ecoxotic LED's!

[snookin321]

hey all i just ordered a strip of their panorama LED actinic strips from one of the sponsors here (coraloutlet.com :wink......just wondering if any of you guys use these or have any real world experience with these things......pictures are always welcome!! i will post some up as soon as i get them in

 

[ddwbeagles]

Not their panoramas but I do have 4 of their stunner strips and live them very much. I have also seen their stunners and full canopy for that matter. A bit steep in price but certainly gives off that beautiful LED shimmer.

 

[snookin321]

thats cool......i heard the stunner strips were really nice......i think the strip is supposed to be coming in tomorrow.....so hopefully by tomorrow i'll have some pics to share!

 

[akabryanhall]

I added 1 50/50 strip to my tank, no perceived increase in light but def increased shimmer, but when my main lights go off and its just actics and leds it looks awesome

 

[jcarenz]

I just upgraded my from T5s to an all LED system. I have a 55 gallon LPS/Softie setup.

Last month when it was time to replace my bulbs I started looking at LEDs. i decided on the ecoxotic because there were redily vailabel at the vendors i commonly do busines with and i knew i could return them if i did not like them. I initiailly added 3 of the 8000K stunners to my existing 4x54w T5 strip to try to get some shimmer. The T5s simply overpowered the stunners. I had visible shimmer when I had only 420/460NM lights running in the T5. As soon as I turned on the other 2 lamps ,(460nm and 10K) the shimmer became invisible.

I then started experimenting with different combintions of the stunner and Panorama modules. I tested with the 453nm stunners, the 8000K stunners, the 8000K /453nm pnaorama and the 460nm Panorama. I ended up ditching the stunners and rigging my tank with 4 of the Panoramic modules, 2 of the 8000K/453nm combos and 2 of the full 453nm modules.

I mounted them in a DIY canopy that I threw together with some 1x6 and 1x4 pine and a few cans of primer and black spraypaint.I run them from side to side in pairs, not front to back like most recommended. I have one of the 8000k/460nm and on 460nm paired together on each side of the tank, basically the same way you would run a pair of NO or HO tubes. They are positioned so that the inner edge of each is 5" of the center of the tank. this gives me adequate coverage and a nice 20000K look to the entire tank.

Now, at first, I was concerned about the amount of visible light in the tank. When compared to 216 watts of HO t5, these are definitly not as visibly bright. However, the look is simply fantastic. Shimmer is better than any MH I have seen and my softies and LPS' seem to be responding well. After a few days, I am used to light level and even liking it better than a similar T5 combo. So much in fact , that I sold my T5 fixture.

Keep in mind, that I am not looking to grow out my corals or do anything with SPS, but I am confident that I could if i were to add 2 more of each of these modules. I think 6 of these over a 55 gallon would support anything that my original T5 would support, and the 4 modules I have now are adequate for the needs of my animals. IMO the T5 HO setup I had was an overkill, but I always thought that I might go on to an SPS tank in the future, and I still can with a relatively inexpensive addition of modules to my canopy.


I spent a little extra cash on all of the shipping I did when I was experimenting, but other than that, I think I made a fairly sound investment and I am happy with the results. I went from 216m watts and $100 in annual bulb replacement to what I hope will be a 10 year setup running at 52 watts requiring no bulb replacement. as well, my corals are responding as well they did to my 4x54w T5 when the bulbs were new.

 

[jcarenz]

Just wantted to add, I do not have a PAR meter, and likely will never buy one, so I won't be able to give you any readings. but I don't think PAR on its own is the best measurment of lighting system performance. I simply go by results. I have seen pics of a fantastic looking SPS tank supported by a double strip of UVL NO flourescents that have way less PAR than the average reef light. (check out Sally-Jo's postings on garf.org) I really think it is all about the amount or percentage of usable light that your system emits (usable by your corals , that is) .

 

[snookin321]

sounds good......i heard they were making optics for these to fit over the strips to get better use out of these lights.....

 

[jcarenz]

yeah I heard the same thing, but I am not sure if it will be a retro for the modules I have or an entire new module, or maybe a kit for the fixture.

I do know that the modules that are in the fixture are reported to have an internal reflector around each LED while the stand alone modules do not. This supposedly makes he ones in the fixture better.

 

[jaytizzle]

I really think it is all about the amount or percentage of usable light that your system emits (usable by your corals , that is) .

That's exactly what PAR measures - Photosynthetically Active Radiation.

FWIW I don't run the ecoxotic LEDs but I do run a 90w LED fixture and recently put it on a LUX meter and pinged the meter to the max of 2,000 foot-candles at 6" from the fixture. Apparently 1,900 foot-candles is considered to be high light. That proves to me that LEDs are quite capable of supporting coral growth. That and my observations of the light being over my tank for the last 4 months... lol.

 

[snookin321]

i just got the strip in and i was playing around with it earlier and they give a very nice pop to the corals...when i picked it up we put it over a 180 that was 72" and it covered about half of the tank with just one module pretty good for a 12 inch strip....the light gets drown out a little bit by the MH but it is still noticeable.......will take some pics as soon as i figure out how to put them on the tank!

 

[snookin321]

here are some pics not the best, but here they are.....


just with MH's 150w 14k:

MH with LED:

and new coral i got from captive reef!

will try to get some all LED shot when i find my wife's tripod.....

 

[snookin321]

same coral above under all LED's!

 

[lazyreefer]

I just upgraded my from T5s to an all LED system. I have a 55 gallon LPS/Softie setup.

Last month when it was time to replace my bulbs I started looking at LEDs. i decided on the ecoxotic because there were redily vailabel at the vendors i commonly do busines with and i knew i could return them if i did not like them. I initiailly added 3 of the 8000K stunners to my existing 4x54w T5 strip to try to get some shimmer. The T5s simply overpowered the stunners. I had visible shimmer when I had only 420/460NM lights running in the T5. As soon as I turned on the other 2 lamps ,(460nm and 10K) the shimmer became invisible.

I then started experimenting with different combintions of the stunner and Panorama modules. I tested with the 453nm stunners, the 8000K stunners, the 8000K /453nm pnaorama and the 460nm Panorama. I ended up ditching the stunners and rigging my tank with 4 of the Panoramic modules, 2 of the 8000K/453nm combos and 2 of the full 453nm modules.

I mounted them in a DIY canopy that I threw together with some 1x6 and 1x4 pine and a few cans of primer and black spraypaint.I run them from side to side in pairs, not front to back like most recommended. I have one of the 8000k/460nm and on 460nm paired together on each side of the tank, basically the same way you would run a pair of NO or HO tubes. They are positioned so that the inner edge of each is 5" of the center of the tank. this gives me adequate coverage and a nice 20000K look to the entire tank.

Now, at first, I was concerned about the amount of visible light in the tank. When compared to 216 watts of HO t5, these are definitly not as visibly bright. However, the look is simply fantastic. Shimmer is better than any MH I have seen and my softies and LPS' seem to be responding well. After a few days, I am used to light level and even liking it better than a similar T5 combo. So much in fact , that I sold my T5 fixture.

Keep in mind, that I am not looking to grow out my corals or do anything with SPS, but I am confident that I could if i were to add 2 more of each of these modules. I think 6 of these over a 55 gallon would support anything that my original T5 would support, and the 4 modules I have now are adequate for the needs of my animals. IMO the T5 HO setup I had was an overkill, but I always thought that I might go on to an SPS tank in the future, and I still can with a relatively inexpensive addition of modules to my canopy.


I spent a little extra cash on all of the shipping I did when I was experimenting, but other than that, I think I made a fairly sound investment and I am happy with the results. I went from 216m watts and $100 in annual bulb replacement to what I hope will be a 10 year setup running at 52 watts requiring no bulb replacement. as well, my corals are responding as well they did to my 4x54w T5 when the bulbs were new.

How much did you end up spending to changeover from T5 to your LED setup - if you don't mind me asking that is.....

 

[jcarenz]

quote: lazyreefer;443138 How much did you end up spending to changeover from T5 to your LED setup - if you don't mind me asking that is

Spent about $400 US on lights and another couple bucks to build a canopy to mount them.

then yesterday I was at WallyWorld and spied a 12ft blue rope light of low output LEDs for $8. I bought that and reto-fitted the rope around the inner edge of my canopy for moonlights. Looks decent at night, not too bright for the fish, just enough to barley see the rock in a full dark room.

I now have what I hope will be a very energy efficient lighting system that will be good for at least five years without lamp replacements.

By the way, the corals are loving the new lights, but again, keep in mind, I only have softies and LPS, and not a ton of them. If I can get my hands on a decent camera I'll try to post a pic of my tank in the nexr week or so.

 

[dcook]

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