Supplementing 250W Radiums on a 4'x2'x8" tank

RonMidtownStomp · Jan 31, 2011

I have VHO Superactinics on the display tank and want a similar effect on the frag tank. I don't want to have to power up the Radiums to see the corals and I like the look of the corals under Radiums + VHO's better than just the Radiums. I would like to be able to run two 3-3.5' bars of LED's down the side of the Large Lumenarcs and have enough coverage to not feel like I'm only lighting 30% of the tank with LED's. If I put two VHO's in the same locations, the whole tank would be flooded with blue/purple light.

I would expect to do a DIY Cree 3W build but I don't know exactly what LED's or optics would be the best. I don't know how few LED's I can get away with to get the effect I want. I don't really care about PAR as the Radiums will grow the corals. I just want the POP effect from LED's.

Will the Blue Cree's give me the effect I'm looking for, or would I need to go with another LED in a slightly different spectrum?

Thank you for your help.

wld1783 · Feb 1, 2011

The Cree XR-E Royal Blue with the bin D316 will give you the pop.

I dont recommend LEDs with MH simply due to the heat so make sure you have a decent heatsink and fans.

I would start with a modular approach to save on cost and add banks of LEDs later till you get the look you like.

Bill

RonMidtownStomp · Feb 23, 2011

Cool, I bought an 8' piece of aluminum at HD today and I bought some drivers and some 3W LED's for a good price from a local reefer who got out of the hobby. I'm going to play around with figuring out what spacing I need to be able to get the look I want. I don't need to run the LED's while the MH's are on. The crazy pop and color or the corals under only <450nm LED's is quite fun. Is anyone able to tell me with what optics and at what distance from the tank I'll be able to get coverage? Again, not worried about PAR. I get all of the light I need from the Radiums. There's a video of someone with a small strip of LED's and they light up 1/2 of a 300+ gallon tank. I'm going to see how few I can get away with to achieve the look I want.

RonMidtownStomp · Mar 14, 2011

My conclusion is that Cree 3W Royal Blues plus Radiums look like Radiums alone. The Royal Blues alone are awesome, but I think instead of putting them on the frag tank, I'm going to put them on the display tank and run them along with the VHO Super Actinics. The two go GREAT together and the look is awesome. I'll have them both shut down when the Radiums are on, then turn off when the Radiums go off again.