how many watts for my tank?

[Captain Nemo]

So I am looking into LED's and possibly a DIY version, but I dont know how many watts I need or how many LED's I would need. My tank is 24" deep and 18" wide and 15" deep. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Also if you guys want to make suggestions of how I should do it or which I should use please do! thanks!

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Captain Nemo

Ignore LED Watts... Some 3 Watt LED are over 50% brighter than others then you have optics to consider...

For the latest Cree LEDs you would need between 30 and 50 LEDs...

That said more specifics are needed like type of corals and desired mounting height would help.

Bill

 

[Captain Nemo]

I want to keep all kinds. Right now I have a 250 MH about 10 inches off the water. I would really like to raise it up, so maybe 14-18in off the water? I have some SPS, LPS and Zoas. So I keep a variety. Thanks!

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I want to keep all kinds. Right now I have a 250 MH about 10 inches off the water. I would really like to raise it up, so maybe 14-18in off the water? I have some SPS, LPS and Zoas. So I keep a variety. Thanks!

10" is a problem we recently addressed not with an optic but with a new carclo reflector.

If you can go 18" the Carclo Ripple Wide or other quality optic would be perfect and 45 XP LEDs with this on an 18" heatsink will give you the same or better PAR than a 250 watt MH

Bill

 

[Captain Nemo]

awesome thank you Bill!!

 

[Amy0824]

your tank size is important, also choosing how many watts for your tank will be influenced by what you grow in your tank....
hope it will be helpful...
pls choose the suitable par value for your tank, this is a very important factor need to be taken into consideration....

 

[stiddley]

so by my calculations were looking at a 29 gallon tank correct? If thats the case then you wont need more than 60-72 "led" watts, there are leds from *********.com that are 325 bucks i think...if youre looking for more controllability then do an diy project with 2-3 drivers and an reefkeeper controller to do a setup similar to that of an ai sol...reefledlights.com has the perfect setups for diy'ers... For the price of a radion you can have a light that runs, fits, progams better than them also...definitely talk to Bill if thats what you are you looking to do, the kits are easy and so is putting one together yourself

 

[ca2or]

I am using Reefstar LED unit....brand new it's under $400 and it dominates my 250. Highly recommended. I would toss this over my 60 cube in a heart beat....24x24x24. My current tank is 24 deep and trust me when I say the power of the light at the sand is amazing.

OH...and my light hangs about 8 inches off the surface.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I am using Reefstar LED unit....brand new it's under $400 and it dominates my 250. Highly recommended. I would toss this over my 60 cube in a heart beat....24x24x24. My current tank is 24 deep and trust me when I say the power of the light at the sand is amazing.

OH...and my light hangs about 8 inches off the surface.

Can you toss us some PAR Measurements. They mentioned them in the you tube but caveat emptor. Most of the fixtures in this class work quite well provided there is little customer support and the intention is no more than 3-5 years.

I Googled them and got a broken English you tube description of a typical import using a rubicon driver... Caesar would be disappointed if his crossing was remembered by this LED Driver...

REEFSTAR LED LIGHTING - YouTube

Bill

 

[Captain Nemo]

Sorry guys, I mistyped earlier when I was giving the size of my tank. Its 24"wide, and its roughly 60g. Also it is 24 deep. LOL I must have been having a bad day with the computer.....