edress714 August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 55 gallon tank getting set up. Want to get a nice LED. Got my eye on a Fluval marine 48". also looking at the snakeeyes, Current Orbit Marine LED, something in the upper 100 range, no more than 200. looking to grow some corals and what not. what do you guys recommend? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnevo August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 (edited) Check out the evergrow d120 / d2040. A lot more light then those fixtures you mentioned. Those are geared toward fish only or soft corals only. The evergrow's could be gotten for less than 100 each now on ebay. Edited August 12, 2014 by lnevo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 Decide what you what in your tank before you decide on lighting. Do you have certain corals you want to grow? LPS, SPS? What are your tank dimensions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 12, 2014 Author Share August 12, 2014 its a long 55 gallon, 48 x 12 x 21 soft corals and lps corals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 12, 2014 Author Share August 12, 2014 also a light that goes on top of tank and not hung from ceiling or wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 Check out the evergrow d120 / d2040. A lot more light then those fixtures you mentioned. Those are geared toward fish only or soft corals only. The evergrow's could be gotten for less than 100 each now on ebay. +1 Evergrows are best bang for the buck, IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 12, 2014 Author Share August 12, 2014 yea two of the evergrows look appealing right now. one on each side of the middle brace. total would be right under 180 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 yea two of the evergrows look appealing right now. one on each side of the middle brace. total would be right under 180 The only thing with the Evergrows is you would have to build a canopy to hang them in since you don't want to hang from the ceiling or the wall. But good lights for the $ from what I have heard. You could also look for a good used 48" T5 fixture that might have mounting brackets to attach to the sides of the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 12, 2014 Author Share August 12, 2014 The only thing with the Evergrows is you would have to build a canopy to hang them in since you don't want to hang from the ceiling or the wall. But good lights for the $ from what I have heard. You could also look for a good used 48" T5 fixture that might have mounting brackets to attach to the sides of the tank. yea i saw a few images on google that had the top altered so that the lights can lay on the top. looked nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 You can build a frame, with conduit for example, to hang them. That's what I did. Placing your lights on legs attached to your tanks edge is not the most ideal. You'll find out with your very first maintenance routine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 ATI sunpower or powermodule. I went to the LED route twice and growth is slow. People are going back to MH or T5 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 ATI sunpower or powermodule. I went to the LED route twice and growth is slow. People are going back to MH or T. I see growth with my led system. 32... 3 watt full spectrum led. I keep them on sunrise to sunset with a max of 40 percent. What lights did you not have luck with. I have also heard good things about par32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 I see growth with my led system. 32... 3 watt full spectrum led. I keep them on sunrise to sunset with a max of 40 percent. What lights did you not have luck with. I have also heard good things about par32. I see growth on most of my corals such as zoanthids, LPS, etc but when it comes to SPS, I can only get birdsnests to thrieve. Some sps like staghorns, milleporas, turaki's dont grow well on LEDS. I have had frags that stay 1" for over 2 years with good color but no growth. I have tried two DIY fixtures and several optics with no luck. My current fixture consists of: - 4 OCW leds (cyan, green & red) = 12 leds - 16 hyper violets - 8 neutral whites - 16 royal blues All these are high quality leds and being driven by good drivers (LDD) at 1A and are over a 24"x24"x9" tank.. Leds are good in terms that you dont change bulbs, no heat transfer and offer great colors but if you really want to go on the big leagues and get high end sps frags (you eventually will do) then you should supplement with T5's and or MH. In the near term, I am planning on supplementing my tank with 4 T5's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 I see growth on most of my corals such as zoanthids, LPS, etc but when it comes to SPS, I can only get birdsnests to thrieve. Some sps like staghorns, milleporas, turaki's dont grow well on LEDS. I have had frags that stay 1" for over 2 years with good color but no growth. I have tried two DIY fixtures and several optics with no luck. My current fixture consists of: - 4 OCW leds (cyan, green & red) = 12 leds - 16 hyper violets - 8 neutral whites - 16 royal blues All these are high quality leds and being driven by good drivers (LDD) at 1A and are over a 24"x24"x9" tank.. Leds are good in terms that you dont change bulbs, no heat transfer and offer great colors but if you really want to go on the big leagues and get high end sps frags (you eventually will do) then you should supplement with T5's and or MH. In the near term, I am planning on supplementing my tank with 4 T5's. I have seen a few MH/LED configurations. I wonder if thats why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto August 12, 2014 Share August 12, 2014 I have seen a few MH/LED configurations. I wonder if thats why. Yeah, or t5/ led combo like the ATI powr module... Another issue with leds is the shadowing effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis August 13, 2014 Share August 13, 2014 Yeah, or t5/ led combo like the ATI powr module... Another issue with leds is the shadowing effects. I dont understand what the shadowing effect is. I watched a video but didnt see what they were talking about. My lights shimmer the same way a MH does. I like that. I have yet to find anything my lights wont grow but if I do the forum will know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto August 13, 2014 Share August 13, 2014 I dont understand what the shadowing effect is. I watched a video but didnt see what they were talking about. My lights shimmer the same way a MH does. I like that. I have yet to find anything my lights wont grow but if I do the forum will know about it. The way I see it is that when you look at a coral from the top that has been under leds, it looks very nice and colorful but when you look at it on the front, it looks brown or not with the same color. Corals in the wild get their light source at different angles due to sunrise / sunset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcrazyjoker81 August 13, 2014 Share August 13, 2014 Ahem. Back on topic gents! Led's will save you tons of money and the D120's are a great bang for your buck. MH and T5's IMHO are a better total lighting, but replacing bulbs yearly or more adds up fast. So lots of good options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 August 14, 2014 Share August 14, 2014 I have evergrows on my tank 2 fixtures for a a 4' tank is plenty, ERC has a group buy every couple of months, you may also get lucky and someone may be selling some, I have 1 extra I could part with, but you would need 2 for that size tank. I dont have anything to compare my D2040's to but I can confirm that both SPS and LPS do well in my aquarium, with pretty good growth rates on SPS, and my lights aren't even turned up over 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis August 14, 2014 Share August 14, 2014 (edited) I use 1 for a 40b with 90 degree optics. Works well and i love the sunrise to sunset feature. Max goes to 40% Edited August 14, 2014 by Keraxis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 August 14, 2014 Share August 14, 2014 I see growth on most of my corals such as zoanthids, LPS, etc but when it comes to SPS, I can only get birdsnests to thrieve. Some sps like staghorns, milleporas, turaki's dont grow well on LEDS. I have had frags that stay 1" for over 2 years with good color but no growth. I have tried two DIY fixtures and several optics with no luck. My current fixture consists of: - 4 OCW leds (cyan, green & red) = 12 leds - 16 hyper violets - 8 neutral whites - 16 royal blues All these are high quality leds and being driven by good drivers (LDD) at 1A and are over a 24"x24"x9" tank.. Leds are good in terms that you dont change bulbs, no heat transfer and offer great colors but if you really want to go on the big leagues and get high end sps frags (you eventually will do) then you should supplement with T5's and or MH. In the near term, I am planning on supplementing my tank with 4 T5's. I agree with this. My birdsnest LPS and zoas grow very excellent. My higher end SPS has been very slow. I have been in hoby for one year. Asked a member on LEDs that has been very successful with LEDs for a long time with SPS. He stated that the higher end SPS has a much longer acclimation time (up to a year or more) but when it takes off watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 14, 2014 Author Share August 14, 2014 The fluval marine 48 inch wouldnt be enough in the 55 right? I found a beast deal on a used one. But leaning toward two evergrows. Tough decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis August 14, 2014 Share August 14, 2014 There are used lights for sale on the forum right now for decent prices. Check the member sale section and save yourself some money and help a fellow member out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 14, 2014 Author Share August 14, 2014 I'm looking for led. Don't see any.all t5 fixtures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edress714 August 14, 2014 Author Share August 14, 2014 do they have an evergrow that can just go over like other leds? like one long 48" piece? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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