Jetmech2000
Aquarium Advice Regular
Does anyone have LED lighting On a reef tank? If so, does it work good, do your corals grow, and what type of LED's do you use?
Limpits Reef said:I have been using LEDs on 2 of my tanks for a few months now and am very happy with both color and coral growth. My electric use is also down which is always a good thing.
I am using the Evolution LED fixtures and also I have built a 80 LED 3 watt DIY fixture for another of my tanks.What brand are u using
Mine will be made from board with the pots built in, and the boards have PWM inputs so I can hook up an Arduino and program dimming cycles, etc. Same control as you described above, I just have to do the programming myself (which I look forward to, plus much of it is on RC already) and I won't have huge unnecessary heat sinks (just adequate ones) and it will cost about 1/3 to 1/2 as much, easily
Building your own LED fixture is not for everyone but I have to disagree about all the R&D that goes into a manufacturers built fixture because there are a lot of crappy pre-built fixtures out there. With a little planning and research you can build your own LED fixture that will blow any pre-made unit out of the water as far as par readings are concerned. 60-70 degree optics are the way to go if you have a deeper tank otherwise most people do not use any optics on the 3 watt Cree's.
As far as how the DIY units look, if your worried about aesthetics find yourself someone who is good with sheet metal and have them bend you up a case to house your light and get it powder coated.
Next LED unit I build I will take pics and post a step by step on the build if I have the time.