Single LED fixture for 6' tank

[jrp1588]

I've been running 3 Reefbreeders Photon 16's on my 125 for a good while now. I've never loved the look of them all hanging, and the fixtures themselves are pretty blocky, plus adjusting the programming is a bit of a nightmare. Is there a single LED fixture out there at the moment that'll cover a whole 6' tank and doesn't cost a fortune? Everything I'm seeing seems to top out around 50".

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Not really.

 

[jrp1588]

Not really.

Seems pretty consistent with my research. Wonder why, 6' tanks are very common.

 

[Bronx19]

Anything over 2.5' will need two LED fixtures. Its the major pitfall of LED. The new E5 bulbs will turn things on their head soon, an LED in a T5 package.

 

[Ou8me2]

I would think the weight of one big 6ft LED light would be pretty heavy.

 

[WantaBeReefer]

21led makes 60" reef bar pro's. I use the actinic bar to supplement my t5's.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

There is still 1 made that I know of but unfortunately no longer available here.
Vertex makes it.

 

[jrp1588]

Anything over 2.5' will need two LED fixtures. Its the major pitfall of LED. The new E5 bulbs will turn things on their head soon, an LED in a T5 package.

Well, they do make 50" units. I can name a handful of manufacturers off the top of my head that make them in that length.

I would think the weight of one big 6ft LED light would be pretty heavy.

There are T5 and halide units I've seen that'll light a whole 6' tank. Not sure why LED would be any different.

 

[jda]

There is a LFS here that has a 6' fixture by AcroOptics - it might be few inches short of 6'. It looks like every other LED on a larger SPS tank - washed out pastel colors a bit and some corals dying from the base up. The same fixture on the mixed tanks looks pretty good. Looks like it is built well, but what do I know... It might cost a fortune, though.

As has been discussed many times, LEDs are not great options on large/larger tanks. You can bet that if they would sell well, then somebody would make them. The fact that they are not even really offered says all that you need to know...

I have seen folks buy a old aquamedic/whatever fixture, take the guts out of it and mount panels in there - what I have seen is with Kessils, but I imagine that you could rig something up for just about anything.

 

[jrp1588]

There is a LFS here that has a 6' fixture by AcroOptics - it might be few inches short of 6'. It looks like every other LED on a larger SPS tank - washed out pastel colors a bit and some corals dying from the base up. The same fixture on the mixed tanks looks pretty good. Looks like it is built well, but what do I know... It might cost a fortune, though.

As has been discussed many times, LEDs are not great options on large/larger tanks. You can bet that if they would sell well, then somebody would make them. The fact that they are not even really offered says all that you need to know...

I have seen folks buy a old aquamedic/whatever fixture, take the guts out of it and mount panels in there - what I have seen is with Kessils, but I imagine that you could rig something up for just about anything.

I currently run LEDs on my tank and my corals are growing and looking great. Why would LEDs not be a good option for larger tanks?

I would bet it's more of an economy of scale sort of thing. There are a lot more 4' and under tanks out there, so naturally that's what they're going to make. People with bigger tanks can just use multiple units, so why bother with the design and tooling to make a small number of longer units that would cost a lot more because they wouldn't sell nearly as many?

Maybe I should just build a canopy and call it a day.

 

[dutch27]

I've been running 3 Reefbreeders Photon 16's on my 125 for a good while now. I've never loved the look of them all hanging, and the fixtures themselves are pretty blocky, plus adjusting the programming is a bit of a nightmare. Is there a single LED fixture out there at the moment that'll cover a whole 6' tank and doesn't cost a fortune? Everything I'm seeing seems to top out around 50".

You could build a floating canopy above the tank that's mounted to the wall, and mount your lights inside of that. I've seen it done with halide in the past, and it looks pretty nice if built by someone who knows what they're doing and can match the stand's appearance.

 

[jrp1588]

You could build a floating canopy above the tank that's mounted to the wall, and mount your lights inside of that. I've seen it done with halide in the past, and it looks pretty nice if built by someone who knows what they're doing and can match the stand's appearance.

Yeah, I've built a traditional canopy before, and it turned out pretty well for an amateur. I don't really have access to all the tools for that anymore though.

It might look cleaner if I can figure out some way to join my three fixtures together with some angle iron or something, then I'd just have a hanger from either side instead of 6 hanging wires going to the ceiling.

 

[jda]

You might check out t-slot aluminum. I have seen some nice racks made out of it.