Justin Aretz
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2019
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 123
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
Good evening all,
I have seen a bit of interesting discussion this week on reef "track lighting" mounted to the ceiling. Since I started reefing back in the early 2000's I had always dreamed of just having 4 high hats above my tank, baffled down for light spill but strong enough to grow acropora, all without lighting my ceiling on fire (metal halides didn't run all that cool).
Over the past few years, as LED has come quite a ways, i've been putting more thought into this than ever. As i am closing on a new home that i plan to stay in for more than two years (hopefully) on the 28th of this month, the wheels began turning once again. Except this time, there seems to be truly viable options.
I am attaching a "left elevation cut" through the center of the tank. Hopefully it makes sense to those who care to chime in. @Dana Riddle, you were specifically recommended to me as a man to speak to about this. I want to be clear; i am not asking for "answers" here as much as i am trying to get a community of people involved in this discussion, and perhaps my near future build, in order to expand the possibilities and participants in and of the reef steward community. Personally, i am a general contractor who works with extremely high end clientele, and the number one deterrent for bringing a reef tank into these new 2,3,5,10 etc. million dollar homes is that the lighting just plain and simply looks moderately to severely tacky, depending on your selection, in the majority of cases. ANYWAYS; here is my concept.
I will be building a custom tank, most likely 5x4x2 or 4x5x2 to grow nothing but acropora. This tank will sit on a surface 36" above the floor. My ceilings are 9', so i have approximately 4 feet and a few inches to the water's surface. The plan - mount a light, single source, in a recessed pocket, centered over the tank. The current light that has sparked my curiosity is the Orphek Amazonas 320 ( or 960, is what the WiFi controllable is called, i believe). With 30 degree reflectors, i believe i can eliminate light spill and really concentrate the lighting on the central +/-95% of the tank (*dark corners do NOT bother me, i find the "spotlight" effect to be gorgeous). Another thought was using the 60 degree reflectors and baffling down the light, in the same 5x4 ratio, to create a light footprint that matches the tank footprint exactly.... ------- My CONCERNS are as follows; Orphek does not and will not PAR test this light in a similar application prior to me purchasing it. I am confident that this light will produce the PAR and more importantly PUR that the most light-demanding of acropora require, but not being certain worries me, as this light is not returnable. Basically, if it does not do the job, i am stuck with a big $1000+ wifi controlled spotlight.
My second concern; will the shadowing be "too much" with a single point light source? With the tank being 5-7' from the source, I wonder. Obviously their are easier ways to get a great spectrum and enough intensity over my acros for about the same price -- this design concept is purely engineered based on its aesthetic. I believe shadowing will be a detriment, but will it make this concept unrealistic in regards to the corals health, is my ultimate question.
Sacrifices i am willing to make: I am willing to add a second fixture equispaced off the center of the tank, and angled back towards the center, to eliminate shadowing. If i do this, i will most likely make the tank 5x3x2. I don't know why, but it just jives with my feng shui.
Sacrifices i am not willing to make: adding "flat" lighting to the ceiling to make a light "panel". To meet the demand of the design, the single point source IS the reason for this. If the majority agrees that the shadowing will be detrimental to the health of the corals, i may as well just fill a canopy with light panels like weve been doing for the past 20 years. I don't usually like to concede to "if it aint broke, dont fix it", but i suppose the life and health of my reef is more important than my desire to be chic.
I greatly appreciate those of you who've taken time to read this, ponder this, offer insight or opinion. Thank you!
I have seen a bit of interesting discussion this week on reef "track lighting" mounted to the ceiling. Since I started reefing back in the early 2000's I had always dreamed of just having 4 high hats above my tank, baffled down for light spill but strong enough to grow acropora, all without lighting my ceiling on fire (metal halides didn't run all that cool).
Over the past few years, as LED has come quite a ways, i've been putting more thought into this than ever. As i am closing on a new home that i plan to stay in for more than two years (hopefully) on the 28th of this month, the wheels began turning once again. Except this time, there seems to be truly viable options.
I am attaching a "left elevation cut" through the center of the tank. Hopefully it makes sense to those who care to chime in. @Dana Riddle, you were specifically recommended to me as a man to speak to about this. I want to be clear; i am not asking for "answers" here as much as i am trying to get a community of people involved in this discussion, and perhaps my near future build, in order to expand the possibilities and participants in and of the reef steward community. Personally, i am a general contractor who works with extremely high end clientele, and the number one deterrent for bringing a reef tank into these new 2,3,5,10 etc. million dollar homes is that the lighting just plain and simply looks moderately to severely tacky, depending on your selection, in the majority of cases. ANYWAYS; here is my concept.
I will be building a custom tank, most likely 5x4x2 or 4x5x2 to grow nothing but acropora. This tank will sit on a surface 36" above the floor. My ceilings are 9', so i have approximately 4 feet and a few inches to the water's surface. The plan - mount a light, single source, in a recessed pocket, centered over the tank. The current light that has sparked my curiosity is the Orphek Amazonas 320 ( or 960, is what the WiFi controllable is called, i believe). With 30 degree reflectors, i believe i can eliminate light spill and really concentrate the lighting on the central +/-95% of the tank (*dark corners do NOT bother me, i find the "spotlight" effect to be gorgeous). Another thought was using the 60 degree reflectors and baffling down the light, in the same 5x4 ratio, to create a light footprint that matches the tank footprint exactly.... ------- My CONCERNS are as follows; Orphek does not and will not PAR test this light in a similar application prior to me purchasing it. I am confident that this light will produce the PAR and more importantly PUR that the most light-demanding of acropora require, but not being certain worries me, as this light is not returnable. Basically, if it does not do the job, i am stuck with a big $1000+ wifi controlled spotlight.
My second concern; will the shadowing be "too much" with a single point light source? With the tank being 5-7' from the source, I wonder. Obviously their are easier ways to get a great spectrum and enough intensity over my acros for about the same price -- this design concept is purely engineered based on its aesthetic. I believe shadowing will be a detriment, but will it make this concept unrealistic in regards to the corals health, is my ultimate question.
Sacrifices i am willing to make: I am willing to add a second fixture equispaced off the center of the tank, and angled back towards the center, to eliminate shadowing. If i do this, i will most likely make the tank 5x3x2. I don't know why, but it just jives with my feng shui.
Sacrifices i am not willing to make: adding "flat" lighting to the ceiling to make a light "panel". To meet the demand of the design, the single point source IS the reason for this. If the majority agrees that the shadowing will be detrimental to the health of the corals, i may as well just fill a canopy with light panels like weve been doing for the past 20 years. I don't usually like to concede to "if it aint broke, dont fix it", but i suppose the life and health of my reef is more important than my desire to be chic.
I greatly appreciate those of you who've taken time to read this, ponder this, offer insight or opinion. Thank you!
