how would you light my new build ??

tropills

tropills

Member
Hey all, looking for suggestions on lighting my new system, it will be 96"L x48"Wx28"H.. so 32 square feet of water surface.. it will house soft and LPS corals with very minimal SPS.. I have filtration and flow figured out but I'm on the fence as to light this tank ..

Thanks, Greg
 
I would hands down go led. You can make the fixture do anything you need.
Virtually eliminates the need to replace bulbs, ballasts etc. and the energy savings over the life of the fixture would make the extra up front worth it.
 
I've become a pretty big fan of LEDs. If I wasn't concerned about SPS growth or coloration, I'd go purely LED. I probably could make due as it is, but I'm just not ready to go all in.
 
Hey Mark, yes I'm still out here in the sticks.. my only concern with going LED right off is its going cost a LOT of cash to build a large enough fixture to light that much surface area.. but then again you guys are right, the initial expense will out way the cost of running another type of light in the long run..
So how many and what types would you recommend. ? How much do you think it will cost. ?
 
If you're a do it yourself-er, I'd build LED's in a heartbeat. Even if your worried about your skills and don't want to go full-on DIY to build your own drivers, you can still save mega bucks by buying kits and assembling them yourself. The components (emitters) have come WAY down in cost, to the point where it's getting close in cost to DIY your own LED fixture vs higher end MH lighting. If you get decent enough emitters, there's no problem growing SPS IME. Heck, I have so much light I need to be careful with new additions. Can't put em up high right away, they get burned...

Don't forget the other added bonus of LEDs... Heat in the summer. You're much less likely to cook/kill your tank with LEDs than with halides. Also the added comfort for YOU in the house when it's not murderously hot/humid in the summer is nice. Not to mention the decreased cost of A/C (if you use it).
 
It's hard for me to justify the cost to switch from T5 to LED, but I would go LED if I was starting a build from scratch. I'm really liking the radion that I have over my frag tank and that's probably what I will go with for my next major upgrade (which my wife frequently reminds me will only occur after we move into a larger house).
 
Before I crashed my tank, the DIY led fixture I am using was growing sps no sweat, and I max the output at 80 % and the fixture is about 14" above the surface. It was around $600 and I way overbuilt. I have 84 diodes over a 120 24x24x48.
 
saltwaterpicaso said:
hey cully if you havnt gone full led yet what are you using for lighting with the leds. just curious
Click to expand...

I have AI Sols but I also run 2 250W MHs. The Sols are the blues and I'm not sure I'd want them solely as my main lights. I read that the whites would be too white. Perhaps the Radions or Vegas are better now.

I will say, once acclimated, certain corals LOVE the LEDS.
 
Ok so pretty much all of you are saying LED, does anyone know the approximate size I would need and amount of LED's and what optics to use. ?? Or can someone point me in the right direction on where to find this information. ??
Again Thanks for all the input..
 
If you have the cash go radion pros. They penetrate deep, high PAR and UV/yellow LEDS. The only bad thing is you will need 4 of them. If you are strapped for cash get 4 used gen 1s and you can always send them in for upgrades in the future.
 
Eastamherstbias said:
If you have the cash go radion pros. They penetrate deep, high PAR and UV/yellow LEDS. The only bad thing is you will need 4 of them. If you are strapped for cash get 4 used gen 1s and you can always send them in for upgrades in the future.
Click to expand...

Thanks, next question.. where can I find used Gen 1 's. ??
 
They're also popping up on the sale section on the main forum. I picked up my gen1 with the TIR upgrade for $425 shipped. That's an awesome price, but they are usually less than $500.
 
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