Novices need LED lighting questions answered.

[Ron Reefman]

wertoiuy, At 4' lomg you are going to need either 2 of the Mars Aqua standard units, about $200 total, or 1 of the 32" units which is a little bit less. I'm not sure if the Viparspectra or Ocean Revive is really much better. They would have built in timers and slightly more power (they all have 3 watt leds but the Mars Aqua drives them at 1.85 watts and everybody else drives them at 2.2 watts. I haven't checks current specs, but I assume they all do aluminum cases these days. And the Viparspectra and Ocean Revive probably fall above you budget. All of the more common brand names will be way above your budget even at wholesale cost.

Good luck.

 

[Thornbreaker]

If I plan to QT new coral frags for a few days of observation, would my QT need lighting during that time? Is there a good, Home Depot option that would work as it's temporary?

Also, (while I'm on the subject), is it pretty safe to use my fish QT tank as the QT for coral frags? 20 gallon, no fish in it currently, but cycled.

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you feel the need to quarantine coral for a few days(?why) almost any light will do. Corals are fine for 3 to 5 days with no light, but you probably want them to open while they are in the QT. I think HD and/or Lowes sell PAR 38 bulbs that would work and only require an ordinary socket (thread in any light bulb style) fixture.

Are you dipping your corals or just doing this quarantine? I'd say that if you are going to the trouble of doing the quarantine, you should do a dip first and then the quarantine. If you aren't doing the dip first, a short quarantine really isn't going to show you much, if anything. Just my opinion.

And I'd say yes to using the QT that you use for fish is OK assuming you didn't have any issues with the fish.

 

[Thornbreaker]

If you feel the need to quarantine coral for a few days(?why) almost any light will do. Corals are fine for 3 to 5 days with no light, but you probably want them to open while they are in the QT. I think HD and/or Lowes sell PAR 38 bulbs that would work and only require an ordinary socket (thread in any light bulb style) fixture.

Are you dipping your corals or just doing this quarantine? I'd say that if you are going to the trouble of doing the quarantine, you should do a dip first and then the quarantine. If you aren't doing the dip first, a short quarantine really isn't going to show you much, if anything. Just my opinion.

And I'd say yes to using the QT that you use for fish is OK assuming you didn't have any issues with the fish.

Thanks. Yes, I'll dip first, but thought a couple days of observation would be a good idea.


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[Fogcutter]

Really great info Ron...thanks!
Like a few others in this thread I'm getting ready to get back into the hobby. I've got my heart set on a 72 bow or something similiar i.e. 48" wide and 24" deep. Going to be full reef with SPS and LPS. I have no problem buying the "black boxes" ...personally I think that $799 for the Radions is rediculous...don't care how well made they are. And of course the Kessils are nice but they're expensive as well.

I was looking at the MarsAqua, WillsLed, and VIPARSPECTRA units...they are all dimmable and look like they have decent output for the money. But I DO want to have the sunrise/sunset control and a timer/moonlight cabability.

The closest thing I've found that has nearly all of the features I want is the Orbit Marine....they look great and have the controls i like. But a lot of the reviews are horrible and as it has been mentioned here...they are way under powered. You can get the Pro version with is 2 lights but that brings the total to nearly $500. Another choice is the Photon V2 but the 48" version is around $675 so for that I might as well go with the Radions.

Barring better advice ...I might still go with the Orbit Marine...just wish they had better output.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Really great info Ron...thanks!
Like a few others in this thread I'm getting ready to get back into the hobby. I've got my heart set on a 72 bow or something similiar i.e. 48" wide and 24" deep. Going to be full reef with SPS and LPS. I have no problem buying the "black boxes" ...personally I think that $799 for the Radions is rediculous...don't care how well made they are. And of course the Kessils are nice but they're expensive as well.

I was looking at the MarsAqua, WillsLed, and VIPARSPECTRA units...they are all dimmable and look like they have decent output for the money. But I DO want to have the sunrise/sunset control and a timer/moonlight cabability.

The closest thing I've found that has nearly all of the features I want is the Orbit Marine....they look great and have the controls i like. But a lot of the reviews are horrible and as it has been mentioned here...they are way under powered. You can get the Pro version with is 2 lights but that brings the total to nearly $500. Another choice is the Photon V2 but the 48" version is around $675 so for that I might as well go with the Radions.

Barring better advice ...I might still go with the Orbit Marine...just wish they had better output.

You are welcome for the info, I'm just trying to pass on my experience with using and having worked for an led fixture supplier.

If you are doing a 24" deep tank (or even a 20" deep tank) and expect to keep sps corals, please do yourself a favor and do not buy the Current Orbit line of led fixtures. This is not the place you want to try and save money. The PAR output is not strong enough for a serious sps tank. And by serious I mean a lot of sps, not hard to grow sps. Their less than 0.5 watt leds are fine for zoas and softys... maybe even lps, especially in a shallower tank like 18" or less. IMHO you would be better off buying 2 Mars Aqua fixtures and forgoing the sunrise & sunset feature if budget is an issue.

If you want sunrise & sunset (completely unnecessary for health or growth of any coral) look again at the Reef Breeders Photon V2+. And if you think you might as well move up to the Radions, think again. On a 48" tank for sps corals, 1 Radion fixture is not enough. You'll need 2 in order to cover 48" well enough for sps corals. One would be OK if you fill the ends of the tank with easier corals, but the dimmer ends of the tank will not be good for sps.

Don't look past the Photon V2+. It's very well made, very slim and modern looking, uses Cree and OSRAM leds, has legs and hangers and now has virtually smooth sunrise & sunset ramping ability. And with just 1 fixture will do the job. You could do either a 32" which is good enough, or a 48" which is almost too wide and will 'spill' light out the ends. I used a 50" on a 60" sps tank with great success.

Good luck and have fun whichever way you go!

20170223_155902 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[Fogcutter]

Thanks again Ron. I did some more looking and you've kind of convinced me. Those Photon fixtures are the shiz!

I had a successful 72g bowfront reef a while ago and I'm thinking about doing the same again. It will probably end up being a window box (starting as stand-alone) so I'm not worried about light spillage but at the same time I'll probably get the Photon 32 if you think that's enough for a 48".

I know the sunrise/sunset isn't necessary for the corals but I'll have some fishies too and I want to keep them happy. And hell...I just like the aesthetics.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks again Ron. I did some more looking and you've kind of convinced me. Those Photon fixtures are the shiz!

I had a successful 72g bowfront reef a while ago and I'm thinking about doing the same again. It will probably end up being a window box (starting as stand-alone) so I'm not worried about light spillage but at the same time I'll probably get the Photon 32 if you think that's enough for a 48".

I know the sunrise/sunset isn't necessary for the corals but I'll have some fishies too and I want to keep them happy. And hell...I just like the aesthetics.

Sorry for the slow reply, I'm sort of moving to a different website forum...

The 32" Photon will work well over the 48" tank with 2 considerations. One is that it will need to be a bit higher than is common, say 12 to 18" off the water in order to get end to end coverage. Or the other alternative is to have the fixture lower and use the dimmer light at the ends of the tank for zoas and lps. The alternative is to go for the 48" fixture or do 2 of the 16" fixtures and space them 4" off the ends and leave an 8" center gap (4" for each fixture to cover. This is all budgeting issues though, the amount of light will be fine.

 

[peekay]

32" Photon V2+

32" Photon V2+

Sorry for the slow reply, I'm sort of moving to a different website forum...

The 32" Photon will work well over the 48" tank with 2 considerations. One is that it will need to be a bit higher than is common, say 12 to 18" off the water in order to get end to end coverage. Or the other alternative is to have the fixture lower and use the dimmer light at the ends of the tank for zoas and lps. The alternative is to go for the 48" fixture or do 2 of the 16" fixtures and space them 4" off the ends and leave an 8" center gap (4" for each fixture to cover. This is all budgeting issues though, the amount of light will be fine.

Hi Ron:

Lots of great info. Just purchased a 100 gallon 48"(l) x 20"(w) x 24"(h). I'm leaning towards saving some money and getting the 32" version based on your recommendation. Should I be concerned with the 24" depth of the tank if I'm keeping my lights 12" - 16" above the tank? I want to get sufficient PAR to maybe keep a hammer or frogspawn near the bottom of the tank. Thanks for your help! :deadhorse:

PK

 

[Green Chromis]

Hi Ron:

Lots of great info. Just purchased a 100 gallon 48"(l) x 20"(w) x 24"(h). I'm leaning towards saving some money and getting the 32" version based on your recommendation. Should I be concerned with the 24" depth of the tank if I'm keeping my lights 12" - 16" above the tank? I want to get sufficient PAR to maybe keep a hammer or frogspawn near the bottom of the tank. Thanks for your help! :deadhorse:

PK

:fish1: You should have plenty of PAR for a 24" (H) tank, as I have my Photon V2+ 26" from the water, and my Fuge is 27" (H). At a max setting of 90% for the Blue and Violet channels, 20% for the White channel, and 1% to 5% for the Red and Green channels, my PAR is 135 or so in the center, and 100 or so on the ends, and the lite part of my Fuge is 48". I could drop my Photon down to 18" from the water an have better Par readings on the bottom then I do now, but I like the lights higher up as I am able to work on the Fuge without interference from the light rack. :fish1:

 

[peekay]

:fish1: You should have plenty of PAR for a 24" (H) tank, as I have my Photon V2+ 26" from the water, and my Fuge is 27" (H). At a max setting of 90% for the Blue and Violet channels, 20% for the White channel, and 1% to 5% for the Red and Green channels, my PAR is 135 or so in the center, and 100 or so on the ends, and the lite part of my Fuge is 48". I could drop my Photon down to 18" from the water an have better Par readings on the bottom then I do now, but I like the lights higher up as I am able to work on the Fuge without interference from the light rack. :fish1:

Thanks GC:

I think I'll probably have my lights no higher than 18" above the tank then. My plan now is the 32" Photon V2+ about 18" above my 48"x20"x24" display tank.

Hoping this will work out OK.

PK

 

[Green Chromis]

Thanks GC:

I think I'll probably have my lights no higher than 18" above the tank then. My plan now is the 32" Photon V2+ about 18" above my 48"x20"x24" display tank.

Hoping this will work out OK.

PK

:fish1: Hi, it should work out just fine. Is your tank 20" front to back, or 20" tall? You will really like the Photon light, as it has most of the bells and whistles most people use, they use high quality LED's and have rally good customer service. :fish1:

 

[peekay]

:fish1: Hi, it should work out just fine. Is your tank 20" front to back, or 20" tall? You will really like the Photon light, as it has most of the bells and whistles most people use, they use high quality LED's and have rally good customer service. :fish1:

20" front to back and 24" tall.

 

[Tanker1961]

Hello all . I have the oceanvivell t247 over my 36x18x22" aquarium. Been running for approx 8 months. Mixed coral and fish currently stocked. Right now I have the Blues at 75% & whites at 25%, what would you all think my settings should be at? Everything seems to be doing fine just curious.

 

[bengallover]

I think I'm sold on using LEDs - low power consumption and minimal heat. I think there's enough evidence out there to support they do in fact work.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I think I'm sold on using LEDs - low power consumption and minimal heat. I think there's enough evidence out there to support they do in fact work.

If you are still unsure about leds, let me put your mind to rest. I've been using leds exclusively for the last 5 years. Early on I had Chinese black box leds that I bought directly from EverGrow in China (now Reef Breeders in the US sells the EverGrow made fixtures under the RB name). That was a mixed reef 180g tank and everything grew just fine. They were a basic 2 channel fixture with the ability to do sunrise/sunset, but as far as the light they produced, any 100% black box fixture like MarsAqua will produce virtually the same light and grow coral.

For the last 3 years I've been using Reef Breeders Photon V2 fixtures (still made for them by EverGrow in China. I had a new 120g DT and it was full of sps corals (mostly Acros) and they were colorful, healthy and growing. But I lost them all due to a chiller failure to turn off. So now I have a 40g cube as my DT and I'm still using a RB Photon V2. But this tank is full of zoas and RFS'a (Rock Flower Anemones) that all fluoresce colors like crazy when the blue leds are on. And my RFA's have even spawned 3 times in the last 18 months giving me dozens of babies!

Do I think leds are OK for corals? What do you think?
They make good light, they are able to adjust the look of the tank from white to blue at a touch of your finger, they can do sunrise/sunset, they run very cool, they virtually never need replacement bulbs... I'd only consider t5 or MH if they could get to that level of flexibility (never).

One last point, if budget is an issue, the $100 Mars Aqua basic led fixture can do the job just fine. If budget is less of an issue and you want more features, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ is by far the best value in a full feature fixture. And if money is no object, you are welcome to spend more on EcoTech Radions oe AI Hydras. Although they offer very, very little more in quality or features than the Photon V2+ and cost 50% to 100% more!

https://flic.kr/p/27mrAwC

 

[NormanB]

Hi Ron, long time member, but not much on posting. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and certainly learned a lot from this thread.

I'm starting up a 75g 48x21x18 soon and was intrigued by your comment on using the 32" Reef Breeder on a 4' tank. So, you really think that is a good option? It would save $110, but not sure if that is the best way to go.

Thanks for everything you add this is board!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hi Ron, long time member, but not much on posting. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and certainly learned a lot from this thread.

I'm starting up a 75g 48x21x18 soon and was intrigued by your comment on using the 32" Reef Breeder on a 4' tank. So, you really think that is a good option? It would save $110, but not sure if that is the best way to go.

Thanks for everything you add this is board!

Hi NormanB. I don't post here much anymore. I moved to a different website forum that is a lot more interactive and has a lot more info and help. In fact they even asked me to volunteer as a 'helper' in a squad of about 50 people to answer the questions the general membership struggle with.

The 32" will work but you need to be clear about a couple of points.

So you'll have 8" off each end of the fixture to the ends of the tank. If you raise the fixture it can certainly light all 48" of tank. HOWEVER, if you are going to have light loving sps corals from wall to wall in the tank, the PAR may be a bit too low for you. It's even possible, if you are really a stickler for appearances, the ends of the tank may be a tiny bit dimmer than the center.

On the other hand, a 48" fixture will have leds all the way out to the extreme ends of the tank and with 120 degree lenses, it will be throwing light outside the end glass. Yes, some of it is reflected back in by the glass. The other difference is the 48" fixture has 4 more blue leds (good), 4 more violet (OK but not a big deal) and 8 more white (and in my humble opinion it has too many whites already, especially since they are 5 watt Crees and not 3 watts like most fixtures.

So if budget is important, super even lighting isn't critical to your eye and you aren't doing sps corals end to end, yes, the 32" can do the job just fine. But I'm just one opinion in a sea of opinions!

 

[NormanB]

Ron, I appreciate your quick response and thoughtful insight.

For $110 I am leaning toward the 48"

Thanks

 

[ianwouters]

Hello I have a question about lighting. I am currently working on a 75 gallon predator tank what was wondering what the best led all in one lighting system with remote is? My price range is up to 300$.


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