LEDs... Decisions Decisions

VicD81 · Nov 11, 2013

The vast options for LED lighting boggle the mind! Im looking for something that can support my (soon to be set up) 72G Bow (48Lx18Wx24H) mixed reef with just minimal tinkering with SPS.

First concern of course is being able to sustain life which im sure just about all can do.
Controlability. Looking for something that I can control the lighting schedule and control every channel to change the color spectrum and intensity with an Apex.
All around neat features that I can show off like cloud coverage, sunrise, sunset and thunderstorms.

so far I narrowed it down to

Radions - Just because I would already have the Apex WXM to control it all but cant justify the price tag if there are others brands out there for way cheaper that can give me the same things.
AI Hydra - WAY cheaper and gives me the same options Just have to get the VDM but can I control all the colors through the APEX?
AI Vega - I dont understand why this one is more than the Hydra if its missing the Violet and UVs.
Orphek PR72 - Looks nice but cant find info on it. Price, controlability or features.

Id like to know what everyone's opinion on these are and If there are others with these features let me know.

ReefLEDLights · Nov 11, 2013

PLEASE DO NOT USE THUNDERSTORMS!!!

It seriously freaks out the fish

The AI is only 20 LEDs you might not get the PAR you want on the sandbed with two fixtures.

The Orphek PR72 Looks like a good value at $329 but without a good PAR measurement or the type of LEDs its hard to judge.

PM Sent

Bill

mike007 · Nov 11, 2013

Orphec leds are awesome.

KologneKoral · Nov 12, 2013

ReefLEDLights said:
PLEASE DO NOT USE THUNDERSTORMS!!!

It seriously freaks out the fish

Bill

Bill,

don't know where you got that from, but I'll assume it was personal experience. My fish have no trouble enjoying a storm. Erratic behaviour has never been apparent. We are talking anthias, angels, tangs, typical mixed collection.

Although the storms are most likely of little value, cloud sequences are and shouldn't be underestimated in their ability to help corals through a day of strong light.

Jamie

ReefLEDLights · Nov 12, 2013

KologneKoral said:
Bill,

don't know where you got that from, but I'll assume it was personal experience. My fish have no trouble enjoying a storm. Erratic behaviour has never been apparent. We are talking anthias, angels, tangs, typical mixed collection.

Although the storms are most likely of little value, cloud sequences are and shouldn't be underestimated in their ability to help corals through a day of strong light.

Jamie

I've known two people that have had expensive wrasses jump out during a storm. I've also seen one you tube of the storm were the poor clownfish is in a different part of the tank at every flash. The fish also dont have an iris I cant see how bright flashes would do them any good. There is a reason public aquariums don't allow flash photography.

I do like the idea of cloud movement. I use it on my personal tank.

Bill

1.0reef · Nov 12, 2013

Nanobox or DIY would be my options.

GHill762 · Nov 12, 2013

nanobox is sick.. love his fixtures..

reefernutz · Nov 13, 2013

Have you considered Evergrow? They are Chinese made, but they are made well. I have 3 of the d120s over my tank and for the price you just can't beat them. I've taken them apart to change a couple violet LEDs to 10k and was pretty impressed with the workmanship. Plus, if anything does go wrong (this happens with all brands) they are easy to get into to fix. I know they have them on ebay, but you may have a local distributer.

Ron Reefman · Nov 13, 2013

reefernutz said:
Have you considered Evergrow? They are Chinese made, but they are made well. I have 3 of the d120s over my tank and for the price you just can't beat them. I've taken them apart to change a couple violet LEDs to 10k and was pretty impressed with the workmanship. Plus, if anything does go wrong (this happens with all brands) they are easy to get into to fix. I know they have them on ebay, but you may have a local distributer.

The OP wants them to run off his Apex reef controller.
And I'll bet in the near future there will be economy priced, quality built fixtures that will run on a reef controller, they just aren't there yet.
That said, I love the control I get from my EverGrow OR-IT2080's. They've run 24/7 for a year and I see very little need to hook up to a reef controller. When I had MH and a chiller, sure. If the chiller crapped out, I want the reef controller to kill the MH before things start to overheat. But with leds? If mine there on a reef controller now, I wouldn't have toutched them in 12 months, just like I haven't needed to touch the built-in controllers.

VicD81 · Nov 14, 2013

Wow there really are a lot of choices. The reefspectum P47s look real nice deff put those into consideration. Not sure about Orphek now. Wrote them an email 2 days ago and still no response. As for the Chinese brands I'm still pretty new at this and I'm not ready to experiment so looking for something that's tried and tested. I will look into it though it's an awesome price.

extremecoral · Nov 14, 2013

we have couple sponsors here who's specialty on led lights, ask them if you have any concern about the fixture. I'm sure w/ if you give them all the info about your tank, and directions you want it to be they will pretty much help you decide what's good/bad, ect...

Ron Reefman · Nov 14, 2013

Vic,
I've had Chinese leds over all 3 of my tanks for 11 months now (3 different models and 2 different brands) and not one of them has given me any issues other than fast growing corals! :wink:

VicD81 · Nov 16, 2013

So with these Chinese brands is there anything in particular I should look for? Should I be looking for Par numbers, colors, # of LEDs, wattage (I'm pretty sure the list goes on)? Also should I invest in a par meter?

Dctrojan · Nov 16, 2013

Search 144w reef leds on ebay . They are cheap and work great. I even added dimmable driver to mine

Ron Reefman · Nov 17, 2013

You need to be VERY CAREFUL if you shop for led fixtures on Ebay. There is a lot of serious junk sold there and you need to know what you are looking for before you shop there or you could end up throwing money down a bottomless hole. IMHO.

"Should I be looking for Par numbers, colors, # of LEDs, wattage (I'm pretty sure the list goes on)? Also should I invest in a par meter?"

Finding PAR vales in led fixture ads or even at there websites is rare.

Colors in leds is important. You want a mix of 410nm to 460nm blue (the better the mix the better they will work and look), and the mix of blue to white leds should be close to or better than 2:1 blue to white. There are lots of 1:1 fixtures and they are too white. And lots with only 1 spectrum of blue or white which can work, but for the same money you can do a lot better!

Number of leds is important, but very hard to give any rules to help. The standard Chinese base fixture is probably the EverGrow OR-D120 and it has 55 leds in a 16" x 10" fixture that covers about 2' x 2' in a 24" deep tank.

Watts, as in how many watts/gallon is worthless. However, in fixtures with single leds you want 3W leds. There are junk leds that are 0.25W leds and 1W leds (avoid them like the plague)! And a lot of fixtures, like the OR-D120, use a 120 watt driver and have 55 leds so it runs 2.2 watts per led. Under driving leds makes them run cooler and last longer, but put out a bit less intensity (PAR).

A PAR meter is a really worthwhile tool (I've had one for several years), but they are expensive. Finding somebody you can borrow it from for a day or two works good too. I've been known to loan mine out for a nice coral frag. :smile:

There are other things to consider. Here is an answer to somebody else's question:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/equipment-lighting-hardware-aquarium-filtration/139069-first-dumb-question-reef-light.html#post1608191

Ron Reefman · Nov 17, 2013

Oops!

reefernutz · Nov 17, 2013

I know I brought up the d120s, but do yourself a favor and go look at a comparison between the Chinese LEDs and the Kessil. I just got educated on them this weekend and I'll be buying some kessils for my tank. Some of the Chinese LEDs are pretty decent, but get a good understanding of the difference between those and quality name brand before you buy. Just a suggestion.

VicD81 · Nov 17, 2013

Ron Reefman said:
There are other things to consider. Here is an answer to somebody else's question:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/equipment-lighting-hardware-aquarium-filtration/139069-first-dumb-question-reef-light.html#post1608191

Wow thanks I even got some ideas for my build from that last post you have on that thread. You guys have been a great help!

dib · Nov 17, 2013

I'm going to chime in here. Lots of great info, thanks.
About the lighting, I'm in kinda the same boat....hmmm what do I get? My tank has a 2bulb t5 fixture. Tank size: 56 column, 30wX24hX18 I've been checking out LEDs. Also just checked out reef radiance site. I think I found what I want. Their DM 132e good price.
My question now is, would one of these lights be enough for my size tank. The light fixture size is 13.78"x8.43" also would that make my light strong enough for SPS and LPS corals
Any other input would be appreciated.

evan.lundberg4 · Nov 17, 2013

dib said:
I'm going to chime in here. Lots of great info, thanks.
About the lighting, I'm in kinda the same boat....hmmm what do I get? My tank has a 2bulb t5 fixture. Tank size: 56 column, 30wX24hX18 I've been checking out LEDs. Also just checked out reef radiance site. I think I found what I want. Their DM 132e good price.
My question now is, would one of these lights be enough for my size tank. The light fixture size is 13.78"x8.43" also would that make my light strong enough for SPS and LPS corals
Any other input would be appreciated.

I have two of their DM-155e fixtures over my 80 gallon and am happy with them. IMO they are plenty bright. Plus they have two dimmable channels, blue and white/colors. I don't have any experience with the 132e's but I have read about a lot of people using them. If you want more info you can actually contact reef radiance as they have good customer service and could tell you what light would be ideal.