Rimless w/ Remote Lighting

[Timfish]

I recently was given the challenge of setting up a reef system with custom recessed lighting 5 1/2' away from the tank. Using off the shelf and custom components we built three 250 watt fixtures. LEDs are CREE XPG2 and XPGE2, Count per each fixture is 27 CW, 6 NW, 21 RB and 24 B.

Woohoo! Using 16° optics we we're able to get very focused lighting
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...11aeb9df0c.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...53ebb2fe0c.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...4e300d857a.jpg

Here's a view of the tank and lighting. Lights are recessed into the bottom side of a balcony 5' above and set back about a foot from the front. Distance to the front top edge is 5 1/2'. Ceiling above the tank is 18' and keeping the area completly open was a requirement so hanging pendants was not an option.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...f48b4d831a.jpg

Here's PAR from the front:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...279ca5c9b8.jpg

Here's PAR looking down from the top:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...637bf7b367.jpg

Another challenge is the system gets about 1 hour of sunlight each day. Combined PAR is over 900 at the top of the aquascaping so LED cannot be on during that time. It's also been interesting to see what corals do not like getting any sunlight so there's a bit of hit and miss we don't usually have.

Here's a video:
https://youtu.be/Oaf3pCvBzX0

[billdogg]

Very nice job!

[Subsea]

Tim,

You do beautiful work.

[zooman72]

I concur - very nice work with the lights and the aquarium, but maybe a longer video...

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I've always wanted to do something like this.

I'm surprised at the wattage it took.

[Timfish]

Thank ya'all!

Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht

. . . I'm surprised at the wattage it took.

In hindsight the fixtures probably would have been bright enough at ~200 watts. What I was concerned about designing them was being at an angle there would be more a higher percentage of light reflected off the surface than if they were directly above. I also had not messed with such tight optics before and in case they didn't perform as hoped I wanted to be sure to have enough light.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Any issues with the lights dazzling people who accidentally look up? I thought about high mounted lights over my 360 but opted for a canopy instead because I was concerned about kids standing next to the tank looking up at the lights.

[Timfish]

Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht

Any issues with the lights dazzling people who accidentally look up?. . .

Naw, they're dazzled by the brilliance of the tank.
One of the things I didn't appreciate worrying about the location of the lights was since they are above or slightly behind standing in front of the tank there's no glare from them like pendant style fixtures hung directly above the tank. When approaching the tank from the upper level the reflection off the surface is pretty bright until you lean a bit over the railing to look down. In the video you can see even moving just a couple feet the reflection of a fixture notcibly dims giving an idea of how focused they are. But if one does look straight up it's like looking straight up at the sun.

[Timfish]

Originally Posted by zooman72

. . . but maybe a longer video...

I'll work on it but here's a short video with just sunlight:
https://youtu.be/JAQhfMwC0FE

And here's one looking down at the clownfish:
https://youtu.be/mllKfOYCNb4

[zooman72]

Odd what the sunlight-only video does to the appearance of the aquarium, isn't it? Water look so cloudy and green...

Fish look nice and plump though...

[Timfish]

Originally Posted by zooman72

Odd what the sunlight-only video does to the appearance of the aquarium, isn't it? Water look so cloudy and green...

Fish look nice and plump though...

Yeah, the mid morning sunlight has a lot of yellow and red spectrum in it which some corals don't like. I haven't been able to keep any blue anchor anywhere, internal reflection seems to give it too much yellow/red light everywhere I've tried it, and frogspwn only does well where it only gets reflected sunlight. The purple stylo on the other hand seems to love it. It does make the red corals stand out better though.

Fish do get fed a bit.

[Timfish]

https://youtu.be/NlvDVVxXfC4

[Timfish]

Here's a video with just a single channel blue on:
https://youtu.be/aSlIEfYE7o8

[lapin]

Originally Posted by Timfish

Here's a video with just a single channel blue on:
https://youtu.be/aSlIEfYE7o8

The lighting looks great

[Timfish]

Thank you!

[Esh1]

Great job! Really like how clean the setup is!

[Timfish]

Thank You! It is really nice not seeing any obvious plumbing and having the lighting recessed so you don't see it as you walk up to the tank. I need to do a video with the filtration which is using Tyree's "Zonal" method. I've also set up an autofeeding pipe in the sump so the food is pulled into one of the return pumps and spread throughout the tank (this is more involved than just having an autofeeder above the sump dump food near the return pump intake). Here's a video with a "Snorkler's" perspective https://youtu.be/dCV4Pa8b1as

[Timfish]

I have been questioned about the "Moorish Idol" I have in this system. It is in fact a Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish, Heniochus acuminata. Once acclimated these are relatively hardy butterflies who quickly learn to recognize their feeders and are very personable fish and can be kept in groups in a large enough system.

I WILL NOT KEEP AND DO NOT RECOMMEND ACQUIRING MOORISH IDOLS!!!!!

After 30 years I still do not know of an aquarist that has been successful keeping Moorish Idols alive for more than a couple years, most only months. Outside of public or institutional aquariums Moorish Idols should not be purchased until there is solid research identifying their unique husbandry requirements.

[rvareef]

looks like a super sol!

[txdragonslayer]

This is an interesting build, can we see the filtration please?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Cliving1]

Tank is awesome

[Timfish]

Thank you!

The filtration is nothing special. It's two sumps each holding about 20 gallons. One sump has both return pumps and receives all the water from the overflow and has a feed mixing tube. The feed mixing tube mixes pellets and dry coral food from an autofeeder with water as it's pulled into one of the return pumps. The feed mixing tube is pretty basic but eliminates the problem with food collecting in the sump and rotting. The other sump is for cryptic sponges and is fed with a small 3/8" line comes from the output of one return pump with maybe 1 turnover an hour. No skimmer, no fuge, no reactors. I am running a small DIY canister filter that holds about a cup of GAC/GFO. I'm also running a UV sterilizor which I'll remove once I'm finished adding fish. I don't normally use UVs but I've had the odd experience of the Regal Angel in this tank get a cloudy eye on two different occasions within a week of adding new fish. Both return pumps are MAG 5s. There's also an ATO with just a float valve. Water level and ATO are set so the ATO can completely drain and it won't overflow the sump or change salinity by more than ~8%. Sorry I just ahve a couple pics and a short video if the feeding tube:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...d57b541829.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/arcipsbucket...16dc59fc51.jpg
https://youtu.be/87ggNDa6qwg

[Timfish]

Here's an update:
https://youtu.be/k9JmteQHCHw