InWatter Stingray LED Review

[TJSlayer]

Thanks Steve, I spent a lot of time going back and forth, before pulling the trigger so to speak, and was hesitant becuase of the company being unknown, etc. They have actually just started selling the units and I have one of the first if not the first 48" units here in North America

But the whole experience was excellent, the gentleman I was dealing with was great (His name is Bongy). The qulaity of the fixture and everything is truly top notch. Will try to take more pictures myself over the weekend, but it litterally looks exactly like what they have on their site.

And they offer a full 2 year warranty.

But so far I'm 150% happy with the purchase.
TJ

[mike31154]

Thanks for the review, these look promising. Please elaborate on the dimming feature. Is it simply timer based, controlled by processor and does it have a manual feature?

Edit: Never mind re the dimming, I checked the site & there's a photo of the small LCD panel to control the light.

[TJSlayer]

Here are some basic specs of the unit.

InWatter Stingray is designed to provide the right intensity and color combination for even the most demanding corals, whether they are soft corals, LPS or SPS. We use four different colored LED to enhance the color pop from corals. Our unique smart-PWM dimming provides excellent control and efficiency for our light-loving animals.

Features:

• 3watt CREE LED emitters
• 55 degree Optics
• Separate Light Dimming channel for White, Blue and Moon
• Configurable Sunrise/Sunset timer setting
• Adjustable legs and hanging mount (included with fixture)

2 ft 25.5"
Cool White x 16
Neutral White x 8
Royal Blue x 16
Cool Blue x 8
120 watt Total

3 ft 37"
Cool White x 24
Neutral White x 12
Royal Blue x 24
Cool Blue x 12
180 watt Total

4 ft 48.5"
Cool White x 32
Neutral White x 16
Royal Blue x 32
Cool Blue x 16
240 watt Total

I'm not sure what is in stock at the moment, or if the pricing will be changing, but it give you an idea. I also know Kelly at The Reef Shoppe was looking into becoming a distributor for them in Canada, and we have had a few conversations back and forth, so if you need some details or so you could get in touch with him.

Cheers
TJ

[TJSlayer]

Programming is somewhat limited but has everything that is really necessary.

You can control the intensity of the blue channel or the white channel from 0-100%

Once you set your intensity this is the max that they reach. (Can be changed any time obviously)

You have two choices for on/off (instant or sunrise)

Instant does just that instant on, sunrise/sunset ramps up the intensity from 0 - 100% over the course of 1 hour, in reverse for sunset. Then then moon effect is controlled on its own. and you have 5 levels of lighting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (not sure what the percent is there, but I tried the lowest level last night which is number one and was happy with that, the others are too bright for my liking. (I like it pretty dim for moons)

There are no thunderstorms, cloud effects, etc. but in talking with users with some of the fixtures that have this effect almost none seem to use it after the initially playing around, or when someone comes over to check out the lights. Then it’s one of those cool or neat things that is fun to show.

I admit it looks cool but I decided it wasn’t critical for me.

Having the ability to have varying levels of intensity through out the day is about the only thing I wish the light could do, but again not critical to me anyways.

I currently have the blues starting at 10:00 am the whites starting at 10:20 am and coming off 12 hours later, then the moons coming on for four hours.

Will probably change that as time goes on, but wanted to see how warm the fixture get’s today.

And no you can’t update the controller via the computer or anything but it’s built into the fixture, will be taking more pics of this later…

[TJSlayer]

Well I have the blues set at 70% and the whites at 65% and everything seems to be loving it. Some of the fans came on yesterday but they are extremely quite so all is great. Will try to get a better video and some more pics up today.

Todd

[TJSlayer]

Here are some updated photos and and improved video

http://www.denpaul.ca/SALT/INWATTERSTINGRAY.wmv

[TJSlayer]

Well after the fist week here are my observations so far:

- Less algae film build up on glass (had to clean 2 times instead of three or four) I beleive this is simply be cause of the more focused light.
- Temperature swing on tank is pretty much non-existant now. Wasn't bad before with the T5's but was still about 3-4 degrees from moring until it peaked, very slowly but still there.
- Color - incredible - so far everyone wh has seen the tank is comenting on how good it's looking and asking what I did. (People that I haven't told about the light to get their reaction) But the color is really nice very happy with it there as well.
- Positive coral responses - so far everything is responding very well to the light, I even have a small piece of a yellowish green leather that shrivelled up many months ago and became detached, it has still been in the tank for 6+ months and I was just going to throw it out as it a colorless blob, but I have noticed that it's starting to grow again, so I will keep a close watch on this. Would be pretty cool if it recovers.

Any questions just ask.

Todd

[TJSlayer]

Well just finishing up week two and everything's doing great, cleaning glass twice a week as opposed to every second day, and corals are all responding great.

Scooter Blenny sits around more than usual now doing nothing so not sure if he's sun tanning, sick or just not happy about the light.. But otherwise everything else is loving it....

[Skimmerking]

Todd how high is the recommended height for the LED and what was the cost for a 48" fixture would a 36 " light 4 feet thought about doing 2x 48" or 2x 36"

[Bblinks]

Thanks for the up-date. keep them coming.