led recomendations 90 gallon $550 or less

rs30 · 12/21/2011, 03:49 PM

New to reef keeping only planing to keeping zoanthed mushrooms and softy thinking of reefkios 200 watt. any help Thanks

scarface70706 · 12/21/2011, 09:59 PM

if your led budget is $550 or less i think you might want to rethink your lighting situation. if you buy a good set of Led's (AI or Ecotech) your going to be spending around $1,000 - $1,500 to light a 90 gallon system. im not too sure if you want to run the leds that you are looking at. im a firm believer of "you get what you pay for." so if i was you id hold on to that $550 and use them to either buy some T-5's or if you already have lights id use that money on other equipment or live stock if your tank is already established.

ReefTankHunter · 12/21/2011, 10:12 PM

ATI 6 bulb T5 Sunpower Dimmabble

Bladez · 12/22/2011, 01:57 AM

If you don't mind a DIY project - You could easily get your lighting requirements from aquastyleonline.com... My only suggestion is to purchase an extra driver as their drivers are not 100% reliable.

reefnewbie83177 · 12/22/2011, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bladez

If you don't mind a DIY project - You could easily get your lighting requirements from aquastyleonline.com... My only suggestion is to purchase an extra driver as their drivers are not 100% reliable.

I too am new to reef keeping. I just bought a DIY kit from Rapid LED. 48LED kit, 2 heatsinks and 2 fans for $550. In my opinion (which is far from expert

) this is the best route to go. With the wealth of info on RC about DIY LEDS you can most likely build an LED system that will outperform AI or other LED manufacturers. I initially bought 2 ecorays at 300 a pop. They are not very good and will be returning them.

jerpa · 12/22/2011, 10:25 PM

You could also look into two Kessil A150w if plug and play is a necessity. It would be plenty of light for zoas, mushrooms, and softies. I found mine on sale for $220.

Telaverus · 12/22/2011, 10:50 PM

I would also suggest you look into T5's, if you haven't already, they are very affordable. Here is a good thread to get an idea of their capabilities: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...+tanks&page=24

Some people with LED's are considering a combination of T5 and LED, so I don't think you would be lost with a T5 setup should you ever wish to add LED's in the future. I'm also getting a sense that the Radion, although somewhat controversial originally, adding red to the spectrum has nailed the required LED base to keep any coral. Whereas some early LED users found keeping certain corals not possible.

IMO you don't want to add this complexity whilst new to the hobby. So my thought would be 2 x Radion for your 90 or go with T5's which won't be wasted down the road.

Bladez · 12/22/2011, 11:52 PM

I got my cool white's from Rapid (72 xml's!) and my blues from aquastyle (the 90 led dimmable kit).

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefnewbie83177

I too am new to reef keeping. I just bought a DIY kit from Rapid LED. 48LED kit, 2 heatsinks and 2 fans for $550. In my opinion (which is far from expert

) this is the best route to go. With the wealth of info on RC about DIY LEDS you can most likely build an LED system that will outperform AI or other LED manufacturers. I initially bought 2 ecorays at 300 a pop. They are not very good and will be returning them.

Elem7777 · 12/23/2011, 01:25 AM

You really don't need $1500 of Ecotech's like some of these guys are insisting, not for softies and shrooms.

That being said I don't think a single 200W Evo fixture from Reef Koi is going to work for your 90, it's plenty of power for what you want to do but you're not going to get the coverage needed, not with a brace over the middle of a 48'' tank.

If you don't mind pushing your budget a little you could probably get away with 2 AI Sol's if you'd like to stay with a popular high end vendor. If you wanted to go DIY you could probably come well under your target, a lot of LED fixtures and DIY kits are targeted at reproducing 250W+ MH lights which is more than you'll need for what you're keeping, you probably don't need 72 3watt XMLs.

12/21/2011, 03:49 PM	#1
rs30 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 62	led recomendations 90 gallon $550 or less New to reef keeping only planing to keeping zoanthed mushrooms and softy thinking of reefkios 200 watt. any help Thanks

12/22/2011, 01:57 AM	#4
Bladez Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: SW Missouri Posts: 309	If you don't mind a DIY project - You could easily get your lighting requirements from aquastyleonline.com... My only suggestion is to purchase an extra driver as their drivers are not 100% reliable. __________________ A salty enthusiast since 1986 Current Tank Info: 200 gallon Oceanic display, 120 gallon nem tank & 300 gallon Rubbermaid sump

12/22/2011, 10:50 PM	#7
Telaverus Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 212	I would also suggest you look into T5's, if you haven't already, they are very affordable. Here is a good thread to get an idea of their capabilities: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...+tanks&page=24 Some people with LED's are considering a combination of T5 and LED, so I don't think you would be lost with a T5 setup should you ever wish to add LED's in the future. I'm also getting a sense that the Radion, although somewhat controversial originally, adding red to the spectrum has nailed the required LED base to keep any coral. Whereas some early LED users found keeping certain corals not possible. IMO you don't want to add this complexity whilst new to the hobby. So my thought would be 2 x Radion for your 90 or go with T5's which won't be wasted down the road. __________________ Stu Retired 500g system... Researching and building a nice and relaxing 65g display

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12/21/2011, 09:59 PM	#2
scarface70706 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 1,364	if your led budget is $550 or less i think you might want to rethink your lighting situation. if you buy a good set of Led's (AI or Ecotech) your going to be spending around $1,000 - $1,500 to light a 90 gallon system. im not too sure if you want to run the leds that you are looking at. im a firm believer of "you get what you pay for." so if i was you id hold on to that $550 and use them to either buy some T-5's or if you already have lights id use that money on other equipment or live stock if your tank is already established.

12/21/2011, 10:12 PM	#3
ReefTankHunter Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Greenville SC Posts: 392	ATI 6 bulb T5 Sunpower Dimmabble

12/22/2011, 10:25 PM	#6
jerpa Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 2,174	You could also look into two Kessil A150w if plug and play is a necessity. It would be plenty of light for zoas, mushrooms, and softies. I found mine on sale for $220.

12/23/2011, 01:25 AM	#9
Elem7777 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 65	You really don't need $1500 of Ecotech's like some of these guys are insisting, not for softies and shrooms. That being said I don't think a single 200W Evo fixture from Reef Koi is going to work for your 90, it's plenty of power for what you want to do but you're not going to get the coverage needed, not with a brace over the middle of a 48'' tank. If you don't mind pushing your budget a little you could probably get away with 2 AI Sol's if you'd like to stay with a popular high end vendor. If you wanted to go DIY you could probably come well under your target, a lot of LED fixtures and DIY kits are targeted at reproducing 250W+ MH lights which is more than you'll need for what you're keeping, you probably don't need 72 3watt XMLs.