+Grog Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I'm looking for the 'right' lights for my system. I'm making a 33 long based build. 48" X 13" X 12" Heat is a concern. The aquarium is 12" deep and I worry that over heating will become a problem with that shallow of a depth. Plus it is under a cabinet, so ventilation may become an issue if heat is trapped. Because of this, I'm leaning towards LED lighting. LED seems like the coolest solution (cool as in temperature, but it is kind of nifty too). Actually, one of my reasons for going with a 33 long was the 12" depth of the tank. At 12" depth I figured I could use a bit less expensive lights, as I wouldn't have to penetrate so deeply into the water. And the longevity of the lights is also attractive. I cannot exceed 22" in total vertical height for my system. The entire tank is wedged in between a counter-top and an overhead cabinet. So, dangling lights are out of the question. I can deal with a small riser or bracket, or mount under the cabinet, but a long drop is not OK. I will post pictures of the tank and area in a build thread once I've painted the back of the tank. As far as corals; Zoas, Frogspawn, and/or Bubble. Zoas are definitely what I'm most interested in. A clam or scallop could be cool too. I'm new at this so if any of this seems contradictory, please tell me! My lighting budget is a maximum of $850.00 I'd prefer it to be less, but if I can get a long-lasting versitle system I can go to $850.00. Adjustable brightness, seperate power for blue and white, and programability are nice options but not necessary. I can't have a set up that is very thick though. I have 10" of clearance from the top of the tank to the cabinet. Currently, I'm considering these options: Marinelife - As far as their LED offerings, the 48" Reef Capable LED system looks like it would do the job. Just wondering if I would need one or two of these (Two would fit as they are 5.25" wide). Anecdotally, I wonder if they are going to release new generation of these lights very soon. I'm a bit of an electronics junkie and any time a model is receiving deep discounts, that means the new models are due to hit the stores soon. Some of the sales staff replies on their support forum seem to indicate a new generation is due out soon, they've made a few of comments hinting at it. Evolution - These, I like that they are dimmable and the fact that they are on separate power cords for blue and white, and 2W LEDs. On this brand I'm thinking either one of the Evo200 run turned down, or two of the Evo150. The two Evo150 may be better for more control over brightness in the two sides of the tank but more costly. I am wondering how I'd mount these. I have some ideas involving an anodized aluminium stand... Are any of these Ok for my needs? Too much or too little output? Anyone have personal experience with these lighting set ups? I'm thinking the Marinelife may be a bit weak but the Evolution may be a bit much and will be run dimmed. May not be bad to have that extra power, so when I upgrade to a larger tank the lights can be reused. If you have another lighting option that would work for my purposes, I'd be glad to hear that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michae52 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 How soon are you going to need the lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubasteve92 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I'd check out the AI Sol, and when they come out the AI Vega. I have a 20H and plan on upgrading to the Vega when they come out, (when i can get some specs on them). The Sol's are at $399 and the LED controller is about $80. With installation and the controller they would be just outside of your price range, but if you went any better you would probably be looking at the radions. IMO Also, I know that Brian (ReeferMadness) was selling one of the Sol's at $300. Also, I have been looking at the DIYs, and you can build a freakin amazing LED fixture for pretty cheap with those. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Michael, is that tank part of your signature. "I like it like that".; Grog, with respect to knowing the intensity required for your particular system, you have two options that I see. Depending on the height that lights are above the tank is "old school", when we did not have dimmiable options. It works quite well. However, as the light goes higher, some of the light will fall outside of the tank. Often, from the point of view of aesthetics, this is not desirable. The dimniable option on different types of reef lighting is very desirable for your situation. Strongly consider allowing top of your tank to ventilate well to remove heat, no matter which light that you use. I recently purchased a greenhouse LED growlight. It is 90W, while it is cool running, it does put out heat. The manufacute included a small cooling fan in the fixture. From the point of view of long term, LED's are the only way to go. Requiring only half as much electricity will pay for the fixture multiple times before LED's need replacing. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I'm a heavy believer in the DIY LED lights. Building it yourself allows you to customize the colors and patterns you want in the light set up. It can also be cheaper than the manufactured LED light sets that are for sale (at least in comparison to quality, there are some cheap LED lights, but they are hardly worth it.) I built my own this past summer for a 10 gallon nano SPS dominated tank. It cost me just about $200 with all the equipment and I am so glad I did it. The light hardly creates any heat and I have it sitting on a piece of plexiglass that sits ontop of the aquarium. What I like best about what I built is that I built it with dimmer controls on it so I can turn up or down the lights whenever I want, which is really nice when acclimating corals or when I want to turn off the whites so I can show friends the fluorescence of the corals under blue only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 How soon are you going to need the lights? Quick guestimate would be end of March or early April. I don't need them till I have the cash set aside for "The Package", so that sounds about right. I'm in acquisition mode and picking up stuff every two weeks. I could buy them earlier, or wait a bit, if a good deal can be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Also, I have been looking at the DIYs, and you can build a freakin amazing LED fixture for pretty cheap with those. I would consider doing this. I can solder and have a good electronics knowledge. I used to troubleshoot and repair TVs and radios at a component level, but it has been 25 years... From the point of view of long term, LED's are the only way to go. Requiring only half as much electricity will pay for the fixture multiple times before LED's need replacing. I agree. The energy and bulb replacement costs will make the total cost of ownership much lower. I'm a heavy believer in the DIY LED lights. <snip> I built my own this past summer for a 10 gallon nano SPS dominated tank. It cost me just about $200 with all the equipment and I am so glad I did it. Do you have a build thread here or elsewhere? I'd like to take a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michae52 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I will pm you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 I will pm you. Cool, I was just going to do the same. I just saw your post on the DIY thread about the kit... I'm interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 yeah, here's a good step-by-step thread I made for ppl to easily replicate. http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/18305-a-step-by-step-led-build/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonDiver Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I really want to know all the equipment i would need to setup a DIY LED fixture for a 55 gallon tank, if anyone could help me out that would be great. I just didn't want to make a whole new thread in the forums. thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 thats a loaded question lol. It all depends what you want to spend. They have compleate solderless system that cost a bit more but all it takes to put them together is slap some adheasive thermal past on the back press them on the heatsink then plug in the wire harnesses . Well I guess you do need a multimeter to set the drivers output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonDiver Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I do have a multimeter my grandpa gave it to me, its around here somewhere... As far as money goes I have no money which is probably bad since I love this hobby but the lowest price is the best for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad and Belinda Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 We have AI SOL blues over both of our tanks and we love them. They are INCREDIBLY powerful and you can fry any and all corals and I have the dead skeletons to prove it. We got the set up (3 units, the controller and the legs) over our 90 gallon used. We use 1 unit ( we bought new on eBay with free shipping and run it off of our other units) over our 34 gallon Solana and it is plenty at 50%. I compared the price to the cost of DIY and found that it wasn't worth the trouble. Of course what I consider a pain may not be one for you. Our chiller never comes on and the heater is working even in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonDiver Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I think I'll probably do DIY merely because of the flexibility of custom fitting to my exact tank size and also the ability to manipulate the amount of LED's i have. I'm not putting them down in any way they look sleek and amazing but I think I'll do DIY. Plus I wanna test my electrical skills . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Quick guestimate would be end of March or early April. I don't need them till I have the cash set aside for "The Package", so that sounds about right. I'm in acquisition mode and picking up stuff every two weeks. I could buy them earlier, or wait a bit, if a good deal can be had. I would be willing to put it together for you, but I would need the materials by this weekend since that's the most free I'll be this month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 I would be willing to put it together for you, but I would need the materials by this weekend since that's the most free I'll be this month Thanks for the offer but if I go the DIY route, I'd want to put it together myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 yeah, here's a good step-by-step thread I made for ppl to easily replicate. http://www.austinree...step-led-build/ Thanks for the link. RapidLED has a pretty good selection of components. Looks like I may have a sub-project to begin work on. Time to do more reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 yeah they have good customer service too, I was short an LED and he sent me another one with no charge and he also sent me a replacement component for one of my drivers when I accidently broke it too for free. Great company. If you're looking for more build threads, go to nano-reef forums and look under the lighting forums. They have a whole list of LED DIY build threads that cover all kinds of builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 You have the same length tank as mine. I just nabbed the DIY LED lights that olaggie01 had and they are perfect for a 48" tank. Would say 48 cree would be perfect, dimmable of course so you can set you tone. He had a guy in Dallas build them for him and the guy did a good job from what Ive seen. I had to adjust the voltage reg and pot on one driver to get the driver to dim like it should but they worked out great. I was going to get a rapid kit but got the one from olaggie01 instead. They are super easy to put together as well after looking at this kit. Heres a shot of a 48" long, by 21" deep tank with all the LED cranked all the way up(enought to destroy corals), 52LED of course. The outter drivers have been locked down so they dont overcurrent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Oh my! I've been very bad. My budget has been tossed out the window. I'm beginning to get the feeling this hobby does that to folks.... I've probably looked at every light, every configuration, DIY, brand, etc over the last 10 days. This is not to mention the various reviews, YouTube videos, and e-mails. Finally, today, I think I found what I want. I'm strongly considering the Mazarra P series LEDs now. Nice and varied mounting options, assorted lenses, programable, expandable, 3-5W LEDs, etc. All of the requirements and nice to haves, with no negatives I can find, except for price. Plus, I'm really liking what I've heard of their customer support. Bye bye budget! haha! Grog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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