Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

danfeig · 05/20/2012, 10:17 AM

Several of you have asked what am I going to do about lighting. Especially with a tank that is 48" deep. Lighting is one of the primary issues that I have spent considerable time investigating, questioning and comparing.

At first, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to go with 400 Watt Metal Halides. What other choices did I have with a tank this deep? Look at chingchai's and all of the other deep, deep tanks.

Then I started reading more about LED's. All of the reef and aquarium magazines were reporting on them and there were numerous reports written by Dr. Sanjay Joshi that made a strong case for options to MH. It was clear to me that the waive of the future was heading towards LED's.

I started weighing the pros & cons between MH, VHO's, and LED's. They were plentiful. Yes, my electric bills would be significantly higher with metal halides, but then there was the heat I would have to deal with; the additional fans and chillers. How about growth? How about color?

Cost certainly entered the equation but it was not the deciding factor. I really became impressed with a number of larger reef tanks that were using LED's. They weren't necessarily as deep, but, the colors of their tanks and growth of their corals were very rich.

I started contacting all of the LED companies along with the authors of the numerous lighting reports we have been seeing in the reef keeping and aquarium magazines. The question was asked, what would you recommend for a 48" reef aquarium?

I was very impressed with four different companies:

Reeftech
Ecotech Marine
Orphek
Ecoxotic Cannon

Each company offered many different benefits and all were confident that they could serve my needs. I was very close to pulling the plug with Reeftech and their Prometheus units. Bennytheblenny has been using them on his 36" deep tank and has been impressed. I liked their software controllability. They even offered to fly down to Tucson to install. Orphek has been updating their lines of LED fixtures. Nineball seems very happy with them on his "Coral Tank from Canada" build thread. Ecoxotic's 100 watt Cannon pendants are very, very powerful.

Who did I go with? I ended up choosing 12 units of Ecotech Marines XR30w's. Several reasons but they really stood out above all the rest. Most importantly, the company has been around for some time and stands behind their product. Their lights are upgradeable as technology changes. Wireless compatibility. The color spectrum that they offer is great! David00061 has been very pleased with his 12 units on his "Mixed 500 gal. A.G.E. build. 12 unit LED Radion lights" build thread and has documented some impressive growth.

Again, I recognize that I have a very deep tank. If I don't feel that I am getting enough light on the bottom of the tank or too low of PAR readings, it will be easy to add a couple of the 100 watt Cannon pendants.

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05/20/2012, 10:17 AM	#79
danfeig RC Sponsor Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 1,747 Blog Entries: 1	Lighting - what to decide??? Several of you have asked what am I going to do about lighting. Especially with a tank that is 48" deep. Lighting is one of the primary issues that I have spent considerable time investigating, questioning and comparing. At first, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to go with 400 Watt Metal Halides. What other choices did I have with a tank this deep? Look at chingchai's and all of the other deep, deep tanks. Then I started reading more about LED's. All of the reef and aquarium magazines were reporting on them and there were numerous reports written by Dr. Sanjay Joshi that made a strong case for options to MH. It was clear to me that the waive of the future was heading towards LED's. I started weighing the pros & cons between MH, VHO's, and LED's. They were plentiful. Yes, my electric bills would be significantly higher with metal halides, but then there was the heat I would have to deal with; the additional fans and chillers. How about growth? How about color? Cost certainly entered the equation but it was not the deciding factor. I really became impressed with a number of larger reef tanks that were using LED's. They weren't necessarily as deep, but, the colors of their tanks and growth of their corals were very rich. I started contacting all of the LED companies along with the authors of the numerous lighting reports we have been seeing in the reef keeping and aquarium magazines. The question was asked, what would you recommend for a 48" reef aquarium? I was very impressed with four different companies: Reeftech Ecotech Marine Orphek Ecoxotic Cannon Each company offered many different benefits and all were confident that they could serve my needs. I was very close to pulling the plug with Reeftech and their Prometheus units. Bennytheblenny has been using them on his 36" deep tank and has been impressed. I liked their software controllability. They even offered to fly down to Tucson to install. Orphek has been updating their lines of LED fixtures. Nineball seems very happy with them on his "Coral Tank from Canada" build thread. Ecoxotic's 100 watt Cannon pendants are very, very powerful. Who did I go with? I ended up choosing 12 units of Ecotech Marines XR30w's. Several reasons but they really stood out above all the rest. Most importantly, the company has been around for some time and stands behind their product. Their lights are upgradeable as technology changes. Wireless compatibility. The color spectrum that they offer is great! David00061 has been very pleased with his 12 units on his "Mixed 500 gal. A.G.E. build. 12 unit LED Radion lights" build thread and has documented some impressive growth. Again, I recognize that I have a very deep tank. If I don't feel that I am getting enough light on the bottom of the tank or too low of PAR readings, it will be easy to add a couple of the 100 watt Cannon pendants. [IMG][/IMG]