Lighting Help

MidTnMike41

MidTnMike41

New member
Let me start by saying I am completely new to saltwater. I have had very successful freshwater tanks so hopefully this will new hobby will come natural and be a lot of fun.

I am building a 90 gallon (48Lx18Dx24H) reef tank and I am stuck when it comes to lighting. The only thing I have decided is that I want to go with LEDs. My tank does have a canopy on top but I can modify it any way I need if needed.

I have spent many many hours reading and researching LED lighting and nothing seems to point in any certain direction. I am not sure what kind of coral I want you but I do not want to be too limited on what I can put in my tank based on the lights I have. So as long as the lights support a wide variety of growth I am good with it, more than anything I want a WOW factor when someone sees the tank. I know lighting can make a world of difference. I also want to be able to conceal it all in my canopy.

Any information, ideas, or suggestions would be appreciated. I think my head will explode if I read another thread on "Which LED is best".
 
My Opinion..
The best LED IS NO LED.. The reason there are so many choices is because so many companies are taking the cheap led chips and Drivers and calling them GOOD. The best Choice that you know will grow anything is mh and T5 LIGHTS..

So if you are still stuck on led lights. Radion or Kessle Lights from my Reading are the only thing that will get you close. MOST People who switched to led lights are switching back. Read the lighting threads in the Lighting and equipment forums .. you will find your best solutions there..
My Guess for you would be a t5 light with led supplements...If i cant Convince you to mh and t5 actinic...
 
ericarenee said:
My Opinion..
The best LED IS NO LED.. The reason there are so many choices is because so many companies are taking the cheap led chips and Drivers and calling them GOOD. The best Choice that you know will grow anything is mh and T5 LIGHTS..

So if you are still stuck on led lights. Radion or Kessle Lights from my Reading are the only thing that will get you close. MOST People who switched to led lights are switching back. Read the lighting threads in the Lighting and equipment forums .. you will find your best solutions there..
My Guess for you would be a t5 light with led supplements...If i cant Convince you to mh and t5 actinic...
Click to expand...

Are you discounting every tank that has had success with cheap LED's? There are countless tanks with cheap Chinese LED's with great coral growth. While I agree with you that MH is the best option. LED's are capable of growing any coral as long as you choose wisely based on your setup.

To just make a blanket statement that no LED is the right choice is kind of close minded.
 
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If it was up to me I would look at either a 6x T5 fixture or the Maxspect Razor LED. My friend has a Maxspect and his corals grow very well, and the colour is fantastic. I know 2 LFS near me who run them over all their corals. In one store they have had some expensive Acans in for a couple months and they still look fantastic, beautiful colours. (On a separate matter they really need to consider dropping their prices a little as it is clear people arent prepared to pay what they're asking!)

I personally prefer T5's due to the customisation you can do with different bulb arrangements, and im not really fond of the 'shimmer' others seem to like. But the Maxspect's are really good units, if I was going the LED route I would go with one of those.
 
+1 I've found that many who don't like leds are people who ran mh/t5, tried leds but either bought cheap Chinese strips or bought top of the line (AI, Radion, Kessil etc) but couldn't or didn't want to learn how to set them up properly.

You'll often heard complaints like LEDs don't put out enough par, but I gotta move my corals down because the tips are burning. How can the tips be burning if it's not enough par!?!

Most of my LFS have moved to LEDs, some are waiting for their current mh/t5 bulbs to we a r out then switch. A lot of local feeders are also on LEDs.

My suggestion is to pick a lighting source and commit to it. Mh/T5? Excellent, tried n proven. Get the best fixtures n bulbs n keep at it. LEDs? Also good, read up on what kinds of LEDs the fixture you are interested in uses then decide if that is enough by either research or try to check out other local reefer's tanks.

I'm using SO Hydra 52s and I love being able to dial in 2 hrs of 10k at 60% for growth, then 4hrs of 14k cuz I like to see them in that light then 2hrs of 20k for color. Don't like those spectrum? You can dial in what you want.

/off soapbox
 
NJAB said:
Yeah some people hate LED's on here, I love them but here read this article it helped me out a lot when it came to choosing which spectrum to get and lights to buy: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html
I went with some non expensive Mars Aqua LED's you can get on ebay.
Click to expand...

I don't think people hate LED's, they either don't understand them or can't afford them and don't want to purchase cheap made in China Crap. (Which isn't always junk)

In the long run LED light systems make sense as they don't need bulb replacements like T5 does and burn less elec than MH or T5.

The biggest drawback with T5 is they need bulb replacements every 7-9 months even though they still produce light and look good.
 
one bit of advice when you think you have sufficient coverage with leds go ahead and double the amount cause I can gurantee you dont.

you will be satisfied with LEDs if you have the coin to get the actual amount required by corals with a high demand for lights. just my .02
 
jminick2 said:
one bit of advice when you think you have sufficient coverage with leds go ahead and double the amount cause i can gurantee you dont.

You will be satisfied with leds if you have the coin to get the actual amount required by corals with a high demand for lights. Just my .02
Click to expand...

+1
 
+2 ^

I have 3 ai vegas spread over a 125G, about 9 inches AWL. I'm currently looking to supplement with t5 or if I find a deal on ebay, finding another AI.

However, I have gotten pretty good growth and overall great color and happiness.
 
I use the new Fluval Marine and Reef 2.0 LED lights that are 20,000K. They are wifi compatible and there is a wifi module set to come out for it soon that connects to an app on any smart device. It allows you to completely program your lights from your mobile phone and you can even program thunder storms. Since I'm waiting on the module I haven't tested the app yet but the lights are super bright in my tank. I love them and have already gotten good growth out of my zoas and Duncan corals. Since I haven't really messed with SPS so I can't vouch for that. IMO I was looking for something that used less electricity and stayed cool and looked sleek. I'm happy with Fluval but some here may say otherwise but they work on my reef tank so.
 
LED's are the way to go IMO. Practically no maintenance and easy to mount in just about any configuration and can be adjusted. I plan to upgrade one day (If needed) , but I currently run 2-165W Mars Aqua (Chinese LED's) on my 90 gallon. I haven't introduced any SPS to my tank yet , but my Hammer, Torch, Mushrooms and Zoa's all seem to agree with the lighting and are growing. T5's and MH are definitely proven, but with bulb changing, heat and electricity concerns it just not worth my time.
 
Led+T5's is the best setup I have run to date (previously had tried 400w radiums).

If you do go with just leds definitely cover every inch of your tank with them for best results. Most people with problems are not getting proper coverage out of their leds.


300+ diodes and four 80w t5 tubes over my 210gal
7d488ef8f8d3bca2e9c95cce7c34ceeb.jpg
 
Live Rockin said:
LED's are the way to go IMO. Practically no maintenance and easy to mount in just about any configuration and can be adjusted. I plan to upgrade one day (If needed) , but I currently run 2-165W Mars Aqua (Chinese LED's) on my 90 gallon. I haven't introduced any SPS to my tank yet , but my Hammer, Torch, Mushrooms and Zoa's all seem to agree with the lighting and are growing. T5's and MH are definitely proven, but with bulb changing, heat and electricity concerns it just not worth my time.
Click to expand...


I can agree with all of your points and in the long run cheaper than any other option. I've got a local reefer buddy that swears by them. LOL I could have bought one for the cost of my bulb replacements this last go round. I'll probably get one of the MarsAqua Dimmable 165W LED in the near future. Only $83 with free shipping on Ebay
 
i was running a 6 bulb t5 high output over my 90 gallon. Switch to a 300 watt razor and have been very happy with the change over. Nothing negative to say. Less money to run and love the built in timer. Have been running the maxpect for over 6 months and have great success with LPS, SPS and softies in mixed reef. All SPS have good polyp extension and reasonable growth compared to the t5 high output and i can do sunset, sunrise and pretty much pick any colour temp. i like. Just my two cents.
 
DavidinGA said:
Led+T5's is the best setup I have run to date (previously had tried 400w radiums).

If you do go with just leds definitely cover every inch of your tank with them for best results. Most people with problems are not getting proper coverage out of their leds.


300+ diodes and four 80w t5 tubes over my 210gal
7d488ef8f8d3bca2e9c95cce7c34ceeb.jpg
Click to expand...
do you think MH + leds would be just as effective as t5 + led?
 
On a hardcore sps tank I think mh should yield the best results. Most people who run mh will run them as the primary light source and then run led or T5 or even old school vho as the secondary lights and often use the secondary lights as "tank viewing lights" when the mh are off.

Every light option is a compromise imo.

Leds - lots of variables/options (can be a good thing and a bad thing), need a lot of panels for complete coverage, best energy conscious choice, great way to dial in your favorite color/look, etc

MH - bulky, hot, expensive to run, bulb replacement costs, often short "on" time for tank viewing, excellent coverage, dummy proof plug and play results, proven performance

T5's - bulb replacement costs, hot, semi-expensive to run, lots of bulb/color choices, proven results,



To me the best compromise setup is leds (cheap eBay boxes are what I'm using) + T5's. They have the same pros/cons as above but I'm able to get the make the most of the pros while minimizing the cons.

Low power consumption with leds on (running them for 12 hours)
Good depth penetration with leds (my tank is 30" tall)
Plenty of color options from both led/t5
Complete coverage over every square inch when both leds and T5's are on.
Only running T5's for 5 hours so I can minimize heat and electrical costs while still blasting par long enough.
Low up front costs - eBay boxes are like $80 each and the two 60" retro t5 kits were $130 each plus another $80ish for 4 bulbs
Ongoing bulb replacement costs each year stinks but still not bad at $80 a year or so.
If a led box dies I'm not out $1k's like guys who buy higher end ones.
 
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