d2mini's "Essential Focus" Mixed Reef Build

[BigAl2007]

Wow... yet another great build from The MAN!! I was thrilled when I logged into the forum and saw you had another build thread. 2 days later and I'm pretty much caught up but only thanks to "skim reading" LOL.

I have a few questions for you when you have time.

A) How does light spillage into the room affect comfort when in the room and doing other things which do not include admiring the tank? Does the light cause any problems when watching TV etc?

B) When you have time (or if you have a recent shot and I just missed it) could you snap a long range shot of your system like from across the room showing the light spill on the walls etc?

C) Are the lights controlled by the Profilux or just being controlled by their own built-in controller?

D) Do the lights have any type of "Lightning/Storm" effect? I know some don't care for it but it was something that lead me to GHL to begin with several years ago and it's something that is important to me

Your builds are always so inspiring and I can't wait to go back and read more indepth through it when I have some time.

Thanks in advance,
Allen

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by BigAl2007

Wow... yet another great build from The MAN!! I was thrilled when I logged into the forum and saw you had another build thread. 2 days later and I'm pretty much caught up but only thanks to "skim reading" LOL.

I have a few questions for you when you have time.
Allen

Hey Al, how's it going?

A) How does light spillage into the room affect comfort when in the room and doing other things which do not include admiring the tank? Does the light cause any problems when watching TV etc?

No issues. Maybe if the screen is really dark and you are at the right angle you'll see a little reflection but it hasn't been anything that has bothered me. I had to think about this for a minute. What is annoying is any time I try to take a non-reef photo (like of my kids or something) in that part of the house. All photos have a blue cast. LOL

B) When you have time (or if you have a recent shot and I just missed it) could you snap a long range shot of your system like from across the room showing the light spill on the walls etc?
I don't really notice direct light spill. It's just like I was saying above... the blue light just kinda mixes with the white led lighting in my ceiling cans. Bouncing off the walls and stuff. See photo below. That's the farthest one I have.

C) Are the lights controlled by the Profilux or just being controlled by their own built-in controller?
They are plugged into the powerbar, but not being controlled by it. Sockets set to always on.

D) Do the lights have any type of "Lightning/Storm" effect? I know some don't care for it but it was something that lead me to GHL to begin with several years ago and it's something that is important to me
Yes. Everything is controlled via EcoSmart Live. Storms, clouds, moonphases, etc. But i usually don't do much with all that. I used a Mitras LX7 on my office nano (until i tore it down) and the two lamps are similar in most ways/features. But the Mitras has much stronger programming capabilities. The Radions are more simple in this regard.

Your builds are always so inspiring and I can't wait to go back and read more indepth through it when I have some time.

Thanks in advance,
Thanks, Al.





And this video starts a little bit back... not much more though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moK40QOW2Tw&t=4s

[BigAl2007]

Perfect! Exactly the things I needed (wanted) to hear.

Your system is amazing and definitely something to strive to replicate in some degree.

When you answer a post you don't half-way do it.

That video is exactly what I needed to see. Light spillage into the living area is of major concern for my other half.

Thank you sir! Always a pleasure.

Allen

[choss]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Screws.

I used screws too

[cincyjim]

Dennis, do know how many amps the lights use for the percentage you have them set to? What percent are you running them at? The reason I ask is I'm about maxed out on my circuit's amps and I am looking at going with these lights and not use my T5s anymore. I know the option would be to run another electrical line and outlet but it's not really possible. Thanks!

[BigAl2007]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

Dennis, do know how many amps the lights use for the percentage you have them set to? What percent are you running them at? The reason I ask is I'm about maxed out on my circuit's amps and I am looking at going with these lights and not use my T5s anymore. I know the option would be to run another electrical line and outlet but it's not really possible. Thanks!

Jim, I can't speak for Dennis but the "safe" thing to do is calculate how many amps the lights "could" pull if you were to run at 100% because at some point you very well could run them at 100%. You don't want to "guestimate" on the low side and then run into problems should you need to run them at 100% even for a short period of time. Better safe than sorry.

If those are the G4 Pro (I don't see Dennis running anything less normally LOL) they can pull up to 190W and he's running 3 of them so 570W at 100% output. You should be able to use those #'s to figure amps for your calcs.

Hope this helps

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

Dennis, do know how many amps the lights use for the percentage you have them set to? What percent are you running them at? The reason I ask is I'm about maxed out on my circuit's amps and I am looking at going with these lights and not use my T5s anymore. I know the option would be to run another electrical line and outlet but it's not really possible. Thanks!

They run at 90% overall intensity but with not all channels running at 100% the total output is 63% for midday. I don't know how many amps they are pulling.

[cincyjim]

Thanks BigAl for the feedback. You are right about planning for a 100% usage rate. I'm trying to figure out how I can get the best lighting for little amp usage as possible.


Dennis, based on my rough math to get amps, that looks to be about 3amps (at 65% use) or so not including what the fans would be using. I gather the lights are not controlled by Apex... is that a safe assumption?

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

I gather the lights are not controlled by Apex... is that a safe assumption?

Correct. Like i told Al above, they are plugged into my Profilux power bar but not controlled by it. All programming/control is done through Ecosmart Live.

[cincyjim]

Very good. How are you liking the Ecosmart Live? Easy to use, intuitive, reliability?

[anbosu]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

Thanks BigAl for the feedback. You are right about planning for a 100% usage rate. I'm trying to figure out how I can get the best lighting for little amp usage as possible.


Dennis, based on my rough math to get amps, that looks to be about 3amps (at 65% use) or so not including what the fans would be using. I gather the lights are not controlled by Apex... is that a safe assumption?

Amp draw should be part of the specs published by Ecotech for the lights.

[cincyjim]

It's listed at 3.5a per light. I was hoping to see what the actual draw was by someone who is using it and at what percentage.

[brett559]

Amazing tank. One of my favorites.

1) What's your favorite fish in there?
2) What's your favorite coral in there?
3) What fish are on the horizon?
4) What fish do you wish you could add?
5) What do you feed your fish?
6) What's your favorite breakfast cereal?

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

Very good. How are you liking the Ecosmart Live? Easy to use, intuitive, reliability?

It's fine. Easy to use. Except every move you make is instantly saved. So before playing around or making changes, make sure you export your current schedule to a file. And i loathe having to use the ReefLink to connect. Literally a 50/50 chance that it's not connected to your wifi and you'll have to power cycle it. Ok when you're home. Not so much when you are away.

Originally Posted by brett559

Amazing tank. One of my favorites.

1) What's your favorite fish in there?
2) What's your favorite coral in there?
3) What fish are on the horizon?
4) What fish do you wish you could add?
5) What do you feed your fish?
6) What's your favorite breakfast cereal?

Thanks!

1) Would probably be most heartbroken over losing the purple tang
2) Hard to say. I like different ones for different reasons. And some that are just "ok" now might end up pretty stunning when they become big colonies.
3) Nothing in particular. I enjoy the coral more than the fish.
4) Bigger tangs
5) Reef Frenzy and/or Rod's Food. Sometimes mix in a cube of cyclops. And nori for the tang.
6) The sadly now discontinued Oatmeal Raisin Crisp.

[cincyjim]

Dennis, are you saying that if the Ecosmart Live loses connection that the lights will turn off or something like that?

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by cincyjim

Dennis, are you saying that if the Ecosmart Live loses connection that the lights will turn off or something like that?

No, the lights hold the programming on-board.
I'm just saying that if I want to go in and make any changes, I'm relying on the reeflink to let me do so.

[cincyjim]

Very good, thanks! I'm not sure if I should get an Ecosmart or just utilize my Apex for them. I like the base light settings that come with the Ecosmart and I'm not sure if I can duplicate that on the Apex. I'm sure some can and have but I'm not sure if I can . I appreciate all your thoughts and input!

[BigAl2007]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Correct. Like i told Al above, they are plugged into my Profilux power bar but not controlled by it. All programming/control is done through Ecosmart Live.

I'm thinking I may do the same thing on my set-up. I'm really liking the idea/concept of the EcoSmart route for EcoTech equipment.

[Misled]

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

OK --Dennis & me --
Need more people to order --
I will post on the named thread also.

I'm in.

[Vinny Kreyling]

Lucky you -- someone dropped out.
Full up on this go round.

[brett559]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Haven't posted an FTS in awhile...

Is that a bounce mushroom in the back right? Aren't those crazy expensive, like $1,000+?

Also, what a beautiful tank! Thanks for sharing.

[Misled]

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

Lucky you -- someone dropped out.
Full up on this go round.

Cool beans. PM me what's up.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by brett559

Is that a bounce mushroom in the back right? Aren't those crazy expensive, like $1,000+?

Also, what a beautiful tank! Thanks for sharing.

Yes, it's my WWC Bounce.
I traded some of those red and orange jawbreaker mushrooms for it, but yes... they are pricey suckers. lol

[Member No. 1]

Dennis,
I was in search of some Radion Lighting information, and I was directed to this thread, which after many unproductive days at work, I read end to end! Fantastic read, great attention to detail.

What brought me here is I recently upgraded my 80 to a 120. The 80 ran "Old School", (2) 250wDE MH 14K Phoenix, 2 54w T5's, CaRx, Kalk Reactor, UV, Ozone, bare bottom, no refugium. I had great success. The 120 would be the same, only this time I would "Fix" what I didn't like about the set-up. After much research, and going back and forth, I decided to ditch the MH/T-5 in favor of the new Radion XR30-G4 Pro. So I picked up (3). I'm running them end to end over a 48x24x24 tank with a center brace. These are controlled by APEX, running the AB+ program. I started at 40% for (2) hrs/day then slowly worked my way up to 75% and (6) hrs/day. Corals were looking good. I saw the video about the diffusers, so I pick them up. No changes were made to the lighting schedule to compensate for the reduced output that was claimed to be 15-20%. In the weeks following installation, I noticed the corals not looking so good. Water parameters same as prior to the diffusers. I few corals STN'ed, (2) Favias lost color, a Bird's Nest was turning brown. I read that shortly after you added the diffusers you had some issues also. So this past week, I have removed the diffusers, lowered the intensity to 50% to see if that helps. I did pick up an Apogee SQ-520 to get some idea what the PAR is. It's on this weekends To Do List.

So this brings me to my post, I have a couple of questions.

Originally Posted by d2mini

After speaking with Ecotech and discussing their new DLI findings along with my light schedule and intensity and low nutrient system, I decided to lower the light intensity a little bit. But that was after these pics were taken. I also need to start feeding more. I haven't been feeding the tank anything specifically for the coral and other than the tang, most of my fish are small. Will see if the colors intensify at all.

Thanks!

Is this something other than what's in the Coral Lab Paper they did in conjunction with WWC? Since the data was based on them using G3 Pro's I would love to see Ecotech update the paper with the new G4 Pro's both without/with the diffusers.

Originally Posted by d2mini

Finally got the Radion Diffusers installed!

Honestly, it's not that much different than before. Still plenty of shimmer. And not much loss in light. I have a hand held photography light meter than can measure LUX and I'm recording only a 3-5% loss. The tank looks very evenly lit with very little shadowing. I'd say it's a very subtle but nice upgrade.

Also, I kind of like not seeing those individual led domes on the pucks.
Looks more finished IMO.

With no change to before and after settings, have you had a chance to get new PAR readings?

Also in one of your posts, you had a Youtube link on how to photograph a reef tank. I can't seem to locate it. Can you please share that again, thanks.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by Member No. 1

Dennis,
I was in search of some Radion Lighting information, and I was directed to this thread, which after many unproductive days at work, I read end to end! Fantastic read, great attention to detail.

What brought me here is I recently upgraded my 80 to a 120. The 80 ran "Old School", (2) 250wDE MH 14K Phoenix, 2 54w T5's, CaRx, Kalk Reactor, UV, Ozone, bare bottom, no refugium. I had great success. The 120 would be the same, only this time I would "Fix" what I didn't like about the set-up. After much research, and going back and forth, I decided to ditch the MH/T-5 in favor of the new Radion XR30-G4 Pro. So I picked up (3). I'm running them end to end over a 48x24x24 tank with a center brace. These are controlled by APEX, running the AB+ program. I started at 40% for (2) hrs/day then slowly worked my way up to 75% and (6) hrs/day. Corals were looking good. I saw the video about the diffusers, so I pick them up. No changes were made to the lighting schedule to compensate for the reduced output that was claimed to be 15-20%. In the weeks following installation, I noticed the corals not looking so good. Water parameters same as prior to the diffusers. I few corals STN'ed, (2) Favias lost color, a Bird's Nest was turning brown. I read that shortly after you added the diffusers you had some issues also. So this past week, I have removed the diffusers, lowered the intensity to 50% to see if that helps. I did pick up an Apogee SQ-520 to get some idea what the PAR is. It's on this weekends To Do List.

So this brings me to my post, I have a couple of questions.



Is this something other than what's in the Coral Lab Paper they did in conjunction with WWC? Since the data was based on them using G3 Pro's I would love to see Ecotech update the paper with the new G4 Pro's both without/with the diffusers.



With no change to before and after settings, have you had a chance to get new PAR readings?

Also in one of your posts, you had a Youtube link on how to photograph a reef tank. I can't seem to locate it. Can you please share that again, thanks.

Thanks!

The coral lab paper was done years ago. Their new findings on DLI have been talked about here and there in youtube vids. I don't know of any updates to the original paper.

The issue I had with some of my coral ended up being a salinity issue. Probe was off calibration and my salt levels went through the roof. Once I got that under control everything bounced back. Tank is looking good, diffusers are still installed. It's hard for me to get my hands on a par meter so no, I haven't updated. I just increased my intensity a bit after adding the diffusers. The diffusers are just blending the color channels better and creating a more even spread of light. Other than intensity, there should be no effect on your coral.

The youtube vid I put together was for processing your pics in lightroom.
Here it is...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH6ngLb4XL4


Speaking of vids... here is a new vid of tumbling Dragon's Breath macro in my fuge.

https://youtu.be/DfUD5a8LObI