Viparspectra 165watt, Anyone using these?

[ZanclusKeeper]

Just found this thread, I am a big fan of these lights. Affordable and does the job. I run four 165 watt viparspectra at 100% on both channels.

Here is my tank,

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Just found this thread, I am a big fan of these lights. Affordable and does the job. I run four 165 watt viparspectra at 100% on both channels.

Here is my tank,

Fantastic tank.
How high off the tank have you got them also are they modified in any way?

 

[ZanclusKeeper]

Fantastic tank.
How high off the tank have you got them also are they modified in any way?

Thanks for the compliment, I have them 8" from water surface. No mods, just stock fixtures.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Thanks for the compliment, I have them 8" from water surface.

Mine are 9" from the water but my tank is only 18" tall and the water level is 2 inches below that and about an inch of sand so only about 15" of water to penetrate, that was the reason I removed the lenses as I had shadows in the far corners and could see beams of light through the water and gave me hotspots on the corals whether it was necessary to do so probably not as the corals grew, and grew well. From speaking to others I think I'm phosphate deficient but i need a new kit to confirm this first.

 

[George81]

I’m still searching for the correct setting. I run mine at 65 blue and 20 white. That’s interesting you’re running at 100% both channels. Through all my searching no one has posted those numbers. How deep is your tank Steve? I’m afraid to turn them up full blast. Your tank looks great.

Just found this thread, I am a big fan of these lights. Affordable and does the job. I run four 165 watt viparspectra at 100% on both channels.

Here is my tank,

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I’m still searching for the correct setting. I run mine at 65 blue and 20 white. That’s interesting you’re running at 100% both channels. Through all my searching no one has posted those numbers. How deep is your tank Steve? I’m afraid to turn them up full blast. Your tank looks great.

hi George81 have you got a pic of your set up running 65 blue 20 white?

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

So when i first got these lights i thought the white was a bit too warm. So i switched all the white leds out with cold white leds.

Do you remember off hand how many warm whites there are in the light as I cant find info on quantities of each apart from the reds and greens?

 

[George81]

hi George81 have you got a pic of your set up running 65 blue 20 white?

I’ll get it later today, I turned them down a bit after measuring with the seneye . I’ll get exact measurements of high the light is off the tank. On the sand bed where I have some acanas and a hammer the par was over 300. Mid tank the par was over 420 in some spots. I turned them down to 60-20. I haven’t measured them yet.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

That will be greatly appreciated. I have mine at 75blue and 5 white. My light is 9 inches off the water. If you get a chance and find a little time while using your Seneye could try and do some par readings with different intensities of blues and whites please. It's just most people don't have access to a meter, you don't have to obviously.
Also if you did, it doesn't have to be loads of variables or different locations in the tank just below it at different heights in the water. I think this would help a few people who have just got these lights or even like myself had them along time know where to start and not either starve corals of light or cook them. Most posts I've found only show really high readings of what these lights at 100% on both channels a capable of . Which is way over what our corals need. And due to most people running mainly blues, it would be nice to know what par just blues put out. I notice a few people in this thread run 100 blue and 1 white but that seems to grow corals for them.

 

[George81]

That will be greatly appreciated. I have mine at 75blue and 5 white. My light is 9 inches off the water. If you get a chance and find a little time while using your Seneye could try and do some par readings with different intensities of blues and whites please. It's just most people don't have access to a meter, you don't have to obviously.
Also if you did, it doesn't have to be loads of variables or different locations in the tank just below it at different heights in the water. I think this would help a few people who have just got these lights or even like myself had them along time know where to start and not either starve corals of light or cook them. Most posts I've found only show really high readings of what these lights at 100% on both channels a capable of . Which is way over what our corals need. And due to most people running mainly blues, it would be nice to know what par just blues put out. I notice a few people in this thread run 100 blue and 1 white but that seems to grow corals for them.

I’ll do it, but it won’t be for a few weeks until I post the results. I’ll be working lots over the next 3 weeks. July is always busy for shut down work

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I wasnt expecting anything quick by any means. Life and work gets in the way of this hobby sometimes. But thanks for even thinking of doing it.

 

[George81]

I wasnt expecting anything quick by any means. Life and work gets in the way of this hobby sometimes. But thanks for even thinking of doing it.

Happy to give back to the community that has helped me immensely

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

A qickickish update,
I have done my first water change in over 6 weeks tonight as been trying to get it back on track and tried staying hands out as much as possible.
I had an issue with little to no phosphates (on the test kit) and have been just feeding the tank twice a day if I could, to try and get it back up.
I haven't really tested the phosphates that much, I just knew it was low and the easiest way to raise it was feed more than I was. Which is hard with only 3 fish.

So far the sand looks the best it has in nearly a year and currently have lights are turned down to 35 blue 5 white as I was having issues with the glass being brown within a day probably from feeding too much and not the light though!

The tank is still far from perfect or how I want it to look but its heading the right way now, I hope.

I have also noticed that the sps that I had lost and had died, which I cut out still had some polyps left on the rocks that are opening so fingers crossed they might come back, unfortunately they are going to have to grow around my lps now as I'm not moving them unless I have to.

I'm going to try and get the light back up again over the coming weeks but I dont want to rush anything and I'm not sure what level I will settle at yet. This photo was taken about 30 mins after the water change.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Hi,
I'm new to this site and can't find if it has been asked before. So my question is, is anyone else using these viparspectra led lights?
I have had one since Xmas, 8" over a 24x18x18 mixed reef, I have worked upto a setting of 65% blue an 20% white, which have worked upto and I have only had this setting for a week. As on an old nano tank I had bleached hammer corals with a Tmc aquaray, so I'm taking it slow. The few sps frags I have, have shown some growth but not as much as I would have liked to see over 7 months. I just wandered if I should run the whites or blues higher to promote growth? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

I had two over my 40breeder. They are decent lights but i have switched to t5’s because they didnt provide full spectrum.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Can I ask why t5 not a different make of led?
Was it a cost issue or the messing around with settings to get the correct spectrum as t5 are plug and play.
I have even thought about adding a single t5 to complement the led but not sure what size or tube colour to try and rig up. So haven't looked to far into it yet.
I would like a higher end led ie like a G4 pro or hydra 26, but I can't warrant the price. I'm still tempted to possibly change some of the leds out of the light.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I'm now back up to 60 blue but I've turned the white down to 1 as of the last week. I still get a brown/red dusting on the glass quite quickly. My lights are on for only 9 hours a day from 2pm till 11pm with an hour of just blue at the beginning and end. My frogspawn have been the most colourful they've been since I got them over a year ago. I'm trying to tune the flow now, since I've lost my sps and gone all lps some dont like the higher flow. Why is nothing easy in this hobby. 1 year ago I was having to frag my corals to sell and make room, now I can only grow film algae on glass and no-one wants to buy any of that.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Oh just a question, has anyone done a par test on just blues with this light yet?

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Right, I need to stop messing with my light. I've got it down to 40 blue and 1 white (7 days at this now) as i think 60 blue was a bit high for my lps at the top, right under the light. This is the tank as of tonight after I had to cut up my hammer yesterday, as it was shadowing the heads below and I used the frags to to fill spaces. I have tried taking photos of the new sps growth from my , what I thought was dead montipora digitata. It looks promising. The first pic is before the fragging.

 

[Semisonyx]

Been looking at these to replace my MH. What happens if the power goes out? Does it keep time and will it resume the regular schedule and intensity when the power comes back on?

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

It has a battery built in that keeps the time and remembers the programme. The only issue I have had is that the clock gains a bit of time (2-3mins) over about 6months.