jsteele
New member
looking into this light and wanted your input.
http://www.amazon.com/Current-Orbit...IUM+FIXTURE+48"-60"+-+WIRELESS+RAMP+TIMER+PRO
http://www.amazon.com/Current-Orbit...IUM+FIXTURE+48"-60"+-+WIRELESS+RAMP+TIMER+PRO
what are your thoughts on this?
- Thread starter jsteele
- Start date
I used the rapid led onyxs and they are a really nice light. They don't have all the bells and whistles but run with the newer crees and are controllable via controller. They are about 300 each and you'd need 2 i think, plus a controller for 120ish. I ran with the bluefish controller and it has been extremely amazing. Also reefbreeders are cheaper and use older LED tech but are very affordable and come with built in controllers on some of their models.
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Willistein
Active member
It really depends on what you want to grow. I think that if you want to have LEDs that actually do well growing and coloring SPS, then you need to spend $$$ on the big players like Radion. If you don't have the stomach for that (and I don't) I would stick with T5s or MHs. I run 2x 250W radium bulbs over my 120 on the spec M80 ballasts and the colors and growth are amazing.
Other MH justification:
-My temps are fine because I have a basement sump and my house AC is set to 74 in the summer. I don't run a chiller. In the winter especially, my MHs heat the tank.
-The upfront cost is a fraction of LEDs. I got the ballast on sale for $125 or so, the bulbs are $80 each, the reflectors can be found for about $100 each or half that used and that's it. You would need at least 2 radions or perhaps 3 to light a 120, so you're well past $1000...
-mostly importantly though, corals grow well and look great to me. Of course, this is my opinion and you know what they say about those...
Other MH justification:
-My temps are fine because I have a basement sump and my house AC is set to 74 in the summer. I don't run a chiller. In the winter especially, my MHs heat the tank.
-The upfront cost is a fraction of LEDs. I got the ballast on sale for $125 or so, the bulbs are $80 each, the reflectors can be found for about $100 each or half that used and that's it. You would need at least 2 radions or perhaps 3 to light a 120, so you're well past $1000...
-mostly importantly though, corals grow well and look great to me. Of course, this is my opinion and you know what they say about those...
while radions are awesome there are a lot of other perfect option out there to grow SPS very well. Several of my friends use reefbreeders with great results and massive sps tanks. I myself use rapid leds aurora pucks which are radion lens for half the price.
MH are great and proven, just when you starting adding up how much your mh will cost over the same led life span it is just as much. Say he'll run 3 bulbs, that's 220 a year in bulbs. Just in bulbs you're at the price of radions after 5 years, and your radions will get you double the life at an est 10 years.
Just my two sense, if you have the cash it is for sure better to buy higher quality LEDs that use cree. If you on a budget the reefbreeders and reef radiance work just fine for sps.
MH are great and proven, just when you starting adding up how much your mh will cost over the same led life span it is just as much. Say he'll run 3 bulbs, that's 220 a year in bulbs. Just in bulbs you're at the price of radions after 5 years, and your radions will get you double the life at an est 10 years.
Just my two sense, if you have the cash it is for sure better to buy higher quality LEDs that use cree. If you on a budget the reefbreeders and reef radiance work just fine for sps.
Willistein
Active member
I just don't see the savings at all. Radium bulbs run properly can easily last 1.5 years (or more). To me though, growth and color are king, and I just haven't seen it with LEDs.
killinit123
New member
I use 2 ocean revive arctic so26's on my 4ft 75 gal and they are amazing. they are not dimmable and do not have storm mode and all those crazy features but in my opinion all those features do not help the growth of corals one bit they are simply for the reefers enjoyment.. and who are we kidding how many times are you actually going to create a thunderstorm in your tank? these lights are cheap in cost but not in quality. cost me about $300 for the two of them. they are full spectrum LEDs and you can control the intensity which is really all you need. there are many reviews on YouTube and such so you can see for yourself. IMO these are some of the best LEDs on the market for the price.
Yeah but even at 1.5 years that's around $1,400 in bulbs after ten years. I do agree most LED's don't have the right color. But take my aurora pucks, they were 500 for enough for a 120g and are the exact same lights in a radion, just a different casing. These pucks put out an amazing color and my sps love it. I know several farmers who are using a similar setup as well. To me its all about the pucks. The fixtures with spread out single led's just don't cut it for me. When you get a tight cluster of LED's the color output is so much more appealing. And yeah the bells and whistles are nice but not needed.
Conesus_Kid
Premium Member
I've got these same lights and love them. The growth and color of my SPS corals is just as good, if not better than running 250 watt MH's.
Willistein
Active member
Well, I guess I need to check out these tanks!
I absolutely love my aurora puck.
Conesus_Kid
Premium Member
http://classroomreefcam.no-ip.org/
username: rcuser
password: aquarium
Click on the 'Single' tab and move the camera around. If you get on tonight, do it soon since it's almost lights-out.
Camera is active from 2:15 PM-7:30 AM weekdays; 24 hours on weekends.
The webcam doesn't do the color justice, but the size of the colonies speaks for itself.
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