Are my LEDs good enough??

[dawson1]

I have a 4x2x2 tank with a mixture of soft corals inverts and fish,

I bought my LEDs of eBay with a controller that I can set each channel. From 0 to 100% power in any order I like over a 24 hour period so I get great sunrising/set and stuff,

There a 5 channels, that means 5 strings of 10 modules that each have 4 chips In.

Hang on in there.

This is the part I don't under stand, the rating and the watts.

Il copy the eBay link so u can get a idea of what I have bought.

Only reason I'm asking is because I think of buy some new corals and wanna make sure my tank is up to scratch,

Any help be great

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=331655022493&globalID=EBAY-GB

That listing is for 3 rows where mine 10 modules in each string and there 5 strings along the inside of my hood.

 

[Icefire]

Look very poor, it's about 70 watts of power max, you need at least 300-500 watts (I have 240 on my 60g cube

how many watts is the power supply?

 

[dawson1]

Watts per gallon is extremely outdated and when only using LEDs Means nothing? that's the hole point in LEDs isn't it more light less power???

That's after all 1 of the reason people have started using them ?

I could be wrong ?

 

[SkullV]

Watts per gallon are outdated, but I would be very surprised if you could even keep Zoas colored up under that fixture. It is extremely weak and likely has little to no usable light even 6" below the surface.

 

[lpsouth1978]

I completely agree with the above statements. That light is likely good for nothing more than providing light for your fish. It will not have nay positive effect on your corals. Try to get your hands on a PAR meter and see what it is at. My guess would be very low.

 

[dawson1]

It's been running a year at 24inches deep and nothing has died it's all grown and duplicated I don't have many corals but the corals I do have are all fine

I've backed myself in to a corner here to get a roasting of you all, maybe I should just retire

 

[EllisJuan]

Sorry you are not getting the answers you are wanting to hear, but they are likely the unfortunate truth.

 

[dawson1]

It's not problem I can take it, il just look in to buying new lights it's no issue

 

[lpsouth1978]

It's been running a year at 24inches deep and nothing has died it's all grown and duplicated I don't have many corals but the corals I do have are all fine

I've backed myself in to a corner here to get a roasting of you all, maybe I should just retire

No "roasting" is intended. We are all here to help you provide for the creatures in your care, to the best of your ability. When you ask for an opinion on here you can get many differing opinions and they are not always what you want to hear. In this case, the opinion is that these are not enough.

That being said, These would make for great supplemental lights. You could look at doing a DIY build with high quality LED's and incorporating your current lights into the build. You could also look at adding a BML strip or 2 to your current setup. By doing this you still use the lights you have and boost the effectiveness by adding lights that get better penetration and PAR.

I hope this helps.

 

[nuxx]

The 165 Watt Dimmable Full Spectrum eBay LEDs are the ones you want.

 

[dawson1]

can u explain why there no good? And that way I can look in to getting something decent and no what to look for? And can you send me the link of them eBay LEDs, not forgetting my tank is 4x2x2 so pretty big not sure if that would make a difference in the size I would need

 

[EllisJuan]

You want 3 watt LEDs. It looks like this fixture drive's it's LEDs to only ~1.5 watts. You really are going to want the more powerful LED to be able to punch to the bottom of your 24" deep tank.

 

[lpsouth1978]

can u explain why there no good? And that way I can look in to getting something decent and no what to look for? And can you send me the link of them eBay LEDs, not forgetting my tank is 4x2x2 so pretty big not sure if that would make a difference in the size I would need

These ones. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-165W-L...oral-Marine-/181287175098?hash=item2a358ec3ba

I would do 2 of them over that tank. The one you have is using a low power LED and will not have the ability to penetrate the water more tan a couple of inches. What we see as light is of very little importance to corals. What they require is high light that has a good amount of PAR. ALL of the good LED lights used have 3W LED's and good optics to help focus the light and give better penetration into the water.

 

[C3hutson]

If you are dead set on LEDs and want to stay at a relatively low cost you have two options:

1) More expensive budget lights: ReefBreeders (you get a warranty)
2) Less expensive budget lights: Chinese black box/evergrow lights (no warranty)

look up Euphotica on Amazon.

 

[dawson1]

I'd go back to t5 but it was cleaning the creep of them all time that got me il have a look at them in 5 mins just charging phone

 

[Webmanny]

Dawson,

Please note that I'm not saying if your light is good or not. It is very hard to tell from pictures. Having said that, I recommend borrowing a PAR meter or bringing the light to your LFS, to see if they can measure it for you. I want to agree with everything that others have said here, but I simply can't tell by looking at pictures. Maybe these lights are perfect for your tank and corals. Who knows... but the PAR meter will tell you that.

If you are set on changing lights, I agree with the rest here on the options below. I added one if you care to do some simple DIY. My latest hybrid light will use T5s with option 3. Good luck man.

1) More expensive budget lights: ReefBreeders (you get a warranty)
2) Less expensive budget lights: Chinese black box/evergrow lights (no warranty)
3) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371283714840?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=640405558087&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[dawson1]

Crap pics but had these since I bought the live rock over a year ago, and to me they look well, this is just after feeding, I only payed 200pounds for full set up with controller and transporter,

But From what you guys are saying I need to upgrade, don't forget guys I'm in the UK.


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If the

 

[lpsouth1978]

It looks like the few corals you have are low light, and as such may do just fine under your lights. Anything more than mushrooms, zoas, etc... may not do so well. As was stated before, the only real way to know is to test PAR. If there is no one to borrow one from in your area, you can purchase one. If that is also not an option (they can be pretty pricey), all you can do is upgrade your lights, or try other corals and see how they respond.

If you choose to upgrade, try these: (they are on Ebay UK and it is for 2 units)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2xUnits-D...eef-Fixture-/131195591477?hash=item1e8bdddb35

These would be a great, low cost option.

 

[dawson1]

That's a good price !! Only thing is I don't want hanging lights due to the fact my tank is in the main front room and has a hood, also I'm out for 12 hours a day so it would need a controller to set the dimmer stages itself.

 

[lpsouth1978]

Then you can try this one, it has better LED's, and is programmable, but at a higher cost.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Revo...ish-LPS-SPS-/261728631395?hash=item3cf03dfa63

Or this one, which also includes 2 fixtures:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-LED-Sal...-Reef-light-/191472221468?hash=item2c94a23d1c

As far as mounting them in the canopy, you do not have to hang these. With a little bit of creativity, you can easily mount them inside your canopy. Both of these are programmable for sunrise, sunset, and timing. The first also has cloud cover and moonlight settings.