replace old hood or add leds??

[chris96m]

JBJ 12 led ugrade questions

I have the old Jbj 12g hood that only was one 24 watt bulb(actinic). I just dont feel like that will be enough light to support corals plus it is just way too much blue lol.

Question is should I just replace the old hood and buy the new 12g dx model that comes with 2 24watts and led moonlight or just upgrade the hood i have with leds?

looking to try and conserve funds on this part of the project if possible but you cant have a beautiful nano tank without good lighting, so any suggestions appreciated.

 

[NyteGTI]

Honestly unless you get the 12DX hood for free or basically free, get the LEDs. I have the DX and LEDs are my next upgrade right now.. you can upgrade with DIY for ~ 150$ dimmable..

 

[chris96m]

what would be a good led strip to add that would fit and not cause any heat issues?

 

[NyteGTI]

Checkout ecoxotic.com
1 panaroma pro & 1 stunner strip will cover anythnig pre SPS & 1 more stunner will get you into SPS level.

 

[chris96m]

i have been looking at the ecoxotics i have came up with three choices to choose from need any help i can get making a decision.

1.-Leave the one 24 watt pc and add a panorama strip along with the pc

2. Strip out the stock pc bulb and guts and replace with one panorama strip and 2 stunner strips

3. Gut the hood and add this led kit
JBJ NANOCUBE 12 GALLON DX/LED BALLAST LED 36 WATT NANO DIY AQUARIUM LIGHT | eBay

which one of these options would be the most cost effective and able to provide the best for a reef?

 

[NyteGTI]

honestly either get the ecoxotics with stunners(& dual dimmers so you can change the color the way you want) or go with a kit from rapidLED.com that has multiple dimmers that you can plug into a controller. the manual dimmers are nice if you want the most basic version though.

 

[chris96m]

i decided to order a new replacement hood considering mine is one of the oldest jbj hoods u can find. once the new hood arrives i plan on adding a panorama strip to the stock pcs to help add some light for corals. the only reason i went with a new hood is the defects in my current hood all the hinges and brackets are broken, holes in the plastic from previous owner just thought a new hood would add to the overall appearance of the tank