scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Hi All, I am about two weeks from getting my tank stand, ordering my sump this week, have a skimmer and have worked through the plumbing so I feel like I am getting somewhere with my project. What I am totally stumped with is lighting - everything seems to be telling me metal halide is the only way. I would really prefer LED's but they are also costly and the information on them seems to say that they arent really a sure thing for doing the job as main lighting. the hood I currently have has 3 40W 120cm T8 bulbs which might suffice for a tropical tank but wont do anything for marine. I want to know - will retrofitting two more T5HO 120cm bulbs under the cover provide me enough light? If it wont I will have to get rid of the hood and that leaves me with seemingly having to buy a $1500 MH light set which will cost double what all the rest of the tank does and an arm and a leg to run. Do I have any other options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I run a 450L marine on 4 x T5HO tubes with no problems. Only thing is you can only really have soft corals and fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I run a 450L marine on 4 x T5HO tubes with no problems. Only thing is you can only really have soft corals and fish. Thanks very much for your post Phantom, that's really good to hear. What is your total wattage for that setup? I really don't want to set up the tank just how I like it and then find I need to completely revamp the lighting, and at the same time upgrading the lighting with metal halide will cost a bomb and be total overkill. I really dont know which way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I run 4 x 54W tubes. I am actually looking to replace them all with custom LED lighting, but that's quite expensive compared. I've got a Juwel Rio 400 tank, so I wanted to be able to fit lighting within the lid. I have 2 Juwel tubes and 2 Geissmann tubes. I also have 2 x 24W T5HO's running on my algae scrubber. What is it you want to have in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 DIY LED all the way if you're prepared to do the research and work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 DIY LED all the way if you're prepared to do the research and work... LED strips with drivers would be really easy, fast and low power usage, I am just a little hesitant because I don't have a good understanding of light output so don't really understand the power I need to be aiming for. Could easily spend a whole tonne. I have also read some things about high output LED's not actually lasting a great deal of time. I could easily retrofit at least two 120cm LED strips with reflectors under my hood, eight if I got rid of the T8 bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I run 4 x 54W tubes. I am actually looking to replace them all with custom LED lighting, but that's quite expensive compared. I've got a Juwel Rio 400 tank, so I wanted to be able to fit lighting within the lid. I have 2 Juwel tubes and 2 Geissmann tubes. I also have 2 x 24W T5HO's running on my algae scrubber. What is it you want to have in the tank? I have a JEBO r250 whatever that means. Nothing in the tank yet I am taking this one very slowly. adding rock in a fortnight when I have saltwater, stand, sump and tank location sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I have also read some things about high output LED's not actually lasting a great deal of time. They should last quite a while. If you keep them cool which adds cost and complexity, the higher the output the harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 LED strips with drivers would be really easy, fast and low power usage, I am just a little hesitant because I don't have a good understanding of light output so don't really understand the power I need to be aiming for. Could easily spend a whole tonne. I have also read some things about high output LED's not actually lasting a great deal of time. I could easily retrofit at least two 120cm LED strips with reflectors under my hood, eight if I got rid of the T8 bulbs. The problem is finding LED strips which give the right wavelengths to promote healthy coral growth. You need quite a lot of Royal Blue (455nm ish) / Violet (420nm ish) lighting as well as cool white. My initial design has the following: CREE XT-E - Royal Blue x35 CREE XP-G - Cool White x26 Violet UV x14 CREE XP-E - Green x3 Philips Rebel ES - Deep Red x3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 The problem is finding LED strips which give the right wavelengths to promote healthy coral growth. You need quite a lot of Royal Blue (455nm ish) / Violet (420nm ish) lighting as well as cool white. My initial design has the following: CREE XT-E - Royal Blue x35 CREE XP-G - Cool White x26 Violet UV x14 CREE XP-E - Green x3 Philips Rebel ES - Deep Red x3 Any how much roughly will that cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 LEDs themselves about USD$300. Heatsinks and drivers probably another USD$300. + shipping on top of that. I haven't settled on what heatsinks or drivers I'd like to use, but I will get dimmable ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 LEDs themselves about USD$300. Heatsinks and drivers probably another USD$300. + shipping on top of that. I haven't settled on what heatsinks or drivers I'd like to use, but I will get dimmable ones. That sounds like the best plan I have heard of yet as far as lighting goes. How far away are you from ordering that? Are there any links to the product you are looking at? also how much will shipping be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 http://rapidled.com/ That's where I started out anyway. My design is a take on their design, but I made a layout that suits my tank and where I really need the light. Not sure on shipping. I'll get heatsinks locally. LEDs shouldn't be too expensive, maybe $50 shipping at most I'd say. Drivers would depend on how many I get and how bulky they are. I'm playing around with the idea of being able to control the different colours independantly but also controlling each section of lighting independantly. So I'll need quite a few drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 http://rapidled.com/ That's where I started out anyway. My design is a take on their design, but I made a layout that suits my tank and where I really need the light. Not sure on shipping. I'll get heatsinks locally. LEDs shouldn't be too expensive, maybe $50 shipping at most I'd say. Drivers would depend on how many I get and how bulky they are. I'm playing around with the idea of being able to control the different colours independantly but also controlling each section of lighting independantly. So I'll need quite a few drivers. Sounds like you know a lot more about LED's then me! Looking at those prices do you think it would be significantly cheaper to build it yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Yes, it certainly would. Have you seen how much commercial LED units go for? Another thing to note is optics. If you plan to mount your fixture well above the water line, you'll want to use optics on each LED to direct the light into the tank rather than letting it scatter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Yes, it certainly would. Have you seen how much commercial LED units go for? Another thing to note is optics. If you plan to mount your fixture well above the water line, you'll want to use optics on each LED to direct the light into the tank rather than letting it scatter. Like different lens fittings on each LED? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Like different lens fittings on each LED? Yes. For example, from RapidLED you can get the following Violet options. http://www.rapidled.com/violet-uv-leds/ If you are mounting it well above the water, you'd want a lens on each LED that focuses the light down into the tank. Otherwise, you're just lighting the room and wasting it. Same principle as using reflectors on tubes to increase the light directed into the tank. The angle you want depends on the height above and how much water you want to cover with each LED. This is a good read: http://www.rapidled.com/led-university-1/ As is this (if you have the time and can get your head around it): http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/aafeature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottscape Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Yes. For example, from RapidLED you can get the following Violet options. http://www.rapidled.com/violet-uv-leds/ If you are mounting it well above the water, you'd want a lens on each LED that focuses the light down into the tank. Otherwise, you're just lighting the room and wasting it. Same principle as using reflectors on tubes to increase the light directed into the tank. The angle you want depends on the height above and how much water you want to cover with each LED. This is a good read: http://www.rapidled.com/led-university-1/ As is this (if you have the time and can get your head around it): http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/aafeature The second article was fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellydave Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 quick question have any of you guys looked at the http://www.aquastyleonline.com diy kits? they do a kit with controllers and such i was thinking of going for the 42 led kit for my next tank i want to build but im not shure on the quality and cant find a hell of a lot online about them.. could be one to look into they are fairly cheap and shipping to nz is quite cheap as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellydave Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 these kits here http://www.aquastyleonline.com/categories/DIY-LED-Lighting/LED-Controller-Kit/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Seems too cheap, but looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellydave Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Seems too cheap, but looks good! thats what i thought but for the whole kit sent here for under $300 it could be worth a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Have a look at Fish Street. They have reasonably priced units Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellydave Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 yeah i get alot of my stuff from fish street they are really good and fairly priced im actually now thinking of just getting another k3 nano slim unit for the new tank instead of getting a 60cm k4 as it works out cheaper and i can use the money i save to get a skimmer and other stuff haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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