LED Recommendation

[rdnyva]

I have a 45L (48X12.5X17) currently lit with T5s and would like too upgrade to LEDs without breaking the bank. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[ganjero]

You volume is in liters, are the tank measurements also in metric system (cm)?
What's breaking the bank for you?

 

[hjp109]

You go with a reefbreeder photon48 that should cover the entire tank ($499).. would need to keep it min. 8" above water... the higher you go the more coverage you'll get.

http://www.reefbreeders.com/controllable_led_fixtures.html

 

[ganjero]

After some calculations is impossible the measurements are in cm so I'm assuming you meant 45g which makes sense with the measurements.

For finished fixtures the suggestion above is a good one, or two value fixtures which could be about $100 +/- less but without the integrated timers. I think that is the lowest price you are going to find.

What T5 fixture do you have? Why would you like to change?

 

[rdnyva]

Thanks for quick replies. Sorry, I meant 45Gal Long, not Litres. I've looked at the Reef Breeder Value fixture - it claims to cover 36 inches, not enough for a 48 inch tank. But wouldn't two be overkill?

 

[brvheart]

Are you opposed to DIY? You could go DIY for less half the cost of a fixture.

 

[rdnyva]

No not opposed to DIY at all, I just wouldn't even know where to start. I'm not up on LEDs at all.

 

[brvheart]

No not opposed to DIY at all, I just wouldn't even know where to start. I'm not up on LEDs at all.

Completely understand!! It can be intimidating to dive into that world, but believe me, there's not much to be intimidated by.

I would suggest at least giving a look into the DIY route. If it isn't for you, at least you took a look.

To simplify the terminology a bit, basically you've got the lights themselves (LED's) and a power source (drivers). Each driver will power a certain number of LED's. You can mix colors on a driver or you can separate colors onto separate drivers. For example, you can have your whites on one channel and driver, your blues on a second channel and driver, and your misc red/green/UV on a third channel and driver. If you want to control the overall color, you would dim the individual channels with a manual dimmer or better yet, automate the lighting by plugging them into a controller such as an Apex, Reef Keeper, or a stand alone lighting controller such as an Typhon or DIM4. This way you can fade in and out for sunrise/sunset and even do real time effects like storms, etc.


Look for Cree or Luxeon brand LED's from Steve's, RapidLED, or ReefLEDlights.. If your light is gonna be seen by the world, you could consider the MakersLED products. They make for a very clean attractive build in the DIY world.

The last thing I'll mention is to consider using BJB connectors if you're doing DIY. With those connectors you can easily swap out LED's whenever you like to really fine tune your color spectrum.

Good luck! Lot's of good info to be had here on these forums!