L.E.D question

[MarksReef]

I'm an old-school MH user running a 250 Radium with Reefbrite blue LED's. It's a Reefbrite fixture.
I'm moving away from SPS dominant tank and since I need a new bulb I was thinking of maybe taking the leap to LED.
I see their fairly expensive ones and cheaper ones.
My tank is 30x30x24
With so many out there today, I'm looking for recommendations where to start my research and or what your having success with. I always lean twards quality. Buy once.
Go

 

[Capt_Cully]

This is a loaded topic as technology has come a long way. There are quite a few quality manufacturers and products out there. Check out Ecotechmarine Radions, the Gen 4s new lenses are pretty sweet. Some have complained about their programs used to set your schedule and I’ve seen some complain about support. Adjustability can sometimes be a bad thing. The urge to tinker is strong, but not always the best thing for your corals, particularly SPS. But you said you’re moving away from that.

Kessil is another option. Blended better by putting all of the diodes under a single lens. If you’re not after PAR check out the AP700 and it’s blending lenses. Easy adjustability. About the cost of a single Radion and 1 unit would cover your tank. The knock is moon lighting. It’s lowest setting is about 5% IIRC which is still fairly bright.

The same goes for Kessils “cans”.

I actually Have an AP700 love it, but it’s “off” at night. I’m also running 2 gen 2 Radions. Not many issues. But they’ve come a long way with the new lenses. There are obviously a few other top end fixtures, but those are the two I can Comment on.

Bulk Reef has pretty great product reviews on these and others. I found Them helpful on their site and you tube.

 

[mrpergo]

Reef Breeders has a nice photon V2 fixture with Cree leds. A little less expensive but a quality product

 

[mattgumaer]

In my highly subjective opinion, I think you ought to consider one of a couple of options: 1) one led like an XR30 with t-5 supplementation; or 2) something like 4 XR15s. I think it is difficult to get even light with LEDs alone unless you essentially double the number of recommended fixtures to even out the spread or hang them very high (like 18" above the tank or higher) or supplement with t5s.

I have 5 Radion pros, 2 gen twos and 2 gen threes. I have three over a 180 and I can tell you my success rate with SPS increased dramatically after adding four 5-foot t5s. My own pet theory is that lighting from multiple angles is less critical with LPS in part because they move in the current, effectively changing the angles at which the light strikes them on a continual basis.

Maybe without SPS, you can get by with fewer LEDs or no supplementation but, I think you may be disappointed if you try to run a single LED fixture if it is a 'point source' type fixture (Radions or Kessil can style light).

Final thought/tip: borrow/buy a par meter to see how much light you're getting. I bought a par meter and was amazed at the par variation in different spots in the tank that looked the same to my eye with the three Radions. If you can, test your current setup before the switch to give you a sense of what's working now.

Good luck.

Matt

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I'm an old-school MH user running a 250 Radium with Reefbrite blue LED's. It's a Reefbrite fixture.
I'm moving away from SPS dominant tank and since I need a new bulb I was thinking of maybe taking the leap to LED.
I see their fairly expensive ones and cheaper ones.
My tank is 30x30x24
With so many out there today, I'm looking for recommendations where to start my research and or what your having success with. I always lean twards quality. Buy once.
Go

Ai

TRS has all the examples you need to see.
Yes- I'm going Radion... but I have a different situation.

 

[intyme]

I run a reef breeder photon. It's been going strong for 2 years, no complaints


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[block head]

I don't think you stand to gain much. I'm running the same tank . 250 isn't alot of light or heat . I'm sticking w mh with 250. High end LED might last long enough to save $$$. GIVE u a toy to play with. The mid range or low end stuff breaks. Honestly wouldn't change anything. Pick up a used radion if you want to play ? I went to TRs to see what all the hype was. Meh , led breaks. I had to replace my MH ballast. I'd run the mH into the ground . Keep an eye out for used deal

 

[ggdowski]

I ended up going with AI prime HD. As Matt said, I went with multiple fixtures. BRS has nice videos on this. I have five on top of my 3ft 90G tank that is 2ft deep. I drive the back ones high.. to get higher par on the high rock for sps. I'm getting about 350 par at about 1ft depth. I also drive front ones higher to illuminate deeply where I have some lps. That is around 150 par.

Some things you can do with these. I can tweak the spectrum. I use a program found online that incorporates timed spectral fluctuations to simulate clouds. I also time across the three zones to simulate sunrise and sunset. That also causes the "œclouds" to move across the tank zones. There is some discoing effects as spectra don't mix evenly like bulbs. Overall, I like them. I can't comment on growth to much because this is a newer tank. That's why I bought the apogee par sensor.

BRS also talks about creating shadows by directing light. I get that from my rock structure.


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[Capt_Cully]

Are you using that saw tooth program? I think David Saxby came up with? Pretty innovative!

 

[ggdowski]

Yes. That is what I'm using. Not sure if it makes a difference.


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[St.james of reefdom]

Checkout. 21LEDUSA.com.. they build custom led spots up to 50 watt.....very affordable

 

[Flanders]

Having used both I wouldn't do it for that tank size. MH pendant is perfect for that application. You'd have to use multiple fixtures and space them out to get good spread and drop a ton of coin to get anything close to equivalent to what you already have. IMO, nothing grows coral better than MH.

Having said that, I use AI Primes. The Primes and Hydras are very good. If I was in the market for something more affordable for a larger tank I'd take a close look at SB Reeflights.

 

[MarksReef]

Ai

TRS has all the examples you need to see.
Yes- I'm going Radion... but I have a different situation.

Ok so I got to stop in to see Tom today. He gave me a complete tour of the AI's on his display and wow, I like. I dont know how others compare to the way Tom got these to look under different programs he has set and a few show off ones he created but I was impressed by the display of lights (in the tank).
Thanks all for the feed back. I have some decisions to make.
Happy Reefing

 

[Mr Reefer 1690]

Toms store reef looks very impressive under the Ai's

 

[MarkKlier]

Mark I'm setting up my tank with AI's from Tom.....

 

[hanas]

Not from the area any longer but was born and raised in Upstate NY (Syracuse). Out of curiosity, how many AI’s does Tom run on his reef tankstore? Assuming they are the 52 HD....dimensions as well of the tank?

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

I liked my radions but were a pain to tune properly I bought 3 kessil 360w for over my 90 and would have to say I like them a lot better. I don't have sps I have a ton of torches nems and other sps I will say for the first month after switching I lost a lot of color and thought everything was going to die but everything came back and looks better now under the kessil

 

[rocsec1]

I’ve both reefbreeders and Radion g3’s and have been really happy with both.