Novices need LED lighting questions answered.

[peekay]

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

You should have plenty of PAR for a 24" (H) tank, as I have my Photon V2+ 26" from the water, and my Fuge is 27" (H). At a max setting of 90% for the Blue and Violet channels, 20% for the White channel, and 1% to 5% for the Red and Green channels, my PAR is 135 or so in the center, and 100 or so on the ends, and the lite part of my Fuge is 48". I could drop my Photon down to 18" from the water an have better Par readings on the bottom then I do now, but I like the lights higher up as I am able to work on the Fuge without interference from the light rack.

Thanks GC:

I think I'll probably have my lights no higher than 18" above the tank then. My plan now is the 32" Photon V2+ about 18" above my 48"x20"x24" display tank.

Hoping this will work out OK.

PK

[Green Chromis]

Originally Posted by peekay

Thanks GC:

I think I'll probably have my lights no higher than 18" above the tank then. My plan now is the 32" Photon V2+ about 18" above my 48"x20"x24" display tank.

Hoping this will work out OK.

PK

Hi, it should work out just fine. Is your tank 20" front to back, or 20" tall? You will really like the Photon light, as it has most of the bells and whistles most people use, they use high quality LED's and have rally good customer service.

[peekay]

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

Hi, it should work out just fine. Is your tank 20" front to back, or 20" tall? You will really like the Photon light, as it has most of the bells and whistles most people use, they use high quality LED's and have rally good customer service.

20" front to back and 24" tall.

[Tanker1961]

Hello all ✌️. I have the oceanvivell t247 over my 36x18x22" aquarium. Been running for approx 8 months. Mixed coral and fish currently stocked. Right now I have the Blues at 75% & whites at 25%, what would you all think my settings should be at? Everything seems to be doing fine just curious.

[bengallover]

I think I'm sold on using LEDs - low power consumption and minimal heat. I think there's enough evidence out there to support they do in fact work.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by bengallover

I think I'm sold on using LEDs - low power consumption and minimal heat. I think there's enough evidence out there to support they do in fact work.

If you are still unsure about leds, let me put your mind to rest. I've been using leds exclusively for the last 5 years. Early on I had Chinese black box leds that I bought directly from EverGrow in China (now Reef Breeders in the US sells the EverGrow made fixtures under the RB name). That was a mixed reef 180g tank and everything grew just fine. They were a basic 2 channel fixture with the ability to do sunrise/sunset, but as far as the light they produced, any 100% black box fixture like MarsAqua will produce virtually the same light and grow coral.

For the last 3 years I've been using Reef Breeders Photon V2 fixtures (still made for them by EverGrow in China. I had a new 120g DT and it was full of sps corals (mostly Acros) and they were colorful, healthy and growing. But I lost them all due to a chiller failure to turn off. So now I have a 40g cube as my DT and I'm still using a RB Photon V2. But this tank is full of zoas and RFS'a (Rock Flower Anemones) that all fluoresce colors like crazy when the blue leds are on. And my RFA's have even spawned 3 times in the last 18 months giving me dozens of babies!

Do I think leds are OK for corals? What do you think?
They make good light, they are able to adjust the look of the tank from white to blue at a touch of your finger, they can do sunrise/sunset, they run very cool, they virtually never need replacement bulbs... I'd only consider t5 or MH if they could get to that level of flexibility (never).

One last point, if budget is an issue, the $100 Mars Aqua basic led fixture can do the job just fine. If budget is less of an issue and you want more features, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ is by far the best value in a full feature fixture. And if money is no object, you are welcome to spend more on EcoTech Radions oe AI Hydras. Although they offer very, very little more in quality or features than the Photon V2+ and cost 50% to 100% more!

https://flic.kr/p/27mrAwC

[NormanB]

Hi Ron, long time member, but not much on posting. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and certainly learned a lot from this thread.

I'm starting up a 75g 48x21x18 soon and was intrigued by your comment on using the 32" Reef Breeder on a 4' tank. So, you really think that is a good option? It would save $110, but not sure if that is the best way to go.

Thanks for everything you add this is board!

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by NormanB

Hi Ron, long time member, but not much on posting. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and certainly learned a lot from this thread.

I'm starting up a 75g 48x21x18 soon and was intrigued by your comment on using the 32" Reef Breeder on a 4' tank. So, you really think that is a good option? It would save $110, but not sure if that is the best way to go.

Thanks for everything you add this is board!

Hi NormanB. I don't post here much anymore. I moved to a different website forum that is a lot more interactive and has a lot more info and help. In fact they even asked me to volunteer as a 'helper' in a squad of about 50 people to answer the questions the general membership struggle with.

The 32" will work but you need to be clear about a couple of points.

So you'll have 8" off each end of the fixture to the ends of the tank. If you raise the fixture it can certainly light all 48" of tank. HOWEVER, if you are going to have light loving sps corals from wall to wall in the tank, the PAR may be a bit too low for you. It's even possible, if you are really a stickler for appearances, the ends of the tank may be a tiny bit dimmer than the center.

On the other hand, a 48" fixture will have leds all the way out to the extreme ends of the tank and with 120 degree lenses, it will be throwing light outside the end glass. Yes, some of it is reflected back in by the glass. The other difference is the 48" fixture has 4 more blue leds (good), 4 more violet (OK but not a big deal) and 8 more white (and in my humble opinion it has too many whites already, especially since they are 5 watt Crees and not 3 watts like most fixtures.

So if budget is important, super even lighting isn't critical to your eye and you aren't doing sps corals end to end, yes, the 32" can do the job just fine. But I'm just one opinion in a sea of opinions!

[NormanB]

Ron, I appreciate your quick response and thoughtful insight.

For $110 I am leaning toward the 48"

Thanks

[ianwouters]

Hello I have a question about lighting. I am currently working on a 75 gallon predator tank what was wondering what the best led all in one lighting system with remote is? My price range is up to 300$.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by ianwouters

Hello I have a question about lighting. I am currently working on a 75 gallon predator tank what was wondering what the best led all in one lighting system with remote is? My price range is up to 300$.

Well, for a fish only tank, almost any white light will do, the blue is much more for coral and anemones that use the blue to do photosynthesis. You might look at a Current Orbit fixture. They are less powerful but have way more than enough light for a fish only tank and they have lots of controls and are the least expensive in a full control led fixture.

If you intend to have corals or anemones in the tank, this light will be a bit weak on a 20" to 24" deep tank. The least expensive, full control led fixture would be a Reef Breeders Photon V2+. It will be more expensive than the Current Orbit because it uses 3 and 5 watt Cree and OSRAM leds rather than cheap 0.3 to o.5 watt leds.

[neltel_7]

Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
Starting a 40 gallon reef tank
So I am pretty experienced regarding freshwater tanks and have been doing some pretty cool tanks for a while. But I recently bought a 40 gallon tank and decided that I want to try something new (I know saltwater tanks are a whole nother beast). So I am starting a reef tank and for the past week I have been vigorously studying reef tanks but I still feel like I don't know enough. I don't really want to spend too much on lighting and im seeing that a lot of the lights are really expensive. Does anyone recommend any cheaper lights?
Thanks so much in advance!

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by neltel_7

Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
Starting a 40 gallon reef tank
So I am pretty experienced regarding freshwater tanks and have been doing some pretty cool tanks for a while. But I recently bought a 40 gallon tank and decided that I want to try something new (I know saltwater tanks are a whole nother beast). So I am starting a reef tank and for the past week I have been vigorously studying reef tanks but I still feel like I don't know enough. I don't really want to spend too much on lighting and im seeing that a lot of the lights are really expensive. Does anyone recommend any cheaper lights?
Thanks so much in advance!

I'll assume your 40g tank is a standard 36" long version. And that your plan is to keep corals as well as fish (corals make a huge difference in how much light you need).

You can get any number of t5 fluorescent fixtures and I'd recommend thyou conside at least a 4 bulb version. These have been around in the saltwater aquarium for many years. Or you could use the newer led lights which have come down in price and are fairly compatible to t5's in cost. Google Mars Aqua (probably selling on Amazon). Their 165 is about $100 and you'll likely need 2. They also make a 300 version that is 32" and still about $200. If you really want economy and are willing to have slightly dimmer light at the ends of the tank, you might try this unit.

https://www.amazon.com/WillsLed-Aqua...W6WA26EAT4YHS1

It looks like most other Chinese black box fixtures, but it's a different shape. At 21" it will probably leave the ends of your tank dimmer, but you probably won't have coral out there anyway. And it's only $79. I don't know of anybody who has used this brand before, but the Mars Aqua has been around for more than 3 or 4 years and lots of reefers use them.

I hope that helps some? Good luck with your foray into the world of saltwater. It's really not as hard as it looks, but it can be quite expensive. If your budget is really tight, you may want to do even more research.

[bzbatl]

Getting back into the game after being away for 15 years! This thread has been super helpful - when I left, LEDs were just starting to come around.

How well do the Mars Aqua fixtures stay level when you have them daisy chained? Seems like you'd need to zip tie up the power cables, too? I'd like an open top on the 90 gallon, but that requires two of the Mars Aqua 24" fixtures... so I'm probably looking at a hood.

[Ron Reefman]

It can be hard to keep any led fixture level when they are hung rather than hard mounted. You might look into doing a DIY pair of flat bars that could go between the 2 fixtures and be held in place with the threaded mounts that stick up off the top of the fixture and then tighten down with the hangers themselves.

[bzbatl]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

It can be hard to keep any led fixture level when they are hung rather than hard mounted. You might look into doing a DIY pair of flat bars that could go between the 2 fixtures and be held in place with the threaded mounts that stick up off the top of the fixture and then tighten down with the hangers themselves.

Fantastic input, thanks Ron!

I may end up pulling the trigger on the 48” Reef Breeder system - it’s much slicker and higher-end looking if I do end up going without a hood.

Definitely want to run some sunrise/sunset programs - so looks like that’s the way to go instead of the cheaper units?

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by bzbatl

Fantastic input, thanks Ron!

I may end up pulling the trigger on the 48” Reef Breeder system - it’s much slicker and higher-end looking if I do end up going without a hood.

Definitely want to run some sunrise/sunset programs - so looks like that’s the way to go instead of the cheaper units?

That would be an excellent choice IMHO! I have Reef Breeder Photons V2+ over both my tanks. I can't say a single bad thing about them. They make great light, are very controllable and run very cool. As far as I'm concerned, if you want an led that has sunrise/sunset and 6 channels of color control, these ar by far your best bang for your dollar.

[Timmayyy]

Does anyone else have the Nanobox Mini Tide M plus LED light?

[Terry C]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

1. Reef LED versus fish-only LED---how to buy. What to consider.
Fish only, most any led will do fine, even the Current and Marineland with 0.5 watt leds
Mixed reef, any fixture with 3 watt leds, even if only driven to 1.9 watts like the Mars Aqua
SPS reef, most fixtures with 3 watt leds. Coverage is more important (below).

2. Cost advantage? or is it a wash, if you were absolutely starting from no-lights?
Some leds are more expensive than others, but IMHO, most of the 3 watt inexpensive leds are good enough to keep sps tanks (mine has been running for 3 years now and is over grown with sps and lps corals). You save on bulbs and that's a good thing. The fixture itself is a bit more efficient than t5 and even more than MH. If you were to pick MH, would you need a chiller? I did. And my home A/C ran more as well. So I got less than $1000 on leds and saved more than the cost of them in under 2 years (t5 bulbs, MH bulbs, chiller electrical use and home A/C electrical use).

3. What is par?
Photosyntheticly Active Radiation. It's the light wavelengths that plants (algae) use to do photosynthesis. And the zooxanthellae (algae) in our corals use mostly (but not exclusively) blue spectrum. Which is why most led fixtures have lots of blue leds.

4. How does width and depth of tank affect the brand you buy and the number of units you need?
Width is most important as it pertains to coverage, just like how long should your t5 bulbs be or how many MH bulbs do you need. As for depth, shallow tanks of 12" or less can use most any led (assuming it's dimmable and these days they all should be). 12" to 30" deep, most any 3 watt led can create more than enough PAR to 30". Deeper than 30" and you need to pay close attention and even do some testing on your own. But there aren't too many tanks deeper than 30", sure there are some, but is a small minority.

5. What about pre-set programs? Doing your own?
You don't NEED programs. Your fish and corals don't NEED programs. This is an option that is strictly a human desire. I like having programmable dimming so I can have my tanks feel a bit more natural. I like having sunrise and sunset so my take looks different as the day goes by. Heck, the wave maker pumps at the ends of my tank alternate in 6 hour cycles plus 2 hours of overlap where both run just to simulate tides as well But my fish and corals could care less about the lights. The tides do tend to keep the tank a bit more stirred up and cleaned out.

6. What about building your own?
If you are big into DIY, go for it. It use to be the cheaper way to go just a couple of years ago. But with the proliferation of inexpensive led fixtures from China, you can get very good quality (even programmable) led fixtures for less that the cost of a similar DIY fixture.

7. Advice for running LED in your tank: percentage of power, etc. Acclimation to light. Special care when lights come on after a long period of darkness, say, a power outage lasting more than a day.
If your system is new and you are using leds from the start, run them at half power and ramp them up over time. I recommend that most 2 channel fixtures run at 50% blue and 50% white to start. Then if you up the blue to get a cooler white look, dial the white down a bit as well, say 60% blue and 40% white. Over time you can increase the total percentage of power. I run mine with a 5 hour sunrise (all blue the first couple of hours at dawn. Then a 4 hour midday of 100% blue and 50% white (I've taken 3 years to get them that high). Then a 6 hour sunset (the last 3 hours are all blue). I figure I get 4 hours of good PAR during midday and an additional 1 or 2 hours before and after midday. So that's 6 to 8 hours of enough PAR for the zooxanthellae to do photosynthesis. BTW, most zooxanthellae will only do photosynthesis for 6 to 8 hours and then shut down any way.
I have no concerns about going back to my normal power levels after a 2 or 3 day power outage or enforced darkness to eliminate algae or bacteria blooms. The pigment protections that corals develop to block light they don't want doesn't fade away that fast. Just like a human with a good tan, it doesn't fade away in just a day or even three.

Hi Ron Reefman,

I'm in the process of setting up a 55 gallon tank and was wondering what your opinion is on the 48" Fluval Sea 3.0 LED light is? Like you I want the dusk, dawn and moon lights. Do you think later on when the tank is ready, this lighting will be enough to sustain soft corals and an anemone? My local fish store sales them and from what I've read online they seem like they would work well. I don't plan on doing any SPS or LPS corals. I would like to get some input before I buy on how well these would work on a reef tank.

[Gumshoe]

I also recommend high par led option, it is worth investing.

[allykahn]

I have a 180g tank and I see quite a bit has changed in the past 10 years. I am going to have to upgrade from my T5 lighting. From advice given here, I can use (2) Photon 32" V2+ units to cover the tank (mostly). That will cost approx. $1,000+. It was also recommended that I go with 3 Kessil A360WE or 360X which will cost a few hundred more.

For LPS/zoas tank and maybe some caps once I get more comfortable, which would be the better fit for the tank dimensions (72x24x24)? I don't think I will use a canopy this time.

Thanks,
AJ

[dbdisok]

Originally Posted by allykahn

I have a 180g tank and I see quite a bit has changed in the past 10 years. I am going to have to upgrade from my T5 lighting. From advice given here, I can use (2) Photon 32" V2+ units to cover the tank (mostly). That will cost approx. $1,000+. It was also recommended that I go with 3 Kessil A360WE or 360X which will cost a few hundred more.

For LPS/zoas tank and maybe some caps once I get more comfortable, which would be the better fit for the tank dimensions (72x24x24)? I don't think I will use a canopy this time.

Thanks,
AJ

Bulk Reef Supply has very up to date YouTube videos that will probably answer your questions. They recommend lights, how far off the water to get the best coverage and intensity settings.

[MrMudkip]

has anyone used low wattage leds on softie tanks?

[MrMudkip]

And I am looking for a led fixture that doesnt have a whole lot of extra features, I dont need a phone app or anything like that

[MrMudkip]

Originally Posted by Terry C

Hi Ron Reefman,

I'm in the process of setting up a 55 gallon tank and was wondering what your opinion is on the 48" Fluval Sea 3.0 LED light is? Like you I want the dusk, dawn and moon lights. Do you think later on when the tank is ready, this lighting will be enough to sustain soft corals and an anemone? My local fish store sales them and from what I've read online they seem like they would work well. I don't plan on doing any SPS or LPS corals. I would like to get some input before I buy on how well these would work on a reef tank.

I am considering these lights as well