LED Lighting

[Familyguy]

Is maken your own lights from .led strips going to work. I am on a budget and could make a set cheaper than buying a high dollor set

 

[pickupman66]

Those leds on the strips are Maybe 1/10th of a watt. No where near powerful enough. Lots of used lights out there. Ebay value fixtures for $80

 

[Familyguy]

Thanks will look into it. When I loom on ebay I don't see any used lights I will check again

 

[seanocode]

Just a suggestion, I just started my first one. So I researched for a long time on lights, and decided on tao tronics tt al16. $158 on amazon. They have timers, 90* lenses, moon lights are pretty bright, and also dimable. I just added an anemone and blastomussa so I guess I'll find out how good they are. My tank is 31" tall and don't know if they will penetrate the water enough to get to the bottom. I'm on a budget as well and for the money that's the best I came up with.

 

[nitrox36]

Just a suggestion, I just started my first one. So I researched for a long time on lights, and decided on tao tronics tt al16. $158 on amazon. They have timers, 90* lenses, moon lights are pretty bright, and also dimable. I just added an anemone and blastomussa so I guess I'll find out how good they are. My tank is 31" tall and don't know if they will penetrate the water enough to get to the bottom. I'm on a budget as well and for the money that's the best I came up with.

Please keep us updated on the conditions, and how those are working

 

[Familyguy]

I looked on. Ebay had a few nice lights. I am still thinking on ....48"T5 Quad HO light fixture made by odyssey lighting 2x54 watt HO 10000k..2x 54 watt actinc blue 4x Led blue moon lights. Also has external ballast.. anyone have throughts on this light or ever had one

 

[pickupman66]

how deep of a tank are you putting it on? that would work on a 55 or 75 possibly.

 

[Familyguy]

75gal as far as I was told. The tank is 48"long 18.5" wide 21"deep. I was told it was 70-75gal looks alot more than that. It has a Aquarium life suport systems protein skimer and a power head not sure what kind but moves the water purity good

 

[Wildman]

Sent you a pm

 

[DougieG]

I want to follow this thread also

 

[enrique]

It depends on what you want to keep in your tank. For Corals, Reef, etc get a known brand for FOWLR you can DIY. I've had 2 sets of eBay fixtures. The first one did ok but was not dim-able and started to rust in only a month of installation. The second had independent channels and dimmers for whites and moonlights but illed my coral. I hat to turn them so down that was not even nice to look into the tank and also started to rust. I have a friend that is using the tao tronics and has no problems but I would neither trust them. I have just installed a Radion Pro fixture and cant be happier. The light goes further and wider, not even to mention the flexibility on color, time and intensity. They really worth every penny. I would also look into the new AI 52's. They look gr8. I would not consider eBay stuff, get some known brand with good reviews that best suits your budget. In the end you'll save money on corals (I lost $400 in corals due to eBay fixtures), on not buying more than once and in the duration of the lights. Not to mention the costumer service they provide. Best luck

 

[gtbarsi]

Is maken your own lights from .led strips going to work. I am on a budget and could make a set cheaper than buying a high dollor set

I tried that with the most powerful strip lights available, they look like they add a lot but unfortunately they don't no matter what you do with them.

 

[Familyguy]

I have decided to go with ..Outer Orbit 150w HQI duel 96w compact fluorescent and moonn lights. We will see how it goes. I will keep everyone posted pictures soon to come

 

[IslandN8TIV]

Built a RAPIDLED fixture and used it for 2 years before moving to Evergrows D120's

So 2 years ago when I got into this hobby, I was on a strict budget and it cost me $340 to build an LED system with a combination or Stevesleds.com and rapidled.com parts. At the time, the cheapest quality LED system I could purchase was about $600. While the build was rather enjoyable, the clutter of all the drivers, wiring and switches made it cumbersome to manage. I just recently switched to Evergrow D120's that I purchased for less than $180 for two and my coral has reacted in ways that I never saw with the DIY LED build. At a price point that I couldn't even imagine two years ago, Evergrow fixtures are the best choice for me and a lot of other people that I have spoken to in this hobby. Hope this helps.

 

[Familyguy]

I bought as set like urs ilandN8TIV I loaned them to a friend ..the first one he put on his tank used it for about 4 months. I traded him it for so mme liverock I got In the tank now the 2nd light I was going to keep to use on my tank. Then wife or kids let him use 2nd light on his 30gal. When I got my set up and got a light back it was the 1st light loaned him and the blue lights are burned out at the balist and can not find a replacement for it. Not realy to put out that much again for lights just yet. I will post the light I have that the blue light side is burned out ...AKA needs a balist

 

[Familyguy]

This is a photo of the light I have that is got a bad balist on one side

It is full spectrum light with 54 LED 90 degrees lens whites reds purples greens and blues I loved the lights but when I got it back one of the balist for the blues and purples was burned out and I can not find it anywhere. ?..ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT