Carpet Anemones and LEDs - anyone tried?

[gskidmor]

I'm in the process of setting up a tank and one of the main features will be my red carpet anemone (fried is holding it now). The new tank will be 24" deep and I know a 250w MH setup will work, but I would like to try one of the new LED systems, problem is I haven't kept up on the systems, so I'm not sure what wattage system I would need to get it equivalent to the MH.

the LED system I was looking at was one of the Blueline setups that championlighting.com sells. Would the 144w work or should I go with the 288w...or just stick with the 250w MH?

What experiences have you had with LEDs?

thanks

 

[Haddonisreef]

I keep a blue and red under 120 watt LEDs and all is good!

 

[stickleback]

Check out this thread

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809346&highlight=led+gigantea

 

[Greg 45]

I purchased Pacific Sun leds over two months now
My anemones never looked better bubble tips and hadoni
I have tryed every combimation of mh and t 5
Go for it

 

[Mabyboi]

I have 2 haddonis In one tank under LED's and a Gigantia In another under stronger LED's

 

[gskidmor]

Thanks everyone - I'm gonna go with the LED's now!!

 

[cali9dub]

i have a haddon's and a gig under an AI SOL Blue...both doing great and getting darker by the week !!

 

[gskidmor]

cali9dub,

Do you just have one of the AI Sol Blue's for the nem's?

 

[cali9dub]

Yes. They are in a Solana 34g right now. Waiting to move the gig to my larger tank.

 

[gskidmor]

Cali9dub - that's what I wanted to hear - I was reading up a lot last night and I was starting to wonder if I should be two of these units, but I'm gonna start with one [I can always add one later]

 

[D-Nak]

I have my gig under a Radion. I have two on my 120. I recently moved from two 250 watt halides. The gig shows no difference, other than the color looking nicer.

 

[gskidmor]

The Radion is just 34watts right? Man, if so, that is a great move! I have to say, I'm feeling much better now - even last night I was seriously considering just getting the MH since the LED search was getting a bit confusing

 

[D-Nak]

The Radion is actually running at about 130 watts per unit. It has 34 LEDs. It's still decent power savings versus 500 watts of halides plus the chiller running on hot days.

 

[gskidmor]

What made you pick the radion over something like the AI SOL? (I ask since now I'm trying to make that decision!)

 

[D-Nak]

For a 120 gallon tank I could go with 2 Radions. Most people recommended 4 AIs, so the Radions were actually the cheaper option. There are also more colors and options with the Radions -- definitely fun to play with but not needed. Also, I have a pair of MP40s, and it's nice that they all wirelessly communicate with each other. When the Radions dim down to night mode, the MP40s switch to night mode as well. Again, definitely not needed, but a nice feature.

Also, I have a canopy on my tank, so I needed LEDs that could be hung relatively low. The optimal height for the Radions is 8-9" so it was perfect. The AIs need to be at least 12" to avoid the "mirror-ball" look of the individual LEDs casting shadows. IME, only the Radions and Kessils minimize this effect (though I still see it with the Radion).

I think both fixtures are great and both will work fine to keep an anemone alive, they just have slightly different applications.

 

[gskidmor]

I'm leaning towards the Radion - and I was just on youtube.com and saw the lightning storm it does - very cool. I will have to talk to my LFS, I saw some others had done the same they were able to get a big discount