Is my lighting enough?

[Icewater31]

I am currently running one 48"Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED on my 75 gallon aquarium. The tank looks great, but i feel like its not enough for my leather or my zoes, or anything I plan to get. Im aware that I cant get to exotic with any coral choices, and with that being said, I had planned to stick to SPS and and some mushrooms. Should I consider adding another Current LED though?

 

[blazend]

I can't talk much about the orbit led lights because i have never had them. Now i did read up on them and i dont think they can support much for coral life. Correct me if im wrong but i would use this on a FOWLR setup but not a reef setup.

 

[BM3]

They are very low on par output... even the Marine Orbit "pro" is under powered.

Check out the reed breeders value or photon series.... much more light output for less cost compared to the Orbit.

 

[Bent]

Reef breeder photon > Orbit

 

[Icewater31]

Thanks for the input guys. I already have a few frags in there stationed closest to the light and they seem to be happy. We will see how it works out. On a lighter note, if it doesnt work out i can get some of those "reef unsafe" triggers i like so much! lol

 

[Ron Reefman]

The Current leds work, just not very well at all. If your 75g is 24" deep, try to keep the corals up on rocks, closer to the surface and under the light. Their leds are 1/10th the output of most led fixtures, i.e. 0.3 watt leds vs 3.0 watt leds. They try to make up for it by using way more leds, but that only helps in shallow tanks, like 10" to maybe 15". The 0.3 watt leds aren't strong enough to get good light (PAR) deeper in the tank. And they don't have lenses to help penetrate the deeper water either.

 

[blazend]

BM3 is right though. Reef Breeders value light is an awesome light. I have it on my 42 gallon and it over powers that thing i cant go above 70%.

 

[hotelbravo]

I have the 48-60 inch current usa orbit marine led's and have had them for a long time now. I do believe they are better than most people give them credit for. I have anemones, zoas, paly's and various polyps. they have been growing even equally well whether they are at the top of the bottom of my 24inch high tank.

 

[Icewater31]

I have the 48-60 inch current usa orbit marine led's and have had them for a long time now. I do believe they are better than most people give them credit for. I have anemones, zoas, paly's and various polyps. they have been growing even equally well whether they are at the top of the bottom of my 24inch high tank.

I think you may be right. I have read alot of mixed feelings about these lights. In my opinion the light looks great on my tank, my zoes seem happy along with the leather and the torch. I had the forethought to mount them highest to the water surface so that seems to be working out. Its still early in the game for this one so we will see how it works out.

 

[Icewater31]

The Current leds work, just not very well at all. If your 75g is 24" deep, try to keep the corals up on rocks, closer to the surface and under the light. Their leds are 1/10th the output of most led fixtures, i.e. 0.3 watt leds vs 3.0 watt leds. They try to make up for it by using way more leds, but that only helps in shallow tanks, like 10" to maybe 15". The 0.3 watt leds aren't strong enough to get good light (PAR) deeper in the tank. And they don't have lenses to help penetrate the deeper water either.

I'm glad you said that! I was thinking of turning my 28g nanocube to a full tilt reef tank and I was considering a Green Element EVO Quad 15" LED Clamp-on which has 20 leds that throw out 3 watts per led. Im hearing a rule of thumb for led lights is a watt per gallon if your seriously trying to grow coral with them. I have a MH bulb on my 28 gallon now but between the heat it produces and the crazy ambient temperature of my place in the summer time, I have a hard time keeping the water temp down below BOILING! At one point last year the water temp went over 90 degrees! I have no idea how I didn't lose anything.

 

[nuxx]

Using that fixture on half of our frag tank, but it's only 16" deep with really 13-14" of water.

Also the coral is raised... wanted it for less light demanding coral.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Im hearing a rule of thumb for led lights is a watt per gallon if your seriously trying to grow coral with them.

I wouldn't trust this 'rule of thumb'. Back before leds there were some guidlines for lights and they were OK but far from perfect. But with leds, no watts/gallon rule holds much water (pun intended). Leds come in lots of wattage, lot of lenses, lots of configurations and with dimmers or controllers to adjust power settings, so it's best to be careful when you buy unless you really want to experiment. And if you can get access to a PAR meter (from a local club or LFS) that is by far the best way to know what you have and how much power to run.

 

[alton]

i wouldn't trust this 'rule of thumb'. Back before leds there were some guidlines for lights and they were ok but far from perfect. But with leds, no watts/gallon rule holds much water (pun intended). Leds come in lots of wattage, lot of lenses, lots of configurations and with dimmers or controllers to adjust power settings, so it's best to be careful when you buy unless you really want to experiment. And if you can get access to a par meter (from a local club or lfs) that is by far the best way to know what you have and how much power to run.

x2