Led over 5ftx5ftx30inch tank
- Thread starter Nanook
- Start date
Vinny Kreyling
Premium Member
I have seen great results with Reefbreeders, & now there is a new model.
I'm trying to reduce electrical bill. Currently, I have 4 250 watt Radiums on HQI balllasts and 4 110 watt VHO super actinic.
So, roughly 1600 watts total. I'm thinking LED lighting is pricy up front, but much cheaper long term with electricity. I also have an 8ftx30"x30" tank to light as well, it has four 250's and four 110w VHO's too. It adds up to a lot of electricity consumption.
So, roughly 1600 watts total. I'm thinking LED lighting is pricy up front, but much cheaper long term with electricity. I also have an 8ftx30"x30" tank to light as well, it has four 250's and four 110w VHO's too. It adds up to a lot of electricity consumption.
Not on a tank that big. You will never recoup your money with the amount of led you will need vs T5. You want to reduce the electric bill put solar on your house.
Put 2x 48in sunpowers on it and call it a day.
Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
Dave, you will find this is a highly debated topic across many forums. Coming from T5's almost since 93, I finally made the switch to LED's recently. I'm on a budget and after a lot of research, I went with the mars aqua's. It's been three weeks with them up and I've tweaked the intensity a little over that time and I'm still in transition with my coral.
I'm not suggesting you go with the mars units, but I've been impressed with these so far and my corals have been doing well since. As has been suggested, look into the reef breeders units. They seem to be a little more advanced than the mars units. Of course there are the radions and they have a strong track record over SPS tanks.
With the mars/Chinese #%?! Boxes you would need around six 165w units for coverage. They really use around 55w's per unit.
I'm not suggesting you go with the mars units, but I've been impressed with these so far and my corals have been doing well since. As has been suggested, look into the reef breeders units. They seem to be a little more advanced than the mars units. Of course there are the radions and they have a strong track record over SPS tanks.
With the mars/Chinese #%?! Boxes you would need around six 165w units for coverage. They really use around 55w's per unit.
30" deep aquarium, can the T 5 pack enough par for SPS?
Thanks! The mars aquas only use 55 watts each?
I don't see Reef Breeders on Premium Aquatics website
?Yeah that's not bad at all. If you want more punch you can go with hybrids. Something like 2x Aurora 48" which are on deep discount right now for black Friday at BRS.
Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
Thanks! The mars aquas only use 55 watts each?
I don't see Reef Breeders on Premium Aquatics website
They say they undrive the LED's at 2w instead of 3w for longevity of the diodes. Plus you most likely would never run them at 100%. These are very bright! I'm running 10% white channel and 20% blue channels now and I'm pushing it with the coral I have. That's with the light fixtures hung at 12" above the water line!
One other thing I like about these is if I choose to change nm on diodes or a diode goes out, the replacement diodes are very cheap, $1.00-$3.00 and easy to replace with some solder and soldering gun. You can replace whole pcb boards for $60-70 with all the diodes and lenses. Way cheaper than replacement bulbs for my T5 fixture.
So for me, if they grow coral and so far my polyp extensions on all my coral are excellent and color is good, I'm happy. (For now, fingers crossed)
Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
I really need to get my hands on a par/pur meter though!
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Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
Thanks guys, still early in the game. We'll see.
moondoggy4
Team RC
Excotic Cannon pretty pricey but they cover a large area and can punch down deep. They come 100 or 120 watt. Aquatic Warehouse in Kearny Mesa San Diego Ca uses them on almost all of their tanks So you could call them and get some good input. Sorry I have not priced them lately so my guess could be way off.
Vinny Kreyling
Premium Member
Nanook,
Sanjay went LED on his personal tank & did a study comparison between MH & the Radions he went with. He found virtually no difference in electrical use between the 2 systems.
The savings will come from cost of replacement bulbs, & a chiller if used.
There will be an increase in the use of a heater since the tank will run cooler.
Sanjay went LED on his personal tank & did a study comparison between MH & the Radions he went with. He found virtually no difference in electrical use between the 2 systems.
The savings will come from cost of replacement bulbs, & a chiller if used.
There will be an increase in the use of a heater since the tank will run cooler.
I use marsaqua on my 145"x32x43" tank. I can grow montis on the bottom and other Sps in the middle. I'm using currently 4 off the 309wt units and 4 t5 blue plus bulbs.
I do plan on adding 4 more of the 300wtters to add a little more brightness to the tank.
I also have an 8" deresa at the bottom and some maximas about 8" off the bottom. They are all growing well.
I have no doubt these can grow corals.
I did change some of the leds to better spectrum though
I do plan on adding 4 more of the 300wtters to add a little more brightness to the tank.
I also have an 8" deresa at the bottom and some maximas about 8" off the bottom. They are all growing well.
I have no doubt these can grow corals.
I did change some of the leds to better spectrum though
ReefCowboy
New member
Leds is a topic that you will get hate from many when you dont run the typical Radion/Hydra/Kessil lights. Thing is there are many fixtures that do better than the last ones, as long as one takes the time to try them, and understands positives and negatives of each option. Ive ran hydra 26's and although I did get great results, if you run a larger tank you will need many of them and your electricity bill might be even higher than with conventional systems such as T5's.
For your tank size, I would stay away from cluster type leds for this reason. Larger fixtures with more leds will cover more and make the led decision make sense. I run the Orphek from the day I saw a large 180 sps tank doing excellent running only 2x units. I was coming from MH's and was also tired of the heat and electricity bill.
Reefbreeders is a great option also as many sps tanks running them having good results.
I am very happy switching to led, I guess when one has them and corals are doing well, there is no turning back.
For your tank size, I would stay away from cluster type leds for this reason. Larger fixtures with more leds will cover more and make the led decision make sense. I run the Orphek from the day I saw a large 180 sps tank doing excellent running only 2x units. I was coming from MH's and was also tired of the heat and electricity bill.
Reefbreeders is a great option also as many sps tanks running them having good results.
I am very happy switching to led, I guess when one has them and corals are doing well, there is no turning back.
Yeah, my suspicion entirely. Did he write an article?
I have 4 250's and 440 watts of VHO over my 470 cube tank. It would take 5-6 LED fixtures to even come close to the PPFD I currently have, and their combined wattage would be almost equal. That would be big money also. The bulbs I use now last 18 months and are cheap.
Also, keeping 1100 gallons heated in my basement would be pricey too in regards to electricity. Then there is the upfront cost of $3-4 grand for reliable LED fixtures. Oh, I'm guessing I'm still a metal halide guy.
