125 Gallon PAR 38 Rapid LED Reef DIY Build

[CU Reefer]

Well I have had been in the process of getting a 125 gallon tank up and running. My ultimate goal for the tank is to have a mixed reef community.

Background:
I have had a 29 gallon predominately fish only tank for the last 10 or so years. I have always wanted to upgrade my tank to something larger and more reef capable but never took the plunge. A few months ago my local fish store went out of business and I had the opportunity to buy a new 125 gallon with the stand, pumps, and live rock for a great deal so I went for it.

My current tank:
As I said earlier the 125 gallon glass tank has been running now for around 2 months and has ~130 pounds of live rock. I have 2 Koralia Evolution 1400s, one 700, and one 450 for flow. The tank has dual corner flows soft plumbed with a Pondmaster 1800gph return pump in an 18 gallon rubbermaid sump (I originally wanted a use my old 29 gallon for the sump but I forgot to put it in the stand before I filled it and now I can't fit it through the door in the stand.) In the sump I have some additional live rock and an octopus 150 protein skimmer. For livestock I currently have the following; clownfish, pajama cardinal, candy cane coral, small frag of zoanthids, 25 or so mixed snails, and ~25 hermit crabs (mix of blue legs and red legs). For lighting I have been limping along since I set the tank up using a Current USA 150w MH, a 30'' Aquatic life dual T5 HO, and and old power compact light. I haven't even run much but the one MH since I have had the tank setup to let things acclimate while I researched the type of lights I wanted to go with for a more permanent solution.

My DIY LED Build:
After reading forums for over a month and looking around I decided to go with the PAR bulbs from Rapid LED as the main source of lighting for my tank. I liked the results that Anemonebuff had with his build and based my design around his setup. I also liked the color blend of the bulbs and the price was good compared to other options. Before I could get any lights I needed to construct a hood to house the lights and cover the tank. The hood design I came up with used cedar 1x2s for the frame and 1/4 inch hardwood plywood for the covering, all of the pieces were fastened together with stainless steel screws. The entire front of the hood lifts up on three piano hinges for easy access to the tank and lighting. I chose to mount the bulbs in outdoor lighting fixture that are adjustable. The spacing of the 7 bulbs are on 9 inch centers and the bulbs are ~8 inches off the water. I went with a mix of 4 60 degree PAR 38's and 3 80 degree bulbs. Here are some pictures from the hood construction and light installation.


Early Stages:




Attaching the fixtures to the Hood:


I used a galvinized washer and a PVC cap to hold each fixture in place:


The bulbs were wired into an ordinary light switch box:


The hood was primed and painted with several coats of black oil based Rustoleum:


For additional lighting and the ability to adjust the color in the tank I installed 12 dimmable royal blue Crees with 80 degree lenses for some actinic lighting. These LEDs were mounted to a 72'' 1x1 aluminum tube spacing them between the PAR bulbs. Along with the 12 Crees I also installed 4 1 watt LED moonlights:


2 royal blue crees with 80 degree lenses and one moonlight LED:


The bulbs arrived after being out of stock for over a month:

[CU Reefer]

Switches; one for the PAR bulbs, one for the actinic strip (with the dimmer on top of the PAR switch box), and one for the moonlights:


The Hood on and the Lights On!


Hood lifted up:




Left:


Middle:


Right:


Moonlights:




Dimmable actinic strip:


All in all I am really pleased with the way the hood and lighting turned out. The color of the bulbs mixed with the actinic strip gives me good flexibility to create anything from ~14k look at an ~20k look. I also really like the look that just the actinic strip gives and just the moonlights. The zoanthids really fluoresce under those LEDs and I can't wait to get some more corals under the lights.

Now all I need is some timers for the lights and some time to get some color on that white live rock!

Let me know if you have any questions I would be glad to answer them.

[hotshot619]

I love the lighting, I am just about to set up my 4 Par 38s over my 46 Bow and this just makes me want to get it done now. Are you concerned at all with moisture build up on the CREE LEDs since they are not covered?

[CU Reefer]

Thanks, I think you would really be pleased with the PAR bulbs. I would recomend having the dimmable actinic strip also I feel like it really adds to the setup. As for corrosion I am concerned about it and will be keeping an eye on it. The LEDs are about 13" off the water on the aluminum strip so hopefully I will be ok. If not I will either add more ventilation or put in a plexiglass shield.

[Hudzon]

Have you used a PAR meter and check around the tank? the reason, I'm asking is I was using 4 Rapid LEDs on a 36" x 12" tank and found lots of low < 50 par levels 16" to 18" down ended up adding two more bulbs, so running 6 Rapid LED par38 60° bulbs plus two uvl super actinic T5HO bulbs and now getting 150+ PAR at 16" - 18" down.

[scootyman]

Wow that looks really nice. Im def curious how corals will respond to this lighting.

[chadfarmer]

make sure you get some par readings

[TheFishTeen]

Im surprised how much coverage your getting...usually the PAR38 bulbs have some serious spot lighting affect. Looks great!

[CU Reefer]

No I haven't tested them with a PAR meter and don't have access to one. If anyone would be willing to let me borrow one in the upstate of SC i would be glad to post the numbers. PM me if you are interested. However, I think growing different types of corals for me will be placement sensitive due to the combination of 60 and 80 degree bulbs.

[ridetheducati]

I have a glass brace over the middle of my Oceanic 180, is it safe to mount two PAR 38 over this section?

[Anemonebuff]

Good work. Looks good.

[Tbare89]

How does it look aesthically in person?

[JCE1980]

Looks great. I have been wanting to do the same thing.
What kind of differance do you see between the 60 and 80 degree bulbs,coverage? What is your layout?
Im going to start collecting parts for my 135g 24" tall.Would you recomend the same bulb ratio?
I wish some one had a par meter to borrow.Great build.

[Anemonebuff]

Originally Posted by ridetheducati

I have a glass brace over the middle of my Oceanic 180, is it safe to mount two PAR 38 over this section?

Yes it would be safe. It will block some light and may even reflect some back up.

[CU Reefer]

I think the tank looks really nice aesthetically. The lights produce a nice color (adjustable with the actinic LED strip) and the shimmer is good. The shimmer was a little much at first but adjusting my returns and powerheads to reduce surface agitation has reduced the shimmer and made it look more natural. The moonlights also look very nice. As for the hoods aesthetics...I'm no carpenter but for the budget I think it turned out nice. I didn't know how I would like such a large hood on the tank but once it was black and the tank was lit up it really makes the tank stand out.

[CU Reefer]

Originally Posted by JCE1980

Looks great. I have been wanting to do the same thing.
What kind of differance do you see between the 60 and 80 degree bulbs,coverage? What is your layout?
Im going to start collecting parts for my 135g 24" tall.Would you recomend the same bulb ratio?
I wish some one had a par meter to borrow.Great build.

The 60 and 80 degree bulbs produce a noticeable difference if you pay close attention. The 80's obviously have a wider spread and the light is not as bright under these bulbs. It is really not noticeable unless you really are looking for it. I think it makes the lighting look more natural as it has slight variations throughout the tank. The light blends really well and all this is very minor. My spacing as of now is 60,80,60,80,60,80,60. The only area that shows any shadow is at the center of the tank where the brace is and it's not very noticeable (80 degree bulb is directly above it).

Depending on what you want in your tank would determine what ratio I would do I think. For a mixed reef I think a ratio similar to mine would work well (I hope). It looks like there is good coverage and hopefully enough PAR to grow most things if you place them correctly. Anemonebuff has had good results with a similar setup (he has all 60 degree though.) What are the dimension of your tank? As I recommended earlier in this thread I would definitely recommend getting a dimmable set of royal blue LEDs to tweak the color and provide some additional PAR.

[JCE1980]

My demenstions are 6'x18"x2'tall. Couple more Q's
I thought the par 38 where dimmable.If so could you use a dimmer switch instead of a regular switch?
What drivers did you use for your 12 royal blue and moon lights?
Do you have any alge on your glass yet? If so what range is it and is there any differance between the 60 and 80* bulbs.How high up the glass?
Reason I ask is my 6 bulb t5 light can get alge at the trim all the way to the bottom if I let it. My light is only 3' long(center) on a 6' tank and my accent lighting on the 2 sides getts zero alge. So in theory,intensity of light spread will show on the glass. Hope that makes sense.
Anyway sorry for the babble.

[Reefnut2010]

Excellent Job !! Hope your par numbers are up to par......lol.

[SmokedOut]

Nice job..what do you have in total cost for the build of lighting ?

[CU Reefer]

Originally Posted by JCE1980

My demenstions are 6'x18"x2'tall. Couple more Q's
I thought the par 38 where dimmable.If so could you use a dimmer switch instead of a regular switch?
What drivers did you use for your 12 royal blue and moon lights?
Do you have any alge on your glass yet? If so what range is it and is there any differance between the 60 and 80* bulbs.How high up the glass?
Reason I ask is my 6 bulb t5 light can get alge at the trim all the way to the bottom if I let it. My light is only 3' long(center) on a 6' tank and my accent lighting on the 2 sides getts zero alge. So in theory,intensity of light spread will show on the glass. Hope that makes sense.
Anyway sorry for the babble.

The bulbs are not dimmable but the 12 royal blues for the actinic strip are. Rapid LED says they have a dimmable in for testing but it is not available yet. With the ability to adjust the blue with the dimmable actinic strip I really don't think you would need them to be dimmable.

For a driver on my royal blues I used the Meanwell ELN-60-48D. It is dimmed with a 10 Ohm potentiometer.

I get minor algae on the glass down low but I haven't noticed much of a difference between the 80 and 60 time will help tell. I think in general these bulbs really cut down on 'wasted light" that spills out of the tank and onto the glass.

[CU Reefer]

Originally Posted by SmokedOut

Nice job..what do you have in total cost for the build of lighting ?

The bulbs, actinic lights, and the moonlights were around $600. The hood cost me about $150 (cedar and hardwood plywood with all stainless screws).

[Bloke]

I am going to start with 3 of the RapidLED PAR38 bulbs over my 72" 210g tank. I know I will add more PAR38s later, but for my first three, should I go with 60 or 80 degree optics? This is a FOWLR tank so par levels are not a major concern for me at this point, whereas avoiding the code-shaped ray of light is!!

[CU Reefer]

Definitely go with the 80 degree if you want to avoid spotlighting. If all you want is a FOWLR tank 80's are all i'd ever use unless you want to accent some areas.

[Bloke]

And you think one 80 degree PAR38 over each section would look alright to start with? How far above the water's surface? 12" or more?

[JCE1980]

Thanks for putting all this info out there. I think im going to start with 2 80* on the sides of my 3' fixture. One more question: How long are you running your light every day? Are they on a timer with the blue's or do the blues run longer? OK 2 questions. Thanks again