F&Fmgr February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 (edited) So I'm hoping some of the people who know alot about these lamps will chime in. My SPS tray is 8' x 3' x 16". I have 4 400 watt MHs spread evenly across the tank. In between each halide I have 4x24" VHO T5 on icecap 660s. Looks like this: ----MH--T5--MH--T5--MH--T5--MH--- hope you get the idea. anyways I'm trying to replace the T5s with leds, but b/c im only looking for actinic supplementation i cant figure out which way to go. I know i want a decent amount of spread and enough power to make an impact even while the halides are on. Any suggestions? TIA Sean Edited February 10, 2011 by F&Fmgr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Garrison February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 (edited) Morning Sean, I'm by no means one of the experts on this, but I have been doing a lot of research on it. I don't remember the height of the lights over the 8' tray, but a lot depends on the penetration depth needed. Once you have the depth you can make a decision whether 40 degree or 60 degree will better suit your needs. You said the tank is only 16" deep so it just depends on how high above the tank the lights are mounted, I would think 60 degree would work and give you a wider spread, but that's just from my research and not practical application. For example: On my 150, because of the penetration depth required 60 degree optics will not work well for me because I would lose too much PAR at the bottom of the tank. Either way, good luck on the LED upgrade, I'm sure one of the LED experts will have more insightful input for you. Edited February 10, 2011 by Kevin Garrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr February 10, 2011 Author Share February 10, 2011 thanks I was actually considering >80 degrees. the lights are about 14" above the tanks and the corals are only 8" max deeper than that. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 thanks I was actually considering >80 degrees. the lights are about 14" above the tanks and the corals are only 8" max deeper than that. Sean What's wrong with it as it is? Leave it alone and put the money into other areas. Your corals look fine and color up well. No one is going to be able to see much looking down anyway from the surface because of the flow, so it won't matter much. Take that money, but some scrapers and a buffing kit and clean the sides of those tanks! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thefishman65 February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 If it was just LED I would say 40, but because of the wide gap caused by the MH I think you need at least 60. The problem is that you (or I haven''t) can't find optic greater than 60 for the XP series of LEDs. What could be done is to tip the LEDs some for better spread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 I am very happy with the actinic effect I am getting from XP-G Royal Blues. It reminds me of the old VHO T12 days. I definately got an improvment in coloration adding some LEDs to my set up. The look I get with the LEDs only is fantastic. Lots of shimmer and fluorescence. I think you will do OK with the 60 degree optics. LEDGroupBuy has a feature on their site that lets you model the spread of different optics. That might help. RapidLED now carries narrow heatsinks that would be perfect for what you are doing. I would be tempted to do 12 on each strip. That would really add some blue punch to the tank. You could drive 2 strips off a single ELN-60-48P ballast without much worry, and then dim them if it is too blue for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr February 10, 2011 Author Share February 10, 2011 What's wrong with it as it is? Leave it alone and put the money into other areas. Your corals look fine and color up well. No one is going to be able to see much looking down anyway from the surface because of the flow, so it won't matter much. Take that money, but some scrapers and a buffing kit and clean the sides of those tanks! :p YOU KNOW WHERE THE SCRAPER IS TOO! The main reason is that overdriving the actinics shortens the T5's lifespan, just looking to be more economical in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 Just an additional tip I learned the hard way.... When you solder the XPs make sure none of the wire or solder extends past the factory solder pads. If it does, the 60 degree optics will not seat correctly and you will have to re-solder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 im putting 12 LEDs for a lill extra pop but will probably still have some t5s unless they impress me that much. they say that 12 t5s equals 2 54w t5s but who knows. Im in line for the PAR meter so ill be able to tell you more if i am able to get a hold of it Im going with no optics and my lights should be about 10 inches or so off the water...if i dont like it or feel i need optics i can always add them later, im just going to make my own splash gaurd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 Sean- Since you are an Ecoxotic dealer, why don't you go that route? Use 2 of the 12k Cannons and 8 of the Royal Blue Par 38's. Say goodbye to those old school bulbs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze February 10, 2011 Share February 10, 2011 YOU KNOW WHERE THE SCRAPER IS TOO! The main reason is that overdriving the actinics shortens the T5's lifespan, just looking to be more economical in the long run. I don't know what you mean, What is a scraper? Anyway... To be honest, I don't think you'll notice that much of a difference over the SPS tray if you just remove the t5's all together. The Radiums provide nice color over that tank and I never noticed the difference when you added the t5's. If I said I did when you were installing them, I was probably being nice so you didn't feel bad about doing all that hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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