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SFReef 
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Location: Payson
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 Topic: LED Lighting
Posted: February 09 2016 at 8:22am |
First of all, thank you to everyone who has helped me so far on getting my tank up and running. I am learning a lot and appreciate all the advice I have received to help me make my decisions. I am now looking for some help on deciding on what lighting to get for my aquarium. I got some LED lights using some advice from someone but when I got them, they do not seem to be good enough for what I will need. I could be wrong as I have not set them up on a tank yet, but they just seem too weak for good coral growth and to allow me to see the beauty that some lights bring out.
I do not want to go into the metal halides or T5 lighting as I want less electricity use, less heat output, and longer life than what those provide so I know I want to go with LEDs. I am not sure what type to look for exactly for my 40g breeder. Does anyone have any advice on what I am looking for, a DIY option, or even a good one that will not break the bank but will do well in my tank? i want one that will give me the option of growing any type of coral in this tank while being healthy for the fish as well.
Thank you again for your help.
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Marcoss
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Posted: February 09 2016 at 8:40am |
LEDs can be misleading. I didn't believe it until I tested it. They may not seem bright, but they can certainly mess up your corals. Haha. I ran a small test and completely bleached some corals in a mater of a day.
I've heard a lot of people talk about "black box LED" but I am not sure myself as I have not used them. It seems to be a generic term for imported LED lighting. But people seem to be happy with what you get versus what you pay for. There was a guy on here that used to make lights. I guess they were super good. I wonder if he still does it; his name was Pete or went by Pete or something.
I personally use Kessil, but I don't know that I would personally say they are economical. With a 40G breeder, you may technically need two lights as most only cover an area that is 24x24. I have seen people use one Kessil and mount it at an angle to spread light down the 36" side.
I just sold a lot of AI Hydra's but I really did like them. You can find a lot of them used for about $200. I don't know if that is in the range, but they worked great for that amount.
Do you plan on having a ton of SPS? That might help you narrow your search. Some people use solar tubes, just the sun, to grow insanely nice corals and use blue lighting at night to view the tank. They even have to filter the sun to avoid it burning the corals.
Marcos
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RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin
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Fatman
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Joined: December 23 2011
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Posted: February 09 2016 at 9:10am |
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The 40 gallon breeder is 36" x 18". My opinion is that a single black box won't give you the coverage you would like. I think two would. There used to be a formula for the number of 3 watt LEDs you needed over a tank, but with all the addition of color and the inclusion of higher watt LEDs in the current stuff out there, the formula is likely not much use now.
As far as value, the "black box" LEDs are pretty good. You need to know that if they die you likely won't find the correct parts to replace the defective ones. I've seen a lot of them that lose an LED or two after the warranty period. If you buy from EBAY you will have a hard time getting warranty work.
There are some high dollar LEDs that provide great lighting with a lot of control, varied colors, etc. My problem with the expensive ones is that a newer, better version comes out every year or so and it can be expensive to keep up. Using someone's older version you buy second hand can save you some money.
My tank: the 120 has 4 DIY sets of LEDs, Royal Blue at 2:1 ratio against Neutral Whites, with 24 three watt LEDs on each, (two of the RBs were changed out for UV on each set); the 55 has two of these sets on it; while the 24x24" frag tank has one set (same ratio of RB to NW, with no UVs) but it's a 36 LED fixture. I'm very happy with all my lights.
I helped Reef'd Up build out the LED "system of all systems" LED fixture. Can't recall what she put in there, but it was a very nice light and you could control everything off her Apex controller.
Hope this helps some.
Fat
Edited by Fatman - February 09 2016 at 9:13am
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Krazie4Acans
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Posted: February 09 2016 at 9:25am |
Black box LED is generic for the Chinese LED fixtures found on Ebay, Amazon and other group buys. They do alright but don't seem to last and it is next to impossible to find parts. There is a new US based company competing with the black box called SBreeflights.com. They are getting good reviews and the spectrum is quite a step above the black box units. They have a great warranty on them and parts are available. One light would easily cover your breeder as they some in multiple sizes. They also have models from manual dimmers, to fully programmable WiFi units. Kessil, AI Hydra and ecotech Radions are all higher end lights but may not be in your budget. There are also many DIY options out there Rapid LED and LED group buy sell great DIY kits if you decide to go that route. I've done just about every LED option out there and am currently running a few different DIY setups on my current tanks. I did my own to try and save a few dollars (really bad reason to go DIY as they typically cost more), to interface with my controller (an absolute must for my setup), and to feed my need to geek by designing some electronics. Krazie 
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My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water Tank Thread:
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 09 2016 at 2:29pm |
 SFReef wrote:
I got some LED lights using some advice from someone but when I got them, they do not seem to be good enough for what I will need. I could be wrong as I have not set them up on a tank yet, but they just seem too weak for good coral growth and to allow me to see the beauty that some lights bring out.
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Please describe the light, post an angled picture of it turned ON, or simply tell us the brand and model. We can then tell you what that fixture will do for you.
Aloha, Mark 
P.S. I would suggest not discounting the value of fluorescent lighting, just yet. LED's are the rage right now, but that's because this hobby goes through these "rages" all the time. I truly believe that LED is the light of the future, but a truly affordable LED fixture that provides good coral growth and color is not yet. Right now, it takes about 7 different LED's each with a different spectrum and intensity to provide the proper light that coral really need. I myself recently swapped a foreign brand black box LED for an old DIY t5 fluorescent fixture because it seemed the coral were suffering after 2 months under the LED's. The change was almost immediately welcomed by better hydration(opening up), better color and an overall improvement in the coral. I know of several hobbyists that have switched back to T5 lighting. 
Edited by Mark Peterson - February 09 2016 at 2:41pm
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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SFReef
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Posted: February 09 2016 at 3:09pm |
Thank you to everyone again for your help and response to this post. I am learning a lot going through this process and am sure I will continue to learn. As an update, I returned the lights already as it was obvious they are not what I need. When I turned them on it was very obvious that they are made for freshwater and might work for a fowlr system but not for corals. To answer a question on what I want to grow, I would say a variety of coral. I want a little of everything if I can figure that out. Also, I am looking for LED lighting for the benefit I see in them and am not discounting the MH lighting or T5s at all. Those have worked well for years and do provide great value. At this time I am looking for LED lighting and do not want to go with other options, though. If anyone has additional insight please continue to post through here as all opinions are valued by me.
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mashfan
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Posted: March 31 2016 at 2:48pm |
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What about the Current led's? I would love to have leds without paying 800 or more for them.
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