Best LED Option for canopy thats only 10" high

[nerses818]

U may want to consider radions with wide angle lenses. They really do increase spread significantly. I have 2 on a 60" tank under a canopy about 8" in off water. Noticeable difference in spread

 

[dragon99]

Take a look at the Mitras Lightbar 2. https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/products/ghl-illumination/mitras-lightbar-2/

It would likely take 3 units to give higher PAR

 

[Sharkbate]

I'm no expert , but maxpect Razor 420 may work . Good light , slim and can be hung or bracket mount ! Programmer access may be an issue !
Check em out . Good luck

 

[RoyinSpain]

One thing to remember is condensation. On my 250 litre mixed reef, I have a canopy that sits above the tank and inside have a DIY 190w LED setup. Added some 120mm 12v fans (pc) at the back of the canopy to ventilate better but have had terrible problems with condensation to the point that the LED fittings started to corrode, had to replace a lot of leds and worse than that, Aluminium salts from the corrosion were falling into my tank causing contamination (verified by Triton analysis). Just today finished a complete reset... complete cleaning of system and new rock, new sand, new water, along with a couple of Radion XR15 G4 Pro which I now need to work out how to get slotted into the system...
Just a thought... do you have condensation problems?

 

[redtigrinus]

I would love to reccommend AI prime but I feel like you would need at least 3 to get a good spread.
Have you thought about the hydra 26? Ive never had it but it seems slim.

I agree that the AI lights would probably be a good fit. If you did the prime I think you'd need 6 of them though, unless you are just doing soft corals or something. You could maybe get away with 3 Hydra 26's.

 

[Denali08]

One thing to remember is condensation. On my 250 litre mixed reef, I have a canopy that sits above the tank and inside have a DIY 190w LED setup. Added some 120mm 12v fans (pc) at the back of the canopy to ventilate better but have had terrible problems with condensation to the point that the LED fittings started to corrode, had to replace a lot of leds and worse than that, Aluminium salts from the corrosion were falling into my tank causing contamination (verified by Triton analysis). Just today finished a complete reset... complete cleaning of system and new rock, new sand, new water, along with a couple of Radion XR15 G4 Pro which I now need to work out how to get slotted into the system...
Just a thought... do you have condensation problems?

I have not had any condensation issues, the whole back of the canopy is open so it breathes pretty good. Just the height is my issue... and learning its a pretty big issue.

 

[pjr]

You and I have pretty much the same issue. I have a 72x18x24 tank with a low canopy. It's a SPS dominated tank that's been under LEDs since early 2009.

I initially used the Sunbrite LEDs... they were the six foot size, and the "T 10 tubes" as they called them had 72 low-watt LEDs per foot in their Gen 1 model. I eventually graduated to Gen 2 and later Gen 3, which used just 6 LEDs per foot (3 watt Cree). I used three tubes across the tank, no fan, no issues, nice growth.

About 2 years ago one of the tubes has a partial failure. Alas, Sunbrite is no more. After deliberation, I purchased a Build My LED strip from the team in Austin TX. Great build quality, solid team behind the product.... and more powerful than the tube.

If I were shopping anew, I'd get a couple of these for my tank. However, they have pulled out of the reef market, focusing solely on horticulture applications. Big loss.

Last year I tried to get my hands on one of the Geisemann Pulzars for some testing> I reached out to CoralVue directly, and so did a prominent online retailer on my behalf. No responses.

HAve you looked at the Euroquatics? To me, they seem very promising, and they have recently gone through an upgrade.

 

[bif24701]

I would love the AP700, but WOW $900 a piece...

They are worth it.

 

[bif24701]

could start with one ap700 and then as you expand you can add another :D Fosters & Smith also often has 10-20% off so you can get them for a little better price.

Also BRS group buys get you 10% credit.

 

[Denali08]

You and I have pretty much the same issue. I have a 72x18x24 tank with a low canopy. It's a SPS dominated tank that's been under LEDs since early 2009.

I initially used the Sunbrite LEDs... they were the six foot size, and the "T 10 tubes" as they called them had 72 low-watt LEDs per foot in their Gen 1 model. I eventually graduated to Gen 2 and later Gen 3, which used just 6 LEDs per foot (3 watt Cree). I used three tubes across the tank, no fan, no issues, nice growth.

About 2 years ago one of the tubes has a partial failure. Alas, Sunbrite is no more. After deliberation, I purchased a Build My LED strip from the team in Austin TX. Great build quality, solid team behind the product.... and more powerful than the tube.

If I were shopping anew, I'd get a couple of these for my tank. However, they have pulled out of the reef market, focusing solely on horticulture applications. Big loss.

Last year I tried to get my hands on one of the Geisemann Pulzars for some testing> I reached out to CoralVue directly, and so did a prominent online retailer on my behalf. No responses.

HAve you looked at the Euroquatics? To me, they seem very promising, and they have recently gone through an upgrade.

I haven't heard of Euroquatics, I will look them up now. To be honest I have been looking at the Mars Aqua, using 4 of them as they are inexpensive and easy to hang.

 

[Mpierce]

These are also pretty low profile and the price point is not astronomical. https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/products/ghl-illumination/mitras-lightbar-2/

 

[pjr]

There's a lot of slim options, but most of them fail in providing enough PAR for SPS, or the right color.

The Euroquatics interest me! They are actually LEDs serving as T5 replacement bulbs. Makes it easy to create a hybrid system at a decent cost and a good form factor.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

DIY

With No Optics would give you the best results...

 

[prsnlty]

There's a lot of slim options, but most of them fail in providing enough PAR for SPS, or the right color.

The Euroquatics interest me! They are actually LEDs serving as T5 replacement bulbs. Makes it easy to create a hybrid system at a decent cost and a good form factor.

I have been looking at these also since I have a 6 bulb t5/2 ai sol blue set-up. Although I didn't like LEDs by themselves so I'm wondering what kind of par as well as pur they will truly have. My reef is mixed with a ton of acroporas and other sps. Would just need to change the bulbs out and be done! That would be nice along with not ordering bulbs every 6 months.