LED Lighting Getting On My Nerves

[OregonReefer]

The only thing that confuses me is that the AI SOL said their fixtures could work on a 36" tall tank. Mines 72x36x36. But they are only a total of 72 watts.

You'd probably need 6 units to get good coverage.

I'm passing on the AI's because I'd be looking at 4 units for the coverage I want

 

[xCry0x]

Pretty presumptuous statement. I will only speak for myself but my reason for my recommendation came from experience with the lights I own. I dont think quoting chapter and verse based on an article written by someone else is any more helpful then someone posting their personal experience.

If you want to quote this article or that article, fine.Please do so without assuming no one else has a reason for what they say.

Presumptuous? Almost every previous post said "Buy fixture x, it is awesome." /end post.

And to everyone else, show me something that states corals need a pure green spectrum light over the green offered in a white bulb.

I love the personal attacks though, I must be a moron because I don't agree with what the $800 led fixture says is right and I read a biased article that still makes a good point. Keep them coming.

 

[rtparty]

Presumptuous? Almost every previous post said "Buy fixture x, it is awesome." /end post.

And to everyone else, show me something that states corals need a pure green spectrum light over the green offered in a white bulb.

I love the personal attacks though, I must be a moron because I don't agree with what the $800 led fixture says is right and I read a biased article that still makes a good point. Keep them coming.

The article didn't make a single good point. What are you smoking? The guy decided to "try" and ruin a competitors light before it even hit the market. Why? Because he is watching out for everybody and cares so much about the rest of our tanks?? Give me a break! The Radion is a HUGE threat to Orphek so he tried to ruin its image. When all he really did is ruin his own. Orphek quickly separated with him and made an official press release about it all.

But you are right, he had some great points....LOL

Green spectrum by itself probably isn't needed for most corals. However, Adam Blundell (a leading marine biologist in this hobby and part of my local club) wrote a great article for Advanced Aquarist about how some corals will fluoresce a lot better when GREEN light is given to them. Try it out over your own tank.

The standard blue/white combo of LEDs misses a VERY large part of the spectrum and OUR eyes SEE that. The corals don't look as good and some colors get washed out. Adding in the reds and greens brings some of these colors back for US to see. Do the corals benefit? Seems like they do because they look even better than before.

We are NOT going to recreate the ocean in our tanks. Yet, people think they will everyday. Our water filled glass boxes will always be behind the ocean and thus we must treat the animals slightly different.

 

[Kamisxy]

Kessil A150, I have 2 over my 40 breeder. Looks sweet and everything is growing.

Yes I saw these the other day at my lfs for the first time. They blew me away lol. The shimmer and color is amazing so I did some research on them...hear they maybe coming out with a dimmable versions soon. I bet one of these paired up with a radion would look crazy amazing

 

[Kamisxy]

Can we stop quoting that article with everything! I am constantly seeing that article quoted. It is flawed. We know that it was made by an Orphek Guy.

Secondly, my fish may not care about Modes/controllers but the "humans" like them. Same goes for the way that the colors look. I want the pop of color. I did not ask my fish for a LED fixture review.

I am using t5/LED/MH in my tanks right now. So I have a little knowledge.

lmao...lol awesome...but your fishes could probably give you reviews based on all the different lighting you have lol

 

[Steveb]

I love how everyone posts buy this buy that without any real reason.

Almost every fixture is essentially using the same LEDs, the only LED that I know of that was specifically made for aquarium use is the Kessil fixture which got rave reviews initially but I heard suffers from burn in after a few months.(brightness fades)

The Ecotech Radions got a horrible review - http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/ca...radion-xr30-led-light-a-swing-and-a-miss.html

The use of red and green lights does next to nothing for aquariums except let people make their tank glow red or green. Neutral white LED's provide the color spectrum corals need for growth in the warm end and royal blue/blue leds cover the other end.

The post here saying how 36x cree leds = 400w radion halide is a joke. What makes a cree led stronger/weaker (aside from the power driven to it) is the lense. You could essentially put single LEDs over your corals you want to grow and they would be fine, but it would look like a bunch of spot lights all over your tank. You use more than single LEDs to give a uniform color spread over your entire tank.

The main thing that makes one of these fixtures "better" than the other is the controllers, which as someone else mentioned, are not needed. Your corals do not care if there is a simulated thunder storm every week, or if the moon cycle is mimicked correctly by the on/off timers on your dimmers.

Not sure I would put a lot of stock in that review. The author did have a contract with Orphek at one point. Claims his review was not biased. But all the same...

http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/ca...t-orphek-reef-aquarium-product-marketing.html

 

[Gill_bucket]

The hardest thing for me in making decisions like these is figuring out what is "necessary" and what is just added bells and whistles.

For the guys that get off on creating hurricanes and what have you, I'm sure the extra cost is worth it. For me however, even if I had the controller to create all of that stuff I would not do it, frankly it does not do much for me lol.

I want to go LED, but it seems like the information is surrounded by a mist of elitist, fads, and opinions.

I'm not trying to rant, just stating a view from someone who is only marginally interested in reefs, but would still like all the benefits LED provide without paying for the bells and whistles.

Maybe you should get the par 38s then? If you don't need the controller then all you are missing is the moonlights and you can buy those separate. I don't have LEDs so my response is based on what has been said in this thread, so take it with a BIG grain of salt. :spin1:

 

[redfishsc]

W

2. DIY 48 LED: I suck at electrical DIY and did not want to make such an investment into something that I would probably screw up and ruin. I also want it to have a nice finished look and DIY probably wouldn't give me that.

Just to encourage you, if you can handle running a reef, you can handle a DIY LED array. Trust me. Plus in the end, you can repair the thing all you want--- you know how to do it and you know what to get.



Someone on here suggested using 28-30 LEDs and that can probably work just fine. I'd personally use 36 just because that's 3 drivers worth of LEDs but nobody says you have to have that many.


As for that nice finished look, if you call around I'm sure you can find a good finish carpenter who can build you a pendant to mount the LEDs in. Just give him the heatsinks before you wire it up, and tell him to make it such that you can remove the heatsinks. A basic box is all you need, with some wood stain, it looks quite attractive. I build things like this all the time, but I'm too far from you to offer to build it for you .

 

[m2434]

I reviewed the EVO200 here and provided PAR results. The PAR is not huge, and it won't penetrate super deep, due to the wide optics. It has a wide cone, compared to most of the LEDs though, and almost perfect PAR distribution pattern for a 40B. It's not controllable though, does not have moonlights. Also, I feel it has an over-reliance on fans for cooling, but does provide a lot of power for the money. I would stick with the 200W for a 36" tank though, I think the manufactures recommended coverage areas are a load of BS.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2094969

Out of your list, If money wasn't an issue, I'd probably go with 2 sols and switch them to 70 degree optics. The tank isn't that deep, so, I don't think you really would need 1 per foot. That would be overkill on a shallow tank. The kessils are nice, but very low power. I like the Acans, but agree on the price. The Vertex is probably about my favorite, but one of those, where if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. Radions look great, but I don't think 1 would be quite enough and 2 would be expensive and you'd be dialing it down a lot. That may be okay though, they look awesome, I'd probably consider it at least.