Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/index.php)
-   DIY (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=13)
-   -   rotating lights??? (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=69234)

reefwars 10-25-2010 11:58 PM

rotating lights???
 
hey all its me again lol well yesterday as i was explaining my light ring that my pendants will go on for my new tank someone mentioned that it would be cool to have a small motor that would keep my lights circulating around my tank so i figured id ask if anyone seen it or if anyone can see any problems. i guess all the bulbs would have to be the same k and possibly same watts??

steve fedyk 10-26-2010 12:10 AM

The cables would have be a a swivel to stop them from wineding up and a good coating of sealler.
Getting a motor that is slow enough to pull them.
There was a guy on here with a light move set up that turned them like you want them too.

Skimmerking 10-26-2010 12:16 AM

CHIN LEE had that on his huge Cube.

reefwars 10-26-2010 12:20 AM

it was another canreefer who mentioned it to me... said he seen one as well, as for the motor im not even sure as like you said it would need to spin pretty slow i would imagine :)

reefwars 10-26-2010 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skimmer King (Post 559321)
CHIN LEE had that on his huge Cube.


ahh sweet so there is hope lol was thinking i was maybe losing it now :):)
ill have to find his thread if he has one would be a cool thing to have set up right if one was to take the time to do it:)

any ideas on how his worked??

Magma 10-26-2010 12:33 AM

have to think to about power consumption the motor to rotate the lights is going to draw a lot more wattage than just the lights and it will take need swivel so the wires dont twist togeather and wear down the insulation resulting in a bright light and a big bang.

Not saying it cant be done but the cost might start going up rather fast.

The Codfather 10-26-2010 12:42 AM

Here it is.
 
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=29398

reefwars 10-26-2010 01:12 AM

thank you bob:) now that is cool a suncircle kinda makes sense and its exactly as i was thinking and my new tank is almost those dimesions minus some of the height:)

reefwars 10-26-2010 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magma (Post 559327)
have to think to about power consumption the motor to rotate the lights is going to draw a lot more wattage than just the lights and it will take need swivel so the wires dont twist togeather and wear down the insulation resulting in a bright light and a big bang.

Not saying it cant be done but the cost might start going up rather fast.


not to worried about power consumption ive shut down three tanks with a fourth about to be shut down just to do this one lol:)

lastlight 10-26-2010 01:22 AM

Don't those slow stepper motors use very little power? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

Magma 10-26-2010 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars (Post 559338)
not to worried about power consumption ive shut down three tanks with a fourth about to be shut down just to do this one lol:)

well then you got lots of extra power. If you need help wiring it let me know I can walk you through it (gotta love being an electrician)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight (Post 559340)
Don't those slow stepper motors use very little power? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

depends on the motor really, some are strong output some not so much.

mike31154 10-26-2010 02:18 AM

Aren't there horizontal light movers available (also spawned by the hydroponics industry)? These would work better on a rectangular tank and you would actually save money by only using a single halide and having the device move the light back & forth over your system. That rotary thing looks scary and ill suited to even a cube. Good for a cylindrical tank maybe.

reefwars 10-26-2010 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike31154 (Post 559358)
Aren't there horizontal light movers available (also spawned by the hydroponics industry)? These would work better on a rectangular tank and you would actually save money by only using a single halide and having the device move the light back & forth over your system. That rotary thing looks scary and ill suited to even a cube. Good for a cylindrical tank maybe.


my tank is a cube its 48" x 48" only my height isnt as extreme as chin lee's mines 20" .im not set on it yet i have made the decision that im going to use a circle ring to mount 4 pendants its just someone mentioned that i should go rotating and i was like " really" "they do that??" lol so i was curious and now that ive seen someone with that im even more curious haha what have i got myself into now lol:)

im guessing the problem lies in that i have 16 sq/ft that needs to be lit up without using fixtures on legs or having lights covering up the whole top so if i can make a sleek giant "metal washer" i can bolt four pendants onto them just offset slightly from the middle......and thats where rotation got brought up lol:):)

mike31154 10-26-2010 04:20 AM

Well then your giant metal washer idea with four pendants sounds good. Not much need to rotate something like that I reckon. Would make things overly complex for no real benefit or reason.


All times are GMT. The time now is 06:23 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.