I want them all!!! Please help me decide :)

[Dsdaley77]

Ok it's time to ask you guys and gals for some advice... So I am about a week away from ordering my lighting upgrade but am like a kid in a candy store.

I could really use some help deciding which fixtures I should go with. While I have a decent budget to work with, the top of the line (super high priced fixtures) are out of the question

My tank system is a standard 75g (center brace) mixed reef with a 12g (adjusted volume) sump. Coral stock will consist of many softies (wide range of Coralimorphs, Zoas, Paly's, Duncan's, Maxi's, Acan's) a light assortment of SPS (Red Planet, Birdsnest, Mille) along with a couple plates, a Galaxia colony, and two or three Chalices. Fish ennnnh you don't really need to know that They don't care. (Right?)

So I have it pretty narrowed down to what style I'm looking for and the features available in each unit but because I seriously just want to set up 5 more tanks and get them all it's really tough to pick just one.

It comes down to LEDTRiC or ReefBreeders, here are the options.......

Ohhhh yeah, Two of the ReefBreeders D120

Two of the 16in units or one of the 32in units

Wait...... What's this Should I wait to check this bad boy out? (aaaarrrrggghhh)

Finally...... Two of the Inspire units or two Infuse4 units or one Infuse12 unit.

So..... What do you guys think? Any thing of a positive helpful manner is appreciated and I am grateful for any guidance I receive.

 

[that novice guy]

Well basically do you want to dim or not

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[Dsdaley77]

Well basically do you want to dim or not

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

I selected the fixture choices above since they all have full dimming capabilities and are fully controllable. Which would you pick for my system?


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[that novice guy]

Are you sure the infuse is dimmable? If so the infuse 12 or 2 infuse 4
Sent from my LG-MS770 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[that novice guy]

Ya i would get 2 infuse 4 sense you have a center brace and it won't cast such a shadow

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[Poseidon]

I have the Reef Breeders 24" fixture, and the clubs PAR meter... For the money, this is hard to beat. I am getting 400 Par 1/2 way down the tank, and about 200 Par at the sand, with the fixture at 70% Blue, 40% White.

 

[Dsdaley77]

Yeah, I'll be honest..... I'm leaning towards 2 of the iNSPIRE (since it has all the bells and whistles-remote,sunrise,sunset, weather programming,moonlight program,etc) or 2 of the ReefBreeders 16in units

I loooove them both but can't decide. Something tells me I'd be happy with both Right?? Lol


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[Poseidon]

The Reef Breeders has all that too, minus the "Weather".

 

[cdness]

I am going to end up going with 3 D120s for my 125G. I don't know where I am getting them though. Same technology, couple different brands. ReefBreeders has one of the best prices though.

 

[Dsdaley77]

I am going to end up going with 3 D120s for my 125G. I don't know where I am getting them though. Same technology, couple different brands. ReefBreeders has one of the best prices though.

And I hear their bulb selection/layout is great.


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[RavePartyReef]

Dsdaley,

I don't want to sound like I'm criticizing your options, but instead just wanted to point out something people normally don't pay attention to. I am involved with many sps retailers here in NYC, and I have been researching with them for reasons and more reasons some LEDs are dropping the ball on the overall long run of a reef tank. I'm not trying to persuade you to not get LEDs, that is a diff story. What I would truly recommend is invest your money on a reliable company due to this: cheaper LEDs are usually made with Chinese LEDs, assembled poorly and therefore lack the heat insulation they require to last long. LEDs heat up if that step is not done correctly, and although they won't burn up, in a few months their efficiency(par) could be dropping and your corals will start feeling the issue. Because we can't tell efficiency is dropping with our eyes, you wouldn't know it is happening. The common consensus amongst serious reefers here in Ny is that you must make sure you are getting quality LEDs, and I'm not saying you have to spend lots on it...just make sure you are not getting the Chinese made, Bc they will be leaving you hanging in the long run.

 

[mike007]

Orphec PR-156w is my choice. No gimmicks just awesome leds with great par .

 

[Dave A]

I wouldn't worry about where they are made, most of the big names are full of the same Chinese parts. Instead, I'd concentrate on things like spectrum. Certain wavelengths are used for photosynthesis and even a PAR meter is often a very poor indicator of how a light will perform. Concentrate on fixtures that use a Royal Blue that peaks below 450nm and make sure there are more than just a couple Violet emitters. Stay away from any fixture that uses Cool White LEDs and if there are no Warm Whites, make sure there is a Deep Red or two present. Avoid Green LEDs, they make great PAR but they are useless for photosynthesis.
The only light in your post that shows what emitters are included is one I would be quick to eliminate. It does include a couple red and violet LEDs but the rest of it is a good example of what to use if you want to be disappointed with the results.
Edit: Having gone to the sites and checked the specs, I'd call the 16" Reef Breeders the least objectionable. Basically, it's the winner by default since everything else on the list is worse. Can you swap out emitters on these fixtures? If so, You could swap out the greens and about a dozen RB in order to get at least a minimal number of violets. The downside of that is that you'll need to spend $50 per fixture on the replacement LEDs.

 

[Dsdaley77]

I wouldn't worry about where they are made, most of the big names are full of the same Chinese parts. Instead, I'd concentrate on things like spectrum. Certain wavelengths are used for photosynthesis and even a PAR meter is often a very poor indicator of how a light will perform. Concentrate on fixtures that use a Royal Blue that peaks below 450nm and make sure there are more than just a couple Violet emitters. Stay away from any fixture that uses Cool White LEDs and if there are no Warm Whites, make sure there is a Deep Red or two present. Avoid Green LEDs, they make great PAR but they are useless for photosynthesis.
The only light in your post that shows what emitters are included is one I would be quick to eliminate. It does include a couple red and violet LEDs but the rest of it is a good example of what to use if you want to be disappointed with the results.
Edit: Having gone to the sites and checked the specs, I'd call the 16" Reef Breeders the least objectionable. Basically, it's the winner by default since everything else on the list is worse. Can you swap out emitters on these fixtures? If so, You could swap out the greens and about a dozen RB in order to get at least a minimal number of violets. The downside of that is that you'll need to spend $50 per fixture on the replacement LEDs.

I hear ya but I tend to base all my coral lighting requirements off of this fantastic chart......

With that being said, don't you think the LEDTRiC spectrum falls into these needed wavelengths? Here is their lighting layout.....

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[Dave A]

I'm not sure where to start, why that fantastic chart is inaccurate, why that fixture wouldn't meet the requirements in that chart, or why it wouldn't work if the chart were accurate, either.
I'll go with the fixture first. Cool white is the first problem. Most cool white LEDs emit primarily 450nm royal blue with enough green and yellow mixed in to make it appear white-ish. The green-yellow is usually from around 525nm to 600nm, that's the big empty space in the middle of your chart. A better chart would have a mark at 584nm for a secondary peak of chlorophyll C1. A neutral white would be a better choice, that would reduce the 450nm peak a little (use a couple more RB instead) but will extend the green-yellow pare of the output to around 650nm, which will benefit chlorophyll C2 (secondary peak @630nm) and C1 (another secondary @634nm).
The next problem is that most of the "single color" LEDs are just a little off from where they need to be. Generally, these emitters have a bandwidth of around 10nm before the output drops off to fairly insignificant levels. Without a spectrograph to show otherwise, I'd need to assume the output drops off around 5nm each side of the wavelength listed. That 455nm RB (roughly 450-460nm) might be good for lutein but it misses everything else. The 495nm cyan (490-500nm) is even less useful according to your chart. My version of the chart wouldn't be much different, but my info shows a peak for B-carotene at 450nm, a slight difference from the peak shown on your chart. The red is a good choice and the quantity is reasonable but I'd still rather see a NW or WW and reduce the need for individual red LEDs and the potential for disco effect that comes with having a few emitters scattered in an array. The violet is also a good choice as far as spectrum is concerned but there are not enough of them. I'd want at least 20% of the total numbers of emitters in this wavelength. There is evidence that this part of the spectrum is just as important (and possibly more important) as Royal blue for photosynthesis.
As far as the chart goes, it seems to be over-simplified in a way that becomes misleading. It also leaves out 2 of the 3 most common pigments while including at least one that may not exist in corals. The "over-simplified" comment comes from the fact that peaks are left out or in a couple cases, seen to have been represented by an average of multiple, individual peaks. Chlorophyll A, for example, has peaks at 410nm, 428 nm and 662nm. This is the most common pigment in the marine environment and it's probably worth getting it right. I'll give you that different samples may vary a little and different testing methods may give slightly different results but your chart needs to show peaks near 410 and 428nm, not a single peak at 417nm. The second and third most common pigments are probably chlorophyll C1 (448, 584 and 634nm) and chlorophyll C2 (444 and 630nm), why aren't these on your chart. OTOH, chlorophyll B is the pigment that makes plants green and some sources say that it is not found in corals at all. It is found in macro algae so if that's what you want to grow you can feed it best around 455nm (this fixture should be good for macro algae). Personally, I would have left chlorophyll B off of the chart.
I have a few other pigments on my list and a couple on your chart have similar peaks, it's possible that the same pigment may have more than one name. Still, this chart leave off a number of key pigments, includes at least one that doesn't belong there and has questionable data for others.
That's a lot of typing for a tablet, I hope it was helpful.

 

[stlcard]

forgive my noobness with led, but are these units controllable via an apex? or no?

 

[Dsdaley77]

forgive my noobness with led, but are these units controllable via an apex? or no?

They might be but actually each have built in controllers, well most of the ones I'm listing above


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[tearlessnikon]

I just put the 32inch reef breeders controllable unit on my tank and it looks great and when I added my coral they all opened right up

Sent from my PC36100 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[Dsdaley77]

Nice, thanks for the input


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[Dsdaley77]

Update on where I'm at.........

So it's definitely gonna be one of the smaller units and I'll get two to avoid the shadow from my center brace. Looks like the 16in RB's unit is in the lead


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP