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Floating Sphere


Spicy Reef

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14 hours ago, A.m.P said:

Did you measure the heat at the diode itself? The aging and damage comes from the base of the diode getting hot and the cooler you keep them the better. The main reason I make that distinction is, as an example, the TDIE of a CPU can be 15-20 degrees Celsius different than the core temps. 

 

It really depends on the system, I'm a big fan of PAR38's by ABI and am rapidly becoming a fan of the new NiCrew Hyperreef (I have had both on smaller nanos and run both on my smaller tank now). On my larger system I have a near-decade-old, refurbished, Maxspect Razor which I'm perfectly happy-with.

I measured the heatsink while in the box and out of the box. This should cover it? obviously can not measure the led as the led is enclosed when it's in the box 🙂 but if the heatsink is hotter in the box, the led should be hotter as well? please let me know if I'm missing something here. 

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14 hours ago, A.m.P said:

 

 

It really depends on the system, I'm a big fan of PAR38's by ABI and am rapidly becoming a fan of the new NiCrew Hyperreef (I have had both on smaller nanos and run both on my smaller tank now). On my larger system I have a near-decade-old, refurbished, Maxspect Razor which I'm perfectly happy-with.

The NiCrew on sale now 🙂 do you know if it will grow macro algae as well? I like blue hypnia and ogo in the display.

 

has anyone heard of these?

AmazonSmile: Updated Aquarium Light with Remote Control, 300W Dimmable LED Coral Reef Light 2pcs for Saltwater Freshwater Fish Tanks with 24 Hours Segment Free Timer Function : Pet Supplies

Quite a lot of functionality as well.

 

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27 minutes ago, Spicy Reef said:

I measured the heatsink while in the box and out of the box. This should cover it? obviously can not measure the led as the led is enclosed when it's in the box 🙂 but if the heatsink is hotter in the box, the led should be hotter as well? please let me know if I'm missing something here. 

Potentially missing a bit, yes; you've removed all airmass and clearance from the front of the diode by setting it directly on your lid, otherwise the heatsink can only move a certain amount of thermal energy per second and it's hard to tell how much is staying on the diodes themselves just by reading the heatsink. The original design had two active cooling fans on it because the extruded aluminum piece they used can't cool their LED's at whatever load they treated as normal (probably 50-75%?).

I don't believe the Relassy have particularly positive reviews from those who've tried them out over on R2R.

The NiCrew have a very bright and aggressive white spectrum and a pretty reasonable blue spectrum, I don't see why they wouldn't grow algae.

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1 hour ago, A.m.P said:

 

I don't believe the Relassy have particularly positive reviews from those who've tried them out over on R2R.

The NiCrew have a very bright and aggressive white spectrum and a pretty reasonable blue spectrum, I don't see why they wouldn't grow algae.

I have par meter so I guess I can keep testing, got those babies on sale $100 each.

NiCrew is almost twice as much, that is a huge heatsink though 🙂 ...

I would not get the Relassy for my large tank but for a 20 long? I might get the par38's u suggest but kinda bulky and still $100 for two no fixture. Maybe time to DIY my own leds ahg! I wish I could buy just one of the Relassy that had the same functionality.

Thanks for taking the time with me.

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Yeah, lighting options are a bit odd right now. The PAR bulb's are difficult because they need to be mounted around 10-15" above the water to keep corals from bleaching, but 3 of the 12W would likely give pretty great coverage and could grow sps in the upper half of the water column. 

The NiCrew are cheap compared to most lights, but more expensive than black boxes per watt.
People seem to be mostly-happy with them so far, but it's hard to tell how long they will last and whether or not they'll be worth the extra money. For now I can say that they're heavy, NiCrew did their homework and put a solid chunk of metal on their LED's.

 

As far as controllable options... I would recommend NoopSyche, but the community seems to have had quite the falling out with the company over a handful of issues which I can't really confirm or deny.

 

The black boxes are great and will grow corals (Viparspectra are some of the best to boot), I don't think you need new lights. I would however get some fan of some type on their heatsink (you can just get a cheap powersupply to run them and a potentiometer to set them nice and quiet). 

I would also really recommend you glue 1/2" -3/4" length of PVC to the corners and the middle to keep them elevated above your lid a bit.
But they'll work just fine and I really like what you've done with them, just needs a few finishing touches to make sure they'll last you a while without needing diodes replaced all the time.

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On 10/18/2022 at 9:59 AM, banasophia said:

Love it!! Haven’t checked out your thread in a while… not seeing your sphere??? Is it in there but just covered with corals? 

Thanks! yeah, that sphere was a huge fail disaster... it detached and rolled into the front glass 😳 I drained the tank re-attached using super glue and it failed again!

I gave up and the deathstar sits at the bottom, just behind that huge Monti growing GSP maybe future project 🙂

I have replaced it with a small floating Tri-monti, red purple and Jedi-mindtrick.

I have also started a Reef Bowl DIY . Will start a thread...

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Oh man, bummer about the sphere, seemed like such a great idea and well made. Those floating corals look good though. I’ll keep an eye out for the reef bowl thread. 
 

 

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