LEDucate me

jaybfresh

Pitcher Hill Reef Society
Looks like LEDs have come a long way since I've last had a tank. Looking for options to light a 24x24x18 tank. I was originally thinking a single 250w halide, but am interested in an LED fixture. What kind of power do I need for this size tank (clams & SPS)? Any recommendations under $400?
 
I have heard good things about their fixtures. I have no personal experience with them though. I'm running 119 watt Chinesee fixtures the same that Evolution Leds used to sell.
 
Reefbreeders (evergrow)lights are awesome. I have the value fixture (D120)and it works very well. I went from a 150 W MH to 55% power of a 120watt led. The power saving is a wash though as now my heater is on during lights on.

The standard layout of the fixtures they sell are awesome and you can also customize them however you like when ordering. Easy to solder in new LEDs also. I have been tinkering with it since I got it (July) to mimic the high end lights and it will grow anything I put under it. Def go slow on acclimation.. If you can borrow or have a par meter use it, it took me a few months to get up past 40% and I'm at 55% and I think I need to turn it down. The higher the corals get (green Slimer ) the lighter it gets LOL.
( edit didn't see the link you put. That's the one I have it's a great light, runs cool to the touch)
I plan on getting two of the phantoms controllable units for my 150 build and am loving the price point for what you get.. The controllers are awesome.. I have a friend who I convinced to get the 24" unit for his 60 gal cube. He hasn't set up the tank yet but I played with the light for a good hour last week and build quality looks to be impressive.

I'm sure you have already checked out the Chinese LED thread. That thread has all you want to know on the reefbreeders fixtures and tank shots.. You can't beat the price and quality you get. There was even a head to head against the radion.. I really like all the high end LEDs on the market I just don't see myself spending $900 to light a 24" area. They are awesome though.
 
I have 2 32" IT2080 from reefbreeders and can't be happier with the growth am getting from my corals. I had 3 250watt mh and just didn't like the fact that I was changing bulbs every 6-8 months costing me well over $250 just in the mh bulbs so I switched over. Logan from reefbreeders was very helpful and still is till this day when I call him about my lights. I did my own custom layout which I wanted a 2:1 blue to white ratio with cool and warm whites on it plus they also what violets red and green on them. And having the option to controll both fixtures with one remote is great. The fans in them are super quite, the leds are super bright so you won't run them on full power since you may bleach your corals(I just bleached my birdsnest) and you get a 2 year warranty on them if you order from reefbreeders then of china. Another great feature is you can replace or recustomize your leds on your fixture and you can take off the optics on the leds to sprade the led further and deeper in the tank, am taking the optics off my greens and reds so there won't be any spotting. But if I were you reefbreeders is the way too go.
 
It's amazing how pricing structures have changed. The earliest commercial fixtures ran about the same efficiency and performance as that unit, but cost around $6 or $8 per watt. That thing is $1.50 per watt!

Hooray for Moore's Law!
 
90 degree optics would fit best for any tank really but they do have other options like a 120 degree optics which is like bascially not haveing any optic lens on the LED.
 
Great to hear the positive reviews. I think my decision has been made!

Should I go 90 degree optics on a 24x24x18 cube?
 
18" is the depth. The fixture won't be more than a foot off the water... maybe 120 degrees will be ok
 
I was curious about these LED's after reading these posts so I emailed Reefbeeders and they told me none of there LED's are controllable or compatible with any brand of aquarium controller.

I thought this was a bit odd.
 
That's right amherstreef they are not but they do have built in controllers on the light fixtures which I thought it was sweet since I have more room in my RKL plus system for my other things to plug into
 
FWIW I have a 24" deep tank and use a mix of 60 and 90 optics. 60's around the sides of the rock stack and 90's where it's stacked high.
 
I bet it would be pretty simple to hack these to make them controllable. It appears they have dimming controls built in so you'd just have to override that function.
 
Hey AmherstReef if you just want to check mine out before you make a decision I can show you the lights on my tank so you get a better idea of what they are!
 
Currently finishing up a new sump relocated to the basement. Next on my list is new lighting and I definitely like the Photon LED's from ************.

I will definitely look you up before I buy Steve and thanks for the offer
 
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