Lighting question

[freezetyle]

I would probably say MH would be best for your main lights. They would allow you to get the best spread for the dollar. and then supplement with a t5 or prefab. LED strip like the reefbrite so you are still getting some power from them. I think i was reading on here that greg from coral master could get in the reefbrite strips. they are probably on the more expensive side. (255 per 24") but you wouldnt have to replace them every 9-12 months. but there is nothing wrong with t5's

i have heard great things about these moon lights. they are on the more expensive side but you can control them to do moon cycles like all of the fancy led fixtures. but you need both the lights and the controller
http://www.progressivereef.com/prodd...hp?prod=RM1131
http://www.progressivereef.com/proddetail.php?prod=R22

[asylumdown]

Thos moonlights look great, exactly what I need. To be honest, they're a lot less than I was expecting, considering an LED tank light can run in the multiple thousands of dollars.

It says that a package of two lights can cover 6 feet, I'm having a hard time believing that. Fr a 6'X3' tank, 4-6 spaced off centre to each other should be enough shouldn't it?

[freezetyle]

i actually think they might be able too the lights are angled kind of like a rakes teeth //I\\ so they give you a spread. but yea. if you really wanted to add more it would not hurt anything

[xtreme]

I have a couple of those R2 moonlight I don't use if you want to buy them, or you can just come check out the light they put out. I don't think just 2 of them will be enough to cover your tank.

[Milad]

Let me suggest you go look at a tank with CREE LEDs on it before you knock the LEDs. They really make the color pop on corals.

Quality LEDs, not cheap LEDs. There is a big difference.

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

I think in the next 10 days I will have my led array up and running .
You are more than welcome to come and check it out,as I will have moon lighting from led on over my tank.
I do have a couple 400w halides running over my tank now and yes it is a diy setup in wall.
By all means I have no problem you coming over to check it out.

[Milad]

Just to help you out on choosing right LEDs, here is some more info.

LEDs have three major parts, LED, Heatsink, Power supply.

The LED should be the most efficient on the market when you purchase them. The reason you would be buying LEDs is because of the efficiency. So for very little power, you are producing alot of light, that is what efficiency is about. Now if you have a non efficient LED, then you are produce less light for same power, not good, not what LEDs are about. This is why 3w CREEs is leading the market right now.

Heatsinks are the next major part of LEDs. LEDs need to stay cool otherwise they will die prematurely. If you keep a LED at its optimal temperature at 12hrs a day for 10 years its still going to put out 70% of the light it did on day one. NO SPECTRUM CHANGE. That means you never need to change the LED like you do with MH every 9 months. Less cayno, more $$$ in your pocket, more growth, etc etc

Third is the power. Most people will keep the power at 70% of max power the LED can handle so the temperature stays down and the LEDs last forever.

Now thats the three major parts, but there is one more very important thing that many people seem to leave out to save money. Leaving this out will just make your LED project fail. That is OPTICS.

Optics are like very good reflectors for a T5. Most people know if you just throw a T5 in a canopy, it will make light and it looks fine to you but if you put a good reflector on it, it will make a world of difference. An optic on an LED does the same. Optics control the light and focus them on your corals. It may look fine to a human eye without the optics but you are really loosing alot of light and the correct amount of light isnt penetrating the water as you would expect it and then people think the LEDs don't work because corals dont grow, etc. Take a read here on optics: http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/pages/Cho...ght-optic.html

If you judge LED effectiveness on a setup that doesnt have Optics I can tell you right now it will be a fraction as effective as a setup with Optics.


Now that all said, I believe elias is on the right track with his build. Hes got the right LEDs, hes got the right Heatsinks, hes got the right power supplies and hes got optics on his LEDs. I would go look at his build once hes done and be shocked. Take sunglasses and an extra pair of undies.