led lighting for a Standard 90

[Reefermike]

i have a standard 90 tank . Currently it has (2) Reef Radiance DM 155e led lights. i have never cared for them as you have to run the Blue at 100% and white at the bare minimum for it to look half way good. i have consider upgrading the boards to the sb reef light retro . I have asked on several occasions questions regarding them but no answer from that so leaves me a little wary of the company. I have also considered using 3 AI Prime and supplementing with a couple T5 . I am not sure if they will give enough par due to the depth of the tank. Each one would have to cover a 16x16 area. What are your thoughts on this.

 

[Reef Breeders]

Their layouts are fairly close, about a 1:1 ratio of white to blue. I would recommend going for something like a 3:2, or even 3:1 ratio with chinese LEDs. I have found that to be closer to a 14K, and 1:1 to be maybe 10K, usually less.

Keep in mind, 14K and 20K cool whites are NOT 14k or 20K like a mh bulb, they are simply paper white, vs. having a slight yellow tint like lower kelvin whites. Therefore, they will not really raise your overall kelvin rating in terms of looks.

I would instead suggest adding some 450nm royal blues to replace some of the white LEDs, as well as some 480nm, which help with red coloration and coral growth by activating peridini/neo-peridinin, which are accessory proteins to chlorphyll in coral tissues.

Soldering yourself is fairly simple to do with the chinese LEDs, they have pretty large soldering points and can easily be done by hand.

We do offer replacement LEDs, however there are also some that can be found on eBay for cheap, just check reviews and be wary of quality. I recommend buying the bare diodes, not the ones mounted on stars, as you will just make more work for yourself having to remove them from the stars.