Led lighting experts! Need your help!

[carey]

I need some input on possible lighting for my 180g reef.
My intention is to keep mostly soft corals and some LPS. Might add some easy SPS but can easily place them higher up if needed.
I was looking at 3 tao led panels but it might be a bit too much for my budget and I want to get lights over the tank asap.
Here is the ebay listing
It is for 8 36" led tubes, I can most likely fit an additional 2 bars if I need the extra light for the corals.

My expertise is in general saltwater and I've only used t5's and halides until now. I have a single tao led over my 60g but havent had any corals in it to see how it would work. I know I can keep anything I want with them BUT I also like the clean look of the led tubes as well as the price tag.
So, led experts, come to my aid! lol I need some help.....

8 x Reefbar Combo 3ft Aquarium LED Light Reef Bar 36" inch 36 216W Grow Coral | eBay

 

[TheTodd]

Following, as I kinda am thinking along the same lines for my 240g.

 

[dmolavi]

I'd be wary. I'm looking at the Epistar website, and don't see any 453nm blues, or *any* whites in their product line of individual LEDs (or fixtures, for that matter). They do have blues that range from 445-465nm (min/max wavelength of the LED), but none with a specific 453nm wavelength as advertised in the listing.

 

[carey]

I spoke with MrX about these and he advised they wouldnt be the way to go as they are less than 1 w each led. :-(

I am still on the hunt though! If anyone runs across anything that might work let me know please.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Max-spect razer. It's got all the good bits in it. Mean well power supply. Two dim able channels and Cree led. Available in 120w & 160w with a choice of two colour spectrums. I haven't got one yet, see this tank is really niiiiiiiiice!!!!! I think you posted on it.

Research Cree, they are the name in Led. Somewhere stateside offers DIY kits. I looked into it.

http://reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/

http://www.hero-ledstore.com/led-fixtures-sps-series-c-195_274_276.html

Both sites stateside, hope this helps.

 

[huma-huma]

i don't really see the appeal behind DIY led fixtures anymore. i understand they usually use top of the line pieces but a prebuilt name brand unit can be bought for roughly the same price. for instance, in the first link, i have a 72" long tank, so i would need the phoenix 48" ($510) plus a either an 18" or 24" secondary unit (believe it was $380 or $400). so that puts me at $800-$900 when i could just as easily spend $900-$1100 and get 2 maxspect 160w panels and be done with it. don't get me wrong, i love the flexibility and ability to change out individual diodes on the DIY kits, but for me to spend prob an hour or 2 wiring them up, hoping that nothing goes wrong and i fry the leds, its not worth it.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

i don't really see the appeal behind DIY led fixtures anymore. i understand they usually use top of the line pieces but a prebuilt name brand unit can be bought for roughly the same price. for instance, in the first link, i have a 72" long tank, so i would need the phoenix 48" ($510) plus a either an 18" or 24" secondary unit (believe it was $380 or $400). so that puts me at $800-$900 when i could just as easily spend $900-$1100 and get 2 maxspect 160w panels and be done with it. don't get me wrong, i love the flexibility and ability to change out individual diodes on the DIY kits, but for me to spend prob an hour or 2 wiring them up, hoping that nothing goes wrong and i fry the leds, its not worth it.

I'm beyond a keen DIYer I looked at that approach first, I researched the component parts, I completely agree, it is easier and cheaper to buy a unit with a guarantee.
I don't get anyone wrong, words are words and no more. Each and everyone must have an opinion and be able to air it, freedom of speech and all that! I think you can replace bulbs with maxspect units, I'm sure with the mazarra range you can get new bulbs but that system is real expensive. As for Cree led in this country, if you want to pick from a particular bin they are really quite expensive, it would be a custom order, then add the heat sink, 2 channel control switch, various screw fittings, extension posts, bulb housings, optics and the correct grade Perspex, the cables and conduits, even a pro would have a hard time building a unit of similar quality.
I did look deeply into it. My research, may have been a total waste of a few days combined hours but I know what to look for now. Meanwell are the name power supplies, Cree for the bulb. Apart from that, anything goes!

Edit- the max spect works out cheaper!

 

[huma-huma]

yeah I just don't understand. I mean I guess I do. when a business builds prob thousands of led panels, they are going to be cheaper. but still the same should be said for the diy sites. I mean for a cheaper price I get the pre-built unit, a warranty and all I have to do is hang it and plug it in. as opposed to the diy units, which I need to dedicate an hour or so of my time to building (actually more than that because I would need 2) sorting, test fitting, etc. ... only to pay MORE... ugh the struggles of the sw life.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

I would have needed to learn soldering, I started learning basic electronics, I can fit house systems but it's different to electronics, heat transfer paste etc. what are they skittles? To pre heat the led, if you were in possession of all that equipment and knew exactly what was going to happen, maybe yes. Circuit testing is simple enough but that's big bucks if you mess it up! I could manage engineering the heat sink, drilling and tapping no problem and the basic design, that's why I considered it, it's just that critical element of soldering.
I was thinking about the same thing for the refugium light too. A company has just released a bulb tailored for just that very purpose, marine reef aquarium lighting. The par 20 macro algae bulb plus holder for under £40. It's a steal!

 

[carey]

For the diy tupe people it might be the better route to go as it can be totally cusotmized. BUT I am not too handy to be quite honest, and I know when something is beyond me and will be better if I buy premade. lol

I spent days, and I mean days researching every diy option and got me the knowledge to piece together a great setup but the manpower to put it togehter is where it got to me as not being worth it.
Iguess I was just looking for an easy way out and these lights in this thread looked like t fir the bill. lol

The light panels I did get I got from the same guy I got the leds from for my 60g also someone on this forum had a warranty issue with the same seller and he honored the warranty for them so I figured it was a good bet.

 

[mr_X]

Not too many lighting companies that deal with this hobby are making thousands of units. There are a hand full of major websites out there for this hobby, and out of those websites, just a fraction are salt water, then another fraction reef, then another fraction LED. It's not a giant assembly line with hundreds of workers. It's probably a hand full of people building these things. The chinese companies that are getting into this industry are also in the general lighting industry, which is the bulk of their income. This is why you don't see GE and LG and Samsung, and all the rest getting into it.....it's just not that big. Most of these units we see aren't even built in America. They are subbed out to the lowest possible bidder....IE the Chinese.
I've looked into things a bit and if you look here:
LED Lighting, LED Lighting Products, LED Lighting Manufacturers, LED Lighting Suppliers and Exporters Directory
You can spot some of the fixtures that are out there for major money.

 

[carey]

Gotta ask X, have you every found anything worth while buying from alibaba?
I looked into them a few years ago when i was selling on ebay but there never seemed to be a "good" deal

 

[mr_X]

There are a lot of cool fixtures....you just gotta negotiate price, and be able to buy in bulk (a dozen pieces or more) to get a good deal. If you want to get into that sort of business and put your brand on fixtures, you can find something comparable to the current high line fixtures easily, if not THE current high line fixtures.
check this one out...not bad....
24inch 36inch 48inch Cree Leds Aquarium Led Lighting Aqua With Sd Card Connected To Computers Best For Coral Plant - Buy Aquarium Led,Aquarium Led Lighting 3w,Cree Aquarium Led Lighting Product on Alibaba.com

You could put your brand on it and market it as "an American company" ....

 

[Nimrodg10]

Mr_X you have asked me earlier about Samsung lights I'm looking to buy- it's white 10000k, 8w/50cm . Do you think it's strong enough?

 

[mr_X]

Can you post a link to this light? I don't see the conversation where we talked about it. Refresh my memory plz.

 

[Nimrodg10]

Aquarium LED Lighting Strip with SAMSUNG SMDs, BLUE 460nm Freshwater & Marine, 50cm b... http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GHTFDF0/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_saqOsb004YQYZ

I hope you can access this link on amazon,

 

[mr_X]

You will need quite a few of these to light the tank evenly and effectively. Try to find something with 3 watt LEDs. So, if it's a meter long strip, and the LEDs are positioned about 7cm apart, the fixture should be 40 watts or so total. I think these are a bunch of half watters or less. They don't penetrate very well. Good for supplemental light, but not to grow photosynthetic creatures.