LEDs

[danimallaminad]

Would these work on a 125 gallon 6ft tank? Could I grow SPS with these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3PCS-Dimmabl...item5af9f7b26b

[Bpb]

They would be plenty powerful enough, though I'm not crazy about the color combo. That's a lot of high temp whites and not very many royal blues. The coverage and power will be enough. Hard to imagine what it would look like. If you don't like them you can easily resell them

[Guygettnby]

check out OceanRevive LED lights. they would be around the same cost and are an all around better fixture IMHO. they are also a vendor here on ReefCentral, so you know they are a fly by night company who may vanish if there are issues.

I currently am running the Arctic T247 fixtures, but they have the Arctic S026 which is a bit cheaper and still a great fixture.

[danimallaminad]

Ohh man I just checked out the OcenaRevives you recommended and am really leaning towards those. Would I still need 3 Arctic S026 for my 125 gallon or do you think 2 would be fine? Thanks for the input guys. This is the exact feedback I was hoping for. Can always count on reefcentral haha.

[danimallaminad]

Or would 2 Arctic T247's be better? Can you do a sunrise and sunset effect with the T247?

[danimallaminad]

Nevermind about the sunrise sunset, just read you can't do it. I'm looking into these http://reefbreeders.com/product/reef...-led-fixtures/ . Do you think 120 or 90 degree optics would be better. I'm thinking of getting two for my 125 gallon 6ft tank. Also what controller would work best with these lights.

[danimallaminad]

anyone?

[Guygettnby]

The fixtures you are looking at are Evergrow D120 fixtures, just sold by reefbreeders. With any of the lights you are looking at or that I have told you about, you can have each channel come on at separate times. Like blues on for an hour, then both on for 8 and then blue alone for another hour before the lights turn off.

The only fixtures that are programmable to slowly ramp the 2 channels slowly over time making it a smooth transition in the lower price range is the IT series lights from Evergrow. Oceanrevive and reefbreeders both sell those lights.

If your looking at buying the light you posted a link too (Evergrow D120) then I still say the oceanrevive Arctic series is a better option IMHO.

Any of the value fixtures like the Evergrow D120 or OR Arctic 026, will have manual knobs to control the 2 channels and you will have to use mechanical timers. But the Oceanrevive Arctic T247 you don't need mechanical timers. The timers are built in to the fixture and it has no manual knobs for controlling the 2 channels. It is all digital.

I have mine set up for ch1/blues to come on first for an hour alone, then ch2/full spectrum to come on for 8 hours. So both ch1 and ch2 on for 8 hours, then after 8 hours ch2 turns off and only leves ch1/blues on for another hour before the fixture turns off.

All of that is done with just the digital controls built in to the Arctic T247 fixture. So I don't know how much more of a sunrise/sunset effect you are looking for here. Please explain that a little further?

[danimallaminad]

Okay I see. I was just wondering like you said ramp up and down but if the Arctic T247 can just shut off ch2 1hour before and turn on 1hour after ch1 then I think thats what I'm looking for. Thanks for all the info. Probably going to go with the Arctic T247, would 2 be fine for a 125 gallon 6ft tank?

[Bpb]

If you want to grow sps on that tank I'd get three personally and use 90 degree optics. Or if you were able to limit you sps to directly under the lights 2 would work. I'd personally want more even spread though. Still...for what they cost...that's pretty cheap for sps capable led lights. Sunrise sunset is for your enjoyment. Not really necessary for tank health.

[Bpb]

I also cannot comment on how they look as, nobody local to me runs them, but I do know that my favorite tanks I've seen use primarily neutral whites and NO greens as opposed to cool whites, with reds and greens. Just a personal preference. Not sure if OR would mod the colors for you. I know my favorite look I've yet seen in any light are the kessil a360 which uses blue, royal blue, neutral white, and UV obviously crammed into a tiny chip so it blends perfect. That being said they cost 2-3x as much as the bridgelux fixtures, but if I were going with bridgelux lights (OR, reefbreeders, reef radiance), I'd try to mimic that color combo I know I like

[danimallaminad]

Okay thank your for the info. I'll have to check into if OR can customize the LEDs, I doubt it but who knows.

[Guygettnby]

Originally Posted by danimallaminad

Okay I see. I was just wondering like you said ramp up and down but if the Arctic T247 can just shut off ch2 1hour before and turn on 1hour after ch1 then I think thats what I'm looking for. Thanks for all the info. Probably going to go with the Arctic T247, would 2 be fine for a 125 gallon 6ft tank?

The Evergrow D120 and the Arctic S026 can both also do the same thing, but you would need 2 mechanical timers per fixture, so if you got 2 fixtures you would have to have 4 mechanical timers.

If you got the Arctic T247 you wouldn't need any timers because they are built in to the light. Plus there is only 1 power cord per fixture.

As far as how many you should get, I would recommend 3 fixtures for that size tank. The D120, Arctic S026 and Arctic T247 are all rated to cover a 24"x24" area. So 3 would cover your entire tank with good usable light any where in the tank. If you only got 2 fixtures it wouldn't give you good coverage and I don't think you would be happy with the results IMHO. But the good news there is you can always buy 2 fixtures, try them out and see if it is enough for your needs and if not buy a third fixture.

If you keep the SPS directly under that 24"x24" area then you could probably get away with it. But I think you will have too many dark spots in your tank and will want that 3rd fixture. Even buying 3 T247 fixtures, you will still have nice, cheap LED lights that are capable of growing anything you want at a very decent cost.

Again this is only my opinion and you can always go ask the different vendors what they think. But I think 3 T247 would be a solid choice for you.

[Guygettnby]

Originally Posted by danimallaminad

Okay thank your for the info. I'll have to check into if OR can customize the LEDs, I doubt it but who knows.

The Arctic T247 already comes with 90 degree optics, so your good there. Customizing the LED layout might be an option, but I personally think the fixtures are fine the way they are and many others will agree with me. The ability to change the intensity of each channel allows you to change the look of the light, or spectrum I guess. The LED's could be changed later on down the line if you didn't like them, but again I think you will be happy with the look after you mess around with it a bit.

That's the great thing about being able to adjust the 2 different channels. You can always change the look and colors the fixtures produce.

[danimallaminad]

Alright, looking like 3 will be the way to go but will probably start with 2 like you said cause I can always build up. Thanks for everything guys this has really helped.

[Guygettnby]

Originally Posted by danimallaminad

Alright, looking like 3 will be the way to go but will probably start with 2 like you said cause I can always build up. Thanks for everything guys this has really helped.

No problem, hope you are happy with your new lights when you get them.

[danimallaminad]

Me too. Thanks.