LED reef lighting

[Dbrown4u]

Anyone know any good websites besides eBay where I can find inexpensive lights for my aquarium?

 

[Deckape]

Check Catalina Lights. They have nice ones for a good price

 

[Dbrown4u]

Okay cool, thanks

 

[Wezer89]

If you want to go DIY with the LEDs, check out rapidled dot com. They are highly recommended from the reviews I have read and that's where I am picking up my LEDs from.

 

[mr_X]

there is no such thing as inexpensive LED lighting that can support corals. you are going to spend about 400+ per 2 feet, minimum.

 

[gljvd]

[double post

sorry about that

 

[gljvd]

OCReef 60 Watt CREE Silo High Power Aquarium LED Light Fixture

These are good.

However Cree has new XM-L lights that are more efficent and brighter than the XP-G and XP-E

DIY yourself is def the way to go.

I'd also go XM-L instead of of the XP-G or XP-E

Take a look at this

What this shows you is

XM-L 3.3V for 900L at 2.9amps
XP-G 3.52V for 450L at 1.4amps
XR-E 3.7V for 225L at 1amp

The XM-Ls use less power to produce the same light and you can use fewer power supplys for the same amount of lights with the newer bulbs saving you money else where.

Of course the oldest XR-E bulbs are just over $6 while the XM-L is just over $11 but you need less XM-Ls

If you build your own your going to want cool white and Neutral white. I can't find the Royal blue ones for sale anywhere at the moment so you would most likely go with an older XP-G or XR-E verison.

I'm looking at a 30l or 40 gallon tank for my build in sept.

I'm thinking about 32 LED's

8 Cool White XM-L
4 Neutral White XM-L
20 Royal Blue XR-E

those with 70 or a 100 degree optics
I was going to also go with two Mean Well dimmable drivers

I'm on the fence about a few moon lights.


If your going to build one i sugest drilling holes in your heat sink so you can screw the lights in. That way in the future you can replace the Royal Blue XR-E with XM-L or something more advanced when they come out.

The goal is to get power down as much as possible and give your tank a great look.

 

[TLTGF]

In a recent post by "GregCoyote" "I agree that there are many bad units out there. Some are not even wired right. But the technology is brain dead simple from an electronic point of view. There are bargains out there, and those are what I am using because I am basically cheap. I researched it a lot and found a supplier that I am happy with...so far. I have gone for many, many 1 watt LEDs, rather than fewer higher powered parts. Dary has a more sophisticated fixture than mine are, so I guess it was a bit higher in price. I hope Dary has a good experience as well. Anyone using these should post their experiences with both good and bad units, as well as how a broad selection of corals respond. They decrease in price every year, so soon, they will be the predominant light source just from an economy/environmental impact. MH and T5 isn't going anywhere, but for many they are too much expense and trouble."

Point - Greg may be able to point you into another "Cheap" alternative.

 

[gljvd]

I dunno if he can DIY it a 80 g tank done properly needs most likely 50/54 LEDs or less

30RB at $7 each = $210
16CW at $11 = $176
8NW at $11 each = $88
heatsink $50
Dimmers/power supplys $110

Total $634

Now if he wants to save money he can use all the XP-E @ $7 each .

$378
$50
$110

Total $538

It depends on his tank. I could go 24 on my 30L and be really fine with them dimmed alot. He could most likely get away with 40 or so.

for me 8@11 = $88 and 16@7 is $112. Heat sink $20 and dimable power supplys $60 so i'd spend $280 and get something much better than anything in that price range most likely up to the $500 price range.

I'd love to see links to something better and cheaper

 

[rdnelson99]

As an electrical contractor I know a bit about lighting however, it is for occupied spaces not aquariums. Not having had a chance to research the needs of corals I can't evaluate the different types of LED available. Having said that, I received an e-mail yesterday for a manufacturer promoting their LED lighting and I saw something I thought was very cool that could maybe be adapted to aquarium lighting. If any of you are experts I would love for you to take a look at this and tell my what you think.

LEDwaves.com | LED Light Bars | Multicolor LEDs | iGlo LED Set (RGB Light Strip with Wi-Fi Controller Unit)

 

[Dbrown4u]

Thank for all the help guys I'm still not sure what I'm gonna get but at least I have possibilities, those xm-l's look like the way to go if I just save up for them and who knows, by the time I have the money, they may come out with some more advanced lol

 

[gljvd]

Thank for all the help guys I'm still not sure what I'm gonna get but at least I have possibilities, those xm-l's look like the way to go if I just save up for them and who knows, by the time I have the money, they may come out with some more advanced lol

Well remember the XM-Ls are only for the whites , you need the XR-Es for the RB.

What size is your tank.

 

[Dbrown4u]

Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up for me lol I was thinking 40-45 xm-l's for blue and white

 

[gljvd]

Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up for me lol I was thinking 40-45 xm-l's for blue and white

they don't have blue ones yet.

I'd say

26 royal blue XP-E
8 cool white XM-L
4 netrual white XM-L

Remember each set of lights requires its own dimmer power supply

 

[carey]

Wow, I've been following this and I am lost already. You guys are soo good at this stuff.....LOL

 

[gljvd]

Wow, I've been following this and I am lost already. You guys are soo good at this stuff.....LOL

I've been reading up on it for the last week.

I think its simple

Right now Cree's put out the most light per voltage. The XP-E is their oldest LED and its a 3watt nothing else on the market currently comes close to that . However Cree has put out the XM-L series which is a leap above the XP-E

1 cree light will put out the same Par as up to 8 leds from other manufacturers.

The benifit of led is how long they last and how little power they use compared to other bulbs

 

[carey]

I know the benefits of the led's just not all this cree stuff. I get the par too just not sure how it all ties in. For instance I have a cree par38 bulb that I use for my pico, it has 3watt leds, five of them. So 15 watts total, BUT I dont get how that matters. lol

You are talking to a total led noob. lol I'm asking cause I intend on going leds with my new build so I've been following alot of the threads on it but it all seems like japanese to me hehe

 

[Dbrown4u]

Haha carey I'm learning as I go thanks to people on here(including you lol) and since I have to get dimmers for each set, could I get just the cool whites instead of cool and neutrals? And I didn't see you ask the tank size before, it's an 80g

 

[FishEggs]

I was just recently at a commercial trades show and ran across a lighting mfr that is making led street lights and high bay lighting. The sales rep said that they use Cree leds in their fixtures. I'm thinking that if it's good enough for street lights and other commercial fixtures that have to last long and stand the test of time and extreme weather, i would want to use those leds in my light setup.

 

[rdnelson99]

I was just recently at a commercial trades show and ran across a lighting mfr that is making led street lights and high bay lighting. The sales rep said that they use Cree leds in their fixtures. I'm thinking that if it's good enough for street lights and other commercial fixtures that have to last long and stand the test of time and extreme weather, i would want to use those leds in my light setup.

As an electrical contractor, we are using them more and more. We would use them for everything except the customer doesn't want to pay for them. LOL Which manufacturer was it? Just curious. I have a good size order coming up for a project and maybe I can get them to throw some LEDs in as an insentive. LOL