Current Satellite Lighting help

Lighting, filtration etc
plant57va
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Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by plant57va »

Hi:
I recently acquired 2 24" current satellite led lights complete with ramp up timers and remotes.
What I didn't get was any documents, so while I probably could figure them out, (although I do not have a par meter or technical know how to properly set them)
If I were to bring one of the lights to the meeting tomorrow, can someone give me some tips/ideas or direction as to how to set them up>>>>>
thanks
david
Becca
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by Becca »

The instructions are probably available on the websites. The ramp-up timers will only work right if the lamps are at full brightness, otherwise they flicker as they ramp up, but there is a setting for just a basic on and off.
plant57va
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by plant57va »

Ive found generic product information,(on webs) but nothing that kind of explained how I establish different lighting scenarios
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krisw
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by krisw »

I can probably help out... Just so you know, the Satellite lights only let you configure the color calibration and brightness, set to one of the manual preset. You leave it on that setting, and can use the ramp timer for sunrise/sunset. As Becca mentions, the 1st generation versions have flicker issues with the ramp timer. The newer versions may not. The other settings like clouds/lightning can only be triggered on demand, not part of any automated program. This is an annoying lack of feature in the product.
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by Becca »

krisw wrote:I can probably help out... Just so you know, the Satellite lights only let you configure the color calibration and brightness, set to one of the manual preset. You leave it on that setting, and can use the ramp timer for sunrise/sunset. As Becca mentions, the 1st generation versions have flicker issues with the ramp timer. The newer versions may not. The other settings like clouds/lightning can only be triggered on demand, not part of any automated program. This is an annoying lack of feature in the product.
Agreed.
sfarkhan
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by sfarkhan »

How do you like the Satellites? I'm considering the Satellite Plus PRO.
Shahriar (Shah-ry-are)
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krisw
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by krisw »

Shahriar, it all depends on the height of your tank and what lighting level you want to achieve. For a shallow bookshelf tank (8" tall), I really liked my Satellite PRO. The Plus Pro outputs roughly double that so it could work for a high-light tank at a bit more depth. For tanks more than 12-14", you might want to look at the Ecoxotic E-Series. It's essentially the same light, but roughly 2X the output of the Plus PRO. Beyond 18-20", you may be better with the higher output Finnex (lower build quality and cheaper) or a BuildMyLED (higher build quality/price). Obviously, all my opinions and assuming tank with high tank/CO2. If you want lower light levels or no CO2, you can go with less...
sfarkhan
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by sfarkhan »

krisw wrote:Shahriar, it all depends on the height of your tank and what lighting level you want to achieve. For a shallow bookshelf tank (8" tall), I really liked my Satellite PRO. The Plus Pro outputs roughly double that so it could work for a high-light tank at a bit more depth. For tanks more than 12-14", you might want to look at the Ecoxotic E-Series. It's essentially the same light, but roughly 2X the output of the Plus PRO. Beyond 18-20", you may be better with the higher output Finnex (lower build quality and cheaper) or a BuildMyLED (higher build quality/price). Obviously, all my opinions and assuming tank with high tank/CO2. If you want lower light levels or no CO2, you can go with less...
Hey Kris, thank you! You've been a great help :) My tank is 21" high so it's been a challenge to get enough light to the substrate, S. repens carpets with the current light but nothing else carpets at that depth. I am injecting CO2 but it's more of a medium light tank. It's really hard trying to pour through the data and hype to know what works for what tank. I called Current to ask them if I would use one or two before I read your post.
Shahriar (Shah-ry-are)
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krisw
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by krisw »

If you're looking to grow carpeting plants, make sure the light you choose can produce a minimum of 60 PAR at the distance from the light to the substrate THROUGH WATER. Some manufacturers list their PAR through air which is deceiving. If you stick between 60-100 PAR at substrate, you should be able to grow most any carpeting plant. Of course, to do that in a tall tank means the upper areas of your tank are bleeding in light. Not a bad thing if you balance you light/CO2/nutrients and stay on top of maintenance like filter cleaning/water changes. But, something to be aware of, the more light you add. You can go a bit lower for the easy carpeting plants like Marsilea, Lileopsis, dwarf sag, etc. But if you're looking for the classic ones like glosso, HC, hairgrass, etc, make sure they get the light.
sfarkhan
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Re: Current Satellite Lighting help

Post by sfarkhan »

krisw wrote:If you're looking to grow carpeting plants, make sure the light you choose can produce a minimum of 60 PAR at the distance from the light to the substrate THROUGH WATER. Some manufacturers list their PAR through air which is deceiving. If you stick between 60-100 PAR at substrate, you should be able to grow most any carpeting plant. Of course, to do that in a tall tank means the upper areas of your tank are bleeding in light. Not a bad thing if you balance you light/CO2/nutrients and stay on top of maintenance like filter cleaning/water changes. But, something to be aware of, the more light you add. You can go a bit lower for the easy carpeting plants like Marsilea, Lileopsis, dwarf sag, etc. But if you're looking for the classic ones like glosso, HC, hairgrass, etc, make sure they get the light.
I really appreciate the information on PAR. I think I'm hampered by the depth of the tank being 21" - It looks great but my experience with the quad lamp t-5 HOs has taught me that getting plants to carpet requires a loooot of light and that requires a ton of CO2 to prevent algae. I am doing 50% water changes weekly but if I miss a week and lay off the dosing, I got a huge string algae bloom. I contacted Current and they said (1) Satellite Pro Plus would be enough to carpet plants - I provided the tank dimensions, substrate depth, etc. I wonder if they even read that part.
Shahriar (Shah-ry-are)
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