Nanobox shading

[senne766]

Hi

 

I have a Red Sea Reefer nano. The current light is a Nanobox Duo and I love it but I have some SPS corals in it and the led only causes way to much shading for me (they just shade themselves).

I first wanted to buy something like a single T5 bar to supplement the Nanobox but there are no T5 Bulbs that fit the tank so I am looking for suggestions.

I already looked into the Dennerle Reef light but they seem outdated?

Could some par38 bulbs fix the problem?

 

Regards 

Senne

[senne766]

Nobody?

[specore]

I would say par 38 bulbs, or going to two Tides or AI Primes instead of the one duo.  

[HarryPotter]

What  Percentage is the light set to? Is it possible if you could make some sort of diffuser to increase spread?

[hawkingcolorado]

I have the duo, but just switched to kessil 360X. I am sending the duo back to get the gooseneck fixed because it is too weak for holding the light longways( 20G peninnsula). I'll keep the duo in the closet for something else, or sell it...

[senne766]

I am running it at 85% max. The diffuser idea is something that I would like to try, what kind of material should be used for this?

[jbb]

@DaveFason ^

[mitten_reef]

short of being run at low intensity, I can't imagine that the duo won't cover the tank side-to-side.  front-to-back coverage is a different story for the cube-ish footprint of the Reefer Nano.  when you say 85% max, is that all channels, some channels, or ?  Might wanna turn off the return pump and see in the reflection whether or not all channels are working properly, just in case.  

[DaveFason]

2 hours ago, senne766 said:

I am running it at 85% max. The diffuser idea is something that I would like to try, what kind of material should be used for this?

Do you have a photo of the tank? I am really curious as I have a Duo over a Red Sea 170, running less power and no issues with SPS shadowing. If you have large colonies that could be why but I am curious. 

 

Diffusers only work to blend light together. NanoBox has always used the regular optic on the LED with no secondary optics. This is the MAX spread you will get. 

[senne766]

I'm running the violet, royal blue and blue at 85% during the midday. The limes on 50% and the whites on 15%.

I'm not saying it's a problem of the Nanobox array, it's a problem for all led fixtures.

 

On the picture of the millepora you can see what I mean. From the top down the tank looks great but when you sit in front of it you just see a lot of spots without polyps because of there isn't any light getting there.

[xthunt]

Instead of a t5 you could look into LED strip lights - without optics - to supplement. I think it's a characteristic of the clustered spotlight type LEDs (along with a lot of shimmer, light bleed, and surface reflection). Don't know if itd work, just a guess. 

[Thrassian Atoll]

That’s why I had dave make me a Led T5 combo.

[senne766]

11 minutes ago, TILTON said:

That’s why I had dave make me a Led T5 combo

Yeah but the problem is that the tank size is smaller than the smallest T5 size.

[Thrassian Atoll]

56 minutes ago, senne766 said:

Yeah but the problem is that the tank size is smaller than the smallest T5 size.

 

Get a bigger tank? 🤷‍♂️😂

You could go 2 duos and have them angle inward opposite of each other.

[Acm816]

On 12/19/2018 at 1:22 PM, senne766 said:

I am running it at 85% max. The diffuser idea is something that I would like to try, what kind of material should be used for this?

Check my previous post . I use a layer from and old laptop broken montior

[Reefkid88]

A square quad would work great. 

[senne766]

I'm going to try and build a led bar to put at the front end of the tank at an angle. See if it helps.

[DaveFason]

On 12/29/2018 at 7:05 PM, senne766 said:

I'm going to try and build a led bar to put at the front end of the tank at an angle. See if it helps.

Tank looks great. All lighting will create some shadowing, it is just part of it. The SPS really look nice and I would just leave it be. The other corals in the tank look a little pale from to much light. 

 

-Dave

[mcarroll]

On 12/14/2018 at 7:43 PM, senne766 said:

I have a Red Sea Reefer nano.

Can you specify which model or state the dimensions that you're trying to light up?  I don't see a "nano" on their site.

 

Assuming your have the Reefer 170, the light you have seems about right for the tank size.  

 

Lighting with a single spotlight is going to generate the hardest shadows though, so you kinda set it up like this.  If this light were more compact, adding a second unit next to it, equidistant from the sides and from each other, it would probably mellow out the look enough you'd like it.

 

(More below..)

8 hours ago, DaveFason said:

The other corals in the tank look a little pale from to much light. 

Possible...or more likely in today's era (and with the tank so spic-n-span looking):  Too few nutrients.  

 

N more likely than P, but I'd like to see test results for the tank.

 

And I agree that the tank looks great right now.

On 12/29/2018 at 7:05 PM, senne766 said:

I'm going to try and build a led bar to put at the front end of the tank at an angle. See if it helps.

 

NUTRIENTS

With any lighting change I'd take steps to assure there are N and P nutrients available according to your test kits. (N ≥ 5 ppm;P ≥ 0.03ppm) 

 

And I'd use a light meter to make the new setup's intensity as close as possible to the intensity of the current light.  

 

(Nutrients are needed for the repair and adaptation that will be required with new lights, BTW.)

 

SHADING

Also, from your stated preferences, you really don't want a spotlight on your tank.   You just want LED strips.  

 

Shading like this is perfectly natural and even good-looking – fans consider it a dramatic look.  

 

But not everyone likes the same thing....which is why (eg) Current USA and others are still in business making LED strips in spite of the hype around spotlights.

 

POLYP LOSS

Polyp loss is not from lighting though, it's from a lack of feeding/nutrition.  Light/photosynthate is only one avenue for this nutrition and corals are a lot more capable than that. 

 

Maybe consider easing up on filtration to allow more feeding opportunities for the coral animal?  

 

And what are your NO3 and PO4 levels usually like?

 

Can you tell us more about how the tank is set up and being maintained?

[senne766]

Thanks

 

The tank is the smaller version of the Reefer 170. It is a cube of 18"x18"x18". I started the tank with live rock and after a month live sand was added. A couple of weeks later the first corals were added.

Equipment

Flow: Tunze 6040

Skimmer: Nyos Quantum 120

Light: Nanobox Duo Plus M

Return pump: Eheim Compact+ 3000

DIY Arduino WiFi Doser

Water parameters

Kh: 8.5dKh

Ca: 430ppm

Mg: 1400ppm

(I know these are high but it's because of the Tropic Marine pro reef salt)

NO3: 1ppm

PO4: 0.02ppm

Maintenance

I used to do a water change of 2.5 gallon every week but the nutrients started to get really low so now it's once a month.

Once a week the sand is fully blasted with a turkey blaster and I clean the glass.

I feed 1/4 cube of mixed frozen food every day.

Water parameters are measured every week and the dosing is adjusted.

Inhabitants

1 Tailspot Blenny

2 Greenbanded Goby's

1 Orange stripe prawn goby

Some turbo snails

Corals of course

 

The thing is just that the top down view from the tank looks so great and I wanted to get the same thing when looking at the tank from the front.

[mcarroll]

7 hours ago, senne766 said:

Water parameters

Kh: 8.5dKh

Ca: 430ppm

Mg: 1400ppm

(I know these are high but it's because of the Tropic Marine pro reef salt)

TMpro always has low alk like that...still don't understand why...it's their weirdest salt IMO.   

 

Ca and Mg are fine...just a little high for the alk level.   Ideally alk would be balanced, which would be at around 10 dKH or 3.5 meq/L.

7 hours ago, senne766 said:

NO3: 1ppm

PO4: 0.02ppm

As you said, too low...you made the right more easing up, but consider easing a little more if it didn't seem to help.  Space out water changes more, etc.

 

I suspect the food you're using (something like Marine Cuisine or Rod's Food or LRS?) isn't very ideal for such small fish as your Green Banded Gobies, so maybe you're feeding less than you otherwise could? 

 

I'm not saying to overfeed, but if you were using something sized better for the fish you might actually be able to feed more, yet not create a waste issue.

 

Consider something like Reef Nutrition's ROE (fish eggs) or Ocean Nutrition's Instant Baby Brine Shrimp that all your fish should go nuts for.  These foods tend to stay in the water column intact a lot longer that non-whole foods like dry or processed foods....which gives your fish (and corals) a much longer feeding opportunity each time you feed.

 

Also, when you blast off the rocks and sand, consider that a feeding and just turn the pumps back on....your corals will potentially use every iota of organic matter (dissolved or particulate!) that you stir up.  Maybe start doing this more than once a week if it seems to work.

 

Another avenue is direct dosing of N and P nutrients via fertilizer.  Seachem and Brightwell both make appropriate products that aren't expensive.

 

If you choose to go this route, know that it's very precise and very safe.  You only dose according to your test results.  And you dose to a specific target level.  Just like with ca, alk or mg.   (Shoot for >= 5 ppm for NO3 and >= 0.03 ppm for PO4.)

 

7 hours ago, senne766 said:

The thing is just that the top down view from the tank looks so great and I wanted to get the same thing when looking at the tank from the front.

It always looks best when there's no pane of glass between them and you.  Low-iron glass makes it better than plain glass, but still not as good as no glass.  Plus, they always put their best sides toward the light.  

 

Having said that, boosting up their nutrition as suggested above may help quite a bit...and I don't think adding a strip light will hurt either.  (Don't sleep on that light meter though!  Keep intensity as similar as you can with the new light....remember you're ONLY looking for better spread, not brighter light.)

[senne76]

Thanks for the reply

Actually the food that I use is Ocean Nutrition Marine mix. It contains a lot of different types of frozen food (including the baby brine shrimp). I actually only feed 1/8 of a cube every day and 1/4 of a cube if I also spot feed the lps corals.

Feeding more to crank up the nutrients isn't going to work for me as all the fish already seem to be a little on the fat side (even the small Greenbanded gobies).

I have ordered a pair of possum wrasses at the LFS so that should help with the nutrients too.

 

I do have some additives here to increase phosphate and nitrates so I will use them.

I know someone with a PAR meter in my neighborhood so when the led bar is done I will definitely try to borrow it.

 

[senne76]

I'm looking at options for the light bar. So until now I have thought of 3 options:

DIY led bar

2 Custom MCPCB's with each:

2x Royal Blue

2X Violet

1X Mint

1X Blue

1X Cyan

LED's tightly clustered. Have to figure out a way to make a slim bar that would be able to keep them cool (and a mounting system).

 

GHL Mitras Lightbar 2

Would of course be the nicest looking option not sure if anyone has experience with it?

 

18w T5 fixure

Would have a lot of spread but finding quality bulbs for it would be hard. Fixture would probably also have to be a DIY. Even thinking if a 24" bulb mounted diagonally or something like that would work but it would probably just be blocking the LEDs.

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, senne76 said:

I'm looking at options for the light bar. So until now I have thought of 3 options:

DIY led bar

2 Custom MCPCB's with each:

2x Royal Blue

2X Violet

1X Mint

1X Blue

1X Cyan

LED's tightly clustered. Have to figure out a way to make a slim bar that would be able to keep them cool (and a mounting system).

 

GHL Mitras Lightbar 2

Would of course be the nicest looking option not sure if anyone has experience with it?

 

18w T5 fixure

Would have a lot of spread but finding quality bulbs for it would be hard. Fixture would probably also have to be a DIY. Even thinking if a 24" bulb mounted diagonally or something like that would work but it would probably just be blocking the LEDs.

I've been lurking for a bit - you might wanna check out the link below for something that's ready-made shorter than 2 ft. 

 

https://www.21ledusa.com/AquariumLEDs_s/1514.htm

 

edit: also BRS has some 18" LumiLite Led bars

[mcarroll]

5 hours ago, senne76 said:

I'm looking at options for the light bar. So until now I have thought of 3 options:

DIY led bar

2 Custom MCPCB's with each:

2x Royal Blue

2X Violet

1X Mint

1X Blue

1X Cyan

LED's tightly clustered. Have to figure out a way to make a slim bar that would be able to keep them cool (and a mounting system).

 

GHL Mitras Lightbar 2

Would of course be the nicest looking option not sure if anyone has experience with it?

 

18w T5 fixure

Would have a lot of spread but finding quality bulbs for it would be hard. Fixture would probably also have to be a DIY. Even thinking if a 24" bulb mounted diagonally or something like that would work but it would probably just be blocking the LEDs.

All good options IMO.

 

Here's another:

https://current-usa.com/truelumen-pro-led-retrofits/