Need some help with LED guidelines

VoiceInTheDeser · 01/13/2012, 08:13 PM

Hey all, I apologize cause I'm sure this is somewhere on here, but I can't find it after about 30 min of searching the archives and other threads.

Basically, I don't understand the ratios on LED lights. With T5s and MH's, I get that there's a ratio of watt/gallon that can act as a guideline (depending on depth and species). With LEDs, I have no idea what I'm even aiming for. I have a T5 over my 20 long right now, but it's 24in and I want to make it a reef (currently just FOWLR). With only 50 watts, I don't think my current light is going to cut it and I'd like to switch to LEDs for power reasons rather than hang a hugely power hungry MH or T5 over it.

Can anyone point me to a good guide on what ratio I'm going for? Something that would give me a good idea on what constitutes "high" or "low" lighting with respect to LEDs? I've seen a few sites give answers in lumens, but don't really go into what a good ratio is in that respect either.

01/13/2012, 08:13 PM	#1
VoiceInTheDeser Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 286	Need some help with LED guidelines Hey all, I apologize cause I'm sure this is somewhere on here, but I can't find it after about 30 min of searching the archives and other threads. Basically, I don't understand the ratios on LED lights. With T5s and MH's, I get that there's a ratio of watt/gallon that can act as a guideline (depending on depth and species). With LEDs, I have no idea what I'm even aiming for. I have a T5 over my 20 long right now, but it's 24in and I want to make it a reef (currently just FOWLR). With only 50 watts, I don't think my current light is going to cut it and I'd like to switch to LEDs for power reasons rather than hang a hugely power hungry MH or T5 over it. Can anyone point me to a good guide on what ratio I'm going for? Something that would give me a good idea on what constitutes "high" or "low" lighting with respect to LEDs? I've seen a few sites give answers in lumens, but don't really go into what a good ratio is in that respect either. __________________ When I registered my name, I typed "Voiceinthedesert." I didn't notice the character limit cut me off at the r. Now I walk around with this silly name... Current Tank Info: 120 LPS

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