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AquaOak Large Cube + Two TMC AquaRay Grobeam 1500 Ultima

Bio_Chris

New Member
Joined
19 Jul 2020
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8
Location
West Yorkshire
Hi all,

I have a AquaOak cube large and cannot figure out if the lighting set up I have is too much for the size of the aquarium.
The awkward shape makes it difficult to get the right lighting and adequate water flow.

Could any one advise if what I have is ok or should I change to one LED tile instead of 2?
  • AquaOak 155L Cube Large (55Wx50Dx61Hcm)
  • Two x TMC AquaRay Grobeam 1500 Ultima tiles, 3 inches from water level
  • AquaRay controller (two channel)
  • CO2 injection
  • Moderately/heavy planted with plans to add more.
  • Fluval 206 with spray bar (very good surface movement)
Thanks in advance! :)
 
Hi all,

I have a AquaOak cube large and cannot figure out if the lighting set up I have is too much for the size of the aquarium.
The awkward shape makes it difficult to get the right lighting and adequate water flow.

Could any one advise if what I have is ok or should I change to one LED tile instead of 2?

[*]AquaOak 155L Cube Large (55Wx50Dx61Hcm)
[*]Two x TMC AquaRay Grobeam 1500 Ultima tiles, 3 inches from water level
[*]AquaRay controller (two channel)
[*]CO2 injection
[*]Moderately/heavy planted with plans to add more.
[*]Fluval 206 with spray bar (very good surface movement)

Thanks in advance! :)
First.. a preachy point (don't get me started on the use of "PAR" to mean PPFD.. :))
µEinsteins were interchangeably used along with µmol m-2 s-1 in the 60's and 70's, but the Einstein is not a unit in the SI (International System) of units, so using moles is preferred.

[*]10x Cree XB-D Power LED’s – Natural Day Light
[*]Beam angle of 120 Degrees
[*]Correlated Colour Temperature of 6500K
[*]PAR at 400mm in air is 148µEinsteins/sec/mSq
[*]Illuminance at 400mm in air is 4430 lux
[*]Total Luminous Flux is 2058 lumens
[*]Total power consumption (including PSU) is 30W at 700mA
[*]Efficacy is 69lm/W

so 148 "PAR" at 40cm while you have 61 cm plus hanging height of plus 10-20cm - soil (need correct figure... )
Let's just say PAR is probably > 50 at the substrate (pretty confident in that number) IF their numbers and my guesstimate is correct..

Putting the light at the correct height is crucial to get out as much PAR as you can.

15cm off the water line should be a good start.
Lowering will just start to shade at the top margins but increase PAR at depth.
Your effective depth is now 15 + 61- 8 (substrate depth estimate) = 68cm (27")
Calculations based on the light on full btw...

I see no need for 2 unless you want to push a lot of PAR to the bottom.
Lower light and CO2 is better than higher light w/ no or low CO2..
 
Thanks, currently the lights are about 8cm off the water line but I plan to mount them on to the hood which would put it around 18-19cm off the water line. Also about 10cm of soil.
I may try using just one tile and see if there's any difference in growth/algae. I'll have to keep an eye on CO2 too.
 
Thanks, currently the lights are about 8cm off the water line but I plan to mount them on to the hood which would put it around 18-19cm off the water line. Also about 10cm of soil.
I may try using just one tile and see if there's any difference in growth/algae. I'll have to keep an eye on CO2 too.
@ 8cm do fish coming to the surface and up to the glass go dark?
It's a pet peeve of mine..which figures into the height thing..

18cm will start to waste light outside the tank though.
If one wants, just use a white table/board/sheet w/ a defined square 50x50 and raise and lower the light till you find the sweet spot.
Hood will help this though..
To be real anal.. paint the inside w/ a white paint w/ a Barium Sulfate content..

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=cpl_techniquesinstruments

Esoteric knowledge..:)
 
No the lights spread at the moment looks good, especially with two tiles. If there was one tile it may be different - I’ll have to experiment. I was more concerned about if there’s too much light but because it’s a deep aquarium it should be ok on 100% power :)
 
TMC AquaRay Grobeam 1500 Ultima tiles

You can likely find several decent ukaps journals using these lights on the TMC signature aquariums 60cm x 40cm x 40cm (high, I’m fetching these numbers from rusty memory cells so don’t expect absolutes) and another brand (high end kit out of Portugal or maybe Spain, that was semi retired, then bought out by a US company (maybe just the name and designs) and had a brief resurgence (picked up by ADG at this stage) ... damn rusted memory @Tim Harrison should know :angelic:)

Case in point :cool:

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/georges-one-pot-iwagumi-challenge.29695/

You may still find some articles on these lights discussing PUR vs PAR
(shame the light wasn't continued)
 
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