hi all.

just started my new pico reef tank this week. added its first coral yesterday :happy1: .

I am running the standard lighting on it with the addition on 8 blue leds.

does anyone run one of these as a reef and know what type of lighting I can get for it?

or does anyone have an idea of what type of lighting I could use on it?

will post some photos when I get my hands on a camera :bggrn:

thanks

I have one of these (actually a leo Q220 which is the same but glass)

If i were going to set it up i would use a PAR30 bulb suspended above the tank - a simple desk clamp lamp attached to the stand would do it.

so like this:

Some people have added 2 more of the original light unit, but ive heard they dim substantially after about 6 months.

Wow that is a tiny tank. What are you planning running in it?

I have one of these (actually a leo Q220 which is the same but glass)

If i were going to set it up i would use a PAR30 bulb suspended above the tank - a simple desk clamp lamp attached to the stand would do it.

so like this:

Some people have added 2 more of the original light unit, but ive heard they dim substantially after about 6 months.

thanks that looks great. where abouts did you get the bulb if you don't mind me asking.

and realy like how it looks with the sand. wasn't sure what it would look like in such a small tank. I have a BB atm but might add some live sand if I can get my hands on a small amount.

sorry miss read I think. the photo is just an example? :facepalm:

Yeah it is. Ebay is full of cheap PAR30 and PAR38 bulbs for reefs. Cheap enough to give one a go.

Otherwise rapidled are the main name in PAR reef bulbs but they are pricey.

If you buy a cheap fixture for the bulb, ensure the bulb is not rated too high a wattage for it!

Don't bother with the cheap Par30/38 bulbs on ebay.

I tried two because they were "cheap enough to try" and took 6 weeks to get here and were absolute shit. Spotlighting and they drove the 3W LEDs to a miserable 1.2W, and even then my equivalent wattage power saving bulb put out around 3x the light.

Don't waste your time!

Good PAR30 bulbs are RapidLED, BoostLED, Ecoxotic, Reefbreeders.

With shipping you are looking at around $140ish last time I priced them (bulbs alone are USD$80).

It would be hard to get an LED bulb with a higher wattage than the socket imo, since most of these bulbs are less than 40W,

If you are DIY inclined you can do a pretty cheap setup for under $100.

thanks.

I may end up going diy. only want to spend around 100.

and I have built lights before but never led.

looks pretty simple from what I have watched on youtube

http://www.aquaworld.co.nz/estore/style ... eblue.aspx

Yep it is.

I'd recommend getting a heatsink locally ie from Ullrich.

Then get one of the LED kits from RapidLED, they are an all in one package and quite good for a first time LED DIYer. Don't get the heatsink from them or you will pay out the ass for shipping!

http://www.aquaworld.co.nz/estore/style/par38-whiteblue.aspx

Have you seen those in action? There's no technical specs at all for optics, LED driven wattage. Looks like 4 white to 8 blue so would be VERY blue.

I have researched at length LED reef lighting and the general consensus now is that blue/cool white lighting is insufficient for optical colouring. You need the red/oranges in warmer whites to get good non-green coloration, also a mixture of blues and royal blues and a few high nm purples. You can see this slow adoption for LED lighting manufacturers, they are all moving away from blue/blue but it is taking some time and as they do we will see more cheaper blue/white options like the one from Aquaworld as they become outdated.

Aquaworld replied with the specs on the PAR38's with this "20W running power, 3w led. all ration is on website. thank you"

A hundy for build and clamp is good! So long as they aren't on selling then Chinese ones

No I haven't seen this particular bulb in action, it's only a new product he started stocking so he only posted about them today and as soon as I seen it I thought of this thread.

My personal feelings on lighting especially led is the cheaper it usually is, the lower the quality and results will be. It's one of those things you don't really want to skimp on as it will generally only cost you more money in the long run. Leds are still considered a "new" type of lighting when it comes to the aquarium hobby in New Zealand so it's hard to get good local advice from really experienced users, and we don't have too much choice in locally available stock so we have to go overseas to get what we want and rely on other overseas hobbyists reviews that have used them for quite some time.

A mixture of blue/white has been the accepted lighting in reefing for so long now and most of the most amazing reef tanks in the world are lit this way. It's only recently that there has been available units with other spectrums of light so it's still pretty early to say if it is going to make a huge difference to reefing and coral growth other than making them look more appealing. I think it's excellent and will definitely be buying a mixed spectrum light as I enjoy looking at corals and fish under lighting other than a white/blue mix.

What are you looking to grow? Stock light will grow softies.

Im using a finnex unit which is 56W but has 90 diodes with 120 Degree lenses, but that means each LED is low power, but works great and im growing softies quickly, and some LPS growth too.

With units that use 3W cree leds for example, but only a few of them, you have to ensure the power is correct for the height you have to have it to ensure you cant see 'beams' and get shadows. This is where lenses can be important too.

A PAR38 generally has a wider spread of light than a PAR30, too much i reckon for a pico. a PAR30 suspended 6''-10'' should work and thats the way i would go if i wanted to stock more than soft corals.

thanks for all the posts there really helpful.

I may try one of these par38 bulbs and holder form aquaworld and just see how they go.

I will also probably run the standard light as it is all white and dimmable so will be able to adjust to what I like.

also with most nano led units out there today in the shops eg dymax, leo ect, lack in the blue spectrum so the par38 is looking pretty good to me at the moment. I may also add a diy blue red and green mix led where I can adjust the colours to get more of a range on the spectrum.

What are you looking to grow? Stock light will grow softies.

Im using a finnex unit which is 56W but has 90 diodes with 120 Degree lenses, but that means each LED is low power, but works great and im growing softies quickly, and some LPS growth too.

With units that use 3W cree leds for example, but only a few of them, you have to ensure the power is correct for the height you have to have it to ensure you cant see 'beams' and get shadows. This is where lenses can be important too.

A PAR38 generally has a wider spread of light than a PAR30, too much i reckon for a pico. a PAR30 suspended 6''-10'' should work and thats the way i would go if i wanted to stock more than soft corals.

im just growing softies. zoas, mushrooms, star pollyps ect

I bought a maxspect nano razor 16000k for mine and I couldn't be happier. Although it would be overkill on a dymax.

http://www.aquaworld.co.nz/estore/style/par38-whiteblue.aspx

just got myself one of these today from aquaworld.

it is uber bright should be able to grow sps which im stoked about.

will get picks up asap.

:happy1:

just got myself one of these today from aquaworld.

it is uber bright should be able to grow sps which im stoked about.

will get picks up asap.

:happy1:

Please do!

just got myself one of these today from aquaworld.

it is uber bright should be able to grow sps which im stoked about.

will get picks up asap.

:happy1:

Wow that's good to hear, I guess Alex sourced a quality bulb for this.

I tried the cheap ebay ones and they are crap, spotlighting and they put a cheap driver in and only drive them to like 1.2W or something silly.

I have the aluminium housing still so if I ever felt the need, I could upgrade the driver, put some red/blue LEDs in and maybe use it for a fuge light.

Please do!

finally photos are up

Awesome!

Awesome!

thanks. the light is a bit overkill but the more the better i gues

Seems really... pink?

its really blue. the pink is just on the rock. and its more of a purple but photos dont realy show the colours

Are you happy with it overall in person, then?

No dim edges? Nice and bright in the middle? Good color?