TheLastPolarBea
New member
Hello all. I've been sifting through pages and pages of LED lighting stuff here and I have found a bunch of useful info, however, I have a specific light that I'm looking at, but am a little ashamed to start a new thread about it, since it's basically for just my own piece of mind. I have to know what you advanced guys think, so I decided to post anyways.
Here's my story. I have a 65 gallon tank. 36 inches long. Right now, it has twin 250w MH lights with twin T5 ballasts for the blues. One of my MH external ballasts fried on me a bit ago. One light down. I was planning on buying a new ballast for it, then suddenly, the other ballast went. All that is running now is the T5's. I need to get new lighting ASAP.
I'd really like to run LED's, because of all the benefits with heat, power savings and longevity. It seems to me that it's a no brainer as long as you get the right setup. Here's where I'm pulling my hair out. I'm looking at a LED setup on Ebay right now. Its 52 lights all at 3 watts. It's not a CREE light setup, but its also a fourth of the price. I'm in no position to spend 500 bucks on a CREE setup, even though thats what I really want.
Here's the stats on this light:
36" LED Quad 3W Light System by Beamworks (Timer Ready)
The LED Quad 36" light fixture by Beamworks offers what aquarists always needed. Forty eight 3W LEDs are packed into one space saving fixture. Fixture is fitted with 10000K and Actinic 460nm LEDs providing a high quality, energy efficient light output that will shimmer through your reef at the flip of a switch. This unit features external LED drivers, two mode on/off switches, extendable wire brackets, and anodized aluminum housing. Cooling fan included. Optional timer controller(s) and hanging kit are also available for future add ons.
Features:
Dimensions - 35.00" x 9.25" x 1.25"
Brackets add 0.65" in height
Includes 52 LEDs
3 watt LEDs
40x 10000K
12x Actinic 460nm
8000 lumens.
1x manual two mode on/off switch
Mode 1 turns on all LEDs.
Mode 2 turns on the two middle rows
Includes 2 cooling fans.
Timer ready. Fixture pre-wired for add on timer module.
Timer module can control the 10000K and Actinic LEDs separately.
Timer modules are not included.
1x timer modules required for this model.
External LED drivers
Extendable wire brackets
Splash guard.
Slim and contemporary design
Extendable bracket 36"-40" (90cm - 100cm)
110V - 220V
Listing includes:
1x 36" LED Quad 3W fixture
1x External LED drivers
2x Cooling Fans
I feel a bit embarrassed to even post this up, because I only want the best stuff for my reef tank, but as of right now, there's no way in hell I can afford anything but a few hundred bucks tops. Replacing ballasts will cost as much as this LED setup, so I'm wondering, is this good to buy? Anyone have a setup similar to this? Am I just going to waste my money? I understand you get what you pay for, but some people on youtube have setups like this and say that it's awesome"¦.the only thing, they do a review the day they get it, so I have no idea if it grew their corals or killed their tank.
BTW, I have a mix of coral and fish. Have some hard coral, soft coral and a variety of fish in the tank.
Thanks everyone.
Here's my story. I have a 65 gallon tank. 36 inches long. Right now, it has twin 250w MH lights with twin T5 ballasts for the blues. One of my MH external ballasts fried on me a bit ago. One light down. I was planning on buying a new ballast for it, then suddenly, the other ballast went. All that is running now is the T5's. I need to get new lighting ASAP.
I'd really like to run LED's, because of all the benefits with heat, power savings and longevity. It seems to me that it's a no brainer as long as you get the right setup. Here's where I'm pulling my hair out. I'm looking at a LED setup on Ebay right now. Its 52 lights all at 3 watts. It's not a CREE light setup, but its also a fourth of the price. I'm in no position to spend 500 bucks on a CREE setup, even though thats what I really want.
Here's the stats on this light:
36" LED Quad 3W Light System by Beamworks (Timer Ready)
The LED Quad 36" light fixture by Beamworks offers what aquarists always needed. Forty eight 3W LEDs are packed into one space saving fixture. Fixture is fitted with 10000K and Actinic 460nm LEDs providing a high quality, energy efficient light output that will shimmer through your reef at the flip of a switch. This unit features external LED drivers, two mode on/off switches, extendable wire brackets, and anodized aluminum housing. Cooling fan included. Optional timer controller(s) and hanging kit are also available for future add ons.
Features:
Dimensions - 35.00" x 9.25" x 1.25"
Brackets add 0.65" in height
Includes 52 LEDs
3 watt LEDs
40x 10000K
12x Actinic 460nm
8000 lumens.
1x manual two mode on/off switch
Mode 1 turns on all LEDs.
Mode 2 turns on the two middle rows
Includes 2 cooling fans.
Timer ready. Fixture pre-wired for add on timer module.
Timer module can control the 10000K and Actinic LEDs separately.
Timer modules are not included.
1x timer modules required for this model.
External LED drivers
Extendable wire brackets
Splash guard.
Slim and contemporary design
Extendable bracket 36"-40" (90cm - 100cm)
110V - 220V
Listing includes:
1x 36" LED Quad 3W fixture
1x External LED drivers
2x Cooling Fans
I feel a bit embarrassed to even post this up, because I only want the best stuff for my reef tank, but as of right now, there's no way in hell I can afford anything but a few hundred bucks tops. Replacing ballasts will cost as much as this LED setup, so I'm wondering, is this good to buy? Anyone have a setup similar to this? Am I just going to waste my money? I understand you get what you pay for, but some people on youtube have setups like this and say that it's awesome"¦.the only thing, they do a review the day they get it, so I have no idea if it grew their corals or killed their tank.
BTW, I have a mix of coral and fish. Have some hard coral, soft coral and a variety of fish in the tank.
Thanks everyone.
