t5's or LEDs?

[buddy08]

As many of you may know; if you have seen my build thread in the showcase section, Im currently running 4x 54w 48" HO t5s with reflectors in my 75g setup. I was debating and almost ended up purchasing LED's to replace my t5's but decided i would research a little more before doing so. I can keep my t5's and add 2 more bulbs making it a total of 6x 54w bulbs (3 blues, 2 whites, 1 fiji purple) orrrr, i can replace it all with 54x ho LED's from rapid LED. I want to start keeping sps's, nems, and clams but also want to add a vibrant color to the tank.. I know t5 gives me nice color combos but LED's give me an awesome shimmer effect. What do you guys think?

 

[Waddi]

I would go with LEDs in your place, when i get my 125, i will slowly be adding leds.
Go for it!!!!!!!!!! :D

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

You could buy a couple of the Current USA TrueLumen LED strips. I'm thinking about getting a couple for my 30" fixture over my 29G.

 

[buddy08]

if i do the LED's it will be a DIY led fixture with heatsinks and so forth so i can dim them and control them easier. The only issue i have with the LED's is the thought of my canopy being so close to the water... the LED's will be roughly 6 to 8 inches above the water which could lead to A. water damage to them, B. Spotlighting the tank and not blending lights, or C. will work terrific but i wont know till i try. I spent a lot of time and money on my canopy and dont want to have to replace it if i dont have to... But again, it depends on the LED's i suppose. I posted a link on Reef central hoping to get a response there but i never do. not a big fan of that site.

 

[d2mini]

I would mix MH and T5 together or go with a QUALITY led fixture if it fits your budget.
Look for a full spectrum LED unit or if DIY, include cool white, blue, royal blue, red and green. You will get all the color of T5 and most of the beautiful shimmer from MH.

The cool thing about the higher end fixtures like the Radion is the colors and intensity can all be adjusted on the fly. The ultimate in getting your color just the way you like it. If you can do that yourself, that's awesome. I would do this over T5 for sure.

 

[buddy08]

have you been able to find any diy fixtures with red and green lights d2mini? all i can find are royal blues, and cool whites. I did consider doing the LED fixture with 2x t5's for color. My biggest fear is taking the LED plunge, spending the money, and it not looking how i would imagine it to look. MH is out of the question, I dont want the issues or heat as my tank keeps a constant 79 degrees and my living room a constant 72...

 

[Northstar24]

if you're doing a DIY fixture, you can add whatever color LED's you wish. I personally have the AI Sol Super Blues. Check out my build thread for photos. If you want more specific photos or videos, feel free to PM me. Dana and Anderson14 have seen my tank in person, and Anderson14 liked it so much, he hung AI's over the 'Twins'

The only off the shelf fixture I know of with red and or green LED's is the one from Ecotech Marine, but I'm sure there are others. Most of the off the shelf fixtures have white, blue, and royal blue LEDs. There are some that believe the normal white / blue / royal blue fixture are missing something in the color spectrum (likely something in the UV wavelength). I myself have not been convinced of this, but if you were going DIY you can make up for that by using some red/green/UV LED's in your fixture

I personally wont be going back to MH/T5

 

[buddy08]

have a link to your build?

 

[d2mini]

have you been able to find any diy fixtures with red and green lights d2mini?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. DIY means you design and build it yourself so you can use any leds you want. If you're asking if I've seen anyone else build their own led fixture using red and green, the answer is no but only because I'm not looking. Someone may have done this.

 

[mbrew]

i just bout the 48in marineland led setup....had the 6 light setup same as you but im tired of buying bulbs, and in my canopy the guy had the crappy plastic t5 lights. they ive got two mh HO t5 out of the 6 but the plastic ones just kept melting and replacing the burnt bulbs blows so i went with LED.

 

[buddy08]

i left a word out, i meant diy builds** but you understood what i meant. All build that i have seen are with the blues and whites. Nothing really specifies how many of which i would need and the biggest thing i will battle is spotlighting or color banding. i wouldnt know good ratio of greens/reds to blues and whites for a good color spectrum and i would hate to have green and red spot lights in my display lol. i think i just need to take the plunge, buy them, build the fixture, and see how it goes.

 

[Northstar24]

Google operation Nemo and you'll find my build thread, I can't copy and paste the link on my phone

 

[buddy08]

ahh i see, its sharp looking. I think im going to go with the LED's... if the canopy sits to low after i install them then i suppose i will just have to build another :D

 

[mbrew]

I was got mine half price than what my Lfs wanted I paid 275 for mine. If you have a hydroponics store in your town or any indoor plant store in your town hit them up, I got mine used... The owner of the store took it home and used it for two weeks to try to grow "petunias" lol only had about 200 hrs on it and they have like 52 billion so I'm not to worried about it. But best of luck

 

[Northstar24]

The nice thing about the AI's or the EcoTech modules is the fact that the different channels (colors) are dimmable, so you can adjust the corcon the fly. If you decide to make your own fixture, get drivers that are dimmable

As far as number of LEDs for a 2x2 area, the AI units use 24 LEDs with a combination of 40 and 90 degree optics. I have them 13 inches above the water line and I can't run them more than 70% or I start burning corals