Led Lights?

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Pjones0221

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Oct 22, 2014
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I have a 180 gallon tank which currently has 6 marineland led lights set up.

Features
Marinelands revolutionary LED lighting systems
6000K one watt white and 60mW blue LED lighting system
17000-Hour of rated life

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1415310052.180168.jpg

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1415310078.290139.jpg


Although they look pretty good, I don't think they provide the amount of light needed to produce the tank I am looking for.

I really like the LEDs and was wondering what other LEDs are out there that would be good for a full blown reef tank, housing all types of fish and corals.

Or would I need to switch lighting options completely?

I also do not have a tank controller yet, so I would need something I can control on the fixture (dimming, timer would be excellent allowing for the lights to go through the day process dawn day dusk.)

Are they out there or would I need a controller first?

I just everything to be healthy and happy.



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You can do this for around 300 dollars and up, depending on what sort of options you are wanting. I have been using these-
Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W Coral Reef Tank White Blue Grow 55x3 Watt | eBay
for a few years with good results. You can grow whatever you want for a cheap price, but al they can do is manually dim. You'll need a pair of basic timers from walmart, but that's it.
There are plenty of fixtures out there that will suit your needs, but these are the cheapest by far.
 
@mr_X do you have a picture of your tank?

And how many would I need for a 6 foot tank?


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They generally cover 2' per unit but depending on what you want to keep 2 units would probably work for softies and lps, if you want sps I'd get 3
 
I was thinking about getting the Ecotech radion pros... Anyone use them?


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Radions are great. The only downfall is the price. I run two of the gen 2 Radions above my 55 reef along with two mp40's all tied together through the reeflink. All really great products...if you want to spend that much on them.
A general word to the wise, these as well as the other LEDs that can support the requirements of the photosynthetic creatures we keep that need high intensity lighting are strong...very strong. LEDs penetrate water much better than bulbed units, and this isn't something we can really tell by just looking at it. I had a discussion with Ecotech about a month ago, as generally the color of my coral isn't that vibrant and it is hard to get new coral acclimated to the tank. I was informed that the max that they suggest running these units at is in the 50-60% range! Most of us run them at much higher...and I didn't even know.
 
That's outrageous! Lol

What's the best lighting source to use then? For coral growth and color?


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I think LEDs are the best the market can offer. You've basically seen the entire price range of units. It starts at the taotronics and ends at Radions.
 
You can do this for around 300 dollars and up, depending on what sort of options you are wanting. I have been using these-
Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W Coral Reef Tank White Blue Grow 55x3 Watt | eBay
for a few years with good results. You can grow whatever you want for a cheap price, but al they can do is manually dim. You'll need a pair of basic timers from walmart, but that's it.
There are plenty of fixtures out there that will suit your needs, but these are the cheapest by far.

Do they make these where I can make it fit a 36 inch tank?
Like an 18inch model?
 
Do they make these where I can make it fit a 36 inch tank?

Like an 18inch model?


Nope, only the one size. You could probably get away with one unit if you raise it a little higher than normal and don't mind a couple inches on the sides that would be low par areas (good place for some shrooms or other softies),or go with 2
 
Nope, only the one size. You could probably get away with one unit if you raise it a little higher than normal and don't mind a couple inches on the sides that would be low par areas (good place for some shrooms or other softies),or go with 2


Oh really? They are that strong?
That would be perfect!


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I think LEDs are the best the market can offer. You've basically seen the entire price range of units. It starts at the taotronics and ends at Radions.


Does anyone know anything about these?

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1415419824.705798.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1415419834.650169.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1415419843.837665.jpg


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Yeah $600 is a huge amount :/


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Aqua Illuminations makes a good product. It's all about what you want to spend though. AI SOL Blue, Ecotech Radion, Hydra, Maxspect Razor...the list goes on. I prefer spending more on livestock than tank bling.
My tank a while ago. I made a box out of sheet aluminum to hide the lights and block the light from hitting me in the face as I watch tv-
img_3086417_0_0e968c2f8e5b9e363837fc0a361ab199.jpg
 
FYI, I attached them together so they would stay somewhat uniform, with a piece of aluminum L channel from home depot-
img_3086421_0_e57d306e866ca3dd9cf7ea2a667f070d.jpg
 
Aqua Illuminations makes a good product. It's all about what you want to spend though. AI SOL Blue, Ecotech Radion, Hydra, Maxspect Razor...the list goes on. I prefer spending more on livestock than tank bling.
My tank a while ago. I made a box out of sheet aluminum to hide the lights and block the light from hitting me in the face as I watch tv-
img_3086440_0_0e968c2f8e5b9e363837fc0a361ab199.jpg


Those look amazing. From what I'm hearing LEDs are the future in this hobby. So just gotta pick the right ones


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Well I decided to bite the bullet and change out my terrible lights for some LEDs. My lfs was having a nice sale on Hydra52s. So I went ahead and started to buy them. Right now I have two out of the three I need, just trying to save some money for the last. Now I can really see how bad my lights were in the first place, and understand why all my corals, Nems, and even fish hated it. Since adding the new lights the corals have opened and grown, and the fish have become more lively, (both nems were returned before lights were purchased). Anyway I'll keep you all updated when I get the third but here are some pictures so far.


ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1418058871.235347.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1418058882.386548.jpg

The difference is mind boggling!


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