# Dimming Finnex Ray 2



## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

I've heard of people using window screening cut to size to dim the lighting on these fixtures. Brown algae is not typically caused by excessive lighting though in my experience. It's pretty common on newer tanks and will go away on its own, unless you have source of silicates in the tank (sand)


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

Chronados said:


> I've heard of people using window screening cut to size to dim the lighting on these fixtures. Brown algae is not typically caused by excessive lighting though in my experience. It's pretty common on newer tanks and will go away on its own, unless you have source of silicates in the tank (sand)


How much light is reduced by using window screening?


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## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

rcs0926 said:


> How much light is reduced by using window screening?


I've never tried it but if I were to take a guess I'd say it's around 30-50% reduction, based on the density of the weave.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Window screen, "charcoal" Home Depot fiberglass insect screen, reduces fluorescent light by 40%. I'm not sure yet if it does the same with LED lights.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

i coincidentally was building custom screens for my windows and have a par meter coming in the mail so i can measure the effect of window screen on a ray2 if you were interested.


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

acitydweller said:


> i coincidentally was building custom screens for my windows and have a par meter coming in the mail so i can measure the effect of window screen on a ray2 if you were interested.


Yes please.:red_mouth:thumbsup:


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## owens81jw (Feb 7, 2009)

Floater plants maybe?


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

owens81jw said:


> Floater plants maybe?


I'm thinking about that too. What's the best floater plant to get?


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

larger ones are more controllable. frogbit is great, red root floaters gorgeous. salvinia is wonderfully defined when healthy. stay away from duckweed


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

Hoppy said:


> Window screen, "charcoal" Home Depot fiberglass insect screen, reduces fluorescent light by 40%. I'm not sure yet if it does the same with LED lights.


Yeah, they seem cheap enough (only $5 at Home Depot). The fact that they are rust-resistant and non-combustible is great too.


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

acitydweller said:


> larger ones are more controllable. frogbit is great, red root floaters gorgeous. salvinia is wonderfully defined when healthy. stay away from duckweed


Any others you can recommend?


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

rcs0926 said:


> I'm thinking about that too. What's the best floater plant to get?


Frogbit grows like a weed when given tons of light so a little bit can spread like wildfire in no time. There is also duckweed too.

Remember though that frogbit will soak up the nitrates like no other so that might be a good or bad thing.


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> Frogbit grows like a weed when given tons of light so a little bit can spread like wildfire in no time. There is also duckweed too.


How easy is it to control frogbit, and will it take too much light away from my other plants? I currently have jungle val, water wisteria, elodea and dwarf hairgrass planted in my tank.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

rcs0926 said:


> How easy is it to control frogbit, and will it take too much light away from my other plants? I currently have jungle val, water wisteria, elodea and dwarf hairgrass planted in my tank.


Well controlling is as easy and sticking your hand in and scooping some out. Since you got some pretty high PAR you are probably going to have to do that once a week or even every couple of days.


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## Vermino (Jun 14, 2012)

red root floaters are awesome if you want a bit of pink/red in your tank


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> Well controlling is as easy and sticking your hand in and scooping some out. Since you got some pretty high PAR you are probably going to have to do that once a week or even every couple of days.


I'm thinking of going with frogbit. Will the leaves burn under the brightness of a Finnex Ray 2?


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

Increase CO2 and figure out what fert you are deficient from.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Listen to Hoppy, folks! He knows what he's talking about

I've found that you can block a similar amount of light by using two layers of screen and overlapping them in such a way that the opening of one layer is obscured by the 'wire' of the second layer.

Don't think it's quite 40%, as the LEDs are super-focused compared to standard bulbs... but it works really well.

Window screen is a tank addict's best friend. 



Hoppy said:


> Window screen, "charcoal" Home Depot fiberglass insect screen, reduces fluorescent light by 40%. I'm not sure yet if it does the same with LED lights.


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

somewhatshocked said:


> Listen to Hoppy, folks! He knows what he's talking about
> 
> I've found that you can block a similar amount of light by using two layers of screen and overlapping them in such a way that the opening of one layer is obscured by the 'wire' of the second layer.
> 
> ...


Looks like I'll go ahead and get some window screening material this weekend. I still want to add some floating plants. I think I'll go with frogbit for now.


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