Help me pick leds for my tank

[linkfalcon]

Ok so I want led but idk what ones to get my tank specs are 60 long 18 wide 24 deep but the kicker is its a old oceanic tank with a glass plate in the middle and worried about light getting through the glass plate the tank right now has a 6 bulb t5 48 inch nova extreme on it the tank has sps lps clam zoas all kinda stuff please help me pick out lights

 

[Omair]

Can you post a picture? 60 long usually needs three LED fixtures. Depending on the spread of the optics. What are you planning to grow? SPS?

[wade]

Another option, depending on the layout of your livestock, is to light the ends and leave the middle less lighted. LEDs at that angle would probably support LPS/shrooms/etc while supporting higher light critters below the lights.

[Omair]

You can look into Kessil A350W Tuna Blue LED Pendants. Their optics have a 70 degree range, which could give you more coverage. The expected optic radius is about 24" with a 3' depth. You could get away with two of these, there should be enough light spillage between the two pendants to grow some LPS/Softies. Where as you can probably grow SPS right in the optimal light range.

[Omair]

http://kessil.com/aquarium/A350.php

 

The A360W is coming out soon (if not already). It's basically the A350W with the ability to control light intensity and blue/white.

[wade]

I would point out that while the Kessil lights may be good, they have not been thoroughly tested. Their website leaves a lot to be desired about light produced and wattages consumed.

[swimmatte]

I'm running (2) Kessil a150w's in my 56g (30" wide) in the 15,000k color and love the look. Corals seem to be happy as well. The biggest difference between the 150's and the 350's is light control, as you have zero control over intensity or color. However, if you run a controller, you would be able to control intensity. The advantage is that they only run $225 a piece instead of $399 each. I guess your budget is going to come into play.

 

With that said, Wade is correct in saying that there are some question marks as to exact output however I can tell you that corals seem very happy in my tank so far.

[Guest]

Thats a very hard thing to figure out and not as simple as you might think. Do you want a factory/vendor made light or a DIY light from a company like rapid LED and reefledlights.com? My rule of thumb for DIY is use 2 blue for every 1 white. Don't buy regular blue. Buy royal blue and buy cool white not warm or neutral white. I would also call vendor and see what they recommend in terms of how many lights you need.

[flooddc]

3 evergrow LED modules will do but since you have a center brace you will notice small shadow cause by the brace. I have 4 LED module on mine 125 long (72x18x20), I think it's over killed but just hate that center brace shadow!

[gwweber]

I purchased one of these for my 29 gallon tank. My corals are growing like crazy and I like the colors. Two of those on a 60 gallon tank would be cheap and easy. They are dimmable and run on two cords so you can have the blue come on at diffeent times then the white. I am very happy with this fixture.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281042249979?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[LCDRDATA]

I purchased one of these for my 29 gallon tank. ... I am very happy with this fixture. http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1439.l2649

 

I went to the site, took a look at the specs, and then the photos, and one caught my eye:

.

It all looked familiar, so I did a quick search of WAMAS forums and found this pic (courtesy of Rob):

 

.

 

If I'm not greatly mistaken, the two are the same unit, which is one of the Evergrow D120s, albeit with a slightly more complex layout than the "basic" model (although probably not more than what some members have ordered). I haven't taken the plunge yet myself, although I've been considering it.

 

So, if you like the look of gwweber's tank, what you probably want to do is copy the layout from the ebay site and plug that into Monkiboy's spreadsheet when the 5th round group buy kicks off.

[monkiboy]

yes, it's the evergrow fixture just resold and renamed by yet another vendor - this one on ebay. they are great, high value lights.

 

though, no sense paying that much when you get a better warranty and service through our group buy with reef breeders or direct with evergrow.

Edited March 27, 2013 by monkiboy

[linkfalcon]

Any one have any par readings

[monkiboy]

Any one have any par readings

there's a few threads on here with PAR readings - ridetheducati even made a very nice template with his PAR readings from his 300 build with the d120s. do some searching on the RC threads posted in the GBs and you will find tons of information.

[AlanM]

After about a year of reading piles of DIY LED threads on lots of forums I've really come to the conclusion that similar to what Rob (zygote2k) posts, light is light. As long as the Evergrow folks are reporting the wavelength peak of their Bridgelux LEDs accurately, and as long as you can dig up folks that have PAR meters to take detailed measurements like ridetheducati did, everything else is just aesthetics of how the box the LED is in looks, and you can make this light do whatever you want and make your tank look however you want with it. It's so customizable that it's impossible to say how they compare to other lights, because so many have totally different LED configurations in their d120's.

 

There are certain wavelengths that you can put into the tank that will excite certain photosynthesis related pigments. Different corals have different cholorophyll related pigments in different ratios, so you can get pretty scientific about it, but the wavelengths needed are fairly well known. Put a bunch of those onto the corals, but not too much. Put some other colors if you want to see certain things. Make it really blue if that's what you like, or sunlight white if you like that better.

 

Supposedly if the corals are turning brown, then you need more light because they are loading up on zooanthelle (which are apparently brown colored). Supposedly if they're turning white, then you have too much. Other things also affect brown or white turning corals, though, so it's not necessarily the light. Super helpful, I know.

 

Back to the Evergrows... It's unbelievable to me that you can customize these Evergrow lights this much for this price. If I didn't want to play with the dimming electronics it would be a no brainer to me to get them instead of doing my DIY one. They're almost like DIY lights without the DIY and all for a hamburger over $100.

[wade]

Great summary, but I would add a couple of things..

 

One consideration is the quality of the LEDs themselves. Cheaper LEDs (like you can find in off the shelf no-name brand bulbs for your house) have a very short lifespan due to quality of construction. Don't automatically assume that an LED is an LED. Look for guarantee/warranties that provide you some degree of confidence.

 

The other major factor is temperature. LEDs have a significant decline in output when they get hot, so having adequate cooling is necessary. While what the LEDs are housed in has an aesthetic role, it may also be related to cooling capacity for the electronics that support the bulb. Speaking of eletcronics, LEDs also require a very 'smooth' source of power. Cheap electronics may decrease expected lifespan due to poor quality.

[linkfalcon]

Thanks still thinking the d120 or maybe kessel350w

Edited March 30, 2013 by linkfalcon

[Omair]

After awhile, the shear ease of use of a gooseneck clamp to sit your darn light on is priceless.

[linkfalcon]

Ya or the sol idk what do y'all think