my Vipraspectra 165W I have 3 over my tank, thank god I did.

Note the tank is only 18" wide and has two overflows so honestly in the rear corners I did not care much....

Tank Dimensions = 72" L X 18" W X 29" H.

I have 1 1/2" Sand bed.

Mount Height = 12"

Lights Adjustments = Whites 5% & Blues 90%

PAR Readings:

Hope this helps, I was looking for something with the exact tank but did not find it...

 

[outhouse]

Biggest mistake is too much intensity. I followed similar advise as above and it cooked my coral at 60 %. On a 210g tank 30 inches deep....These lights are strong. At 8" high like mine, I'm running 6% B and 1 % W. And I'm getting tons of growth. At 60 I had no growth at all, and a slow decline over the years. People make the same mistake with kessels and complain about no growth, lights were way to bright.

 

[diver22]

Interesting so should I not follow the PAR Meter ? I'm now confused ... hahahaha.... I thought 75 to 150 for LPS and softies and 200 to 350 for SPS, has that changed or your saying not to trust the PAR meters ? I'm using Apogee SQ-420 Smart Quantum Sensor | USB Output

 

[diver22]

Biggest mistake is too much intensity. I followed similar advise as above and it cooked my coral at 60 %. On a 210g tank 30 inches deep....These lights are strong. At 8" high like mine, I'm running 6% B and 1 % W. And I'm getting tons of growth. At 60 I had no growth at all, and a slow decline over the years. People make the same mistake with kessels and complain about no growth, lights were way to bright.

So you are running 6% Blue ?

 

[outhouse]

Yes 6% B. With less of a light, in a 30 inch deep tank. People don't realize corals can only absorb so much, so after 6 hours it is a waste. And par meters not accurate, and to much intensity worse then not enough. I grew coral professionally for a decade using 175w metal halides in my 210 for LPS. Remember you can always go brighter if your not getting results

 

[LeftyReefer]

I'm running my 300w viparspectra at 1% Whites and 20% blues. hung 13" over the water.

 

[diver22]

I'm running my 300w viparspectra at 1% Whites and 20% blues. hung 13" over the water.

How deep is your tank ? and how long have you been running like that ? How many are you running ?

 

[diver22]

So many mix reviews...

This guy seems to be running high PAR levels running these lights and claims all is good...

Viparspectra 165w mod

Looking to get the viparspectra 165w. some reviews show that it can have a spotlight effect to it. Has anyone removed the led caps to allow for more light blending and less spotlight effect? what would the effect of this be on PAR and performance? As i still want to try a couple sps?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[InactiveAcct]

Hello. I just got the 300w (31") Viparspectra light. My tank is 75 gallon (48" long 18" deep 18"wide) I plan on setting it 8" high above the tank. I have a 6 month old tank with LPS, SPS and soft corals. What are the settings I should start out with as not to stress or kill anyone Plus how often do I raise/change the settings until I get desired results. If I left out any needed info...I apologize.

Comments above are probably better for those with viparspectra experience. Also BRStv included that light (lower watt version) in their black box showdown YouTube video.

Your aquascape is pretty tall and narrow, so everything is going to be pretty close to the light. I’d run it really low. Keep wattages of major reef lights like LED Kessil A360X (90 watts), Neptune Sky (200 watts), XR30 (215 watts). Best bet is to measure the par with a par meter like the seneye or a rental. I was having issues keeping things alive the first 6 months or so, was about to add more lighting, then got the seneye and realized I was torching everything.

 

[diver22]

Comments above are probably better for those with viparspectra experience. Also BRStv included that light (lower watt version) in their black box showdown YouTube video.

Your aquascape is pretty tall and narrow, so everything is going to be pretty close to the light. I’d run it really low. Keep wattages of major reef lights like LED Kessil A360X (90 watts), Neptune Sky (200 watts), XR30 (215 watts). Best bet is to measure the par with a par meter like the seneye or a rental. I was having issues keeping things alive the first 6 months or so, was about to add more lighting, then got the seneye and realized I was torching everything.

If not mistaken they are running them at 100% whites and 100% blues while doing the PAR readings.... So yes according to the picture of you tank you're pretty close to the top.

 

[EugeneVan]

Biggest mistake is too much intensity. I followed similar advise as above and it cooked my coral at 60 %. On a 210g tank 30 inches deep....These lights are strong. At 8" high like mine, I'm running 6% B and 1 % W. And I'm getting tons of growth. At 60 I had no growth at all, and a slow decline over the years. People make the same mistake with kessels and complain about no growth, lights were way to bright.

For Viparspectra LED users, I highly recommended you put on a DYI light panel diffuser on. It will get rid of the disco effect and make a huge different on how the light reach the tank.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/optix-cracked-ice-clear-acrylic-lighting-panel-23-75-inch-x-47-75-inch/1000143373

 

[diver22]

For Viparspectra LED users, I highly recommended you put on a DYI light panel diffuser on. It will get rid of the disco effect and make a huge different on how the light reach the tank.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/optix-cracked-ice-clear-acrylic-lighting-panel-23-75-inch-x-47-75-inch/1000143373

If you put this deffuser it will cut down the light significant, with this deffuser what are your settings ? would removing the lenses do the same thing ? and that will reduce it about 50% intensity.

 

[EugeneVan]

If you put this deffuser it will cut down the light significant, with this deffuser what are your settings ? would removing the lenses do the same thing ? and that will reduce it about 50% intensity.

Before I put the diffuser on, my 210gal tank is using 30% blue and 3 % white and it still look too white. With the diffuser on and i didn't take out the lenses, I can increase the blue to 60% and 25% white over 2 months and half for the coral to adapt. All the different colors of LED blend in really well.