Lighting - Head is Spinning

I have been reading and reading about the different lighting options out there, I know I want LED's and I know I want programmable features (from a PC or Mac is ideal), and I don't want to have to upgrade or change them out after a few years.  I also don't want to spend thousands of $$ on lighting.  Are there any recommendations for what I am looking for?

I see LED's with various different colors, reds, greens, magenta, etc. what purpose does the full spectrum provide?  There are "high end" (price) lights that only have whites and blues, then there are those that have different colors, I'm confused as to what benefit the additional colors provide.

My tank is 60" wide by 25" deep and 25" tall, what kind of penetration should I be looking for?  I see the "low end" (cheap) lights, but I wonder if they won't provide sufficient lighting at the sand bed.  I understand the PAR values but they aren't always published.

Is there a HUGE factor that I need to consider when looking at the different options?

I'm stuck in analysis paralysis at the moment, and I need some assistance to get moving in the right direction.

I would suggest an Apex controller they take all types of light fixtures and add programmability that you don't normally have like day/night and seasonal settings most are dimmable and you can find some "full spectrum" LED sets for relatively inexpensive prices on Ebay and if the PAR values aren't published I would say they are cheap not inexpensive and don't get them basically the LEDs with more colors are better for growing corals as the just white and blues are good for FOWLR tanks

Hope that helps I know this is kind of all over the place but I've been and am continuing to look into my LED system for my 150 build but for sure invest in a controller of some type.

omj wrote: ...I know I want LED's and I know I want programmable features (from a PC or Mac is ideal), and I don't want to have to upgrade or change them out after a few years.  I also don't want to spend thousands of $$ on lighting...Is there a HUGE factor that I need to consider when looking at the different options?...I'm stuck in analysis paralysis at the moment, and I need some assistance to get moving in the right direction.

When I put your requirements together above, it makes my head spin too.
I believe LED lighting is the future of the hobby, but it is still evolving. It is also the most expensive lighting right now. The traditional Metal Halide lighting and Fluorescent lighting is getting less expensive every day, and it still works great. Also, upgrading every few years is a natural part of this hobby. As we learn more and technology advances, our wants and needs change. It's important to accept flexibility.

The best advice I can give is to go look at several hobbyist tanks. We are a club of friends that help each other whenever we can. We love to show off our tanks. You could create a New Topic asking to see other hobbyists tanks.

In my opinion, lighting is no more important than bio-filtration or water movement or water parameters. That's why looking at hobbyist tanks and picking their brains is helpful to deciding what you want yours to look like. IMHO, the information gained by visiting others is more valuable than visiting the LFS(local fish stores).

You are welcome to come visit and see my 6 tank coral/fish farm in the sun.

Aloha,
Mark
808-345-1049 call/text/visit anytime
750 E Lakepoint Dr. #4V Murray


Edited by Mark Peterson - July 01 2014 at 7:01pm

I'm a huge fan of the ecotech radion. Granted it's only been on my tank a week or so, but the controllability is awesome.   Sunrise, sunset, a schedule built around actual numbers from a reef, active moon phases.   Granted you get these on many of the new big brand lights, but still it is fun.   If you know you want LED's and have the money, save yourself in the long run and pick up a fixture that has everything you want.   

I wrote my engineering grad thesis on LEDs. I can't recommend a brand for you, but maybe some of what I learned will help.

I interviewed about 80 hobbyists to determine a good light level. I'd recommend about 300W on your size tank. These should be 3W LEDs. Go with a 2:1 royal blue to neutral white combo. The additional colors aren't exactly necessary since the neutral whites will cover the colors, but additional colors can help bring out the intricacies of coral color. Different color LEDs will cause the corals to fluoresce more in more colors.

I'd go with a dimmable fixture so that you won't fry your corals initially. You can also tweak your color spectrum.

PAR (photostynthetically active radiation) was more relevant with metal halides. LEDs are better categorized by PUR (photosynthetically usable radiation.) LEDs have more radiation in a usable spectrum, so the tanks often look more dim than tanks light with metal halides . You won't see either number published on a fuxture though since those numbers vary by fixture height, water flow, and even water purity.

Although the initial purchase price is high on LEDs, they can have a quick payback period due to their long life and little maintenance. I designed and built mine, and they should pay for themselves in less than 2 years.

+1 diy leds.. program with apex or other controller.

I don't have experience with any LED fixtures yet, but the one I'm most impressed with from research is the Kessil A360N. They are unfortunately double the cost of the DIY that aceofspadeskb mentioned.

wickedsnowman wrote: Steve's leds are great for diy. I believe they use bridge Lux leds. Another option if you want a higher brand led is rapid led they sale cree leds. To meet the requirements you want without breaking the bank I would definitely go diy. Then buy a programmer the apex is controllable by windows, Mac, and android.

They actually use Phillips luxeon LEDs which are comparable to today's cree LEDs, and a step up from Bridgelux.

If you decide to go DIY, I split my money between RapidLED and LEDGroupBuy. You'd probably end up very happy.

If you don't want to go DIY, then the high end fixtures are Radions, Hydras, and Kessils (I'm sure there are others.) There are so many cheapos out there...but be careful. You get what you pay for. The nicer ones can be fixed if they break while other cheapos can't.

Love my AI'S ;)