I need help with LED lighting

[bradenr]

I was in the saltwater tank world about 5 years ago and im getting back into it now. i am going to be doing a 29 gallon standard. 30x12x18. Back in the day all the light we T5 and MH but now it looks like they are LED's. I have been doing alot of reading and watching video on reviews, but i cant pull the trigger on what i want and need some advice from you guys. I have no budget on the lights so im not worried about that. I want to be able to put any coral in the tank lps and sps maybe evan a clam. I have been looking at the these...if there are other ones you recommend let me know... [h=2]Radion XR30w Pro or the XR30
MaxSpect Razor 160w 16k
ReefBreeders Photon 24"[/h]

 

[Reefing Madness]

Razor is an excellent unit, with full controllablility without buying anything extra.
You really can't go wrong with what you've chosen. But, I'd either go with the Razor or the ReefBreeders

 

[mfinn]

I absolutely love my Radions.
I have a single Radion over my 50 gallon lps/sps tank. 30" x 20" x 20".
It originally was a gen 1, but I sent it in to be upgraded to the gen 3 with wide angle lens.
Glad I did.

 

[bradenr]

So you have it on a 50g... you think it would be ok on a 29g.. i was leaning toward the radion

 

[mfinn]

So you have it on a 50g... you think it would be ok on a 29g.. i was leaning toward the radion

Yes it will work on a 29.

I saw a awesome 20 gallon tank with one on it today.

Went to a guys house to borrow a large water storage tub and he has 4 on this 300+ gallon tank and he showed me how he can control his lighting on his smart phone using the reef link.
It was pretty cool and much faster than I can do it on my computer.

 

[DSP]

I agree definately go radion!

 

[rjcranor]

I would look at Reef Radiance lumentec pro light

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Photon!

 

[saltfishguy18]

Pacific sun LEDs.

 

[bradenr]

Thanks for the help and info guys im going to pull the plug and get the radion

 

[mfinn]

Thanks for the help and info guys im going to pull the plug and get the radion

Which one?


No matter which one you get, just remember that leds are way more powerful than standard aquarium lighting.
Unless whatever corals you get came from a tank with leds, they will be to be acclimated to your light.
Plus, they first thing many people do that are new to leds is to crank up the power to the higher levels and that is usually a mistake.
There is a poll on another site that has quite a few people responding to it on how high they run there Radions and a large majority keep them under 70%.
I keep mine at 65%.
Good luck, have fun.

 

[bradenr]

The Radion XR30w Pro.... should i go ahead and buy the TIR lens or just keep the stock lens

 

[ChristopherKriens]

The Radion XR30w Pro.... should i go ahead and buy the TIR lens or just keep the stock lens

This model comes with TIR lenses standard. If you're referring to the wide angle TIR lens, that's probably not necessary for a 29 gal.

 

[mfinn]

On a small tank like a 29, I really don't think you need the power of the tir lens.
If you went with the wide angle lens you would get better par on the ends of a 30" long tank.
With it only being 17" deep, you will probably never even get up over 65%-70% with either lens kit.