Hanging LED Over BioCube

[ReefCheif]

So I got myself a 165w full spectrum fully dimmable LED and Im planning on removing the hood off the biocube and hanging this above. Im having alot of temperature issues with the current lighting being inside the hood, when I open the hood my temp stays secure, so the best fix is to go pendant style on the light and leave the lid off.

Im looking for suggestions on how high I should hang this LED above the surface and at what power I should run it. I would consider my little tank to be everything heavy, lots of zoas, a decent amount of SPS and LPS and even a couple NPS (obviosly lighting wont affect these)

I dont want to roast my acros or melt my zoas. Ive lost enough coral recently!!!!

 

[Huskyguy]

Contact fluid designers, they can build a nice custom build L bracket that will do the trick and it will look really good.

 

[ReefCheif]

I can build the bracket myself, metal fabrication is my speciality, I need an idea of how high to hang it and what power I should run it at, now how to hang it.

 

[Huskyguy]

I have a par meter that you can use to see how high you want your light.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

I can build the bracket myself, metal fabrication is my speciality, I need an idea of how high to hang it and what power I should run it at, now how to hang it.

Use the par meter if you can. Also, I'd go with at least 12" above the water. Hopefully it works well for ya.

 

[Aaron]

For temperature/ evaporation control, I replaced my hood with a piece of plexi glass with 2 holes cut for feeding. I just bought a piece of plexi glass and traced the outline with a magic marker. Then I had the plexi precision cut. It fits perfectly and minimizes evaporation.

I mounted my LED fixture above my aquarium with metal brackets, but it seems like you already have that figured out.

 

[FishTV]

If the lights are dimable, shouldn't be much of an issue. I did a dimable Rapid LED conversion, but can only run without lenses at about 50%. At 50% the acros, and nems love it, but the cube is so shallow that it can flat smoke most zoas if not acclimated carefully. Its going to depend on the fixture, what type of lenses it has, and if you can get them turned down enough. On my 90gal with 90 deg optics, I had to run at about 60% and close to 20 inches off the surface. I since changed to running no optics about 6 inches off the surface, and 80% for a much better spread of light, and much less disco effect. It will be handy if you have access to a par meter, but keep in mind that you have to bump your readings about 15% with led.