Alex’s IM 150 EXT

[Alexander1312]

The (almost) final piece to my new lighting setup, two Helix Meso Blue dimmable light bars, arrived today.

They are already connected to the 0-10V (Hydros) and work well, are (independently) dimmable through the Hydros controller (same as the ATLAS) - or through a separate manual controller which comes with the light.

We (not me...) will mount them later when lights are out directly onto the ATLAS with a 3d print from a Quanta Lights recommended vendor/Kris: http://clev.ca/Shop/?fbclid=PAZXh0b...sYoHl_hO1HFgLbqp70_aem_-yQjcET0wfSKqCYgqJACHA

The one thing which is unneccessarily complicated are the light settings, specifically if you use the BOLUS light settings - 2h @120% desired light intensity, 3h @100%, and then ramp down. Pictures of the schedules setting both ATLAS and Helix independently from each other.

 

[PjFish]

It took a while to get to this point, but I am super happy with the outcome of replacing my Reefi lights. For the record, the Reefi lights are great and much less obtrusive than these lights. They have their own control app and can change the light spectrum, which these do not have.

The current setup is the following:
- Hydros X4 controller
- Two Quanta ATLAS, 240W max per light, 14k non-adjustable spectrum. I have limited their max power currently to 150W (manual setting on the light).
- 0-10V dimming on the Hydros with BOLUS light schedule alignment, starting with 80% of 150W per light for 2 hours, followed by 3 hours of 66% of 150W, and then ramping down until the end of the light cycle.

Since there is now a mounting solution available to mount the Helix light bars to the ATLAS directly, I have also ordered two 35-inch Helix Meso Blues for front and back (currently discussing with Luca if I should do the Helix ReefCrest instead since I prefer the less blueish light, but he previously recommended this setup/combination of lights to me.

There are more details to this setup if anyone wants to use these.

This is an early morning shot 5 minutes after the lights turned on (no filter was used).

View attachment 60947

Sweet !! Your sticks should grow like weeds with them cans! Would be nice if they had a few old school retro color choices on the reflectors but they probably can be easily painted..

 

[Alexander1312]

Sweet !! Your sticks should grow like weeds with them cans! Would be nice if they had a few old school retro color choices on the reflectors but they probably can be easily painted..

Thanks. Unfortunately, there is always a trade off. Gonies were (very) happy for almost two years until I started increasing the lights already with the Reefis and now even more with these. Acros love it, gonies hate it, and I have to find a different place for them - they currently only get about 160-180 PAR, the lowest PAR in the tank.

 

[Alexander1312]

The (almost) final product. No camera filter was used.

It doesn't look sleek, but given the limitations of the tank's location in terms of mounting options, it will have to do for now.

The 3d prints to mount the Helix bars to the ATLAS turned out to be a bit tricky to install, but once you know, it is doable.

The outstanding item I am waiting on now is a 3D print that allows me to mount the ATLAS to a 2040 bar. The ATLAS are currently mounted with cable ties to the bar. This will arrive in a few days, as Kris only came up with a solution for this problem a couple of days before the Hurricane, and we had to wait until he was able to ship it.

I have not discussed the costs for this setup, and I usually do not. However, since lights are often the most expensive item we purchase, I thought I would reflect on this.

While I certainly do not mind reducing my expenses for this hobby, I did not buy the Reefis previously, and now these lights to save money—at least, that was not the primary objective. However, these lights, i.e., Reefi / ATLAS / Helix seemed to deliver an exceptional product for an affordable price, which questions the purchase of far more expensive and well-known options. And this is when I became cheap.

Now, I admit that mainstream options have many benefits that, if money is not a consideration, could still justify going with them. They often have a very low/sleek profile and use an app that, even if not great, still does the job, and many folks out there can provide guidance. Also, customer service is often well-established. Reefis comes much closer to some of these advantages, but to this day, I wouldn't say I like their web interface.

Let's talk about costs (excluding mounting):

ATLAS (2) with Reflector - USD 499 each = USD 998
Helix - 35 inch (2) - USD 194.99 each = USD 390
Hydros X4 - USD 350
Hydros quad cable (0-10 V) - USD 10

Total costs for this light setup that should be able to provide high/very high wall-to-wall coverage at an outstanding spectrum for a 150-gallon tank: USD 1,748

 

[Darkxerox]

Still way cheaper than radions!

 

[psidriven]

I like the classic halide giant reflector look.

 

[Alexander1312]

Measured PAR today.

Main change by adding the light bars was an increase of the mounting height from 10 inch to 16 inch above the water line while keeping the ATLAS intensity the same, plus the added PAR from the bars. My thought was that the higher mounting plus the bars would (ball park) offset each other.

10 inch above the water height seemed to close for maintance work etc given that the light mounting sits on the tank etc. Also, someone else (Insta polypguy) had them mounted 20 inch above the water (3 ATLAS, plus two Helix) and had 400-450 PAR ad mid tank level by setting the ATLAS at 50% at their lowest level (150 watt limitation).

I currently run both the ATLAS and Helix at 50-66% of their (ATLAS minimum) power - BOLUS adjusted light curve - and get between 500+ PAR on the upper tertile, and 300+ PAR on the lower tertile of the tank. So, there is still lots of power left to crank up light post the 30-60 day acclimation period (and after I have ‘rescued’ my gonies).

 

[Alexander1312]

RIP Blenny (Ecsenius stigmatura) - yes, we give our fish very creative names.

We had him first in our very first Reef Tank (launched in September 2022, see picture below from Feb 2023). He died very quickly, tried to hide in a hole in one of the rocks (which was not his typical behavior) but had to get out and move to another rock because it was occupied by a crab (live rock hitchhiker). Within 45 minutes he was dead.

He was one of our first fish after the clowns, and we had him for two years and a few days, originally from Aquatic collection, and he seemed already fully grown so not sure how old he actually was when we got him.

I read that they would only live for 2-5 years, but not sure if this is true. He certainly had to go through a lot of ups and downs in my little over 2 year reefing journey, which might have not extended his life expectancy.

A very fun fish with lots of personality.

 

[PjFish]

Not sure Amnesty would agree 45 minutes is a quick death! lol

 

[Alexander1312]

Not sure Amnesty would agree 45 minutes is a quick death! lol

That’s what I thought….

 

[Darkxerox]

RIP Blenny (Ecsenius stigmatura) - yes, we give our fish very creative names.

We had him first in our very first Reef Tank (launched in September 2022, see picture below from Feb 2023). He died very quickly, tried to hide in a hole in one of the rocks (which was not his typical behavior) but had to get out and move to another rock because it was occupied by a crab (live rock hitchhiker). Within 45 minutes he was dead.

He was one of our first fish after the clowns, and we had him for two years and a few days, originally from Aquatic collection, and he seemed already fully grown so not sure how old he actually was when we got him.

I read that they would only live for 2-5 years, but not sure if this is true. He certainly had to go through a lot of ups and downs in my little over 2 year reefing journey, which might have not extended his life expectancy.

A very fun fish with lots of personality.

View attachment 61570

Did the hitchhiker crab get him? I've been actively catching those gorilla type crabs whenever I see them since they have been pretty aggressive.

Also any full tank shots with the par measurements written on them? Just curious what you're getting on the edges and sand. Still need to figure out what lighting I go with too.

 

[Alexander1312]

Did the hitchhiker crab get him? I've been actively catching those gorilla type crabs whenever I see them since they have been pretty aggressive.

Also any full tank shots with the par measurements written on them? Just curious what you're getting on the edges and sand. Still need to figure out what lighting I go with too.

We believe this is unlikely since he did not go to bottom before, and he made it out, but of course not an impossible reason. We took out several gorilla crabs already, and only saw this one still being in there yesterday. I assume it is not the only one - there are other crabs in there too, like the one which is using its arms to filter out particles from the water - do not have the name ready.

Regarding the light measurements - no, not with the current setup, only from a week ago when I had the two ATLAS (without Helix) mounted 10 inch above the water level, at the same settings as previously stated. Given the wider body of my tank compared to how long it is, these three data point measurements are not perfectly precise, but it does give you an idea. Will update them when I am doing this next time again. Just did some brief measurements today.

 

[Reefer Madness]

RIP blenny sorry for your loss.

 

[Alexander1312]

Latest ICP Results (new design of the report, but not a significant improvement in my opinion):

Observations:

The good
- Finally able to reduce Nitrates below 10 mg/l, which took several months to get there (the 11 days shipping reduced it further so it was a bit higher than what it is showing, more around 8).

The bad
- Continue to see 0 values for several trace elements despite increased dosing. Gonies suffer from this in my opinion. Claude says the refugium is the reason for the 0 values and he said I should take it out. Thinking about doing it but not 100% there yet.

The ugly
- 11 days from shipping to results with new west coast collection point Route 66 (LA/coral farm). Not acceptable and I will send it through Lousiana again next time which is faster. To their defense, they totally upgraded their ICP lab during this time which added another 2 days, so technically only 9 days, which is still longer than usual.

 

[Darkxerox]

Chaeto will usually suck up any free Mn and lots of Fe, you'll need to dose quite a bit to have it detectable. But remember there's a difference between 0 with no dosing and a 0 with dosing. The corals will at least have access to some with the dosing.

 

[Alexander1312]

Chaeto will usually suck up any free Mn and lots of Fe, you'll need to dose quite a bit to have it detectable. But remember there's a difference between 0 with no dosing and a 0 with dosing. The corals will at least have access to some with the dosing.

Agreed, but not enough, unfortunately. I have seen the three gonies I have deteriorating over the past few months while getting 0s every month on the ICP. Some people I find credible stated higher magnesium / close to 1400 mg/l to be a requirement for gonies, combined with sufficient mn. My magnesium used to be elevated for a long time - gonies were very happy during this time - but I wanted to get it down to NSW levels, to keep more stable ca levels.

 

[derek_SR]

How is everything adjusting to the new light? I have ordered two more of the 6ft Helix lights (Reef Crest this time).

I am considering switching to these things full time and basically imitating an 8 bulb T5 system. I’m going to see how they look aesthetically with a 2:2 ratio of the blue/white. Still got the 6 Reefi on there for now.

 

[Alexander1312]

How is everything adjusting to the new light? I have ordered two more of the 6ft Helix lights (Reef Crest this time).

I am considering switching to these things full time and basically imitating an 8 bulb T5 system. I’m going to see how they look aesthetically with a 2:2 ratio of the blue/white. Still got the 6 Reefi on there for now.

ATLAS / Helix combination works very well for all corals except the gonies. Growth is very nice - I am bad at taking pictures, but I will try to show what I mean.

I'm not sure I would go with Helix only over the Reefis combination, though. Why change something that is working? Because the reefis are too blue? Can you not dial that in manually?

 

[derek_SR]

ATLAS / Helix combination works very well for all corals except the gonies. Growth is very nice - I am bad at taking pictures, but I will try to show what I mean.

I'm not sure I would go with Helix only over the Reefis combination, though. Why change something that is working? Because the reefis are too blue? Can you not dial that in manually?

More spread of course. This has become the single most challenging thing with lots of SPS growing in.

 

[Alexander1312]

More spread of course. This has become the single most challenging thing with lots of SPS growing in.

Interesting. I thought with bars left and right and the Reefis in the middle that this would be enough. Probably need to change to the 60 degree reflectors for the Reefis.