There was a lot of info on Reefcentral. Try googling “diy led site:ReefCentral.com” Reef2Reef surely has some as well, but I wasn’t on here back then. The best chips have surely changed, but I’d bet most of the concepts and principles are identical.
Will do. I have Been looking around quite a bit, and a lot of the articles I am Finding are old, and as diy as I like To say I am, electronics aren’t my strong suite, and I hate To say it I would feel a lot more comfortable if I could Find one that I could Follow and maybe change just a little. Lol. Thanks!
Consider modifying a “black box,” or one of the cheap, no-name Chinese imports, but research a bit first. You might find a good prefab/DIY balance there.
www.reef2reef.com
Yeah, that was actually one of the things I was thinking about doing! Thanks. I will have to sit down and read around some more.
I’m thinking about putting my 2 Radions between my 3 halides just so that I can tweak the spectrum a bit for evening viewing and sunrise/sunset.
So I got to thinking, I have the Steve's Leds upgrade on my biocube currently, and thought to call them and see if they can get me a way to set up another set like the ones I have now, and plug into the controller I have, to use that on the new tank. So waiting for them to reply, but I think that would be a great option. But if not, I was looking at the Viparspectra, I just have been spoiled with the sunrise/set, and would like to be able to control that. Plus, the Steve's LEDs are awesome. lol.
How high do you mount your lights? I have a giesemann spectra with two or3 bars. I’m still not sure how high to mount them. I don’t have a par meter.
What fixture setup
reefbrite 250w HQI pendants and ballasts
Did you find that you needed to run a chiller
In the summer I do but my tank is right next to a sun room. If it wasn't right beside the sun room I think I wouldn't need it. It wasn't due to the halides exclusively because my fixture also had t5s and when it was summertime I used them exclusively. Now that I have the chiller I can run my halides during summer too. The sun room is all glass and is too hard to regulate the temperature without blinds( don't have any blinds or shades)
The distance between the MH fixture and the water surface should be a basic balance between the height of the tank, the type of reflector (some reflectors will concentrate and punch the light deep down, while others will spread the light over the system), and the wattage used (150W, 175W, 250W, 400W), basically speaking. And you can put a touch of common sense in it. People need to stop generalizing this, so they can apply the light correctly. It's hard to go wrong with halides, yet a wrong application will only make it difficult to adapt the organisms in that system, or to introduce/adapt them in the future. Normally the distance varies from 10 to 20" from the water surface for home aquariums, observing the points above.
