What LEDs do i need?

saltyfilmfolks · Feb 21, 2018

Fwiw. Everything penetrates to the bottom of the tank. It’s sales talk.
If. Nothing thing penetrated , it would be dark. You’ll always have more light up top and less below.

What you want to look at is how much it gives you on the bottom, and how much you want. 50-80 par is fine for shrooms a lot of lps , etc , some like 100(pretty standard) , then figure out how much is on top.

T5 falls off most evenly , led pucks have hot spots. To make this more even , you can look at more pick units , multiple a360 or Radion heads , or panel style muliti emitter, like reefbreeders photons or Orphek. On the cheap end of that is B.B. and units like the t247.

Daniel Waters · Feb 21, 2018

Ditto on what everyone else has said. The 48 inch light penetration is marketing. The bottom may be lit, but will it grow the corals you want? The trick with a 36 inch depth is getting enough light to the bottom for the corals you want but not having too much intensity higher up. Most LEDs are using pretty wide angle lenses nowadays, so hot spots are less of an issue.

FloatinBy · Feb 21, 2018

Since i have a canopy, if i stay with T5s, do i need a retrofit kit? I dont see how i can install for instance an aquatic life hybrid T5HO fixture since im not hanging it

Daniel Waters · Feb 21, 2018

FloatinBy said:
Since i have a canopy, if i stay with T5s, do i need a retrofit kit? I dont see how i can install for instance an aquatic life hybrid T5HO fixture since im not hanging it

We would need more information on your canopy. You said your tank is 18" wide. Is your canopy measured on the inside 18" wide or ? The aquatic life fixture I think is 18" wide so you need to be sure you're going to have room for whatever you put in there. If you're doing all T5s, I'd recommend an 8 bulb fixture (if it will fit) for your tank depth. Trying to do 6 or 8 bulbs of retrofits (versus a fixture that has cooling fans) might be a lot of heat trapped in your canopy depending on how your canopy is vented and your circulation.

If you're thinking of doing T5 + LED, then 2 bulbs in front and 2 bulbs in back with LEDs in the middle will be fine. I would think the retro fit kits would be just fine to use, assuming you have no trouble mounting your leds also in the canopy. I'm just leary of the idea of a lot of T5 bulbs being in a confined canopy with no cooling fans or active circulation. With just leds you won't have a heat issue. Don't get me wrong, though, I love t5s and they don't put out a lot of heat (but certainly a lot more than leds). It's just something you should consider.

FloatinBy · Feb 21, 2018

I have a cooling/circulation fan running in hood

Centerline · Feb 21, 2018

Roy 9121 said:
I have the AI Hydra 52 on my tank, I haven't had any issues. You'd probably need 2 of those.

I have a pair of Hydra HD 52s and several Radion G4 Pros. I think the Hydras are every bit as capable as the Radions and look better.

Centerline · Feb 21, 2018

mcarroll said:
I would try to find a pair of the OLD Current USA Ormit Marine Pro's that had 60º lenses and use two or three of them. They can plop right down on the rim of the tank, you just have to make sure the hood is ventilated correctly to remove heat as usual.

LED strips will cut WAY down on any "disco ball" you'll notice, but unfortunately hardly any makers use lenses this strong. The "N" series Kessil 360 is the only other one off the top of my head, and it's not a strip. (You can still make a "strip of spotlights" with them.)

Have you tried growing corals there already? Most people end up very surprised at how little light most corals really need. I've see a 48" deep tank run off a 4-bulb T5. Not ideal for everyone and all corals, but what is?

Excellent advice.

Centerline · Feb 21, 2018

FloatinBy said:
I seen the AI primes and i hated the disco effect it caused at rhe lfs on their tank

Then your going to hate Radions unless you get diffusers for them

Centerline · Feb 21, 2018

FloatinBy said:
I have t5s now but not enough power to light bottom of tank

Maybe a bigger T5 fixture would help. Of course you could just score a MH as that would take care of it .

Centerline · Feb 22, 2018

FloatinBy said:
Since i have a canopy, if i stay with T5s, do i need a retrofit kit? I dont see how i can install for instance an aquatic life hybrid T5HO fixture since im not hanging it

Ya, just retrofit a 400 watt Radium in there and your problems are solved. If you crank up Radions to the point where your producing a bunch of par at the bottom of the tank you will cook everything at the top that hasn't been acclimated for a few weeks.

FloatinBy · Feb 22, 2018

Maybe my issue isnt so much par the more i research. I want more color pop as well

FloatinBy · Feb 22, 2018

FloatinBy said:
Maybe my issue isnt so much par the more i research. I want more color pop as well

I think i need to do a hybrid. I only have 4 T5s as eell and theres plenty of room to add more in canopy. Or my other thought was to build a new "canopy" with center cut out to then hang lights. I cannot go without a canopy as my tank is sealed with windows cut out of the top if that makes sense.

FloatinBy · Feb 22, 2018

Current set up. 2 actinic and 2 50/50s. Ill get a pic tomorrow of just blues and then with all 4 on. Thats just the two 50/50s. And ignore GHA i removes that rock today and scrubbes the hell out of it so its no longer there.

Daniel Waters · Feb 22, 2018

It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but are you sure that tank is 36" deep? You posted in the first thread "I have a 100gal tank 50in widd by 18in front to back and 36in deep." But those dimensions would be a 150 gallon tank as another poster mentioned. Something isn't right. We've been giving light advice based on a 36" depth. Can you confirm your tank volume and dimensions because one or the other is not correct.

FloatinBy · Feb 22, 2018

So im an idiot amd a dummy. Amd majorly embarrassed to ssy this. I have no idea whrre those measurements came from. My tank is 60in long by 22in deep by 18in front to back. I apologize for my stupidity lol.