Diy led?

[DerNaschkatze]

I have a 30"L x 12"W x 24"D tank. I currently have the original Marineland Eclipse 3 system on it, All still intact, but would like to retrofit the hood.

I currently have the hood modded to have a 16w 16 led future, but want to remove the 2 T8 bulb fixture and replace it with an LED system. I figured DIY would be the best approach.

I am not willing to remove the hood because
1. I like the look of the hood
2. it has my mechanical and chemical filtration included
3. I have modded it already and it would be difficult to redo the mod

I have about 28"l by 5" w to work with. Yeah, not a lot... a

Any Suggestions on The best LEDs? Or even if you can think of a pre-made lighting system that would fit this...

Id like to keep LPS, and maybe some easier SPS and anemone.

What my tank looks like empty:

http://www.onlinepetdepot.com/images/AMLPFE3.jpg

 

[perkint]

28x5 is plenty of space, so long as you have a decent amount of height as well. What clearance do you have?

Tim

 

[DerNaschkatze]

I have about 4 or 5 so inches.... so roughly 5" by 28" by 4.5"

 

[DerNaschkatze]

I'd also like to stay a little lower on the budget.... say, $200 or so?

I might design a sort of canopy and remove the plastic hood, that way the more bulky light systems could fit.

 

[Scranton]

Love my rapid LEDs. Aurora pucks are awsome!!!

 

[banthonyb71]

http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/cree-lumia-5-2-70w-full-spectrum-5-channel-cree-led/


This is what Im doing on my 72 gallon with a couple t5's. I was debating between these and the Aurora Pucks but I found a few more reviews in favor of the Cree Lumia so I went with these.


read through this build and the difference these made in his tank.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23590698#post23590698

or supplement with 2x34 t5

 

[perkint]

If going DIY you have plenty of space at 28x5x4.5

At that you have space for a decent heatsink (I'd actually do two heatsinks rather than one) and fans on top. No need to remove the canopy

Do you want sunrise/sunset? Basic colours or want to go exotic as well? There are lots of choices and everyone has their own preferences. The most common choices seem to be the lumia 5.2s as suggested above, the ReefLEDLabs clusters, custom made eBay specials and individual 20mm stars. If you want to keep the budget below $200 I'd think the 5.2s and top ReefLL ones are out. I'd go for individual 20mm stars, personally

Tim