New LEDs

[Kaidman]

Well I've had a 60" LED unit for about 3 years now. I recently put a canopy on my 125g long and mounted the unit inside. The LED unit is beginning to fail, over 50% of the blues have stopped working and looks like the whites are on the way out too. I'm unsure of the company that made them, but the driver/controller box says AVAYA on it. I believe it is some type of chinese fixture.

Is it normal to have a LED fixture start to fail after 3 years? I thought one of the advantages of LED was the longevity. In the canopy I put on, there isn't any ventilation, so it felt a little warm when opening the top. Could this have been the cause for the failure? It never felt hot and my tank temperature did not go up after adding the canopy.

So the next step is to get new lights. I'm planning to go with LEDs again, but with so many options it's a tough choice.

I am likely getting a larger tank in the near future (375 - 500 gallon) and would like to use the LEDs I purchase for the 125g on the new tank also. Yes I'll need to purchase more at that time.

Since the canopy does not have any ventilation, should I add some?

I'm leaning towards 3x Kessil A360WE currently. Will this be enough coverage on a 6ft x 18" tank? How necessary will it be to purchase the controller for these lights and link the 3 together? If I don't get the controller I assume I'd have to manually turn them on/off daily right? Since these do not dim below 10% will it be necessary to get some sort of additional lightning for "moonlight" hours? I do not have an APEX or any full tank controllers yet, but plan to get an APEX later this year hopefully around Black Friday.

I'm also open to other suggestions for different brand LEDs. One of the perks I really like about the Kessils is the small footprint will allow for easy access inside the tank from the top of the canopy. Price isn't a big issue, but I'd like to keep it reasonable.

 

[uncleL]

GALAXYHYDRO™ LED 55X3W DIMMABLE 165W FULL SPECTRUM LED AQUARIUM LIGHT PANEL FOR REEF, CORAL & FISH

3 Watt Single Chip Epileds, Low Energy Consumption and High Power Efficiency
30000 Hours Lifespan and 1 Year Warranty; CE ROHS FCC Certificated
Fully Manual Dimmable, Light Intensity Adjustable from 0% to 100%

Category: Galaxyhydro Led Grow Lights.
$129.90

Usually ships in 24 hours

 

[codyreed29]

the cheapo leds that aren't name brand like cree and epistar luxeon etc. will not last as long about 3 years the higher quality will last longer and also lack of cooing and they are probably ran at 100 percent which brings down the longlivity

So many options if you want a quality fixture I suggest reefbreeders.

If not you can buy aquamana led cheapo fixtures the cob is better than the regular.

 

[MellowReefer]

My LEDS started burning out and I had them under a canopy. I added fans and it helped keep them from burning out so fast but i finally decided to go without the canopy...between worrying about the lights and summer temps I am much happier without the canopy.

Kessel are really nice lights. I would do 4 though. Spend the money for high quality, it's worth it in the long run.

 

[Kaidman]

4 of the narrows or wide?

Do I need to worry about moonlights or just go completely dark at night?

 

[DaveRaz]

Cut the back of the canopy off and mount a fan. Go with four wide lights. Here are my kessils mounted under canopy. Go see the Kessil thread, I got the great idea from another member.

You need the controller to ramp but can get by daisy chaining the lights together and using one to control all four. They turn off at 14% intensity on the apex. No moonlight with kessil.

 

[Kaidman]

I decided to go with 3 Kessils to begin with. Now my main concern is moonlights. Is it necessary for me to add some sort of moonlight or should I be fine just going completely dark at night? I've always had moonlighting on this tank.

 

[DDon]

No need to have moonlights.

 

[MRCYCS805]

Ledzeal makes a 60" fixture called the malibu s400 im running one on my 60" tank and dig it