Dimming the Stingray 2

[MattyM]

Hi all. Any other Stingray 2 owners finding that this light is just a little too bright sometimes? 

I have this light on all 3 of my tanks. All tanks have standard Aqueon glass lids that hinge in the middle. What I'm finding is that when the background plants grow over the surface, diffusing the the light, then it's perfect. But if nothing is blocking the light, it's too bright and I start getting hair/fuzz/string algae sneaking in. And some fish don't seem to like it that bright either. 

I know there are inline dimmers out there, but I can't find one that I know will work with this light. 

I've tried various things - placing the light right over the black hinge reduces it, but then it just gets knocked back whenever someone opens the lid. I've wrapped tracing paper around parts of the light, which helps - but it's paper and eventually gets wet. 

I can't really raise the lights off the tanks any more - seems like an accident waiting to happen. 

My next steps are to either use velcro strips to wrap certain parts of the light, or use electrical tape to black out some LEDs. But my question for that is - should I only black out the whites, does it really matter? Will the tape bake on, or be easy to remove? 

Anyways, my plants are doing really well and I'm pretty much algae-free on the tank that has the background plants shading most of it, so I'm thinking I need to dim the other 2 until they can really grow in and shade themselves.  

Currently I'm lighting 7 hours straight w/ a CO2 supplement. 

Looks for ideas/advise - tx!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I'm not sure how this light is set up but have you tried instead using an inline dimmer switch? My lights are generic from Amazon, they were SUPER bright. I got a dial dimmer since my lights connect to the wall adapter and that has helped me greatly. 

[MattyM]

@xXInkedPhoenixX I would try it, but I have yet to find one that I know would work and not shorten the life of the light. 

[Gannon]

On 10/31/2022 at 3:18 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I'm not sure how this light is set up but have you tried instead using an inline dimmer switch? My lights are generic from Amazon, they were SUPER bright. I got a dial dimmer since my lights connect to the wall adapter and that has helped me greatly. 

I also have two NICREW lights on my 125 that I want to fiddle around with brightness with. What did you use for this? Would any dimmers be bad for the lights? Thanks.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Gannon I am not aware that using an inline dimmer would do any damage to the lights- and I've been using mine for over 2 years with zero issues. My inlines happened to be Nicrew branded -though they no longer sell it this is the Amazon link:

NICREW Aquarium LED Light Inline Dimmer, Easy Plug Dimmer Switch for LED Strip https://a.co/d/9ereQfB

This is the "alternative" Amazon has listed but it appears to be the exact same item- while everything pretty much is made in China- it is likely it's the exact same dimmer just without Nicrew badging:

LED Light Inline Dimmer, Rotary Dimmer,Easy Plug Dimmer Switch for Dimmable Single Color LED Lights (Rotary Dimmer) https://a.co/d/3mWvxg9

There are also other listed possibilities on Amazon for dimming Aquarium lights specifically- even from Nicrew. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[MattyM]

Tx all - I emailed Finnex and here's what the said: 

Quote

Hello Matt,
You should be fine using a dimmer on your StingRay 2, but no recommendations on it because we haven't tested that light with any dimmers. 

So I ordered a couple inline dimmers and we'll see how it goes.