T5 to LED

[Bsvenonius]

I bought a new 36" nemo LED light. I currently have an aquatic life 4 39w bulb's setup with some hammers, torch's and a leather coral. I'm wondering if this will be enough light for them? Total wattage is 54 watts but I've heard it's a bright unit. Any feedback would be good

 

[mcgyvr]

Purchase first then ask if its suitable questions? Not the best plan

I'll assume you are talking about the aquamax nemo series of LED lights..

What are the dimensions of your tank?
In general those types of lights are only suitable for lower light corals/shallower tank depths as they use lower wattage LEDs that just don't have sufficient water depth penetration power..

It may be ok but I personally would use far more than 54W of LEDs on a typical 36"w tank..

 

[Ron Reefman]

For hammers and torches in a 24" deep tank, no, it's probably less light than they need and less than your old t5 fixture put out.

Look at other led fixtures and they are 16" long and use 120 watts. That should tell you something about the ability of your fixture. It was intended for a shallow tank of 12" or 16" or for fish only over deeper tanks.

I'm not saying it's a disaster, but long term your corals are going to want better.

 

[Bsvenonius]

Thanks for the replies. Yaaaa it was a bit of an impulse buy hahaha I didnt want to spend a ton of $$$ on Radion's or something along that line. Maybe Ill return it and get something more powerful . Thanks

 

[mcgyvr]

Lots of choices in what we call "Chinese Black Box" LEDs that are around $100 and can easily grow whatever you want.. They all use 3W LEDS (not all being driven at that but close enough)..
They do just fine too..
ALL over Amazon/Ebay,etc..
Galaxy hydro, mars aqua, vipar spectra,etc.. are the brands..
All are like "165W Reef led lights".. some have wifi/timers,etc..and are a bit over $100..
TONS of posts here discussing them..

 

[Bsvenonius]

Well I'm going to give my nemo light a shot. According to them,they've had success with LPS And this light . If not, I'll sell it and learn my lesson

 

[top shelf]

Well I'm going to give my nemo light a shot. According to them,they've had success with LPS And this light . If not, I'll sell it and learn my lesson

You can bet I've done my fair share of learning the hard way, in fact my first tank was exactly that. Seems a bit arbitrary to use that light when better options are out there and you could get your money back and make a wiser investment as mcgyvr suggested.

 

[Bsvenonius]

I was also thinking that since the light is only 6 3/4 thick, I could add a second light, be arou d 100watts and actually be right at $300

 

[Ron Reefman]

At $300 you can get a WAY better light. Don't take this the wrong way, but trust my 12 years of experience (6 years with led fixtures of all kinds)... if you buy a second fixture you are doubling down on a loosing bet. Don't do it!

Adding a 2nd one of these doesn't solve the problem. Doubling the total watts isn't the issue as you double the number of leds as well. These weak leds, 0.5 watts, don't penetrate the water very deep. Oh, they light up the tank so you can see, but they don't make enough light for the zooxanthellae (algae) inside the coral to do photosynthesis that feeds the coral. Even with 2 or 3 of these over a tank of 18" or more, you seriously risk starving your coral. A 165w black box has roughly 55 leds that are rated for 3 watts and driven at 2.2 watts to keep them cool and make them last longer.

You asked for advise, I'd suggest you take it and return this fixture.

Return this or use it over a refugium to grow algae. Then spend $100 to $300 on a good fixture with 3 watt leds that penetrate the water down to 30" or more.

 

[Bsvenonius]

Thanks for the advise Ron. Ill return the light and get a better LED fixture

 

[RobZilla04]

Thanks for the advise Ron. Ill return the light and get a better LED fixture

:thumbsup:

Hopefully lesson #1 helped: Seek advice, then buy.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks for the advise Ron. Ill return the light and get a better LED fixture

I honestly think that is a smart decision. Then the question is what do you want? Just a basic led fixture that is good for corals, or something with some extras? Have you seen this post about the black box leds?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25052764&postcount=233

It might be helpful. Just don't let the idea of spending more money on a fixture is better for the aquarium, because that just isn't true. A $100 Mars Aqua fixtures will grow coral just as well as an $800 Eco Tech Radion fixture.

The extra money only buys you control which you really don't need. And I'll even admit that I paid $600 for a 50" led fixture that has sunrise/sunset and 6 channel color control. But I didn't buy it because it's better for the coral, I bought it because it wasn't a financial burden for me and I wanted the extras so the tank looked the way I want it to look. But it doesn't grow coral any better than Mars Aqua or Viparspectra or Euphotica or SB Reef fixtures.