PDA

View Full Version : led lighting for corals


Lowlow23
08/14/2015, 04:19 PM
ok so lets just say I'm new to the saltwater/reef hobby i got a beamwork led 800 came with tank and eveything i bought second hand was wondering A.is it ok for coral and B if not what to get that is oh and I'm on a buget lol its a 75 gallon tank TIA

mcgyvr
08/14/2015, 05:26 PM
Thats not suitable for coral..
Maybe low light varieties like shrooms/leathers,etc.. but its not suitable for that even really..

If on a budget the recommendations here are for cheap/reliable are...
Reefbreeders
or
Ocean Revive LEDs

mgraf
08/14/2015, 07:30 PM
If find a nice T5 unit. You can get into one pretty reasonable, and can grow anything under it with good bulbs.
Just my .02

A lot of people like LED's, a lot are switching back. I like T5's until they get LED's more squared away.

Lowlow23
08/15/2015, 06:18 AM
what makes one led better to grow corals better then the next and can anyone send a link to some good ones ?

Isaacs55
08/15/2015, 06:29 AM
what makes one led better to grow corals better then the next and can anyone send a link to some good ones ?

The watts they put out. Typically a reliable led we look for has at least 3-4 watts per led. So for a 75 gallon tank you would need at least 300 watt led unit or two 150 watt units that can cover a 75 gallon tank to get desired PAR levels.

For reliable but cheap units. Google Ocean Revive Arctic T247 and MarsAqua 165 watt leds. There's a thread on here for both units just use the search engine on here or Google them.

Ron Reefman
08/15/2015, 07:16 AM
OceanRevive and ReefBreeders both have sponsor forums here at RC so you can ask questions of the company and get help from other users.

I'm still shying away from Chinese leds that aren't willing to sponsor here or at the very least have a company website. Ebay and Amazon sales sites don't count as they are resellers, not the brand name company.

colorful1180
08/15/2015, 08:01 AM
Good service on ReefBreeders or OceanRevive led lights,you can consider them,trust you won't go wrong.

Lowlow23
08/15/2015, 08:07 AM
i like the marsaqua but should i do 2 165w or 1 300w i have 75 gallon tank $ is the same so just wondering what would perform better

colorful1180
08/15/2015, 08:22 AM
one of the 300w will be fine if your tank no center brace.

Lowlow23
08/15/2015, 08:44 AM
I do have center brace

colorful1180
08/15/2015, 09:05 AM
2 of the 165w model will be fine if your tank has center brace,look at the ReefBreeders or OceanRevive led lights,everyone is very happy with the results,If you want to save a couple dollars there are cheaper versions on ebay, like Mars aqua and others however be careful not to get too much warm white and red in the layout. Avoid the versions that have four red LEDs.

Ron Reefman
08/16/2015, 06:55 AM
I don't think that 4 red led in a 48 or 55 led fixture is as big a deal as having too many warm white leds. But that's just my opinion.

markalot
08/16/2015, 08:35 AM
I don't like the fact some of the Amazon and Ebay fixtures don't have any violet LEDs. I think the 420nm violet is a must, especially if you are planning SPS. I'm not an LED (directional light) fan but I do use a ReefBreeders Photon over a small 29 gallon and it works quite well.

Isaacs55
08/16/2015, 09:47 AM
I don't like the fact some of the Amazon and Ebay fixtures don't have any violet LEDs. I think the 420nm violet is a must, especially if you are planning SPS. I'm not an LED (directional light) fan but I do use a ReefBreeders Photon over a small 29 gallon and it works quite well.

Totally agree. But I'm buying it for the price...I'm a DIY person so when I get mine I'm replacing the soft white lights with 420nm uv 3w epistar leds. So I'll have five 420nm that will only cost me 3 dollars!

460nm blue is as blue as they originals that are on there
The cool whites are 12000k so I may replace 4-8 of those for 14000-20000k leds