LEDs on a 40g 20" high tank

[Bronxreef]

I am about to buy some LEDs on Craigslist cheap but I'm new to LEDs I plan to keep softies, some east to keep and light corals. Will these be enough since its 3w per bulbs
Power:120w
Model color: 55x3w
Frequency:50hz/60hz
Input voltage:AC 100-240v

 

[SnoopyDaPimp]

Do you know what degree lenses are on it? If the lenses are anything lower than 80 degrees there is a potential to have too much light. I run 60 degree lenses on my 30" deep tank if that helps as a reference.

 

[Bronxreef]

No I don't I just asked, this is the pic of the lights on he told me he's kept corals for about 9 months and is just breaking up his set up, idk why I feel some type of way buying this on Craigslist but the price is so tempting.

 

[Bronxreef]

They are dimmable, if it's too much can I just adjust it?

 

[CrayolaViolence]

They are dimmable, if it's too much can I just adjust it?

Yes you can adjust it down. Not sure what brand it is, I have a 300W and two 150w they are different brands. The light is different between them, no sure about results yet.

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I use the black box full spectrum similar to that and you can keep softies, lps and sps. You will need to adjust your height of your light to get your spread for your aquarium. I had mine about 8 inches above water.

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I think it was the same size tank as yours, 40g high.

 

[first29gallon]

Those who have the Chinese LEDs, how many inches above the tank do you keep your light?

 

[Bronxreef]

I been reading on Chinese LEDs how reliable are they? I was thinking about 4xT5s because of the price of LEDs but these seem to work for people.

 

[Bronxreef]

I'm about to start my cycle so I have some research so glad to see how lighting has improve I had a 55g back in 99 I must say the Google has made me come back. It was so hard before to read and hear other people's experiences. Exited to get this cycle done.

 

[BrianKC]

I did crazy research before buying my lights. I didn't wind up going with the black boxes like that (my 65 was too big to get away with just one, but two would have been overkill), but many people are really happy with them. I think you'll be fine. Consensus across probably 20 posts I read was 8" - 9" off the water.

 

[Bronxreef]

i wasnt really feeling too good about buying these on Craigslist after doing some more research on LED's there so much on the intensity correct degree of bulp etc etc, i will stop being cheap and invest lol.. first week of curing 50lb live rock and tank cycle i have plenty of time to read and do it right... im leaning towards 4x T5's but i was at my LFS and these LEDs are so bad *** the different settings, the tank is my room so idk if the blue will be a nice mellow light to have in the night or while watching a movie in bed(rare, usually the movie watches me) lol

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I use the black box manual dimmable for about 2yrs now, running 24/7 n still working fine. I have mine about 8 inches above water. My corals softies, lps and a few sps have good growth. A programmable black box would be a good choice if your on a budget, but if you have the money i would go with the ai hydra52 hd or echo tech pros. Im too lazy to be swapping out bulbs so that is one reason to go with leds and with better programable features is great.

 

[mvallee_ma]

I started with dimmable Blackboxes on a 24" deep display tank and they were fine, as long as they are dimmable and separate cords for each channel is a bonus. height is what works for you, the closer to the water the less the spread raise them up enough so you entire tank os covered in light and you do not see the individual color of the light on the sandbed. I ran mine at 14" off the water for a long time and lowered them when I needed more power