R2 Signature series moonlight LED fixture?

[greenbaron]

Hi folks, new here, but not to the clown loach. Have kept them off and on for ~ 35 years... I have not really kept up with the technology of things and only just learned of the moonlighting concept since surfing across this site! Cool stuff! I like the look of the R2 signature series strips that would fit right on my good old existing hood... was wondering if anyone had an opinion about whether a 24" would be sufficient for my set-up, or if I should go with the 48" for a full effect. My setup is a 75 gal 48" long, 18" deep, 21" tall, small sized gravel lots of old driftwood and 3 out of the 7 that I got over 20 years ago... On my existing hood I have the standard double strips that includes 4 20W daylight bulbs - I only have them on when I clean the tank, and in the morning for feeding. I'm thinking with the blue lighting I could just set it where one bank of the existing lights now sit and use them all day... does that make any sense? I mean, they're meant for night lighting, but I think considering what my guys currently get it might be a nice day lighting for them. And I'm just wondering if the 24 LEDS of the 48" R2 would be too much... if R2's 24" strip centered on the hood wouldn't be better? Well, what do you experts think?

[Emma Turner]

Hi greenbaron, and welcome to Loaches Online.

Whilst I am not familiar with the brand of lighting you mentioned, I would suggest going for a size of blue moon tube that is shorter than the length of your tank by some way. For instance, on my 84" long extra deep and extra wide tank, I run a single 48" tube for moon lighting purposes. This gives a bright blue moon lit centre to the tank, with shady areas either side. It looks very natural, and the loaches are very confident in this light. I currently use a Hagen Marine Glo tube, but have used Interpet Blue Moon in the past, which gives an almost identical effect. I have timers on my lights so that the blue moon is the first tube to come on in the day, and does not startle the fish. Then after a couple of hours, the main lighting comes on (again, for the size of the tank, it is not particularly bright - just 2 x 48" Hagen Powerglo tubes) and stays on for 10 hours. About an hour before the main lights go off, the blue comes on again, so that when the main lights do switch off, the loaches are left with blue moon light for a few hours, before that switches off. With the amount of water movement in my tank, this gives a very effective 'moon on water' rippling effect.

I hope this helps, and sorry that I couldn't answer your questions about the R2 Signatures. Maybe someone who has experience with these will see this and chime in.

Emma

[greenbaron]

Hi Emma, thank-you for the reply. Here is the R2, if you're interested in looking. It's not a tube, but rather a series of LED's...
http://www.r2lights.com/wst_page4.html
They have some images on their site, the link you will see on that page...
I actually have already ordered the 48"... I just thought it would look better on my tank, and I suppose if I really don't like it I will just send it back. I emailed the company asking them about the possibility of putting a dimmer between it and the AC input, too. I can't see why that wouldn't work, and I have several of those.
Will report back after I set it up...

[Emma Turner]

Yes, definitely report back on how you find them. They look similar to the recently launched Aquaray range from TMC which I am planning on trying out on one of my smaller loach tanks: http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/aquarium/aquaray-lighting.asp I think the 48" will be a bit bright on your tank, but like you say, you can try dimming it. Having said that, if you have clowns, you will need to upgrade to a larger tank at some point, by which time the 48" will be ideal.

Emma

[greenbaron]

I have the 48" R2 now, and it's absolutely perfect! Would like to post a picture, but I see the options are set to HTML is OFF. When I put a link to the picture in my message, it previews as a bad link. In my profile, I had set HMTL ON, and can't see a way to change setting of HTML is OFF from the the Post a Reply screen. I see other people are posting pics, and am wondering why I can't. Anyway, I really like the R2 Moonlight! It's a whole new world in there.

[greenbaron]

Don't know why this didn't work before, but anyway, here's a pic with the R2 Signature Moonlight fixture (48") installed. As you can imagine, it's not an easy thing to get a good picture of "moonlight", but it should give you an idea. There are 24 LEDS pointing down, and as the little spotlights break the surface of the water, a shimmering effect results. The view is from slightly below level, so what you are seeing at the top is the surface agitation from the eheim spray bar on the left and the HOT magnum on the right. This fixture fit inside the existing hood, so it is completely integrated and I really, really like it! I even think the loaches like it, somehow (there's a part of one loach visible on the far right, in the back)

[Auntsally]

Really lovely!! Does anyone know of an English stockist??

[Emma Turner]

Looks great, greenbaron! It will be interesting to know how much more you start to see of your clowns under this lighting.

Auntsally, I've not heard of this brand being imported into the UK (although someone else may know differently). Have a look at the link I provided earlier in this thread which shows the TMC Aquaray lighting, which is similar and which shops over here are able to order.

Emma

[saberss]

its awesome,and here is some more info about Moonlight Online http://www.dotmmo.com/moonlight-online-10213.html

[greenbaron]

its awesome,and here is some more info about it http://www.dotmmo.com/moonlight-online-10213.html

what does this have to do with topic? We need a "Report Spam" button.