LED question

[Justin0329]

I am looking at building my own LED fixture however I am curious how much wattage it should have. Its a standard 55 gallon tank and I am thinking I'll be adding corals later. Currently I have a T5 fixture that houses 4 54 watt bulbs (2 actinic and 2 10k) for a total of 216 watts witch seems standard for that type of fixture. I really like the way LED's light the tank thus the "upgrade". Also, I like the idea of not having to change the bulbs or forgetting for that matter. So, when planning on using 3 watt LED bulbs, how many total watts are ideal for corals so that bleaching isn't an issue?

 

[Northstar24]

What are the dimensions of the tank? This will really be the factor that determines how many LEDs to use (as well as budget)

 

[Justin0329]

its a standard 55 gallon. 48" x 21" x 13" (ballpark)...

 

[NanoReefer]

i would say around 180w or 60 leds. this might be a little overkill, but if you make them dimmable you will really be able to change your colors

 

[Northstar24]

Have you thought about using optics? With optics you could probably get away with 48 LED's but somewhere between 48-60 sounds about right

Also, have you thought about the color mix that you're going to use? Cool White, Warm White, Blue, Royal Blue, Violet?

 

[wallacemaier]

check thhese leds out amazing
www.saltwateraquaticsleds.com

 

[Salts001]

as a few mentioned above ~48 LED's on a dimmer is perfect. just built my led not to long ago and im using 36 LED's on a 65 gal to replace a CF that was ~190 watts. i only have 2 small frags at the bottom of the tank and the LED's running at 50%. from what others have told me the 36 LED full power is equal to a 250 - 275 watt MH light so it's not so bad. have a look at my photo album for the CREE LED light.

plus the led's are just so cool looking...

 

[NanoReefer]

i have 36 leds on my 37 gallon, i rin blues 100% and whites 80%