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New TMC Mini LED 400

come to think of it, your probably cheaper off using an energy saving high wattage bulb or two with a diy foil reflector while you wait, this is working very well on another 45 driftwood scape I have with 4 cfl bulbs, compact flourescent-the energy saving ones-so much so I might leave it that way for a bit till i can cut the energy and replacement bill in half with leds soon
 
I am pretty sure that 12W TMC 400 will be more than enough for any 30 cube nano or even something larger based on my DIY LED output.

These Osram LED's come in 2 setups 80 Degree beam and 150 degree beam angles. Now I am almost 100% sure they would not give 150 degree beam LED inside as that would render them useless. At 80 Degree beam angle you get fantastic penetration and spread for your nano. On other hand 80 degree beam angles are more useful for deeper tanks than 30cm 35cm deep cubes. My guess is it can penetrate easy to 45cm deep tanks. But don't get me wrong this will give plenty light with pefrect spread for any nano's out there we use.

Now I can only guess PAR output but at the substrate of 30cm cube it could be around PAR 100-120 which is plenty for planted tank. I grow my plants at 45-55 at substrate level without problem (except glosso :)).
 
Radik said:
I am pretty sure that 12W TMC 400 will be more than enough for any 30 cube nano or even something larger based on my DIY LED output.

These Osram LED's come in 2 setups 80 Degree beam and 150 degree beam angles. Now I am almost 100% sure they would not give 150 degree beam LED inside as that would render them useless. At 80 Degree beam angle you get fantastic penetration and spread for your nano. On other hand 80 degree beam angles are more useful for deeper tanks than 30cm 35cm deep cubes. My guess is it can penetrate easy to 45cm deep tanks. But don't get me wrong this will give plenty light with pefrect spread for any nano's out there we use.

Now I can only guess PAR output but at the substrate of 30cm cube it could be around PAR 100-120 which is plenty for planted tank. I grow my plants at 45-55 at substrate level without problem (except glosso :)).

Hey Radik thanks for the detail but we were questioning the TMC micro that he-man mentioned. I'm sure the tmc 400 would be more than enough.

He-man also thanks for the detail & help. For me I'm looking for a single unit - having to buy two seems ridiculous to me & there are plenty of units out there where if I bought two they would work. The search is for something that looks good & does the job. I don't really want something that looks like the standard dennerle / arcpod unit but im probably heading that way! I love the look of overhead luminaires but sadly the smallest ones ive seen just look too big! Ideally it would be 25 - 30 cm max.

The TMC 400 looked like an exciting option but as mentioned seems rather steep!
 
Anyone tried one of these yet? Thinking of ordering one Monday and making a light unit out of a pipe, wood and bits.
 
Reviving an old thread but does anyone have any experience with these tiles yet? I'm considering one for a 60l cube but I wonder if the micro led version would be big enough instead - I only want to grow mosses, java fern etc.

Also, anyone seen the difference between the microhabitat LED clip-on and the "micro led 200"? Which is bigger/more powerful out of the two?
 
Ive had one for over a month, sat in the box waiting for the F'in mountaray bracket to come out. TMC, useless.
 
Both Aquaessentials and reefstore have the brackets in stock now - 20 quid. What size tank you putting it on?
 
Ah sweet, got one ordered now. Mines on a 30L with an aquaray controller as you will need one since they are pretty bright
 
Definitely tempted by this tech! (Ramping the light up and down gradually and moonlight). So I'm looking forward to your feedback.

It seems you can get them from swelluk.com too. I live in the Czech Republic but it think I would have to order from the UK as TMC products are not really stocked much in the Czech Republic or Germany.
 
I’ve had one over a 30ltr Fluval tank I got free from Practical Fishkeeping for a couple of months now and it’s been great. Had to make a mounting box for it to sit on and it’s only 4” above the water surface (sitting on the cover glass) My mount limits the light spread a bit, but I kind of like the fact the internal filter is in the shade. I’ll try and get a picture tonight, but the growth has been great, I’ve had a little bit of thread algae but that’s all. I love the shimmer effect. – I’m only a beginner and this is just my second tank

I doubt you'll get the spread over a 60 ltr though with just 1 tile
 
As promised... The lighting in this shot isn't from the TMC (it's a flash) but the plant growth has been pretty good for a couple of months, just trimed it back as some plants had broken the surface.


30ltr_Cube_small.jpg
 
Anyway to get a pic of the light powered on over the tank without the Flash?
 
Here's one from when I first set it up, it's hard to depict the exact lighting, as it all comes down to the exposure from the camera settings (this was just grabbed using my phone) Photo taken on Oct 19th, the moss growth has been great. I replanted the foreground shortly after this shot.

TMC400LED.jpg
 
Thats looks very nice and well lit. I dont see much issue with growing most anything with these nano lights. Thank you
 
Here is a quick photo from my phone of the LED tile with the Mountaray. There's no other lights on in the room:

6437986383_df39b92cd6_z.jpg


Not the best photo, but shows the setup. I have to say it is the perfect size for my 40 x 40 x 40 cube. If anything it's a little too bright for my low-light setup, but it can always be dimmed. The coverage across the tank is very good, because the mounting bracket holds the tile quite high above the water surface.

The bracket is a little plasticky, but sturdy and pretty well built. I'm very pleased with it, overall.
 
Excellent. Thank you for sharing this, your phone takes nice photos by the way.
 
I have the mountings, amazingly well built.

Would like to get the light unit, but really not sure how bright would it be, as I have a 45cm tall tank.

Also, can they be linked to a controler? And powered up from a single psu?

Thanks,
Luis


___________________________

I don't know what is the secret of success, but the secret of failure is trying to please the world!
 
From my research they are compatible with TMC controllers. There is a link to PFK in the first post that has a decent write up.
 
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