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Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.
- Thread starter Jess1ca
- Start date
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JonathanG
Aquarium Advice Activist
The controller may not be necessary for coral but i think having the ability to ramp up and down with the lights makes things more realistic for the fish and gives them a more lifelike home. That being said the reef breeders controller has some quirks but works well enough to be worth it IMO.
Jmkb02
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2012
- Messages
- 947
I went with topledseller, very fast shipping got my units in four days, $120 a unit dimmable, and the lights are better than the first set I purchased. Iittle things too like angled power supply and labeled dimmer knobs. Just awesome in every aspect
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I haven't had any problems with any fish the entire time I have been in the hobby, and have never had any sort of dimming controller on any lighting. Have you seen a jump in fish health since you are using a controller? What were they doing before you got the controller?
JonathanG
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have not been in the saltwater hobby long enough to offer conclusive proof that a dimmer is beneficial for fish health, I'm only offering my observations as to my fishs behavior as the lights ramp down. I also have never had lights that did not dim on my salt water tank. I can say on my fresh tank that I do not have a controller and when I switch from the whites and blues to blues only many of the fish dart around I assume due to the sudden change.
As I said in my previous post this is just my opinion based on my limited experience and observations. Since we all try to re-create as realistic a re-creation of the natural habitat as we can I chose to use dimmable lights to help with that.
As I said in my previous post this is just my opinion based on my limited experience and observations. Since we all try to re-create as realistic a re-creation of the natural habitat as we can I chose to use dimmable lights to help with that.
Jmkb02
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2012
- Messages
- 947
Mine did at first too,, but they chill now. Just keep cruising around
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
They are nice, but not on the "essential" list. My fish do fine for over 20 years without a dimmer. No jumping. In fact their internal clocks are so good, most of the fish are holed up 5 minutes before the main lights go out.
Robert_ellis
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2012
- Messages
- 230
Quick question. How close or different is the royal blue compared to the standard blue led chips. More specifically the xp-e cree chip.
Jack22
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
- Messages
- 78
Does anyone know if the Taotronics LEDs are compatible withe the Apex Controller?
Reefer4eva
Aquarium Advice Activist
As far as I know they do not.i think that was the main reason I upgraded to the evergrow it2040(which isn't compatible either)I just like the fact that its programmable so there isn't any use to hook it up to a controller.and I'm not knocking the taotronics or similar d120 models just really like this unit and its full spectrum!
manbeast
Aquarium Advice FINatic
There are at least two different Tao units that I've seen on amazon with built in controllers, I recently picked up the less expensive ones and have had them @ a week so far and all my corals (with the exception of a couple Duncans) are loving them
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
The Taos do not interface with controllers, unless you use an interface that can turn the knobs. There is a Chinese led panel that does, but Taos doesn't distribute them to my knowledge. RapidLED has a Onyx fixture that is full spectrum and does interface to controllers. It's just over $300 though.
aquandrew
Aquarium Advice Addict
hey Gregcoyote have you heard anything about these lights?
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/36--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
im setting up a 20 gallon reef and would like to keep more than just lps and sps. it is a 20 high would i be better off getting the dimmable chinese led that I've heard mentioned on here quite a few times
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/36--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
im setting up a 20 gallon reef and would like to keep more than just lps and sps. it is a 20 high would i be better off getting the dimmable chinese led that I've heard mentioned on here quite a few times
manbeast
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Model #'s are TT-AL12 and TT-AL16
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
These kits use Bridgelux 3 watt LED's which is what's in the dimmable $129 Taotronics unit I believe. I love DIY, but is it worth $30 to build it yourself? One advantage is you could add a few red and green LED's to warm up the spectrum, but that's only for looks, the coral doesn't care.
Your question stated you wanted to keep stuff more than LPS and SPS? They are about as hard as it gets on lighting, so I would guess a dimmable led fixture would suit you fine.
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aquandrew
Aquarium Advice Addict
hmm I'm going to have to think on it. either way i wouldn't be able hang the taos on the ceiling, they would have to be wall mounted. so I'm thinking of building a sleek looking shelf with the diy ones. do you think the light would be more spread out with the diy?
Stlrockguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
Do taotronics have to be hung. I have mine sitting on the top of my canopy. They sit about a foot from the surface of the water
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
As long as they are venting properly and not getting wet, they don't care.
Stlrockguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok thanks. I figured it was fine but thought it would be wise to double check
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
The spread of the light is controlled by the type of lenses you put on the emitters. A 90 degree lens will allow more spread for the height, but a 60 degree lens focus's more light to the sand bed. With no lens the emitters spread the light to about 180 degrees, wasting much of the emitters energy.
