My 280g Custom upgrade.....
- Thread starter SPotter
- Start date
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
IMHO, custom LED arrays are the only way to go. Too much $$$$ for an out-of-the-box fixture that seemingly fails to deliver. Plus personal preference, perception, technology, research, etc all change so fast with LEDs. This is why I really like the Maker's LED heat sink systems, you can create your own fixture pretty easily and change it if things don't seem quite to your liking.
Time will tell i guess. There are too many companies out there doing what they think is the "next best thing" only to discover that this hobby overall is not really that huge of a market, and they are left holding on to a ton of research and no one to buy it, so they are just trying to get their money back, which is why you see companies and fixtures coming and going so fast, and only a few big players that keep developing new fixtures which are pretty much outdated by the time they hit the shelves. Too volatile of a market right now.
Time will tell i guess. There are too many companies out there doing what they think is the "next best thing" only to discover that this hobby overall is not really that huge of a market, and they are left holding on to a ton of research and no one to buy it, so they are just trying to get their money back, which is why you see companies and fixtures coming and going so fast, and only a few big players that keep developing new fixtures which are pretty much outdated by the time they hit the shelves. Too volatile of a market right now.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Nice. Have you thought about adding a 10K bulb in the fixture for spectrum purposes?
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
david00061
New member
Nice light.
SPotter
Active member
Ok...so I got a new light. I was able to sell my previous light and decided to go back to T5's. Part of made me do this was how my corals that have been in my frag tank for the last 3 months have looked under an all t5 fixture. I have nothing bad to say about the light I had or LEDs in general. I will say that Bud(FloydRTurbo) makes excellent points but for someone like me that really isnt that technical, DIY just isnt in my blood for something like that.
So here it is....I got 2 ATI SunPower fixtures. One 6x80w and one 4x80w for a total of 10 bulbs. My bulb line up is 5 Blue+, 4 Coral+ and 1 Purple+. Par readings are very strong right now with readings of 275 on the sand bed with pumps on and light about 6" awl and 34" from the bottom. I need to do more research on the bulb combinations and possibly swap out one of the Blue+ or Coral+. Its very white but crisp when all lights are on and I prefer a little more blue at peak. The dawn/dusk which is all Blue+ is a little too blue and some of the fish colors are washed out. The other option is to add a reefbrite strip but still looking into all of that. In the end I am very happy with my decision to switch lights.
So here it is....I got 2 ATI SunPower fixtures. One 6x80w and one 4x80w for a total of 10 bulbs. My bulb line up is 5 Blue+, 4 Coral+ and 1 Purple+. Par readings are very strong right now with readings of 275 on the sand bed with pumps on and light about 6" awl and 34" from the bottom. I need to do more research on the bulb combinations and possibly swap out one of the Blue+ or Coral+. Its very white but crisp when all lights are on and I prefer a little more blue at peak. The dawn/dusk which is all Blue+ is a little too blue and some of the fish colors are washed out. The other option is to add a reefbrite strip but still looking into all of that. In the end I am very happy with my decision to switch lights.
david00061
New member
That will grow em
david00061
New member
If I was to get rid of LEDs I would go with what you just bought
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Congrats Steve. Bravo sir.
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SPotter
Active member
ReefGeek gave me a great deal on the two fixtures and bulbs. Given how much money I lost on the light that I had, I really couldnt even think about trying a different LED fixture. The last 12 months were very expensive for me with coral and fish losses and just couldnt commit more money to lighting.
Rotknee
Member
Congrats Steve! You are now working with proven tech and short of maintaining the proper water parameters you have eliminated one of the biggest obstacles in this hobby. From here its TOTM or bust!:lmao:
In your opinion how do the T5's look in comparison to your PacSun LED's? I am going to get a Elos Sytem 70 and I'm torn between T5's and LED's. I might even go with the Elos MH lamp as the tank will mainly house anemones.
In your opinion how do the T5's look in comparison to your PacSun LED's? I am going to get a Elos Sytem 70 and I'm torn between T5's and LED's. I might even go with the Elos MH lamp as the tank will mainly house anemones.
SPotter
Active member
Hey Rodney, I think it's very hard to compare the two fixtures. I will say that I like the even spread of light that the t5's put out. With the LEDs I had I would notice spotlighting or the disco ball effect and see spots of red shining into the tank. IMO when it comes to LEDs I don't think more power is always better. I probably could have gotten away with using the smaller version of the light I had.
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