builderguy
New member
very cool
Beeker's 200g DD PAR38 lit Reef
- Thread starter beeker
- Start date
i should have some updates later this week, i've been trying like hell to get this tank 100% stable, Not that it isn't close just that it takes months of waiting, lol
My large elegance after 3+ weeks in the tank decided to take a crap on me last week and kicked the bucket, the other 2 elegance i have in the tank still look great though and i'm still unsure why the larger of the 3 kicked the bucket after looking 100% for 3+ weeks
I'm getting my alk/calc and mag dialed in but will get some pics by the end of this week
I'm transfering corals from my 29g BC over to the 200g so it kindof looks like a hectic jigsaw puzzle right now with pieces laying everywhere i have open and lit, lol
I'm also trying to get 4 custom PAR38's made, with 4 cool blue leds and 1 neutral white, i think this will improve the sps color to some degree, out of the 15 sps in the tank so far, 3 decided to RTN/STN on me due to maturity of the tank, about 4-5 have lost some color/Dulled or browned out, but all the rest are doing great kept their color and a growing
my lps and Zoa's have had no issue's with color or growth at all, just the sps
although tank is still under 3 months old so i've moved pretty quickly and couldn't expect any better results at this time
Stay tunned for new pics, i will try to get them up wednesday
My large elegance after 3+ weeks in the tank decided to take a crap on me last week and kicked the bucket, the other 2 elegance i have in the tank still look great though and i'm still unsure why the larger of the 3 kicked the bucket after looking 100% for 3+ weeks
I'm getting my alk/calc and mag dialed in but will get some pics by the end of this week
I'm transfering corals from my 29g BC over to the 200g so it kindof looks like a hectic jigsaw puzzle right now with pieces laying everywhere i have open and lit, lol
I'm also trying to get 4 custom PAR38's made, with 4 cool blue leds and 1 neutral white, i think this will improve the sps color to some degree, out of the 15 sps in the tank so far, 3 decided to RTN/STN on me due to maturity of the tank, about 4-5 have lost some color/Dulled or browned out, but all the rest are doing great kept their color and a growing
my lps and Zoa's have had no issue's with color or growth at all, just the sps
although tank is still under 3 months old so i've moved pretty quickly and couldn't expect any better results at this time
Stay tunned for new pics, i will try to get them up wednesday
kmu
New member
Beeker,
For a 150 DD how many LEDs would you suggest? you got 4 rows of 3 bulbs on each side on your 200.
Do you think that for the 36"x36" I would need 3 rows of 3 bulbs or 4 rows of 3 bulbs?
The DD are supposed to be 27" tall but somewhere I read that they are 29" stall is this right? or is the glass 27" but the top and bottom bracing makes it 29" overall in height?
THX again
For a 150 DD how many LEDs would you suggest? you got 4 rows of 3 bulbs on each side on your 200.
Do you think that for the 36"x36" I would need 3 rows of 3 bulbs or 4 rows of 3 bulbs?
The DD are supposed to be 27" tall but somewhere I read that they are 29" stall is this right? or is the glass 27" but the top and bottom bracing makes it 29" overall in height?
THX again
Crab Rangoon
New member
The number of LED's that will be "ideal" over the tank are really going to vary based on
- how you want it to look
- how your aquascape is laid out
- whether you care more about PAR at the bottom, or overall spread per bulb
That being said, I am going to use these lamps because of their spotlighting potential, and will not be trying to get full/even coverage of the tank with the lighting. Personally, I would have gone with something like the ATI Power Module or something if I wanted full tank even illumination, but on my 3x3' I'll be running 6 PAR38's (2x 20k, 4x12k) and can't imagine needing more, with the rotational/directional flexibility of the track lighting - but I won't be running all 6 bulbs with 40* lenses. You should be able to spotlight & highlight any really PAR-needy corals this way.
Also, I have the 150g 36x36x27 DD tank, and it's definitely 27" tall when measuring the exterior dimensions, trim included.
when i first looked into LED i was originally thinking of doing a DIY but then since i'm not 100% sure how to properly make a DIY fixture without any hassle i went with the spotlights
IMO if i was to light this tank with LED's i'd need atleast 48 leds Perside
From seeing the reaction of corals under leds it leds me to believe you'll want more than just Royal blue and Cool white leds to keep 100% of the color of your sps pieces if you have any
Currently my sps corals are the only ones that have lost any color under the leds so far everything else from Acan's to LPS to chalice and Zoa's have kept their color, out of the 15 i've put in the tank 3 died cause of new tank sydrome and 8 kept their color and 4 have lost their color or browned out some (still not 100% sure if this is lighting or water quality but i'd have to say it's a mix of both to a degree)
it leds me to belive that 1 or 2 spectrums are missing from the Cool white/royal blue led blend
not to say that the RB/CW led blend isn't affective it's just lack a spectrum or 2 IMO although i can't confirm this until i get my new set of custom bulbs made
I think cool blue leds 470nm along with the RB 450nm and the Cool white, with a neutral white is what is needed but like mentioned before it will be awhile before i get those custom bulbs to me and can figure that out
So far i'm 100% happy with the leds though, they have given me all the results i was looking for
if i was to do it again, i would have opted to get some 60 degree optics in 4 of the bulbs instead of going with all 40's but i can change that in the future
i would run atleast 48 leds if you have a 2 foot by 3 foot area to light i think this was 2-3 inch spacing between leds, though there are some big DIY led builds you could look at for the spacing and driver reccomendation
But IMO your PAR will be far better than any 250w or 400w MH, 1 inch under the surface i was getting a PAR of 1500 out of these bulbs, so they definatly perform, with 40 degree optics, if you went with 60 degree optics expect to lose around some PAR at a given distance away from the bulb but spread of the light will be increased
IMO if i was to light this tank with LED's i'd need atleast 48 leds Perside
From seeing the reaction of corals under leds it leds me to believe you'll want more than just Royal blue and Cool white leds to keep 100% of the color of your sps pieces if you have any
Currently my sps corals are the only ones that have lost any color under the leds so far everything else from Acan's to LPS to chalice and Zoa's have kept their color, out of the 15 i've put in the tank 3 died cause of new tank sydrome and 8 kept their color and 4 have lost their color or browned out some (still not 100% sure if this is lighting or water quality but i'd have to say it's a mix of both to a degree)
it leds me to belive that 1 or 2 spectrums are missing from the Cool white/royal blue led blend
not to say that the RB/CW led blend isn't affective it's just lack a spectrum or 2 IMO although i can't confirm this until i get my new set of custom bulbs made
I think cool blue leds 470nm along with the RB 450nm and the Cool white, with a neutral white is what is needed but like mentioned before it will be awhile before i get those custom bulbs to me and can figure that out
So far i'm 100% happy with the leds though, they have given me all the results i was looking for
if i was to do it again, i would have opted to get some 60 degree optics in 4 of the bulbs instead of going with all 40's but i can change that in the future
i would run atleast 48 leds if you have a 2 foot by 3 foot area to light i think this was 2-3 inch spacing between leds, though there are some big DIY led builds you could look at for the spacing and driver reccomendation
But IMO your PAR will be far better than any 250w or 400w MH, 1 inch under the surface i was getting a PAR of 1500 out of these bulbs, so they definatly perform, with 40 degree optics, if you went with 60 degree optics expect to lose around some PAR at a given distance away from the bulb but spread of the light will be increased
karnivorous
New member
god i love those deep dimensions, one day ill own one... one day
got my custom 4 cool blue led and 1 neutral white led 60 optics PAR38's
here's the pics, this is with the 4 customs and 8 12k bulbs, color in person is incredable
my main red planet colony, starting to get it's green back and the new custom bulbs should also help out a lot with color
here's the pics, this is with the 4 customs and 8 12k bulbs, color in person is incredable
my main red planet colony, starting to get it's green back and the new custom bulbs should also help out a lot with color
johnanddawn
New member
very nice tank
i got the 4 custom bulbs made by nanotuners, all you have to do is call them and ask, granted it takes about a month to get them once you place the order, so be patient they are worth it
i honestly think the last 8 bulbs i get will be
4 with (3)cool blue and (2)royal blue leds a piece with 60 optics
and then the last 4 will just be the standard 20k's with 40 optics
i honestly think the last 8 bulbs i get will be
4 with (3)cool blue and (2)royal blue leds a piece with 60 optics
and then the last 4 will just be the standard 20k's with 40 optics
i should have new pics up within the next week, i've had some water stability issue's and about 4 of my corals have stned a little so i've been working on trying to solve that issue
I just got a vortech mp40es and so far it's improved my flow a lot and my corals seem to be doing better but i'm still working on getting alk/calc and mag right again
I think in the next week or two i may go to vodka dosing with 4-5 drops once a week to see if i can't improve the stability and boost the ecosystem some
I just placed an order for 8 more PAR38's, this will bring my total PAR38 bulbs to 20
first set is 4 20k PAR38's with 40 optics and Then i'll be getting 4 custom all royal blue PAR38's with 60 optics
From what i've seen with the addition of cool blue and it's color inhancement on some of my sps i'm happy, but in reality i'm still hoping to achieve some colors that are more vibrant so that is the reason for adding more Royal blue over the tank
i believe once i get my stability 100% again and get this last set of bulbs and start crossing them with the 12k's and cool blue bulbs that i've already got i'll be able to achieve every color i'm looking for
New pics will be up soon i have to move some corals and mount some new ones in tonight so i'll try to get some pics up after that
I just got a vortech mp40es and so far it's improved my flow a lot and my corals seem to be doing better but i'm still working on getting alk/calc and mag right again
I think in the next week or two i may go to vodka dosing with 4-5 drops once a week to see if i can't improve the stability and boost the ecosystem some
I just placed an order for 8 more PAR38's, this will bring my total PAR38 bulbs to 20
first set is 4 20k PAR38's with 40 optics and Then i'll be getting 4 custom all royal blue PAR38's with 60 optics
From what i've seen with the addition of cool blue and it's color inhancement on some of my sps i'm happy, but in reality i'm still hoping to achieve some colors that are more vibrant so that is the reason for adding more Royal blue over the tank
i believe once i get my stability 100% again and get this last set of bulbs and start crossing them with the 12k's and cool blue bulbs that i've already got i'll be able to achieve every color i'm looking for
New pics will be up soon i have to move some corals and mount some new ones in tonight so i'll try to get some pics up after that
