LEDs Mount on Top/Rear of Tank

[Buzz1329]

I am looking for LED units that mount on top/rear of tank and are sufficient to satisfy 72 x 24 x 24 predominately SPS tank. Assume I would need 3 units.

I am aware that EcoTech offers lights that meet these requirements but, even at sale price, I cannot justify spending $1,800 (including tank mounts) for G3 generation of these lights.

AI offers more affordable lights but they are not powerful enough for my system.

Can anyone suggest alternatives?

Thanks,

Mike


Thanks,
Mike

[Buzz1329]

Anyone?

[Ron Reefman]

What makes you think AI fixtures aren't powerful enough for your tank? How high do you want the PAR at the sand? I had a 180g with EverGrow IT2080 fixtures and I had PAR of 200+ at the sand running at 90% blue and 40% white.

I've seen tanks with mostly sps (mine included) with AI, Maxspect, Reef Breeders and even MarsAqua fixtures. And they all make more than enough light so they don't run at full power. BTW, I tested the PAR in these tanks for fellow club members with my Apogee PAR meter.

[Portsie]

Kessil is another option.

[evan38109]

Kessil would be great. The minimum would be 3 A360WE's, that's $1200+. You may want more if there's extensive shadowing. It would also be perfect for a pair of Kessil A700's, though that's even more expensive. I'm biased: I've recently switched to the A700 and I love it!

I'll also second Ron's feedback. Radions and Kessils get a lot of love on forums (for good reasons), but AIs, Maxspects, and others are perfectly capable lights! And if you get into a situation where things are good but you need just a little more light, it's easy to just add another fixture or two (budget permitting). That's sometimes the really nice part about non-"premium" lights: more fixtures can yield better spread and reduce shadowing while being more flexible.

If price is the deal breaker, consider used. There's lots of used Radion G3s on the market at firesale prices right now! And there's always plenty of Kessils and AIs as well. I've also seen three different A700's going for around $700 in the last couple weeks. In fact: that's how I got mine!

[Buzz1329]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

What makes you think AI fixtures aren't powerful enough for your tank? How high do you want the PAR at the sand? I had a 180g with EverGrow IT2080 fixtures and I had PAR of 200+ at the sand running at 90% blue and 40% white.

I've seen tanks with mostly sps (mine included) with AI, Maxspect, Reef Breeders and even MarsAqua fixtures. And they all make more than enough light so they don't run at full power. BTW, I tested the PAR in these tanks for fellow club members with my Apogee PAR meter.

Thanks Ron.

I was told by a retailer who sells the AI back-mounted lights that they would be woefully insufficient for my tank. He recommended I go for the discounted Ecotech 3G fixtures, which are way beyond my budget.

Are you saying that 3 x AI back-mounted lights could get me near to 200 PAR at sand level on a 180 gallon (24" deep) tank?

If so, I'm sold.

Mike

[Buzz1329]

Ron,

Sorry for the confusion but I was looking at AI Prime HD LED Fixture @ 55 watts/$255 each (plus tank mount). Not the AI Prime 26 HD LED Module @ $350/135 watt each plus tank mount).

The latter is still beyond my price range, although it looks like a great light.

Mike

[Ron Reefman]

Buzz, the Prime HD will not get you 200 PAR at 24" deep. I've never used one, but looking at the AI website, I'd only use the Prime over shallower tanks or tanks where I'm keeping very easy corals at depths of more than 18".

You were looking at 3 of the Prime fixtures, so $750 is in your budget but $1050 is too much, right?

Can I ask what your priorities are for your light fixture? I know you need to cover 6' long, 180g tank (that's what I had before it broke 4 weeks ago) and it was 75% sps & 25% lps or softie.

Is having the fixtures hard mounted on brackets from behind the tank? Can they hang by stainless steel hanging kits? Can the stand on top of the tank with legs? I'm assuming you don't have a canopy? Do you want sunrise/sunset ability? Do you want more than 2 channels of control (just W&B)? What is it about the Prime or even the 26 that are mush have features vs I'd like to have but aren't required features?

I had 2 EverGrow IT2080 (32") fixtures (same as the old Reef Breeders Photon 32) in a canopy over my 180g for the last 4 years. I had 200 PAR at 20" deep, the sps corals did great and I was running 90% blue and 40% white, so I could have pushed the PAR even higher.




My new tank is a 125g and 5' long, so 1 of the 32" fixtures isn't long enough and 2 of them are longer than the tank. I just bought a new Photon 50" V2. Currently I'm using the legs so it sits on the tank. I plan to build my own mounting system in the future. But getting my build done is my first priority. The new tank has most of the corals that survived the tank break and 3 weeks of crappy holding tank environments. The new tank wasn't cycled and I filled it with LR, dry rock, corals, CUC and 2 small fish. So I'm not pushing the light yet. Just running 60% on both blues and violet, 15% white and no red or green.After 12 days, all the sps still look very happy.

[Buzz1329]

Hi Ron,

You asked:

"Is having the fixtures hard mounted on brackets from behind the tank? Can they hang by stainless steel hanging kits? Can the stand on top of the tank with legs? I'm assuming you don't have a canopy? Do you want sunrise/sunset ability? Do you want more than 2 channels of control (just W&B)? What is it about the Prime or even the 26 that are mush have features vs I'd like to have but aren't required features?"

Here is my response:

I don’t have canopy, have not been able to find anything to tank mount Reefbreeders (and now SB Reeflights) 32” fixtures and do not feel comfortable mounting fixtures to 30+ year old foam panel drop ceiling 18”over tank. I am concerned that ceiling panels will not support weight of fixtures and cause catastrophic damage to tank and house.

Here’s a pic of drop ceiling above the tank.



Maybe I should replace old panels with sturdier ceiling?

I don’t think I can fit and open a canopy above tank, especially with scalloped woodwork 14” above front of tank.

Here’s a pic of woodwork.



Even though SB Reeflights fixtures (https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-l...-32-timer.html ) come with tank mounting kits, they only work if you are mounting one fixture on one tank and do not work if trying to mount 2 fixtures on one tank. (Wish I had figured this out before ordering.)

As a result I have 2 SB fixtures placed on 4 x ½” thick glass panels lying on rim of tank. This lifts them about 1-1.5” above water surface. Here are pics of what I’m doing. I’m running them 80% blue and 60% non-blue.







In addition, I have 2 x 14,000K overlapping 48” Build My Led fixtures at rear of tank to reach parts of tank that main LED’s can’t reach because they are mounted so close to the surface.



It’s a mess, which is why I am so interested in back tank mounting system.

Re sunrise/sunset features and adjusting colors of lights through day, it don’t matter to me. SB lights allow me to do one hour blue only warmup and fade out at beginning and end of light cycle and that is fine for me.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Mike

[billdogg]

I would mount whatever lights you choose through the drop ceiling tiles, not to them.

Replacement ceiling tiles are very inexpensive so should you need to, mending the holes is easy - just replace the tiles.

As for the lights themselves - although my tank is a 120g, it still has the same basic requirements for lighting, being that it is 4x2x2, I just need one less light. I use 2 x AI Sol Blues ~14" above water set to 45W/65B/65RB and grow SPS on the sandbed. I also have a pair of Kessil A360W's lighting my 4x2x12" frag tank and they are at way less than 50%. I am quite certain that you can easily get enough light to grow pretty much anything you want wherever you put it in the tank at a reasonable price.

hth

[Wazzel]

AI fixtures rock. I run hyda52s at about 65% power and they grow SPS on the bottom of a 24" deep tank. My lights are 12" above the water.

Lots of the other manufacturers will do the job also.

[slief]

Take a look at the GHL Mitra's. They are priced similar to the Radion Pro's but put out much more light with better spread. They have 9 channels of control and each of the 6 clusters can have their intensity independently controlled. The GHL light studio software makes dialing them in via kelvin simple.

I've always loved the Radion's but having played with the Mitra's and now that I have one here over one of my tanks, I can honestly say, these lights are amazing!!

[Buzz1329]

Originally Posted by Wazzel

AI fixtures rock. I run hyda52s at about 65% power and they grow SPS on the bottom of a 24" deep tank. My lights are 12" above the water.

Lots of the other manufacturers will do the job also.

Thanks. Can you post a link to the hyda52s?

Mike

[Wazzel]

Originally Posted by Buzz1329

Thanks. Can you post a link to the hyda52s?

Mike

To my tank or to the lights themselves? If you are looking for the light they are out of production. It was the previous model to the HD line.

[Buzz1329]

Originally Posted by billdogg

I would mount whatever lights you choose through the drop ceiling tiles, not to them.

Replacement ceiling tiles are very inexpensive so should you need to, mending the holes is easy - just replace the tiles.

As for the lights themselves - although my tank is a 120g, it still has the same basic requirements for lighting, being that it is 4x2x2, I just need one less light. I use 2 x AI Sol Blues ~14" above water set to 45W/65B/65RB and grow SPS on the sandbed. I also have a pair of Kessil A360W's lighting my 4x2x12" frag tank and they are at way less than 50%. I am quite certain that you can easily get enough light to grow pretty much anything you want wherever you put it in the tank at a reasonable price.

hth

Thanks. I'll definitely look into mounting lights through the drop ceiling.

You recommend the AI sol blues and the Kessil A360W's but I’m not familiar with either of these.

Are they comparable to the AI Prime HD LED Fixture @ 55 watts or the AI Prime 26 HD LED Module @ 135 watt? Can you shoot me a link to the AI sol blues and the Kessil A360W's?

Can they be mounted at rear of tank?

Thanks,

Mike

[Wazzel]

The AI sol line is out of production also. Only the three current HD modeles can be purchased new.

[HuskerBioProf]

You mention mounting, so I thought I would show you how I mount my AI Hydras on my 40 breeder. I use 2 AI Hydra 26 HDs over a 40 breeder (36" L). And I have all SPS top to bottom (still frags). My only problem has been nearly frying some frags. Even if people say they are "blasting" their corals, make sure to acclimate slowly to the light.

They are mounted with black metal piping.



This is an old picture from when I first set up the tank.

[Buzz1329]

Originally Posted by HuskerBioProf

You mention mounting, so I thought I would show you how I mount my AI Hydras on my 40 breeder. I use 2 AI Hydra 26 HDs over a 40 breeder (36" L). And I have all SPS top to bottom (still frags). My only problem has been nearly frying some frags. Even if people say they are "blasting" their corals, make sure to acclimate slowly to the light.

They are mounted with black metal piping.



This is an old picture from when I first set up the tank.

Nice! So the metal tubing mount was was a DIY project?

Mike

[R-nel]

Here's another option for LED light and hanger. I used a dual monitor mount to hang the 2 Kessils. I'm sure it'll work with any other LED fixture with few modification.

[seefil]

I constructed my own from electrical conduit. $3 for 10'. They will bend it 90* for you at the store. Just cut to length, sand the conduit to clean imperfections, rub down with WD40 to help clean and preserve. I bought some cable hanging parts in the cable section. I literally spent $20. I tried to make it fancy since it was in the living room. I think it came out nicely, if I do say so my self. You can add as many fixtures as you need and in any configuration. Jussayin, looks nice, extremely customizable, flexible and the price is right. Here is my picture..

[Buzz1329]

Looks great, seefil.

Thanks for the idea.

Mike

[seefil]

Originally Posted by Buzz1329

Looks great, seefil.

Thanks for the idea.

Mike

Here is a better view of the hardware...