Advice on Beamswork unit

[Imorpher]

Hi all,

I'm after a couple of pieces of advice on the Beamswork unit I am currently using on my 30cm cube tank. The tank is running on no CO2 injection and with a low weekly dose of Tropica Premium fertaliser so I am thinking this light might be a bit too much for it, although I could be wrong?

The light itself : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151171228154

I have been looking at the following as cheap dimmer's to go along with it:

1. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141181665175
   
2. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351287502413

Anyone got any experience with a dimmer on this unit and could chip in their thoughts on the above?

I would also like to ideally replace the power cable with a new one because it is currently a EU plug and I don't like having that in an adapter. I am however struggling to find the right cable to replace it with so would appreciate any help here as well.

 

[Julian]

Your plants will tell you if the light is too much. Look for deformed leaves, holes, algae etc.

Not sure if those dimmers will work, but they're cheap so you haven't got much to lose.

EU plug makes no difference, better to have one of those than splicing the cable and risking a fire.

 

[Imorpher]

Hi Julian,

That is what I am experiencing which is why I think the lights are too high, but obviously the lack of CO2 isn't the greatest for them either.

And yeah I guess they are cheap enough to give them a try, same with the light to be fair. I have seen some discussion on here with the cheap ones before and they seem to work alright, just not worth risking on expensive units!

The issue with having the EU adapter is that the EU plug is a bit unstable in the adapter and that isn't ideal, and I would also like to use a timer but don't want to chain an already unstable plug if that makes sense.

 

[tim]

An adapter like this may save trying to re wire
http://www.lindy.co.uk/power-c8/pow...ters-c346/euro-to-uk-adapter-plug-black-p4558

 

[Imorpher]

That looks brilliant Tim, will give one of them a go.

Thanks!

 

[Chrisvx220]

I have just set up a 20"x20"x24"deep tank using one of these light units in the next size up, also non co2.

This is a photo showing par data I found for the same unit but x 2 so half the readings should give you an idea.

How are you finding plant growth under yours, mine has only been setup for 2 days so still waiting to see what happens :/

 

[Imorpher]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the PAR values, very useful!

Plant growth seems to have been pretty decent after a month of work, nothing exceptional but also plants are growing. I have mainly slow growing plants so they haven't really taken off. I have been struggling with algae on my mosses and anubias', and was previously getting issues with some holes and melting but that seems to have chilled out.

I raised the unit using the TMC brackets from AE http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-aquaray-tank-rim-mounting-bracket-black-p-6981.html. a couple of weeks back and it seems to have work well and the light is still pretty sturdy on it. This has really helped me increase the light spread to the edges of my tank which previously were suffering so would advise giving them a try if you are having "spotlighting" issue as well.

The light seems decent for the cheap price, just need to try a way to dim them and they should be perfect for my tank.