Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.

[mr_X]

it's usually every few weeks he raises the prices double...then they go back to normal..bizarre sales tactics IMO. You could send him a message and tell him you will buy them if he sends you an auction with the lower price.

 

[mr_X]

Here's one with 90 degree optics for 112.65...
120W LED Aquarium Light Dimmable Reef Coral Blue White LED Fish Tank Marine Lamp | eBay

 

[jjh302]

Here's one with 90 degree optics for 112.65...
120W LED Aquarium Light Dimmable Reef Coral Blue White LED Fish Tank Marine Lamp | eBay

I will message him. But if he won't, are these the same light fixture? Same optics and output and such?

 

[mr_X]

The ones I have and the ones you posted have 120 degree optics. This fixture is basically the same but has 90 degree, which will direct the light downward more. it will be more potent, but not have as large a spread.

 

[guysipe]

guy

Just check out the new satillite plus series shown at this years market. Looks fairly good and resonable for staying in a budget.

 

[mr_X]

Just check out the new satillite plus series shown at this years market. Looks fairly good and resonable for staying in a budget.

That's no good for photosynthetic creatures. It's just for looks.

 

[jjh302]

I was just going to say it looks like they are only for freshwater unfortunately.

 

[jjh302]

That's no good for photosynthetic creatures. It's just for looks.

Do you have your lights inside a canopy or free hanging?? If few hanging how high off of the water surface do you have them? I have a 92 corner tank so I don't have a canopy yet. I'm looking for a good set of DIY plans.

 

[mr_X]

11" away from the water-

I have them screwed into the ceiling with a couple eye hooks.

 

[mr_X]

I fastened the 2 fixtures together with a piece of aluminum L channel from home depot. i used the existing screws in the fixture and just drilled holes in the L channel to match-

 

[dragonfisher33]

i'm so glad i bought one of the full spectrum LED and i can see the changes in my tank creatures in less than 2 weeks!!!!!

1) my GBTA and 2 RBTA (who never had bubbles on their tentacles) are slowly bubbling up (i know people have different theory about why some bubbles and some don't but as far as my tank goes, the only changed was the quad T5HO to this LED)

2) colors are off the chart and i'm still acclimating my corals and nems. can't wait till i go 100% blue and 75% white.

3) definitely less evaporation->less ATO->salt lasting longer

 

[JJ-MIK]

I have a question.. It's probably a simple answer... What's the difference between led and mh when it comes to running them . My thought is. Why do you accent blue with mh.. And with led. You accent white? 50% white to 100% blue.. If I turn of my blues. The tank is very dimly lit.. Just wondering..

 

[manbeast]

It's mainly the blue that promotes photosynthesis in the corals as that is the spectrum that they are typically exposed to at depth in the ocean, the whites are mostly for us as that's what our eyes are used to, however in a closed environment the whites will still have an effect on the corals, so going with the higher blue to white ratio is to give the corals more of the spectrum that they need to grow and flourish while adding in enough white to make the overall appearance pleasing to our eyes but not so much that the total amount of light is overwhelming to the zooxanthellae in the corals or promotes too much algae growth, at least this is my current understanding

 

[JJ-MIK]

Understandable.. Than what makes mh most popular, prior to led? Does the mh cover just as much blue spectrum as the LEDs? I've only ever owned LEDs on my tank. Never had mh. I love the look of it. Just sometimes seems too blue. I run 50 % white 85-100 blue. Lights are 12" off water surface

 

[manbeast]

I've never used MH lights and with LEDs being easily available and proven effective I see no current attraction to them, as far as why they were the prevailing tech in the past, they got the job done better than anything else available at that time

 

[jeffaquarius]

By comparing them MH requires much more power than LED to attain the same amount of PUR. MH is less efficient and radiates light at 360 deg while LED is unidirectional and can be zoomed in with low angle lenses to penetrate deeper. MH is full spectrum so it does waste a lot of light energy while LED uses only the right frequency or color (blue) with some whites to please our eyes. For those with MH and add blue LEDs, I believe they use the LEDs for moonlight. Otherwise, it is just aesthetic to have more blues.

 

[mr_X]

I have a question.. It's probably a simple answer... What's the difference between led and mh when it comes to running them . My thought is. Why do you accent blue with mh.. And with led. You accent white? 50% white to 100% blue.. If I turn of my blues. The tank is very dimly lit.. Just wondering..

The metal halides that don't really need blue supplement are the ones with a color temp upwards of 20k. These far bluer lamps have a lot less PAR than the lower K, so what people do is use a lamp that is 10-14k, which give much higher PAR, and then accent with blue lamps to make the tank more pleasing to the eye. Otherwise the tank and corals are going to look bright, but dull.
LEDs, being much more efficient, can deliver an amazing amount of PAR with blue lamps, but you don't want the tank looking solid blue, or it won't be aesthetically pleasing either, so we have to throw in some white to offset it, and give a more natural look.

By comparing them MH requires much more power than LED to attain the same amount of PUR. MH is less efficient and radiates light at 360 deg while LED is unidirectional and can be zoomed in with low angle lenses to penetrate deeper. MH is full spectrum so it does waste a lot of light energy while LED uses only the right frequency or color (blue) with some whites to please our eyes. For those with MH and add blue LEDs, I believe they use the LEDs for moonlight. Otherwise, it is just aesthetic to have more blues.

Well said. And don't forget the totally undesirable by product of halides- heat. So much heat that touching a warmed up lamp can burn the skin right off your hand.

 

[JJ-MIK]

I have turned my LED whites down and have noticed a huge difference in coloration on my sps' don't look near as bright as I want.. But corals love it!

 

[mwilliams]

Does anyone know if Tao Tronics makes a nano led light fixture like Reef Breeders nano light fixture.

 

[dezso]

Update, one year gone, all 5 fixture runs perfectly fine, some rust start to develop on some of the screw heads but the powder coated buddy rust free. Opened up one of them yesterday to clean the fans and check how is everything inside, so far looks great, no burn marks, melted parts or rust/corrosion inside

My corals love it, RRBT love it.
Running the whites on the timer / 5min at 50%, 5min at 1-2%/ and running all channel ~50% probably save me some $$ on electricity bill to compare to the 400w MH or the 8bulb TEK.

This is a iPhone photo so color accuracy out the question, some of the spectrum not visible for the human eye but iP5 go crazy about it.