LED Recommendation Help!

[CasinoBob]

After having my tank down for a year due to a flood in our basement I'm finally getting the tank back up. Putting the tank upstairs and with that the wife has put some restrictions on the tank. She hated the look of the lights in a hood so I'm in the process of finding a canopy. Prior I had 1 150W MH and 2 65W PC's over the 65 gallon.

I'm looking to go with LED's this time around and am having a hard time pulling the trigger on a purchase. My corals (mostly softies, some LPS, and a couple SPS up high) did well in my old tank and am only trying to match the light output.

I've seen a couple good reviews of the Truelumen Po LED strips and was thinking of 2 or 3 of these to help cover the 18" width of the tank. Maybe order 2 up front knowing that I'll add third before adding SPS once the tank is established.

The other option I've looked at is to order 2 of the 24 LED Strip DIY Dimmable kit from AquaStyle online. The tank has a brace in the middle and the built-in overflow on the left side. For heatsinks was thinking of putting 4 3.8"x12" on the right side to spread the light and the left having a 7"x16" heatsink to concentrate the light in the area minus the overflow.

I know neither will be as bright as CREE's but I also don't want to bleach any corals that I'd have on top.

I'm hoping to stay below $400 on the lights.

Let me know your thoughts and recommendations!!

Thanks! Bob

[TheFishMan65]

Bob,

Have you considered a complete DIY build? Depending on what you have you could probably do it for 300-350.

[CasinoBob]

I was looking at the dimmable kit from AquaStyle but figured for $50 extra and not have to deal without building it myself and also not having to figure out how to mount everything to the hood pushed me towards the TrueLumen strips.

Any opinions on the TrueLumens?

[krshlln300]

I have heard that the true lumen pros do not have very good par away from the center compared to some other retailers. If you go with DIY, you should look into the solderless led kit from rapid, that would give ya a really easy ability to switch out when different spectrums come available in that kit. You also have alot of flexibility with the lenses.

[TheFishMan65]

Some lenses don't work with the solderless connectors. So just be careful of which brands you get.

[CasinoBob]

If I went with the CREE LED's... how many do you recommend for my tank dimensions?

I'll probably keep them within 6 inches from the water level.

[TheFishMan65]

I don't see a tank size but probably 24 to 36. I would guess that the current lighting is about 30 CREE.

[CasinoBob]

Would 24 LEDs be sufficient? Thinking 12 on each side of the brace.

Side question... how do you mount all the components to a canopy? Any DIY builds to point me to?

[TheFishMan65]

What are the dimension of the tank? I watch lots of LED threads here are some that should help.
The BIG one (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1678127)
Great General Build Thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1952442&page=33)
Should have lots of links (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1718642)

[CasinoBob]

Tank is 36x18x24. Would it be better to do 2 long strips with B on one and W on the other and have independent drivers to create a dawn/day/dusk effect with a controller? Or go with two larger "square" heatsinks on both sides of the brace.

[CasinoBob]

Let me know your thoughts on the parts below from RapidLed.com

1- 24 LED Plug and Play Dimmable Kit
1- PWM Controller
4- 1.1 x 18" Heatsinks

Have 2 heatsinks on both sides of the brace and let the extra run over the brace.

If I have the light 4-5 inches from the water, do I want 60 or 80 degree optics?

Thanks again!

[TheFishMan65]

You might call Rapid and see what they think. I have 48 over a 75 (48 x 18) so I would say 36.

I think it will be easier to mount the 1.1 x36s, but probably mostly personal choice.

80 or none.