Todd's 60 gallon reef

[axe_man16]

Update time!

Over the last month or so my T5 fixture has decided to slowly die. It was a 6 bulb fixture but I had two ballasts die on me. So instead of trying to fix the problem I decided to make my own LED setup.

I wanted a canopy as I have had three fish jump out and land on the carpet. i also wanted to be able to move the fixture easily so that I could reach in to clean and move stuff around.

My solution for this was to place the fixture on drawer rails, therefore allowing me to slide the light back and forth when ever I need.

Thanks to Modular LED here is the build.



unpacking the box!


First of many different layout ideas


after wiring and placing the lenses on


the canopy


The light pushed back for tank access


Light pushed forward


Light turned on for the first test Everything works!!



light in canopy



just the Blues



top down all on


The corals had lost their colour because of the dying T5 fixture, but are slowly coming back.

I am very impressed with the LED's. I love that shimmer!

[chris88]

Tank looks great. However, I don’t think you have enough light over that tank to keep your sps happy. I did a quick count but I think I seen around 40 leds at probably 3 watts each. Over a tank that size I would have double that amount or added a couple of t5's with it in your canopy. Just a suggestion.

[axe_man16]

With the drivers I picked I do have the ability to add a bunch more, but with my tank being so narrow (13") i might not need much more.

I have the whites at 28% and the blues at 40% right now and will be going up a little bit as the corals adjust. With the whites even at 50% it seems very bright. So i doubt I will ever need to go above that.

Thanks for the input, i had the same concern when i started. Hopefully I wont need any more.

[chris88]

i have a 93 gallon cube thats only 30x30 so a small footprint. I have an ecotech radion which is 120w as well but with 5w crees and i have 4 t5's. in theory i have almost double the light over a simlar sized area. I have the radion going at full and i still want to add more light.

If you are getting good growth and color then i wouldnt worry about it. If you notice slow or no growth, or bad color i would add more leds or t5's. you basically only have 30watts over each foot of the tank.

[axe_man16]

I will definitely take that into consideration.

The corals have already started to get some different color. As they were washed out by the T5's and for a month I only had 2 bulbs working.

Time will tell