LED lighting question

[donniea1800]

I have a question about the Current USA Orbitz Marine LED fixture that came out recently. I am currently running a 4 bulb T5HO fixture with only a single reflector, instead of the good individual reflectors. I was thinking about upgrading to a T5 fixture with better reflectors or even 6 bulbs, but then I saw the Current USA LED fixture. It looks nice with all the control features on it especially for someone on a budget. My question is do you think this would provide at least the same amount of light I have now? I saw each LED is .25 watts which concerns me. My tank has softies, zoas, LPS (frog spawn, torch, hammer, bubble), rock anemones, and one deresa clam which all seem to be doing well. I dont want to get this light if it will be giving me less light than I have now. Do you think I would be better off just upgrading the T5 fixture or do you think this fixture would be ok? Any other budget friendly LED fixtures? I do like the less heat, bulb life, and controllability that LED's offer.
My tank is a standard 50 gallon (48L*12.75W*20H)

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

No that will not support your clam. Look into a pair if the Tao led panels off of eBay or amazon, will give you all the lighting you'll ever need, just be sure you get the dimmable units.
Edit: and I'm pretty sure 2 will still be cheaper than the orbit

 

[donniea1800]

Ok. Yeah the clam is what I was worried about. Thanks for the advise. I will check into those. Is there a way to use them without hanging them from the ceiling? I really want to avoid hanging anything if possible. The wife will not be happy with me hanging lights from the ceiling. LOL. Thanks.

 

[carey]

I'm running the orbit led light over my 40b right now. It is only 17 inches tall though. I am keeping all sorts of soft corals, some LPS and just picked up my first SPS. Now , I have only been using this fixture for a couple of weeks so I cannot attest to the long term results on this but so far it is working very well. I even had to turn it to the coral acclimation setting as I was burning a stunner chalice with it, which is 60% intensity. I think I have a couple things in my favor using this light though, such as:
The depth is only 17 inches first and foremost. Not sure if the extra 3 inches would make a huge difference.
I purchased the 36-48" fixture, not the 24-36" which gives me more leds' and better coverage. You would need the 48-60" version in my opinion to maximize the light
The only thing that gives me pause though is that you mentioned anemones. I am not sure if the light can handle them. I dont currently have any in the tank or clams.

For the price of the orbit in the 49-60" range I think you might be better off getting 2 of the tao, the chines led panels from amazon or ebay. About $200 or so and you can keep anything your heart desires. No bells and whistles though. Just a dimming knob and thats it. lol

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Ok. Yeah the clam is what I was worried about. Thanks for the advise. I will check into those. Is there a way to use them without hanging them from the ceiling? I really want to avoid hanging anything if possible. The wife will not be happy with me hanging lights from the ceiling. LOL. Thanks.

Most people use bent conduit that they attach to the stand. I believe Mr_X shows how he did this in his build thread in the member tanks section

 

[donniea1800]

Thanks Carey. Yeah I was definitely going to get the 48-60" unit if I was going to try it. Yeah I doubt the extra 3 inches would make a huge difference, but I will have to think about that. The only thing I am worried about is the clam, as the anemone is a rock flower which are far less light demanding of any other anemones. He even liks to be under a ledge in my tank now. I know deresa's are not as demanding as others but I am still not sure. I will look into the taotronics also. I wonder with my cheap T5 unit with single reflector now if I am even getting that much light now than I would with the Current USA setup?

 

[carey]

I think the current orbit would be a step up from the t5's but not as high light as the tao units. Led's are kinda different than the t5's so its almost impossible to really gauge the difference without a par meter.
I'm really liking the orbit for now, like I said it actually burned a coral I had so I know it has some punch, but how much I dont know.
I'd say I need another month or two of using the orbit before I can make a solid reccomendation.

I am thinking of adding an anemone, a rbta and maybe even trying a clam one day again. But the tank is too new for those things as of now.
Let us know what you go with, I;d be curious to see how they work out for you if you go that route

 

[1saltyjoker]

Anyone have experience with max spec razor 420 160watt led

 

[mr_X]

I would wait and see how the SPS frag does in Carey's tank. If it stays colorful and grows, you will be fine with the Orbit...even for the clam. I'm using the Tao-like fixtures and I don't even have them turned up all the way, and keep clams and SPS on the sand bed (21" deep tank).

 

[donniea1800]

That sounds like a good idea. Carey please keep in touch and let me know how your SPS frag does under the Orbit. Thanks.

 

[donniea1800]

Hey I found another one that I had missed before. Does anyone have any experience with the Aquaticlife Edge LED fixture? Looks like it has more watts than the Orbitz fixture as they are .5 watts instead of .25. Looks promising.

LED Aquarium Lighting | Aquatic Life EDGE LED Fixtures

 

[mr_X]

It seems to be a little bit stronger...the 48" orbit is 46 watts, the AL edge is 72 watts. Still, penetration is the issue. How deep will it deliver enough PAR? Not too long ago most manufacturers were using 1 watt LEDs for their reef fixture, but went to stronger LEDs because the 1's weren't reaching deep enough. 20" of height with a sand bed and corals placed accordingly may work though. Just my 2 cents. I have never tried it.

 

[Redwolf91]

Don't know that you're thinking of spending, but they have some very nice units for what I thought to be very good pricing on reefbreeders. Might be worth a look for you.

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