lighting for new 75 gallon reef tank w/soft corals

[advocate777]

I have a Coralife 48 inch Aqualight double linear strip with two (2) 65 watt Actinic and two (2) 65 watt 10,000K compact fluorescent lights.
It was fine when I just had live rock and fish but in my new setup I really want to get into soft corals as well. Is this a good enough light? I read that they sell 'upgrade kits' - not sure how that would work or if I need it. Please help-
Thank you so much!

 

[Bifferwine]

You could keep low-light corals such as zoas, mushrooms and leathers with that light. But if you wanted to keep LPS corals, SPS corals, clams or anemones I would suggest getting new lights.

 

[advocate777]

Is it not enough light for Ricordia, Pachyclavularia, Zoanthus, Alcyonium corals- they seem real pretty to me and awesome. Plus, do I need to buy a whole new lighting deal or can I upgrade like I have seen advertised? Dont really understand the upgrade stuff- but anyway, what is the wattage, etc. that you think I need for starting beginner and intermediate corals?
Thanks so much- I am just getting back into this after years away

 

[poksal]

I have been using a RapidLED build kit. and was running 52 Cree LED's with white, blue.. and a pair each of red & green w/ 4 ultra violet. My tank is 23 inches deep.. I wasn't getting my coral to pop. Today, I went to my best LFS and purchased a new Aquaticlife 1W expandable 36" x 54 watt. It has 54 LED's and uses white, blue, and purple. Already, my corals appear to of come alive. I just didn't have enough light to reach my tank.

These new Aquaticlife 1W's are killer. This unit lists on line for $399 and I got it from my LFS for $408.. beats any on line + shipping I could find... and I needed to pop it now to save some new corals. These are not dimmable units.. but my RapidLED's are. So I'm pleased. I'm running all my LED's , .. the RapidLED's and the Aqualife's. That is a total of 106 LED's.

Now when I put a new coral on the bottom to get it used to my tank ... when the light comes back on it actually gets a good dose of light. .. and I can stage the coral up or under a ledge per what it needs over the next few weeks. If I did it over with what I know now I would get two sets of the 36" 1W expandable Aquaticlife's x 54 watts ... there is absolutely no doubt about it!!!

I read and studied up.. and now I have the light to review.. I have one word.. very IMPRESSIVE!

You match singles or pairs of light sets to match your tank depth, length, and what you want to keep in your tank.. and if you want to really do it.. you need lots of light w/ plenty of different heights for corals to set and .. plenty of shaded areas.

'coarse, what do I know.. except if you learn best by mistakes I should be a master reef keeper by now... LOL...

I think I've made all the mistakes.. so .. ummm that way the rest of you ... don't need to.. I'll gladly tattle on myself for your benefit.

-randy-

 

[poksal]

If your are interested enough to want to see some serious specs on the Aquaticlife 1W LED fixtures, here ya go.

Down about 3/4 of the way there is a "select the ideal fixture setup for your tank" chart worth a look. It goes by the length the light (or tank) and depth of tank and what you want to keep.

AquaticLife 1.0 Watt Expandable LED Light Fixture

 

[advocate777]

Thanks - I am checking it out.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

I have been using a RapidLED build kit. and was running 52 Cree LED's with white, blue.. and a pair each of red & green w/ 4 ultra violet. My tank is 23 inches deep.. I wasn't getting my coral to pop. Today, I went to my best LFS and purchased a new Aquaticlife 1W expandable 36" x 54 watt. It has 54 LED's and uses white, blue, and purple. Already, my corals appear to of come alive. I just didn't have enough light to reach my tank.

These new Aquaticlife 1W's are killer. This unit lists on line for $399 and I got it from my LFS for $408.. beats any on line + shipping I could find... and I needed to pop it now to save some new corals. These are not dimmable units.. but my RapidLED's are. So I'm pleased. I'm running all my LED's , .. the RapidLED's and the Aqualife's. That is a total of 106 LED's.

Now when I put a new coral on the bottom to get it used to my tank ... when the light comes back on it actually gets a good dose of light. .. and I can stage the coral up or under a ledge per what it needs over the next few weeks. If I did it over with what I know now I would get two sets of the 36" 1W expandable Aquaticlife's x 54 watts ... there is absolutely no doubt about it!!!

I read and studied up.. and now I have the light to review.. I have one word.. very IMPRESSIVE!

You match singles or pairs of light sets to match your tank depth, length, and what you want to keep in your tank.. and if you want to really do it.. you need lots of light w/ plenty of different heights for corals to set and .. plenty of shaded areas.

'coarse, what do I know.. except if you learn best by mistakes I should be a master reef keeper by now... LOL...

I think I've made all the mistakes.. so .. ummm that way the rest of you ... don't need to.. I'll gladly tattle on myself for your benefit.

-randy-

Really?? we have a local reefer that builds leds and all he uses are cree's leds. I've seen 5 of his builds(75g & 90g couple of cubes) and everything is blooming. hes got sps growing on the sandbed because they work so well and are so bright.

 

[poksal]

Really?? we have a local reefer that builds leds and all he uses are cree's leds. I've seen 5 of his builds(75g & 90g couple of cubes) and everything is blooming. hes got sps growing on the sandbed because they work so well and are so bright.

The cree's weren't a problem.. I just didn't build a big enough unit with enough LEDs for my tank depth. I'm running both sets.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

ok. i would have bought some more cree's and bought a bigger heatsink and build it better. the guy builds them 48" long three rows and like 2.75" apart.
see if you can read this thread. he explains a lil bit of what or how he builds his.
http://www.brevardareareefsociety.c...55-DIY-LED-Lighting-for-a-90G-Mixed-Reef-Tank

 

[poksal]

Mine have to be 36" long and I have three strips.. you can only get 18 cree's on each of those strips.. I like having both kinds.. the guys at Aquaticlife spent a serious amount of time in R&D before releasing these new expandable units.. they got deep into the frequencies that grow coral.. from what I hear they didn't release until they had LED's provided that met those frequency requirements. So, I feel better with the mix, and my corals did seem to respond.. although it is early to make an absolute claim. In my opinion and after the fact, I wish RapidLED would add purple LED's to the choices... unless I missed them. AND.. let me be clear... I have no complaints on product nor service at RapidLED.

The Cree whites do put out a lot of light..

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

the purple would be good. but the builds hes done have been unreal. i'm glad your getting the colors and growth you want. thats all that matters.

 

[poksal]

ok. i would have bought some more cree's and bought a bigger heatsink and build it better. the guy builds them 48" long three rows and like 2.75" apart.
see if you can read this thread. he explains a lil bit of what or how he builds his.
DIY LED Lighting for a 90G Mixed Reef Tank

I read the thread.. super glue is not good in heat.. and does not have good heat transfer properties for use between the LED chips and the heat sinks. If you buy your heat sinks from Rapid they are drilled and he provides the silicone transfer grease and screws to mount them. I'd be afraid LED's glued with super glue to a heat sink would run too hot and live a shortened life... if some of them didn't come loose from the heat effect on the super glue and be hanging by the wire until they fail. You would never notice that until too late.. .. but what do I know... It sounds like he is on track.. if he works out a better than super glue R&D correction.