Novices need LED lighting questions answered.

[Elricsfate]

This is a great thread, and of interest to me as I am in the beginning stage of setting up my 180. Starting off FOWLR, and intending to add some corals somewhere down the road. My plan currently was to buy 2-3 Aquatic Life Halo MX80's to light the tank.

Money is not a big issue, though obviously I'm not trying to waste it unnecessarily.

The tank is 72x24x24. Any thoughts on this light selection?

Thanks in advance.

[Ron Reefman]

I'd never seen this fixture before you asked about it, so I'm not even close to an expert on this one.

I like the design, In fact I like it a lot! I think the led color choices are very good and a good ratio of blue to white. BTW Premium Aquatics has the deluxe version on sale for $275 and free shipping? It does make me wonder why? Is there an new or improved model coming?

The down side comments are few. Looking at several sites I never saw anybody talk about the footprint of the fixture in a 24" deep tank. It's a pretty small fixture with 80 degree optics so I'm guessing 2'x2' at the upper limit. Which means you'll need 3 for coral, less for a FOWLR. They also don't do any red or green leds. It's funny, in a cheap... I mean inexpensive Chinese fixture where the leds are all spread out, I'd rather not have red or green leds as they add to the disco or colored shadow lines. But in a fixture like this, red and green leds would blend with everything else and there should be virtually no disco or shadow line issues.

Mixed feelings... you'll pay a healthy premium for the basic fixture compared to OceanRevive, MarsAqua, Reef Breeders and other basic Chinese fixtures. You'll be a lot closer to even up if you go for the premium fixture compared to Reef Breeders Photon V2, which I think is the best of the inexpensive full control fixtures. And the Aqua Life is just a 2 channel system where the RB Photon V2 is a 6 channel system.

My final review, it's very good looking and has good led spectrum IMHO, but it's a bit expensive compared to some of the competition. So it's a matter of what you are willing to pay for.

[Elricsfate]

Thank you Ron. I am new around here, but I have read quite a few of your posts with great interest.

I looked up the RB Photon V2. Unfortunately, it appears the largest one the sell is the 50, which is "ideal for tanks up to 60 inches". My tank is 72". That's one of the reasons I have given a lot of consideration to the pendant style lighting.

In your opinion would the absence of red or green negatively impact that inhabitants, or is it simple an aesthetic thing pertaining to how the tank looks from the outside?

With regard to cost, that is not a primary concern. I am blessed to be able to afford to purchase whatever I need. But I don't want to pay extra for nothing. So my concern is first and foremost, what equipment will best provide for the needs of my tank's inhabitants. If two pieces of equipment are equally able to fill this requirement, then I will opt for the less expensive one. But price is not my primary concern when selecting equipment.

I appreciate you, and all the others, being willing to help people make these tough decisions. When I first got into this 15 years ago it was a lot of reading books, guessing, and talking to the guys at the monthly club meeting. I did not have access to experienced reefers, in a timely manner, with the patience and willingness to entertain all of my newbie questions.

I feel like I am much more likely to be successful with this new endeavor, because I can get advice from folks like you.

Cheers

[Ron Reefman]

The absence of red and green leds isn't a big deal IMHO. Over my reef (mostly sps and some lps) I have them turned off and with my old leds, where I couldn't turn them off, I covered them with black electrical tape! I never had any issues. There is more than enough red and green spectrum in the white leds.

On the other hand, over my display refugium, I run 100% on the red and green leds as they do help with the photosynthesis of algae.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about leds is the 'disco' effect or red and green edging along shadows. Fixtures that spread out the leds have this issue. Fixtures that pack them into small spaces, like the Aquatic Life fixture, can have red and geer leds and because they are more of a single point light source, they don't have the shadow line issues. The fact that Aquatic Life left them out isn't anything I'd be concerned about.

[Elricsfate]

Thanks again.

I've been watching the BRS "52 Weeks of Reefing" series on Youtube. Last night was all the episodes about light. After everything I heard and saw I have to admit I am now thinking about a T5/LED hybrid.

Lots of things to consider... But, I'll muck through it in time.

[Thesaltysplash]

Hello reefers,

I have a marine Reef Fluval 2.0 light and the Fluval Wi-Fi adapter.

I'm having problems getting the scheduling set on the application. It seems which ever light i adjust last (blue or white) becomes the running light day and night.

I made sure it was set to red before beginning. Anyone got experience with these?

[razord]

I'm just getting back into the hobby. My prior experience and equipment are all "pre-LED". My old setup that I'm using is 4 65w PCs on a 55g and I'm considering switching to LEDs. I don't what a DIY unit. My preference would be a plug and play unit that would fit under a wooden canopy. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[ReefinND]

Hi everyone, I just kind of wanted to double check that my lights will be able to handle (for the most part) most corals...assuming I get to the point of trying my hand at SPS for example.

I have two of these lights, over my standard rectangle 90 gal. If I remember right, they said that they could handle some of them but I was looking at so many different things that I don't really remember anymore.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by razord

I'm just getting back into the hobby. My prior experience and equipment are all "pre-LED". My old setup that I'm using is 4 65w PCs on a 55g and I'm considering switching to LEDs. I don't what a DIY unit. My preference would be a plug and play unit that would fit under a wooden canopy. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Google MarsAqua, or OceanRevive if you are looking for good basic led fixtures.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by ReefinND

Hi everyone, I just kind of wanted to double check that my lights will be able to handle (for the most part) most corals...assuming I get to the point of trying my hand at SPS for example.

I have two of these lights, over my standard rectangle 90 gal. If I remember right, they said that they could handle some of them but I was looking at so many different things that I don't really remember anymore.

Very iffy for some LPS and most SPS, IMHO. Most good led fixtures use 3 watt leds and then run them at 2 or 2.2 watts so they run cool. And you'd need 2 standard 16" fixtures with 55 leds in each (110 leds at 2.2 watts = 242 watts). Your fixture has over 100 leds and runs at 24 watts (2 fixtures = 48 watts). That's less than 0.25 watts each. They will light up and look bright to your eyes, but at 12 to 18" deep in the water they will be very weak. The fact that you have 2 may help some, but not the double you would like to think. If they don't have much punch (0.24 watts), 2 is hardly better than 1 at about 12" or deeper.
Sorry.

[ReefinND]

Rats, here I thought they were going to be somewhat decent.

Here's my list of corals I like and what I was kind of planning on eventually getting too. Think most of these will be out or ?

Toadstool
Cabbage
Torch
Flower Pot
Cauliflower Colt
Fire & Ice Colony Polyp
Lavender Mushroom
Birdsnest
Neon pineapple Tree
Blue Mushroom
Cauliflower

I had kind of avoided most SPS but I think a few had slipped in there.

[razord]

Hello,
I'm looking to supplement my current lighting system on a 48" tank. I have a lighting unit, but have a little extra room where I'd like to sneak in a LED strip. Does anyone sell a good LED tube/single strip that's kind of thin? No more than 2-3" wide I'd say

[Foundry]

As everyone has noted getting clean info on LED lighting is tricky.
At the moment we are running a 25gal nano reef (16in deep) and I want to upgrade lighting. The hood we are using has 2x 24in T8's and isn't much good for anything but mushrooms (even then they aren't thriving). It was good for when it was FOLWR tank but now its coral time.

LFS suggested refitting with Sunblaster HOT5's (which they have) or something like this
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/331972755776

Economically the ebay light strip makes sense but I am weary. The light spectrum looks reasonable however after 2 days of searching and reading the last 6 pages of this thread I can't gather enough info to accurately evaluate these lights. We'd like to run soft corals and perhaps some SPS's down the road. The T5's are the go-to option but the refit will look kinda garbage. Where the tank is situated there are no options to hang lighting above and little room behind for accessories.

Any advice?

[Foundry]

Wrong link...
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/165W-MarsAqua...3D370858771177

[Ron Reefman]

You might look at the OceanRevive T247 fixture (they have a sponsor forum here).

It's about $30 more, but it's a much better looking (more modern) fixture, has the same basic led layout as the MarsAqua. And both will have good light for any corals in even a 24" deep tank. The OR T247 comes with adjustable legs, a built-in on/off timer for each channel and digital dimmer control (not sunrise/sunset but better than manual dimmers).

[razord]

Originally Posted by razord

Hello,
I'm looking to supplement my current lighting system on a 48" tank. I have a lighting unit, but have a little extra room where I'd like to sneak in a LED strip. Does anyone sell a good LED tube/single strip that's kind of thin? No more than 2-3" wide I'd say

ok, so I found what I'm looking for from 21LEDUSA. Going to go with a ReefBar Pro, but curious which one to buy. If I'm supplementing my current PCs, should I go with a 50/50 bar or Full Spectrum? I'd love to hear someone's thoughts on that.

https://www.21ledusa.com/aquarium_le.../rbp505048.htm

Thanks!!!

[RobZilla04]

Originally Posted by razord

ok, so I found what I'm looking for from 21LEDUSA. Going to go with a ReefBar Pro, but curious which one to buy. If I'm supplementing my current PCs, should I go with a 50/50 bar or Full Spectrum? I'd love to hear someone's thoughts on that.

https://www.21ledusa.com/aquarium_le.../rbp505048.htm

Thanks!!!

Hopefully you added the $6 dimmer option?

[razord]

I didn't buy yet. Still looking to see if I'm better off getting 50/50 or full spectrum?

[balo971]

thanks for the link

[balo971]

Or you can try this is del chinese ramp
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2013-...ryId=200001054

[balo971]

WIFI 165w marine aquarium led lighting Dimmable Full Spectrum led aquarium light for coral reef fish

[balo971]

LED Qty : 55 pcs
Rated power: 165 w(55pcs x 3w )
View Angle of LEDs : 120 degree

[balo971]

Wifi control simulating sunrise, sunset, cycle lunar.

[balo971]

you can control led ligthing whith android or IOS

[balo971]

it's a good stuff for cheap.