Led lighting advice needed for deep tanks

Moby007 · 04/03/2014, 12:15 PM

I have a 6'W x 3'W x 3.5'D Saltwater Reef Tank. Anyone have any suggestions on a HIGH PAR dimmable LED solution. I"m looking to get 200 PAR on my sand bed at 3 1/2 feet deep. Radions and AI's are not robust enough. Thank you!

triggreef · 04/03/2014, 01:10 PM

thats pretty deep! I'm not sure what you will need to get those numbers but I would suggest reefbreeders with 60 degree optics. I know with no optics (so 120 degree basically) at a depth of 27 inches (waterline top of sand bed) I get 120 par. Thats in between lights with one light on each side, and set to 90% blue and only 60% white channel.

The extra 15 inches of penetration your looking for is going to lose a whole ton of par. 60 degree optics should double my readings if not better, but you may lose a lot by the time you get down 42".

If that would not be enough, then Idk what would. I would say 4 photon 32's should cover your tank well regardless. Also I have acros growing in under 200 par just fine. FYI

Sounds like an impressive set up BTW, make sure you do a nice build thread! I'll be looking forward to checking it out.

saltyair · 04/03/2014, 03:57 PM

Or a hydra 52

davocean · 04/03/2014, 04:05 PM

One of our LFS has a fairly deep tank that has been running ecoxotic cannons for over a year or more, it's been doing quite well.

youngfish · 04/03/2014, 07:40 PM

I thought AI should be strong enough. My last time is 3' deep high and I can't even run 100% AI light which bleaches my LPS

JoelA7 · 04/03/2014, 10:35 PM

A friend had/has a 4' deep tank built in an addition to his house under a skylight.

;-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

That's a lot of depth. What about getting some 1,000 watt metal halides? Like this or similar? http://www.virtualsunhydroponics.com...row-light-bulb

bif24701 · 04/04/2014, 01:03 AM

Our LFS is running Kessil 350N on 3,5 deep tank and the lights are mounted 18" from water. He has great LPS growth at the bed. I don't know what the PAR is however I can tell you he has had success for the 2.5 years they have been installed. Only other lighting he has is some DIY LEDs to provide dusk dawn lighting effect.

I think 4 maybe upgrade later to 5 Kessil A360N E-series lights will give you all the coverage you could ever need. These are power full so be sure you mount them no less than 12" from the water, maybe more. These are controllable via Apex. You could do 6 Kessils for less than 4 AIs or Radions that may not even reach the sand. The Narrow model was designed just for large/deep tanks

Moby007 · 04/07/2014, 07:08 PM

Thank you very much bif24701!

moondoggy4 · 04/08/2014, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davocean

One of our LFS has a fairly deep tank that has been running ecoxotic cannons for over a year or more, it's been doing quite well.

Second these, and also look into the Orpheck 100 watt cannons as well. They're are you tube videos of the Ecoxotic's in action.

04/03/2014, 12:15 PM	#1
Moby007 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 26	Led lighting advice needed for deep tanks I have a 6'W x 3'W x 3.5'D Saltwater Reef Tank. Anyone have any suggestions on a HIGH PAR dimmable LED solution. I"m looking to get 200 PAR on my sand bed at 3 1/2 feet deep. Radions and AI's are not robust enough. Thank you!

04/03/2014, 01:10 PM	#2
triggreef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: East Hampton, CT Posts: 2,917	thats pretty deep! I'm not sure what you will need to get those numbers but I would suggest reefbreeders with 60 degree optics. I know with no optics (so 120 degree basically) at a depth of 27 inches (waterline top of sand bed) I get 120 par. Thats in between lights with one light on each side, and set to 90% blue and only 60% white channel. The extra 15 inches of penetration your looking for is going to lose a whole ton of par. 60 degree optics should double my readings if not better, but you may lose a lot by the time you get down 42". If that would not be enough, then Idk what would. I would say 4 photon 32's should cover your tank well regardless. Also I have acros growing in under 200 par just fine. FYI Sounds like an impressive set up BTW, make sure you do a nice build thread! I'll be looking forward to checking it out. __________________ 200g DD Marineland. Acro and monti heavy with some birdsnest, LPS, and zoas. 125g FOWLR

04/03/2014, 03:57 PM	#3
saltyair Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Ontario canada Posts: 871	Or a hydra 52 __________________ Johnny you know what to do, you know what to do. Bye for now - Eric the actor R.I.P Current Tank Info: 180 gal

04/03/2014, 04:05 PM	#4
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	One of our LFS has a fairly deep tank that has been running ecoxotic cannons for over a year or more, it's been doing quite well. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

04/04/2014, 01:03 AM	#7
bif24701 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Florida, FWB Posts: 3,389	Our LFS is running Kessil 350N on 3,5 deep tank and the lights are mounted 18" from water. He has great LPS growth at the bed. I don't know what the PAR is however I can tell you he has had success for the 2.5 years they have been installed. Only other lighting he has is some DIY LEDs to provide dusk dawn lighting effect. I think 4 maybe upgrade later to 5 Kessil A360N E-series lights will give you all the coverage you could ever need. These are power full so be sure you mount them no less than 12" from the water, maybe more. These are controllable via Apex. You could do 6 Kessils for less than 4 AIs or Radions that may not even reach the sand. The Narrow model was designed just for large/deep tanks __________________ 180 Mixed Reef SRO-5000 Skimmer Neptune APEX Gold Kessil AP700/ MP60+6105 Kalk+2 part/ Cheato Fuge Current Tank Info: 180 SPS Dominant

04/03/2014, 07:40 PM	#5
youngfish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 58	I thought AI should be strong enough. My last time is 3' deep high and I can't even run 100% AI light which bleaches my LPS

04/03/2014, 10:35 PM	#6
JoelA7 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,056	A friend had/has a 4' deep tank built in an addition to his house under a skylight. ;-) Sorry, I couldn't resist. That's a lot of depth. What about getting some 1,000 watt metal halides? Like this or similar? http://www.virtualsunhydroponics.com...row-light-bulb

04/07/2014, 07:08 PM	#8
Moby007 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 26	Thank you very much bif24701!