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

[NicoleIsStoked]

I assume they're not very heavy? Would these have enough power to keep corals in a 50gal long tank?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I assume they're not very heavy? Would these have enough power to keep corals in a 50gal long tank?

Just a few pounds. It has enough light for a 50, but probably not enough coverage unless you hung it pretty high. For hard corals you would probably want two of them.

 

[Brd.ginter]

I jus got the programmable dimmable Tao unit and I love it. Saves me from having to buy moon lights and from using 3 timers. It's more expensive but id say the best bang for your buck is Taotronics.

 

[Jake337]

I jus got the programmable dimmable Tao unit and I love it. Saves me from having to buy moon lights and from using 3 timers. It's more expensive but id say the best bang for your buck is Taotronics.

Do you use the blues as moonlights? Just dim in all the way down?

 

[bkushy]

Do you have a link to the programmable unit you purchased??

 

[somethingsfishy]

Those units are $400 a piece.

 

[Brd.ginter]

No they have 3 LEDs that jus turn on for moonlights. Yes, this unit is 400. And jus google or amazon. "Dimmable Taotronics"

 

[Token]

Still love my maxspect razors. They sold me on look alone. A far cry from most led units. Looks more slick instead of brick!

 

[Gregcoyote]

The Rapid LED computer controllable units are just over $300.

 

[Jmkb02]

Just ordered three more of the taotronics units, two for a new tank and one for a neighbor. They still impress me the packaging to the product. IMO these are still the best bang for their buck.

 

[Holygral]

Still love my maxspect razors. They sold me on look alone. A far cry from most led units. Looks more slick instead of brick!

have to agree, love mine

 

[Jack22]

This is a great thread. I don't know if this was already talked about (I only read the first 20 pages of the thread and then skipped to the end) but does anyone have the Reef breeders photon24? I know several people have mentioned how much they like the Reef Breeders LEDs and I was wondering if the built in controller works well. Also, do you think 2 photon24s would be enough to cover a 6ft tank?

 

[Jake337]

Hey everyone who has a taotronic, when hanging them how did you keep your fixture in place? Mine keeps spinning when I hold them up with the hanging kit they came with

 

[Gregcoyote]

Mine all hang from four seperate chains so I can move them up and down. If you can't hang it from screws in the ceiling, a frame could be made. Or with proper airflow, they can be mounted in a hood.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

Hey everyone who has a taotronic, when hanging them how did you keep your fixture in place? Mine keeps spinning when I hold them up with the hanging kit they came with

Mine did too. I found it had to do with the weight of the power cords. I wedged them in behind hob filter so it can't spin.

 

[Jake337]

Mine did too. I found it had to do with the weight of the power cords. I wedged them in behind hob filter so it can't spin.

Thanks Nicole! I was thinking that when I lifted them but wasn't sure. I'll have to find a way to equal out the weight of the power cords.

 

[manbeast]

Hey everyone who has a taotronic, when hanging them how did you keep your fixture in place? Mine keeps spinning when I hold them up with the hanging kit they came with

I just hung two over my 65gal today, what I did was put two planter hooks in the ceiling set three feet apart to match the width of the tank and centered between the front and back, then made a three foot rod out of a piece of copper pipe I had laying around and suspended that about 15 inches below the hooks in the ceiling with some nylon shock cord, after removing the carabiners that came with the lights, I replaced them with three key rings that are about 1 inch in diameter, two on the outside edges, each holding two of the cables from the tao's and one in the center holding two cables from each Tao unit, then i slid the pipe through the key rings and through loops i tied in the ends of the nylon cord and put rubber grommets on the ends of the pipe to keep anything from sliding off. it appears pretty solid so far and the lights don't seem to swing at all. I hope my description comes across ok

 

[mr_X]

This is a great thread. I don't know if this was already talked about (I only read the first 20 pages of the thread and then skipped to the end) but does anyone have the Reef breeders photon24? I know several people have mentioned how much they like the Reef Breeders LEDs and I was wondering if the built in controller works well. Also, do you think 2 photon24s would be enough to cover a 6ft tank?

That fixture has less LEDs than the value fixture. The only think you are picking up is the controller, which is unnecessary. No, you would need 3 of them to light a 6' tank.

 

[dmolavi]

I'm going to pick up a set of the Taotronics soon. Which eBay seller would you folks recommend?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I'm going to pick up a set of the Taotronics soon. Which eBay seller would you folks recommend?

Look for the most positive feedback.