Orphek Nilus - Controllable by Apex?

[Snartl]

I have a 4'x2'x2' 120 gal tank and have two Nilus units hanging end to end, centered over the tank, at about 10" above the rim. My tank has a hood, so it limits my ability to raise the lights further. It seems like the front of my tank is a little shadowed, but just replaced two 250w mh with these units and I know that the lighting with LEDs looks a little different. What would the ideal height be for this situation?
Also I just received my Neptune Apex controller and would like to be able to control these lights by the controller. Is there a way that I could do this?

[Orphek]

The Nilus units are not controllable via the apex at this time. The units use their own controller and there is no interface for the apex unit.

The lighting that you have is more than enough for your tank. You can try moving the lights forward in the canopy and tilting them to focus into the tank. Using a combination of height and angle will give the desired results. If you cannot raise the lights any higher then you will need to adjust the angle of the lights. You may also consider removing some of the lenses as well. Since you do not have a very deep tank this can be done and the units will still provide for your corals.

[Snartl]

Ok, thanks for the reply. I really like the lights and started my coral out low and have them now up to 70% white and 70% blue, with a 3 hr ramp on both ends. They have responded very well to the light change.

[JeffBowlin]

Curios with regard to a new build; would a single Nilus unit be sufficient for a tank this size, 4x2x2?

[Orphek]

Curios with regard to a new build; would a single Nilus unit be sufficient for a tank this size, 4x2x2?

Jeff,

I am going to send you a PM but in short the answer is that you would most likely need 2 of the PR-156 series of lights. This includes the Nilus as it is built on the same platform.

You should consider the Atlantik as it will cover with one unit and provide enough light. The Atlantik is designed for medium and large tanks, with a bigger footprint than the PR-156 series.

Here is a link to recent par tests conducted at MACNA.

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[Orphek]

The Atlantik is controllable via it's own controller and a software suite for your laptop or desktop. There are four independent channels that offer you the ability to control the look of your tank and safely stay within the PUR bands that coral need to thrive.

Here is a walk-through of the channels.

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[North]

I have two Nilus lights on my 90 gal DT. I like the lights and the look in the tank.

However, I live out in the country and tend to experience occasional power outages, 5-10 minutes in length. Unfortunately, the controller fails to remember the time and requires a manual time reset every time the power goes out. Every electronic device I've owned for the last decade or two has the ability to remember simple time.

Now, this would be manageable given the time resets to midnight. However, the light also will not turn back on until the time reset is accomplished, or at least until the time is acknowledged by a manual buttom press on the controller. This means when I'm out of town, if we have a power outage, my tank will be dark until I return.

A better design would have been to allow the lights to turn on per the program using the midnight reset time. At least the tank would have light even if not on the schedule I prefer. Even better, when out of town, I could use my Apex to reset the fixture at midnight to get the tank back on time.

Like I said, I like the lights, but not the controller. Please let me know if I'm misunderstanding how the controller should be used.

Otherwise, for the price, I'm a little disappointed with the design. I'll have to replace with another brand eventually because this will not work long term for me.

[Orphek]

The Nilus units did not have any form of battery back up and you are correct that it has to be reset manually. We are no longer manufacturing the Nilus model as it has been replaced by the Atlantik which is a bigger fixture with 4 channels of control, full dimming, 8 pre-programmed lighting schedules and 3 custom programs and yes....it has battery backup.

We are sorry if the issue causes any major problems but are positive that you will still find the Nilus units offer your corals some of the best light available to them. The results that you will achieve will make this seem like a minor issue.

[moondoggy4]

North could you put your light on a battery backup there was thread in the Apex forum where everyone was buying a unit form ebay for about 20 bucks shipped, I also bought one but I have not installed it as of yet.