Elizzy Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Hi there, Wanted to get any opinions on switching from Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture, 2X31W, 30 inch to Marineland Reef Capable LED Light - 24 in. to 36 in. As it is now, the Coralife is sustaining my corals (acans, mushrooms, frogspawn, gsp, orange plate coral, zoas), but everything is dull (except for the plate coral who is amazingly happy). I want to see more color in the tank, so if you have any recommendations --- please let me know!! (29 gallon high/30" length) Much thanks!!! -Elizzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSH Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'm using PAR 38's on my 20H and it gives great colors. http://s810.photobucket.com/albums/zz21/RUSH377/?action=view¤t=IMG_1366.jpg -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I tried the marine reef LED on my biocube. I loved the color - but it didn't reach the depth I wanted. I don't know much about LED technology, but I don't recommend the Marine Reef LED light. There are much better products out there that will give off the kind of light you want - unfortunately, they are also more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Don't skimp on lighting. Our animals are too sensitive to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I tried the marine reef LED on my biocube. I loved the color - but it didn't reach the depth I wanted. I don't know much about LED technology, but I don't recommend the Marine Reef LED light. There are much better products out there that will give off the kind of light you want - unfortunately, they are also more expensive. Theresa, did you try the Marinelife Reef Capable with like 48+ LEDs or the one that has 16 - 18 LEDs? They look identical but have very different light output, very annoying manufacturers do this as it just adds to the confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Hi there, Wanted to get any opinions on switching from Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture, 2X31W, 30 inch to Marineland Reef Capable LED Light - 24 in. to 36 in. As it is now, the Coralife is sustaining my corals (acans, mushrooms, frogspawn, gsp, orange plate coral, zoas), but everything is dull (except for the plate coral who is amazingly happy). I want to see more color in the tank, so if you have any recommendations --- please let me know!! (29 gallon high/30" length) Much thanks!!! -Elizzy Elizzy, is there room for a fixture in addition to your coral life? Could you just add the marineland or a fixture like Current USA's TrueLumen Pro LED Striplight, it's only 1" wide and comes in 1, 2, 3 and 4' lengths. Ecoxotic's 12W Panorama module would be another possibility but it only comes in 1' long. If you are looking for something with more "punch" you'll probably need to go with something using 2 or 3 watt LEDs like the Vertex Illumilux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua-Dome Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 +1 on the TrueLumen Pro. An actinic one would make your corals look sweet, and it takes up almost no space. You could literally bolt it to the front of your aqualight and not sacrifice access into the tank. I would compare the output of one Pro strip to 1-2 HO T5 bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 Thank you!! I did some prelim net research and found a few folks rejecting Current USA due to issues with product malfunction 6mos - year into use. Have you had any experience with that? Obviously, they're very cost-effective -see this. The Current USA downers recommended Reefbrite - I liked the 30" as opposed to 24" only because my tank span is 30. If y'all haven't experienced any problems with Current USA and think it's the way to go in conjunction with my current lighting - I'll do it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ludakris Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 i have a biocube 29 gallon with current t5 lighting and i added a actinic stunner strip and i was suprised by the pop i got from my corals..if ur lookin for more color its the way i would go..stick to what u know keeps em alive and growing well and add to in my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I haven't had a problem yet with the Current LED strips. Did the posts about the Current LED strips failing go into detail? Was it the light strip itself or the power supply? The reason I ask is the way the Current LED strips are made for ALL the LEDs to fail it seems to me it has to be the power supply. All of the Current LED fixtures use the same 1' circuit board which has LEDs in a series/parallel configuration. Even on just one board by my count a minimum of 6 components have to fail for all the LEDs not to light. It seems far more likely to me a single component failed in the separate power supply. I haven't looked online at the critisisms of the Current unit but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the failures were caused by individuals trying to save money and hooking up more light strips to a power supply than the instructions specify. I haven't played with the Reef Bright LEDs strips but the 3 watt LEDs it uses should give you more "punch" or deeper penetration of the light than the 1/4 watt LEDs the Current uses. It also looks like the Reef Bright comes with it's own power supply where the Current power supply is separate. I would be inclined to chose the Current LED for this since I could use any 24 vdc power supply but I could see where other people would prefer not to bother with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks for the info! I went ahead and ordered the marine fusion (mix of blue and white) true lumen. Will let you know how it works out! I'm assuming I should work with a reduced lighting schedule in the beginning? p.s. The failures seem to result from not following directions with the power supplies - so you were right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Picked up the Truelumen Current USA strip and all I have to say is, it was one of the best purchases ever! I'm thinking I'll get two more and max out the power supply, but ditch the coralife...One 24" strip does what the coralife does. Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction, Timfish, Aqua-Dome & Ludakris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 . . . Ecoxotic's 12W Panorama module would be another possibility but it only comes in 1' long. . . I need to correct myself. Ecoxotic has several LED light strips with different lengths in their "Panorama" and "Stunner" product lines. The Panorama strips are using 1.5W LEDs, the Stunners are using 1/2 watt LEDs. Ecoxotic uses 2 different wavelengths in their actinics, 445 nm & 453 nm (453 nm is only available in the Panorama 12W strip) , Current's LED actinic strip uses 453 nm. Both Ecoxotic and Current LED light strips use a separate 24 vdc and the same power connectors so they can be mixed and matched if you wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pailines Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Elizzy, does that mean you're not using your Coralife Aqualight anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Well I just bought new bulbs for the Coralife to last me until I pick up the two other LEDs. (Hopefully just a couple of months.) You interested in the Coralife? BTW, love the car pic...I have one just like it, but it's white & orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pailines Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Well i was interested in doubling up my light, i have the same one, so i can get my 20Long to be stable for some sps and making things pop. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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