LED set up on 29 gal

[Pony of the Sea]

Im setting up a new 29 gal tank and thinking of switching from t5s to LEDs.

I already have a 12 inch Ecoxotic blue LED strip which i used with the t5.

Im looking at the Ecoxotic brand LED strips since i already have one.

My question is how many 24 inch strips are needed to cover a 29 ( its 30 in. long)?
I was thinking 2?

and the color was the only other thing confusing me. should i get two mixed blue/white, one white one blue, or what? Im getting confused becasue i do have a 12 inch blue strip already.

Thanks,
John

 

[Pony of the Sea]

also How would one go about hanging these or making a fixture?

I finally get the hang of t5 lingo... and here come the LEDs..

 

[Saratj1]

I would look at the ecoxotic panorama pro's if your wanting to add coral. If you just want lighting for your tank then the stunner strips will be fine. As far as the coloring goes its mostly personal preference I would go with a ratio of about 2 blue leds for every one white led. So if you get the mixed strips thats about how they are anyways if you got the solid blue or white strips I would do blue-white-blue. If you had around 5 panoramas they would be great for your tank and you could grow anything you wanted. I think they make a whole setup for around $300.

Like this, it can be found cheaper though,but this is what I would get for your tank or buy the individual panorama's one at a time to spread the expense out, or if money is not an issue just buy this fixture ready to go and be done with it.
Ecoxotic Panorama Pro LED Light Fixture

 

[Predator]

I had the same problem deciding what kind of led fixture to buy. I first bought the marine life led, they lit the tank nicely but I found out they didn't do well with corals. So with some research I found orphec LEDs, I have two of the fixtures hanging over my 90 gal tank. They work amazing and my corals love it. Check out my pics in my profile they light my tank nicely. They are more money than your more common led system, but you get what you pay for. I would recommend researching them and read other peoples reviews, but check out Orphec LEDs.

 

[Pony of the Sea]

are the stunner strips not bright enough to grow corals? are there any differences in the LEDs used in the strips compared to the fixtures?
I know that some of the lower end LEDs are about 1W each, the better ones are 3W.
The different wattage is really whats confusing me

i would be keeping mostly softies but would like to experiment with some of the easier hard corals

i liked the idea of the strips because marinedepot has them for $70

 

[Saratj1]

Stunner strip LEDs are about 0.3w each, the panorama pros LEDs are about 1w each.

The stunners are not really powerful enough for corals IMO. For softies or mushrooms they may be alright but for sps or other light demanding coral I would go with the panorama pros.

 

[Pony of the Sea]

So i found a led fixture thats in my budget. Ive never heard of the brand but im no expert.

Its by Aquarium LEDs? 120 WATT AQUARIUM LED 14K 3 WATT LEDS

the thing i like about this is that they use 3W LEDs which i know are better than the 1W LEDs.

120 Watt Aquarium LED 14K 3 Watt LEDs 1:1 Ratio LEDs 120W

they also have the same fixture in 20K instead of 14K

Any thoughts?

 

[Saratj1]

This is a variation of the taotronics led, if I was going this route I would get the dimmable model.

Here's an example:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=280933302981&index=3&nav=SEARCH&nid=37920377868

 

[Pony of the Sea]

thanks alot! i was looking for dimmable but eventually gave up

i think i will be ordering that light today.

Thanks again

 

[Saratj1]

I bought this model for my little sister a couple months ago, she loves it. It's hard to beat for the money. With it being dimmable you can custom tune how blue or white you like your tank, also it uses 3w LEDs but only runs them at 2w so maybe they will last much longer. I am setting up a 135g reef tank and I am debating on using these or building my own. I think I'm just going to use the taotronics because I can't really build an equivalent fixture myself for the taotronics price. Good luck, post up a pic and maybe a short review when you get it up and going.

 

[danbstrong]

I bought this model for my little sister a couple months ago, she loves it. It's hard to beat for the money. With it being dimmable you can custom tune how blue or white you like your tank, also it uses 3w LEDs but only runs them at 2w so maybe they will last much longer. I am setting up a 135g reef tank and I am debating on using these or building my own. I think I'm just going to use the taotronics because I can't really build an equivalent fixture myself for the taotronics price. Good luck, post up a pic and maybe a short review when you get it up and going.

For leds id reccommend 120° lenses over the 90° the light will cover more area and not be so consentrated in one area i know of a couple people who went with 90° and were melting coral on the sand