To many choices to little knowledge

[Matze]

Good morning R2R,

at the moment I'm thinking on how to
bring my tank to the next level lighting wise.

But first some short info.

My tank is 200cm long, 70cm wide and 60cm high. At the moment I'm using an ATI Powermodul with three 75w LED clusters and four 54w T5 strips. Obviously thats way to less light for the whole tank. My goal is to have a full blown SPS reef in the future.

The solution additional lights.

What do I want?

I really want a LED fixture. It has to be capable to grow and color up SPS. Also it would be nice, to use a few units, rather than just one. So in case one brakes, I would still have some lights on. I honestly have no idea of par or lux readings. So far I simply read all the stuff I could find in the forum.
Spectrum wise, I like the idea of a complete spectrum of usable light. So not sure if one really needs greens, yellows etc. ?

What I don't want!

T5s and Halides are proven stuff, I know that.
But I never felt happy with them, when I had them on my first tank. So I switched to the hybrid. The light is amazing. But I still am not 100% happy because of the heavy T5 look.
So in the long term, I want to get rid of the ATI and go full LED.

As for now, I have 40cm on both sides of the the tank that are not lit up.

So what are my options?

So far I looked at those fixtures:

Maxspect Razor 160w
Kessil A360w
Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro
TMC V2 iLumenAir 1200
Giesemann VervVe

Are there any other fixtures I should look at? Any "China LEDs"? I have no problem with them ;)
What would you guys recommend?
The only thing I absolutely don't want is to build something myself. It's a hobby so for me, plug and play ist the way to go.

I'm looking forward for you input :)

Matze

 

[reefwiser]

Giesemann SPECTRA would be what I would go with on that size tank.

 

[Gpettit721]

I love my spectra with 400w radium bulb but I don't think that's what he wants. I have used the ecotech and was happy with them and used the ati sun power 8 bulb after that and liked it better then on this tank I'm running a spectra. It's a 60 cube so my light is overkill but I'll see. I can't give any info on the spectra growing corals just because it's a new tank but on my old tank when I used a giesseman mh/t-5 it was the best I ever had. I've also used the AI Vegas didn't like them.

 

[McMullen]

Yes, Chinese black box!

 

[Matze]

Giesemann SPECTRA would be what I would go with on that size tank.

Thanks for your suggestion, but metal halides are not for me :)

I love my spectra with 400w radium bulb but I don't think that's what he wants. I have used the ecotech and was happy with them and used the ati sun power 8 bulb after that and liked it better then on this tank I'm running a spectra. It's a 60 cube so my light is overkill but I'll see. I can't give any info on the spectra growing corals just because it's a new tank but on my old tank when I used a giesseman mh/t-5 it was the best I ever had. I've also used the AI Vegas didn't like them.

What was the reason you chose the Ecotech back then? Why didn't you like the AI Vegas?
Thanks for your answer.

Yes, Chinese black box!

Thank you for your suggestion. I did a quick Google search. In your experience, is the factory given spectrum
good and useful? Or does one have to get a custom one? Also do you think 4 fixtures would be enough for 2.00m?

Thank you all :)

 

[JPSika08]

I personally use AquaIllumination, they have great support, parts are exchangeable for future fixes in case needed and top quality products.

http://www.aquaillumination.com

From the choices you are looking right now, I really love the Ecotech Radions, they work great with the pumps, you can even schedule storms with both products working hand to hand.

 

[cb684]

This is a hot topic, and you will find that there is a very diverse opinion. Here is my opinion: I would look at as many tanks of the month or featured aquariums I could find that look like how I want mine to look and would see what the majority is using. Then I would decide.

 

[ckozma]

Im going with AI Hydra 52 HD's even though they are not on your list. As far as LED goes, AI and EcoTech rule the roost. They also both put out relatively similar light in intensity and in spectrum. They even both use 80 degree lens so have similar coverage. I personally went with AI 52 HD's due to more LEDS, better coverage, less cost, and having wireless built in.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Actually, the Chinese black boxes are really proving that they can grow corals. It all depends on the lay out and spectrum and if the company utilizes them correctly or not. There is a sponser on this sight called SB Reef lights that has come up with a proprietary layout and light blend that is proving successfull at growing corals including SPS. No, I am not just a "Fan boy" coming to the rescue of my preferred product. I actually do not even have these lights. I prefer to go with science and results over ancedotal evidence and this gentleman has done his research on spectrum and all the other stuff that helps our corals grow and color up. Go to there web sight and look at the FAQ's. He has laid it all out quite plainly and is happy to answer questions. So, you can get LEDS that are effective without breaking the bank. I hope others that have hands on experience with these lights will chime in.

 

[McMullen]

I think 4 units per 48in. I'm using two ocean revive and two "WellPAR 160watt". The spectrum they use are different and both grow coral well without any changes. You will though, after an unknown amt of time, have to replace the LEDs. There is no way I would pay big money for name brand LEDs, simply because it's not necessary.

 

[Matze]

I personally use AquaIllumination, they have great support, parts are exchangeable for future fixes in case needed and top quality products.

http://www.aquaillumination.com

From the choices you are looking right now, I really love the Ecotech Radions, they work great with the pumps, you can even schedule storms with both products working hand to hand.

I really like the design and light of the AI fixtures. The only reason, why I don't habe them on my list, is because a buddy of mine had really bad luck with the old AI Sol Blues.
He owns an LFS located in a large cellar.
After 1 year if use the first fixture broke. Then a couple of months later the next one.
He thinks that is due to the higher humidity at his place. My tank is also in the basement. So I'm scared the same could happen here.
Have you guys any similiar experiences with this?

I really like the look of the Radion. And it is the only fixture I haven't found anyone having technical issues with ( beside from beeing noisy).

This is a hot topic, and you will find that there is a very diverse opinion. Here is my opinion: I would look at as many tanks of the month or featured aquariums I could find that look like how I want mine to look and would see what the majority is using. Then I would decide.

That is a good idea. So far my problem with this is, many people switch their lights a lot more than some change their underware :)
So it is sometimes hard to really get an impression how much awesomeness of the TOTM tanks really is due to LED. But I will have a very close look around R2R :)

Im going with AI Hydra 52 HD's even though they are not on your list. As far as LED goes, AI and EcoTech rule the roost. They also both put out relatively similar light in intensity and in spectrum. They even both use 80 degree lens so have similar coverage. I personally went with AI 52 HD's due to more LEDS, better coverage, less cost, and having wireless built in.

Thank you dor your suggestion! I will look into those fixtures. Have you had any experiences with failling fixtures due to humidity?

Actually, the Chinese black boxes are really proving that they can grow corals. It all depends on the lay out and spectrum and if the company utilizes them correctly or not. There is a sponser on this sight called SB Reef lights that has come up with a proprietary layout and light blend that is proving successfull at growing corals including SPS. No, I am not just a "Fan boy" coming to the rescue of my preferred product. I actually do not even have these lights. I prefer to go with science and results over ancedotal evidence and this gentleman has done his research on spectrum and all the other stuff that helps our corals grow and color up. Go to there web sight and look at the FAQ's. He has laid it all out quite plainly and is happy to answer questions. So, you can get LEDS that are effective without breaking the bank. I hope others that have hands on experience with these lights will chime in.

That sounds really intriguing. I will do some research on them. Thank you for the pointer!
By the way, I love your Nickname :) .Sounds Squatchy to me and Squatchy is always awesome :)

I think 4 units per 48in. I'm using two ocean revive and two "WellPAR 160watt". The spectrum they use are different and both grow coral well without any changes. You will though, after an unknown amt of time, have to replace the LEDs. There is no way I would pay big money for name brand LEDs, simply because it's not necessary.

Okay, that would be quite reasonable compared with the amount of Radions etc.
I would need.
Do you mean I have to change them due to a drift in their emitting spectrum or faillure?


Thank you all for your input.
It really is totally different here compared to german reef forums :)