Another LED question

Shellyfish

Shellyfish

New member
I currently run 8 HOT5 bulbs on my 150g reef. It is 5 feet long and 24" deep. I'm looking at eventually switching to LEDs, but I don't want to go broke doing it. I'm looking for reasonably priced options, so far I've only really looked at the reefbreeders value and proton systems and the rapid onyx ones. I really knoe very little about leds. I'm just looking for something that will allow me to keep Softies and LPS without putting me in the poor house!

Thanks
 
thats what i am trying to figure out ... someone told me its not any good ... however, i wonder if its because it does not have a price tag of 500+? I hope to find out something soon on my post with that opposed to a T5HO set up .. for my tank it is only 90 for the LED's ... so far the reviews i have seen have all been good so far
 
I wouldn't do those, a few reasons:

1w LEDs. Those aren't going to put out what it says they are, I can promise you that.
Only white and blue. The most successful fixtures have expanded an incorporated many more color frequencies for a reason :)
The tagline "*Specs may slightly vary from actual" - scares the crap out of me.

From what you listed, I'd say the ReefBreeders is the best "cheap" option or a DIY rig from Rapid LED.

Saving $$ now means spending $$ later. I'm sure someone will chime in with more specific info, though. don't be one of those who buys a crap fixture and then comes back to the forum trash-talking LEDs ;)
 
Thanks Reefer, that's what I'm trying to avoid. I started out in the hobby buying cheap and then having to upgrade later. I do not want to do it again. I just want to find a decent set up that isn't ridiculously priced so I can set a goal for what to save for! The beamswork models remind me a lot of the marineland ones which I've heard aren't very good.
 
Reefer94 said:
I wouldn't do those, a few reasons:

1w LEDs. Those aren't going to put out what it says they are, I can promise you that.
Only white and blue. The most successful fixtures have expanded an incorporated many more color frequencies for a reason :)
The tagline "*Specs may slightly vary from actual" - scares the crap out of me.

From what you listed, I'd say the ReefBreeders is the best "cheap" option or a DIY rig from Rapid LED.

Saving $$ now means spending $$ later. I'm sure someone will chime in with more specific info, though. don't be one of those who buys a crap fixture and then comes back to the forum trash-talking LEDs ;)
Click to expand...

HUGE +1

Not only is it just white and blue, it's way too much white and not nearly enough blue. And it has no dimmers? Yikes! Please don't buy these and expect them to work.

OceanRevive (http://www.oceanrevivellc.com/category.php?id=3) sells their Arctic S026 and they also sell EverGrow's D120 (the original manufacturer of the Reef Breeders 'value fixture'). If you want built-in controllers, do to IT2040 (Reef Breeders Photon16... also made for them by EverGrow).These are , pardon the pun, light years better than that other junk.
 
Get the photon from Evergrow.. It's a great light, and the extra for the programming is something you will want and enjoy. I got mine about 5 months ago... Corals are growing like made, all types including sps. Changing the colors is great too. I was doing 80 blue , 50 white, and recently changed them around opposite. Love the variety. With a bit more whites and less blue the natural colors come out which is a nice change. You won't be disappointed. It's the best light out there for the money imo.. I could not be happier. I've done Halide and Kessil, and this unit will make me never go back.
 
IMHO asking the D120 to cover 5' is a bit more than a 2 fixture job. And 3 is more than enough to grow anything. The Arctic S026 is more likely to do the job you want. If you can hang the S026 a bit higher off the water (say 10") it should be enough. I wouldn't recommend just 2 of the D120's. But it depends on you rockscape, coral placement and types of coral. The D120 at 8" off the water and in a 24" deep tank will cover about 2' end to end. Mounted a bit higher and you can get a bit longer reach. The D120 has 10" of leds from end to end, the S026 has 14" of leds end to end. So the S026 has an extra 4" or better reach and with 2 fixtures it would be 8" and that's probably about all you'd need.

You can get either the OR Arctic S026 or the EG D120 here
http://www.oceanrevivellc.com/goods.php?id=18
Look at the much better spread of the S026 copared to the D120
 
I don't think OR ones ship to Canada :( I'll get a pic of my tank so you can have a look at the rockwork. I don't have alot of corals on the sides of the tank as my current t5 lighting is only 4 feet so I have put mostly mushrooms on the edges.
 
Ok, here are the pictures. The length of the tank is 5 feet, but as I mentioned, most of my corals are in the 4 feet in the middle, with 6 inches on either side where there is just mushrooms. The rock work is open and not up against the back, and the only thing growing back there are a lot of hairy mushrooms :) I also took a shot from the side (pardon the dirty back glass)



 
2 EG D120's or RB value fixtures may just be enough. 1 OceanRevive Arctic S026 have better spread of light and would work better IMHO. But they cost a bit more.

BTW, if you ask at OR they can ship to Canada. They have a thread on another website.
 
Buildmyleds.com strip lights would be another option in the same affordable price range. depending on the look your wanting for your light fixture.
 
They are just another option that is in between the ridiculously priced radions and the budget Reefbreaders type. the OP didn't say they were only looking for the cheapest option that would work. Quality should be a consideration also.

advantages are that they are passively cooled and use the highly efficient and durable Luxeon LEDs, and can be dimmed either manually or using a controller. they provide very even coverage due to using one emiter per inch along the strips.
 
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