Strategies to deal with brace shadowing

[User]

Hi there

I have a 180g 6x2x2, with two braces, essentially vreating 3 23"x24" bays

Ive been using 3 mars aqua 165w, one in each bay, 12" above water surface.

Brace shadowing is pronounced, particulary after the whites go out and its on all blues.

I just upgraded to 4x noopsyche k7 pro II, and am soliciting people tricks or tips for avoiding or minimising brace shadowing, since im now trying to arrange 4lights into 3 bays

Lower/ higher/ more units/ stick with 3?

Remove the middle section of the braces and replace them with acrylic?

What worked for you?

Thanks

 

[Reeffragger]

I deff wouldnt be renoving any braces and attempting to (glue) on acrylic braces.. Youre asking for a tank blow out.

I am foturnate enough to have a 135g 6ft tank its 6ft-18 inchs-24 1.2. And its got no braces due to it being built in the 80s with thicker glass. 1.2 inch thick vs 3.8inch.

But it still bows. Has about 1.2 inch bow out on the main panels. Imagine how much of a bow your tank would have if your glued acrylic braces broke lol.

The shadowing youre talking about is one thing im not liking about moving upwards to a 180-250g tank. Id have to find a rimless tank. Or acrylic tank. Or a very old tank with no braces like mine.

I dknt think there is any way to avoid it though on yours other then having lights tilted left and right lol

 

[hikermike]

that's the advantage of florescents. But if it's the blue phase, isn't this when you're going to bed? Or is it for mood with the lights all dimmed down and the music in the background... Anyway, I thought there were leds with lenses so that the light wasn't directed straight down and that would help.. How about a hybrid florescent/led fixture?

 

[User]

I deff wouldnt be renoving any braces and attempting to (glue) on acrylic braces.. Youre asking for a tank blow out.

I am foturnate enough to have a 135g 6ft tank its 6ft-18 inchs-24 1.2. And its got no braces due to it being built in the 80s with thicker glass. 1.2 inch thick vs 3.8inch.

But it still bows. Has about 1.2 inch bow out on the main panels. Imagine how much of a bow your tank would have if your glued acrylic braces broke lol.

The shadowing youre talking about is one thing im not liking about moving upwards to a 180-250g tank. Id have to find a rimless tank. Or acrylic tank. Or a very old tank with no braces like mine.

I dknt think there is any way to avoid it though on yours other then having lights tilted left and right lol

Yeah, i was only joking with the acrylic brace comment.

Not sure how im going to deal with it - im bummed because i have an ultra neon hammer that is doing great in this particular spot, but its right under a brace. I dont get to see his neon so much

 

[User]

that's the advantage of florescents. But if it's the blue phase, isn't this when you're going to bed? Or is it for mood with the lights all dimmed down and the music in the background... Anyway, I thought there were leds with lenses so that the light wasn't directed straight down and that would help.. How about a hybrid florescent/led fixture?

My blue only phase starts at 8pm... but im an insomniac and typically up until 2am, so thats a lot of viewing time.

The issue is that any light you have thats above the plane of the braces are going to cause a shadow if they arent directed to shine under the brace. That means more fixtures with half at an angle, or, like you said- a big blanket coverage like you get from T5s.

So i think my options are- drop fixture heing to be closer to the brace- which reduces coverage (how much would need to be determined) or add a few more fixtures with 'wide angle lenses' or blanket coverage. So modified leds (i know you can take the lenses off of the mars aqua boxes and get 30-40degrees more spread) or a retrofit T5

Just so happens im still getting my light rail together and have planned to arrange the frame so that i can very easily add T5 (mira 4 retrofit kit) but thats another $250

Obviously im going to live with it for a while after i get the new lights up, but i like to have contingency plans in my head

 

[Tampaman]

I have similar bracing on my 150. I have 3 250w halides and old school compact florescents but everything is only 5" above water. Even with the shallow reflectors there is no shadowing. My last 150g had a glass middle section in between the braces...it was a nightmare trying to make colors consistent left to right. Try right off the water as much as feasible.

 

[kyleinpdx]

Do you have a white(ish) sandbed? Can you use the albedo effect to your advantage? See if you can increase the reflectivity of the brace itself, perhaps glue or zip tie some small mirror tiles/panels/whatever to the underside of the brace. So the light that is reflecting back up off the sandbed and hitting the mirrors get reflected back down instead of diffusing off in all directions?

Not sure how much improvement you would notice, but thats where I would start before buying additional lights or messing with a system thats otherwise working for you.

 

[andrewkw]

Cut the braces and replace with acrylic. You need sheets of acrylic as well a nylon screw and bolt for each side. Cut 90% of the brace and leave the very ends. Drill holes in whats left for the acrylic to attach to. This will greatly reduce shadowing.

I cut my tank around 2007 or 2008 when I replaced my MH with T5. Tank still hasn't bowed. I drained about 70% of the tank when I cut it.

 

[User]

Cut the braces and replace with acrylic. You need sheets of acrylic as well a nylon screw and bolt for each side. Cut 90% of the brace and leave the very ends. Drill holes in whats left for the acrylic to attach to. This will greatly reduce shadowing.

I cut my tank around 2007 or 2008 when I replaced my MH with T5. Tank still hasn't bowed. I drained about 70% of the tank when I cut it.

But but but ill be asking for a blowout!!

I actually thiught about cutting two thords of them away and using the nubs as anchor points for turnbuckles and stainless steel wire. That way, i could set it up and tension the wires while the brace was still attached, then cut them off with a Dremel

It doesnt bother me *so much* that im going to perform surgery on an active tank.

 

[andrewkw]

It is kinda a waste having my brightest light (the other lights are older kessils) shine directly over the brace, but if I don't upgrade tanks in the next year or 2 I'll probably to 4 across my 5 foot tank. Just want to show that my diy job has lasted well over a decade. The tank was running as a full reef when I cut the braces - again I did drain the tank as much as I could while making the cut but filled right back up seconds after screwing in the new acrylic.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I have almost completed an article on the ReefBreeders LED light - this was over a 90-gallon tank and the brace shadow was quite pronounced just below it, but the effect disappeared at 10 and 19 inch depths.

 

[cvrle1]

If it is really that bad and bothering you that much, remove whole top brace and do proper Euro brace all around using thick glass. I would rather do that than to cut brace and replace with wires.

 

[tehmadreefer]

3 mars aqua units are the issue, get a fourth.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Heres my old 180 with 3 then 4 mars aqua. Quite a difference.

 

[User]

If it is really that bad and bothering you that much, remove whole top brace and do proper Euro brace all around using thick glass. I would rather do that than to cut brace and replace with wires.

3 mars aqua units are the issue, get a fourth.

You guys didnt read the whole thing, huh?

I have 4 noopsyches k7 in a box awaiting parts for a rail. the issue is- if im seeing pronounced shadowing with 3 BB's- how is 4 going to remedy that if it means i have to place a fixture 50% over one of the braces?

Also- i already stated i wasnt terribly bothered by it, certainly not enough to perform tank surgery.

 

[tehmadreefer]

So why bother posting?

 

[User]

Heres my old 180 with 3 then 4 mars aqua. Quite a difference.

How are they arranged in the canopy? They cant be evenly spaced otherwise youd end uo with one half over a brace.

Its the spacing im hoping to figure out bedore i drill to many mounting holes in my rails

Thanks for the pics!

 

[User]

So why bother posting?

?

Because i was asking if there are EASY ways of remedying it.

Tank surgery isnt easy

But increasing height is.

 

[tehmadreefer]

How are they arranged in the canopy? They cant be evenly spaced otherwise youd end uo with one half over a brace.

Its the spacing im hoping to figure out bedore i drill to many mounting holes in my rails

Thanks for the pics!

Obviously they are going to be over the brace. I’m just showing with 4 on a 180, there is little to no shadowing, this a remedy.

What you do with your tank is your business.

 

[User]

I have almost completed an article on the ReefBreeders LED light - this was over a 90-gallon tank and the brace shadow was quite pronounced just below it, but the effect disappeared at 10 and 19 inch depths.

Thanks Dana.

Thats a really useful comment. I appreciate it.

I suspect im going to have to raise my light rail with a concomittant reduction in par unless I up my percentages.

Thanks