Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Hello, I DIY my own led fixture, I have 30 leds for a 29 gallon reef with no optics, i recently got a par meter (seneye) and come to find, that im not producing enough par. My light fixture is about 8-10 off the water line. My par reading are 100 top 60-mid and 40-sand , and these is at 100% all lights blues, royal blues and whites. Could it be that the par meter doesnt work or i need optics? Quote Link to comment
NoOneLikesADryTang Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I’d try another light with the par meter. Even a flash light shining at it in the water will give you an idea if the par meter is working. Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 to Nano-Reef.com. Without optics, maybe try moving the fixture closer to the waterline. 1 Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 Ya i think i need optics, i tried it with a flash light and I had a better reading than my leds. 2 Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 8 hours ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said: I’d try another light with the par meter. Even a flash light shining at it in the water will give you an idea if the par meter is working. I tried it and seem to work on the par meter but i think i do optics. 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Welcome to the community @Flozfz! Let us know how it goes. We'd love to see your DIY fixture 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 You'll probably notice that the colors don't blend as well with optics. Although this might not be so pronounced without other colors like green and red. I'd probably try lowing the fixture first, then you could always add the optics if you need to. 2 Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 I measured the fixture from the top to the waterline and its 8 inch, i did move it down a bit and its almost went up slightly not much. 😞 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 What degree optics are you thinking of getting? Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 Im just going to try optics, for now im going leave all leds to 100% Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 1 minute ago, seabass said: What degree optics are you thinking of getting? I was thinking of getting 80’s so colors blend better i dunno what would you suggest? Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 That's probably what I'd do too. It should help some. I hope you get the PAR levels that you are after. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 If you have a desired mounting height and you know the dimensions of the surface of your tank, then there are the correct lenses for your installation. Check out: https://reefsuccess.com/2016/09/08/online-triangle-calculator/ At your current mounting height of 8 inches, for example, a light with 90° lenses would give you a 16 inch diameter of light coverage on the tank. If you tell me your tank's dimensions, we can back-compute the correct lenses to get that mounting height done. (Let me know if there is a different desired mounting height.) 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 by the way, 120° lenses would give that light at 8 inches mounting height a spread of about 28 inches. If you want to just try lowering your lamp vs math, just keep lowering it until there is no longer any light spill outside the tank. More or less, this would be your correct mounting height. If that height turns out to be too low, then you need lenses so you can raise the light a little. If it's not too low, then you're all set – no lenses needed. You can permanently mounted at that height. 2 Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 On 7/23/2019 at 12:49 PM, mcarroll said: by the way, 120° lenses would give that light at 8 inches mounting height a spread of about 28 inches. If you want to just try lowering your lamp vs math, just keep lowering it until there is no longer any light spill outside the tank. More or less, this would be your correct mounting height. If that height turns out to be too low, then you need lenses so you can raise the light a little. If it's not too low, then you're all set – no lenses needed. You can permanently mounted at that height. Thank you for that great info. I put the 90 degree lens and yes it cover everything, colors are ok but my par is at 250 top, middle 140ish anx bottom, 60-100. 2 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Those numbers are an marked improvement. Looks like you've doubled your PAR levels. 1 Quote Link to comment
dling Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Flozfz said: Thank you for that great info. I put the 90 degree lens and yes it cover everything, colors are ok but my par is at 250 top, middle 140ish anx bottom, 60-100. How did you mount the optics to the LED's to get them the stay on ? Quote Link to comment
Flozfz Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, dling said: How did you mount the optics to the LED's to get them the stay on ? I used a RTV high temp silicone, i let them cure for 24 hours, i bought it in home-depot for like 5 bucks. Quote Link to comment
dling Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Flozfz said: I used a RTV high temp silicone, i let them cure for 24 hours, i bought it in home-depot for like 5 bucks. Cool. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
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