Hi,
I'm planing a 240 long cichlid tank build. My last tank was a custom built 70'ish gallon 20 yeas ago, so I've been away from the hobby for a long time!
I'm still in the planning/pricing stage. The wife agreed to having a fish tank, but wants to know the total cost before the final OK. I think I've got everything figured out from reading the forums and talking to my LFS. But the one thing that I'm still unsure of, is lighting.
The tank is going to be 8' x 2' x 2'. I'd like to use LED lighting for the tank. I've seen a lot of conflicting information about how much wattage to use. Anywhere from 1 to 10 watts or more per gallon. Now that's quite a range. I understand that not all LED's are created equal, and its my preference as to how I like things to look, but I'm still lost as what to get!!!
With the 1 to 10 watt range, it can cost anywhere from $300 to over a $1000 to light the tank. While I'd like to stay on the cheap side, I'd also like something that would look good. I'm even not opposed to doing something DIY if it means cheaper
So, if you have a 240 gallon tank, or something similar in size, what lights did you go with? Is there something I should stay away from?
Anyone tried the full spectrum 165W dimmable LED lights from ebay? They're 55 x 3W LED's per fixture, and 4 of those go for $448. Is that an overkill?
Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe
I'm planing a 240 long cichlid tank build. My last tank was a custom built 70'ish gallon 20 yeas ago, so I've been away from the hobby for a long time!
I'm still in the planning/pricing stage. The wife agreed to having a fish tank, but wants to know the total cost before the final OK. I think I've got everything figured out from reading the forums and talking to my LFS. But the one thing that I'm still unsure of, is lighting.
The tank is going to be 8' x 2' x 2'. I'd like to use LED lighting for the tank. I've seen a lot of conflicting information about how much wattage to use. Anywhere from 1 to 10 watts or more per gallon. Now that's quite a range. I understand that not all LED's are created equal, and its my preference as to how I like things to look, but I'm still lost as what to get!!!
With the 1 to 10 watt range, it can cost anywhere from $300 to over a $1000 to light the tank. While I'd like to stay on the cheap side, I'd also like something that would look good. I'm even not opposed to doing something DIY if it means cheaper
So, if you have a 240 gallon tank, or something similar in size, what lights did you go with? Is there something I should stay away from?
Anyone tried the full spectrum 165W dimmable LED lights from ebay? They're 55 x 3W LED's per fixture, and 4 of those go for $448. Is that an overkill?
Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe
