Need some LED recommendations

[saturnkk]

I hope to soon acquire a 50 - 90 gallon corner tank for the atrium in my house. It will probably be an acrylic set-up and rely heavily on a refugium and water changes for system quality.

I am not yet sure exactly which species I will attempt to keep but I am leaning toward a mix of LPS and SPS with a light fish load. As this will be in my atrium, I would prefer to mount the light under an enclosed hood and therefore halides are not a good option...

While I have a fairly solid understanding of species, filtration and upkeep, I am not well versed in current LED technology. To this end, what would be some good options for me considering my set-up? Cost is not a big issue but I also don't want to spend big $ on something that only delivers very small added value either. As a bonus, any LEDs that are either controller programmable or have a PC interface (e.g. USB) to program colors, brightness and effects (e.g. sunrise, sunset, clouds, etc...) would also be a plus.

Finally, is it safe to assume that with today's technology, LEDs can be the sole source of a healthy reef system?


Thanks!!

 

[Jenzifer]

Everything you want is with the Reeftech light.. High power, broad spectrum, software PC interface , clouds , storms ,suset sunrise, moon phase....dont fall into the hype of the Radion...they are good for a softy tank and low demand SPS but wont give you what you want and will easily be outdated with no option for upgrading...Reeftech is fully modular so you can upgrade very easily.

Here is my tank after a year under reeftech LED

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2133528

 

[96p993]

Everything you want is with the Reeftech light.. High power, broad spectrum, software PC interface , clouds , storms ,suset sunrise, moon phase....dont fall into the hype of the Radion...they are good for a softy tank and low demand SPS but wont give you what you want and will easily be outdated with no option for upgrading...Reeftech is fully modular so you can upgrade very easily.

Here is my tank after a year under reeftech LED

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2133528

Love to see actual proof of this...What makes the Reeftech more modular and upgradeable than the Radion?

 

[saturnkk]

Thanks! Looks very nice!

Any recommendations on output per depth and output coverage for surface area?

 

[Jenzifer]

Love to see actual proof of this...What makes the Reeftech more modular and upgradeable than the Radion?

what kind of proof would you like?

nothing is solder in..everything has quick disconnect cables. all the boards are held in with Philips screws. it is not hermetically sealed nor glued in any way. the entire bottom of the fixture has a filed of view to the water..unlike the Radion that has two circular ports surrounded by opaque plastic.

 

[Jenzifer]

Thanks! Looks very nice!

Any recommendations on output per depth and output coverage for surface area?

i have one fixture on a 30X30X20...I would probably go no larger LXW than that..34X34 max... for depth..you can go pretty deep.. With the new unit I had to move some SPS to the bottom as they were getting bleached out..i would say up to 30 inches or even 36

I have mine only set to 100 Blues, 100 green, 20 Red and 50 Whites.

 

[sirreal63]

How many watts is that fixture you are comparing to the 120 watt Radion?

 

[Jenzifer]

how many watts is that fixture you are comparing to the 120 watt radion?

200

 

[sirreal63]

Well that certainly seems like a fair comparison, almost twice the power. I am not a fan of the Radion, but have you explained the difference to anyone in the numerous threads you have posted in bashing the Radion? If you have I cannot find it, be fair to people who may not be savvy to the difference.

 

[gbru316]

Jennzifer, I'm beginning to think you work for reeftech with the amount of time you spend talking it up, and bashing other fixtures.

OP, ever think about building your own LED array? It isn't very hard, and can save tons of money, and can include all the features you mentioned.

 

[sirreal63]

Gbru, I suspect instead of it being the mfg it would be a distributor trying to get some sales. It is easy enough for the mods to check the I.P. Addie and see if it matches with Lakewood California. I don't really care either way, but being honest about product comparisons is kind of important.

 

[96p993]

Jen, I find it interesting the words upgradeable and modular come up when you say you had the 2011 fixture for a year then bought a 2012, thats not all the upgradeable or modular...I have no beef with either the Radion or Reeftech but lets be honest here so people can really compare the units on the market

 

[Jenzifer]

Jen, I find it interesting the words upgradeable and modular come up when you say you had the 2011 fixture for a year then bought a 2012, thats not all the upgradeable or modular...I have no beef with either the Radion or Reeftech but lets be honest here so people can really compare the units on the market

I guess u should ask about my system then... I have a 100 gallon frag tank thathad a 400 w mh over it....I opted to keepthe old reeftech to replace that...there is no reason why I could not have upgraded the 2011 to the 2012..just new led and controll board..the case,heat sink and power supply....all the same.....honest enough for you?

 

[Jenzifer]

Jennzifer, I'm beginning to think you work for reeftech with the amount of time you spend talking it up, and bashing other fixtures.

OP, ever think about building your own LED array? It isn't very hard, and can save tons of money, and can include all the features you mentioned.

Nope..I work for a aerospace company....just very happy with the light and trying to pull others from the dark side..."radion"....mods please check my ip...live in sunny CA ..reef tech is in nj

 

[gbru316]

Nope..I work for a aerospace company....just very happy with the light and trying to pull others from the dark side..."radion"....mods please check my ip...live in sunny CA ..reef tech is in nj

Ah ok. Some of your posts do come off a little advertisement-like.

 

[coopj]

Hey guys, I was looking at a Reeftek sps tank at a LFS here in Atlanta today! It is a good looking powerful fixture. I understand it is made in Poland. I just mounted my Pacific Sun Hyperion this past wekend. It was also made in Poland. These are really nice lights. They are definately powerful enough for sps tanks. I am partial to the Hyperion. It has a full spectrum of colors. This shows off all the colors within my tank. I have some sps frags arriving on Monday, so I will let you know how that goes. These fixtures coming from Poland just seem to be very well made with nice computer (PC) interfaces. My Hyperion connects via bluetooth. Anyway, here is a pic:

 

[Jenzifer]

Nice looking rimless and light..what size is the tank....PAC sun,reeftech and properly built diy are def the best way to go!

 

[saturnkk]

Jennzifer, I'm beginning to think you work for reeftech with the amount of time you spend talking it up, and bashing other fixtures.

OP, ever think about building your own LED array? It isn't very hard, and can save tons of money, and can include all the features you mentioned.

Building likely isn't in my schedule. The money savings would have to be drastic...

 

[Rploaded]

Comparing the Radion to Reef Tech is not even a fair comparison..

Reef tech is twice the power, multiple color schemes, can be customized 100% to your wants, weighs 5x the amount, dead quiet... Huge par numbers.

Radion is , easy to get parts, decent quality light, good par, massive dealer network..

Reef tech is also twice the price and a month wait for most buyers.

I chose Reef Tech for my large build, but my needs required custom software and were not something Ecotech would bother with for obvious reasons...

Reeftech is a hand built product. Radion is assembly line...

Two very different lights for very different types of people..both have their place above aquariums....

 

[saturnkk]

Where do you buy Reef Tech?