Led education frustration

[lpsreefer]

For LEDs it's not some much watts per gallon per say. It's more the par level and spectrum. Also if you do go DIY for a fixture I would go wel modularled over radipled just for the fact that every thing is on prefabricated board so it's quick connect. No soldiering.
As for lenses depending on the depth of your tank they are for coverage/depth. As normal led with no lenses cover I think 120 degrees.
Bottom line for more info on what you need is tank size, and what you keep or planning to keep in the tank.

[MrGoodbytes]

There is a lot to know on this topic, depending on how in-depth you want to go into it. The best place to start, or at least where I started, is in Soundwave's thread on RC. You could probably skip the first split if you'd like since it deals with older technology now and the implementation is essentially the same. A recurring theme is new DIYers joining the thread and asking similar questions so a lot of points are reiterated and driven home. This also allows for some skimming, which helps, since the third split has over 300 pages.

Soundwave's build thread on RC:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587273

There was a thread dedicated to summarizing the key points from the main one but I seem to have lost the link. Links to it start to appear part way through the thirsd split.

Also, there are a few DIYers on Canreef too, including myself. I have two fixtures planned for later this year, when I have the funds. I'd be more than happy to answer what questions I can.

[04V10]

One thing I would not cheap out on is your lighting. It was kind of imprinted in my brain from all of my research...lol. I was going to go with the Marineland Reef capable for my 20gal, but I really wanted some control on how my lighting looked and pretty much be maintenance free once it is set up. I then found a great deal on my Mazarra LED's that are pretty neat. They will do the job for anything I would like to put in my tank, however I am going to use these for my sump in the future and get a Radion setup so I can really control the color scheme's in my tank.

I guess to make it simple just get one that is already built and ready to go, as I was in the same boat as you in Par values at certain depths and said screw it..lol

As for the DIY, there are some great looking setups that people have done and there is quite a lot of info on them, however they make me nervous as some look like a house fire waiting to happen...lol

[subman]

Check. with Martin at moddularled he will help you figure everything out. Site sponsor as well

[Snaz]

Best prices
http://www.aquastyleonline.com

The lighting and DIY forums at nano-reef.com have tons of info and wiring examples regardless of tank size.

[mseepman]

I would concur that Soundwave's write-up (the whole thing) is the best resource around. They are not trying to sell you anything, and it's huge so just about everything you could want to know is in there.

I have built a large DIY fixture and that link has been the premise for the entire build. There is a sub-link within it under "thefishman65" which summarizes the thread and suggested options.
I personally would avoid the knock off LED's as for every good story, there is a bad one to match. ie: steve's, no name...

[mike31154]

The LED game is heating up fast & furious with new innovations & products appearing on a regular basis. There's really no easy answer. Check some of the links already provided, then search & read some more. I've found that some of the information I read only a few months ago has already been pre-empted by newer stuff.

The options LEDs have opened up are almost endless. Controllability is one of the major factors adding to the complexity of what you can do with different colour combinations. You really need to know what your ultimate goal is as to what you wish to keep in your system long term.

As far as DIY, many of the builds for the last few years have been heavy on the Cree 3 watt emitters. There are alternatives however, such as PAR 38 spotlights & MR16 form factor lamps normally used for task lighting in the home. I'm thinking it won't be too long before the Edison base, screw in LED lamps offered to replace your CFLs (which replaced your incandescents), will be powerful enough to consider using for a FOWLR or even soft/LPS coral tank.

I'm relatively close to completing a DIY using 10 watt multi-chip LEDs and very much like how this is working out. There are few of these types of builds around, but more & more folks are beginning to expand their horizons from the Cree 3 watt LEDs to other form factors. There's a chap on RC using the larger 50 watt & up multi-chip LEDs as well. Pretty amazing stuff.

Here's a link to my DIY thread:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=82206

[toytech]

I have 2 of the 24 led nano kits from aquastyle led online , there over my 15 gal fragtank right now but i had them over a 30 gal cube and they where more than enough light .The instructions for wiring them are very simple , the kits come with everything but solder , fans , heatsinks,dimmers , everthing.There cheap too so if your worried about power buy more than you think you need you can always dim them if its too much.