LED

[Triggersgalore]

ok this is probably a stupid question but my buddy gets regular LED lights wholesale (not aquarium lights) I have a 250 gallon FOWLR and I really wanna do a reef but lighting is sooo expensive so I was wondering if these lights would work. Any help would be great thanks.

 

[TommyP]

What type of lights are they ? How many watts are each LED? What are the optics, brand etc.

Ebay has great LEDs that are affordable. I got 2 units (120W dimmable white/blue 3w cree 120* optics) for less than $300.

 

[Triggersgalore]

1 watt white and blue but I have about 200 of them on the tank.

 

[AquaRick]

1 watt LEDs aren't going to cut it for a reef.....regardless of how many you have. Check out the taotronics LEDs if your looking for a good deal. There's a long thread about those fixtures here on AA.

 

[Mebbid]

1 watt white and blue but I have about 200 of them on the tank.

it COULD work but unless there are some lenses on the leds that you plan on using you will lose a lot of light from it being unfocused. I would suggest using higher powered LEDs with lenses attached. I was looking at getting 2 Dimmable 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Fish Tank White Blue LED Light Black US | eBay myself. They also have a single fixture version for $150.

 

[Triggersgalore]

Ya screw it I'm just gonna spend the money and do it the right way! Haha thanks for the help.

 

[Gregcoyote]

1 watt LEDs aren't going to cut it for a reef.....regardless of how many you have. Check out the taotronics LEDs if your looking for a good deal. There's a long thread about those fixtures here on AA.

I tested PAR on a 120 watt Chinese fixture using 120 1watt emitters and another panel with 60 2watt emitters. I got the same PAR readings at 12". Number of emitters doesn't matter as much as the make of them. Some, like Cree are more efficient, so my Cree equipt 90 watt fixture puts out as much if not a bit more PAR than my 120 watt Chinese fixtures that uses Bridgelux parts.

I'm just saying I grew a lot of coral under the old 1watt per led fixtures.

 

[Triggersgalore]

Ok cool thank you that helps a lot.