LED light for my 120G Tank ?

[fltekdiver]

I been spending hours, read all 30+ pages on Reef Breeders LED lights

I'm setting up,my first 120G SW tank

Tank measures 48"x24"x25

Being this is my first SW tank, it will take time to get into soft corals etc

I've looked at Reef Breeders light, but not happy with the 32" light fixture for a 48" long tank

I may consider their ( 2 ) 24" lights , but then I'm into it for $700

Toa tronics from China seem to be well liked. But they only have blue/white spectrum, is that ok?

I'm not looking in Vega's or anything else that's going to run $1K just for lights

I have allot of expenses buying everything to set up the 120 at once, so I'm trying to keep the lighting around $500-$600

I also looked at the IT 2080, which were well reviewed. They have a 44" light fixture if I remember , which is nice, I only have to buy one light then



Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[thefreezer]

I have the same tank I'm setting up, I just bought 2 of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281042249979?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Paid on a Monday night and arrived on Thursday morning, and paid using 'best offer' 356 for 2 units, which is what you would need.

They are a crisp white when all led's are fired up 100%... Almost a 14k MH look.

Very quiet fans too.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2183870&highlight=apollo

 

[Justin1386]

So since this is your first sw tank I won't blast you with this but I'm sure others will agree with me a few big things a sw tank needs good lighting don't hesitate to get good lighting. You can buy metal halides cheap right now and go buy good new bulbs and supplement with vho or t5 your choice or you even find the AI sols pretty cheap too get 2 of those for 600$ and when you wanna go to sps get a 3rd one, filtration don't cheat your corals and fish out of a clean home their survival depends on it. Salt and supplements most the sw stuff at petsmart or petco isn't all that great look around and read for what people are dosing and for what and test your water. Monitor your tank make a journal if need be and take pics post them on a thread of your build you'll get a ton of help that way. Another big thing is have patience and READ!!! hope that helps I look forward to reading your build thread I'm going to start another 120 up next week with 3 solstice blues supplemented with 2t5

 

[Phishguy]

2 vega's would be plenty for a 120..so wouldn't the single 32" reefbreeders. You can also take a look at the rapidled onyx fixture.. Very nice and brand new from them..

 

[fltekdiver]

The single 32" from reef breeders will work?

 

[fltekdiver]

So since this is your first sw tank I won't blast you with this but I'm sure others will agree with me a few big things a sw tank needs good lighting don't hesitate to get good lighting. You can buy metal halides cheap right now and go buy good new bulbs and supplement with vho or t5 your choice or you even find the AI sols pretty cheap too get 2 of those for 600$ and when you wanna go to sps get a 3rd one, filtration don't cheat your corals and fish out of a clean home their survival depends on it. Salt and supplements most the sw stuff at petsmart or petco isn't all that great look around and read for what people are dosing and for what and test your water. Monitor your tank make a journal if need be and take pics post them on a thread of your build you'll get a ton of help that way. Another big thing is have patience and READ!!! hope that helps I look forward to reading your build thread I'm going to start another 120 up next week with 3 solstice blues supplemented with 2t5

Hey Justin, thanks for the input.

I posted pics of the build , just finished building my own stand. Also posted a thread with all the equipment going int the set up, as well as been reading about 4-5 hours a nit on is stuff

 

[McMillin5]

+1 on the IT 2080 Im interested in this light for my 75g also anyone have any input on this light.. you can dim it also and it has moon lights..

 

[McMillin5]

bump

 

[MSreefdoc]

I'd go with the AI sol's for price, radions are great too if you got the quan for em

 

[Humu Humu]

Having a 48 inch tank gives you a lot of options for lighting. YOu can use two Metal Halides, or a nice 48" T-5 fixture. Don't get locked into LED's just because they're the in thing at the moment. Spend your money on a good set of lights, a good return pump, and a good skimmer, or else you'll be buying these items twice.

 

[GroktheCube]

The only LEDs I've used are the 48" buildmyled.com units over my 120, and I'm very pleased with them. Fantastic color, very bright, hook up to my Apex, slim and attractive. I used their custom reef spec as a base, and added a 400nm LED for a little more pop from uv fluorescing pigments.

 

[Terrance]

Consider T5 and MH as well as others have mentioned.

I chose LEDs, specifically reefbreeders, after weighing out all the options of lights and seeing the success from other hobbyists with MH vs LED. I will use 2 reefbreeders value fixture for my 120g, same dimensions as yours.