# Lighting for a TMC signature 60  (60x45x30)



## AquamaniacUK (16 Mar 2015)

Hi

I am about to purchase my first signature tank.
The tank i am ordering is a TMC signature 60 (60x45x30 cm ) aprox. 80 litres.
What i am not sure is about lighting for this tank. So here is the planned setup.

Tank : TMC signature 60  (60x45x30 cm ) aprox. 80 litres.
Filter: Fluval 305
Heater: Hydor 200 watts external heater
CO2 : pressurized with solenoid and difuser from co2 art
Circulation pump or wavemaker to be added to increase flow.
Twinstar to be added.

I am designing this setup so that it it can be a proper aquascaping setup. And i hope to build a setup that can cope with keeping any plant,easy or hard as it's quite an investment and i hope to use it in years to come.

Back to the lighting i am thinking of  going for the TMC growbeam 1500 ultima tiles. And i plan to eventually suspend this one with a iquatics universal suspension kit.

Questions:

- Is one of these tiles enough for this tank? Or is two better?

- I also want to be able to dimm the unit, i like to experiment and today i might want to go for hig-light and tomorrow i might want to go for a low-light system, or just to dimm it to control algae. Basically i want a system that's versatile to suit my needs. Do i need a controller for this or is there a dimmer from TMC to do the job?

- I am more inclined to get the controller the problem is that the 2-way controller only supports one tile, leaving the  much more expensive 8 way controller as the only solution if i want to get two tiles. Is this correct?

- I also heard that when dimmed this units can be quite noisy? is this really a problem?

I am a bit confused with about the lighting.

I am currently using a Wavepoint 16 watts LED unit on a 40 litre tank, and the fact i cannot dimm or control this unit has proved to be a problem, so i really want a unit that i can easily adapt to my needs, even if that costs a bit more time a money to get.


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## RossMartin (16 Mar 2015)

Hello,

I have exactly the same tank and i use a TMC 1500 Ultima but you will need a controller this will allow you to dim the unit. Mine runs at 20%. This will also allow you to tam it up and down. One tile is perfect for this tank!! If you get the 1500 Ultima tile be warned that it can emit a high pitched wine when is present if the light isn't used at 100%. If you get a more recently produced one then it should be ok. If you get an old one you can send it off to TMC for them to fix it. There are some DIY threads on how to do it yourself, but i wouldn't and didn't!

Just for your info i use a JBL 1500 external filter, a hydor 300w inline external heater and i have a small circulation pump. CO2 is done via an UP inline atomizer (I couldn't get a ceramic diffuser to work with my tank, i couldn't get the bubbles around the plants enough.)

Cheers

Ross


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## Julian (17 Mar 2015)

The TMC 2-way controller works with 2 tiles, I have 2 TMC Mini 400's (also running at 20%).

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/diy-project-low-cost-ikea-luminaire-for-tmc-led-tiles.33217/


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## RossMartin (17 Mar 2015)

Hi Julian,

You are right however the 1500 Ultima has two "banks" of LEDs which require a channel each so the 2 way controller can only run one 1500 tile.

Cheers

Ross


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Julian (17 Mar 2015)

RossMartin said:


> You are right however the 1500 Ultima has two "banks" of LEDs which require a channel each so the 2 way controller can only run one 1500 tile.



I thought that might be the case. Thanks for clearing that up.


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## AquamaniacUK (17 Mar 2015)

Thanks for all the help.



RossMartin said:


> Hello,
> I have exactly the same tank and i use a TMC 1500 Ultima but you will need a controller this will allow you to dim the unit. Mine runs at 20%. This will also allow you to tam it up and down. One tile is perfect for this tank!! If you get the 1500 Ultima tile be warned that it can emit a high pitched wine when is present if the light isn't used at 100%. If you get a more recently produced one then it should be ok. If you get an old one you can send it off to TMC for them to fix it. There are some DIY threads on how to do it yourself, but i wouldn't and didn't!
> 
> Just for your info i use a JBL 1500 external filter, a hydor 300w inline external heater and i have a small circulation pump. CO2 is done via an UP inline atomizer (I couldn't get a ceramic diffuser to work with my tank, i couldn't get the bubbles around the plants enough.)
> ...



Thanks. This was very helpful.
What height are you keeping it from the tank? I used to have a sera flore reactor 1000 and it was great but it gets broken easily in the co2 input connector, and my did just by grabbing it so i went back to glass diffusers.

Question does one tile cover the entire tank well?


Julian said:


> The TMC 2-way controller works with 2 tiles, I have 2 TMC Mini 400's (also running at 20%).
> 
> http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/diy-project-low-cost-ikea-luminaire-for-tmc-led-tiles.33217/



Your luminaire is great and it just saved me 76£. I was gonna buy the Iaquatics universal one.
Yours seems just as good and almost for nothing, so thank you.

Question, would two mini tiles which are cheaper be good alternative to one 1500 grobeam ultimate?  I am worried as mentioned above about the spread of light all over the tank.
I am definitely inclined to the 1500, and if i need a second i'll purchase it later, but you saying you have two mini tiles at 20% too makes me question how strong these units are and do i really need the more expensive model or two weaker ones be able to do the job.

At the moment the Grobeam 1500 ultima will probably be my choice, but i am just curious if there are other options.


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## Julian (17 Mar 2015)

You can just mount the 1500 higher and have it at a brighter % to increase the spread. Think of it like holding a torch against a wall, the further back you go, the bigger area the light will cover.

But with 2 LED's, at least if one unit ever fails you have a back up.


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## bogwood (17 Mar 2015)

I have the 1500 with controller, mounted using the  TMC brackets on the same tank as yours.
It operates between 40 and 75% and the light spread works well for me. Had no issues with noise.


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## nelly9 (17 Mar 2015)

Maidenhead sell this package with lights and controller, any good ?
https://fishkeeper.co.uk/product/tmc-signature-freshwater-aquarium-package


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