Ok here is the question that has been running through my mind and I have searched and not really finding out what I want to know.
I have a odd sized tank 96x18x16 deep, I currently have two Tek light 4x54 T5s over it and would like to go to the Reef-bright LEDs, I am stuck between how many and how long, I was thinking of either eight/ten 36" units or six/eight 48" units
Most of this is due to how shallow my tank is, as light penetration is not a problem, I was leaning more to the 36" models due to the spacing of the LEDs.
Ok here is the question that has been running through my mind and I have searched and not really finding out what I want to know.
I have a odd sized tank 96x18x16 deep, I currently have two Tek light 4x54 T5s over it and would like to go to the Reef-bright LEDs, I am stuck between how many and how long, I was thinking of either eight/ten 36" units or six/eight 48" units
Most of this is due to how shallow my tank is, as light penetration is not a problem, I was leaning more to the 36" models due to the spacing of the LEDs.
Picture of my tank...
thanks
Matthew DePriest
why do you wanna change to LED? i think you should stick with the T5 set up you have now.
With those strip lights your lookin at close to 2000$ worth of lights. When you could possibly make your own LED setup for less.
i would go DIY. you can do it pretty easy. it would cost you roughly $1000 for everything for DIY. get about 96 leds do 4 sets of 24 leds. the price includes the heatsinks and optics and ballasts. you would just have to wire it all yourself or i am sure someone on here could do it for you for a small fee. but still you are saving roughly $800 at least if you DIY
You could do a DIY LED setup, or have someone like me make one for you. If I were to light that tank, being that its only 16" deep, you could go with something like 96 or so LEDs run at 700mA for ~215 watts of lighting, but it would be as bright, if not brighter than your T5 setup. Depending on the color temp you want, I'd suggest something between 1:1 and 2:1 Cree XRE Royal Blue to Cree XPG cool white.
You can easily light an area of 2ft x 18" with 24 LEDs and being that its only 16" deep you wont need optics, you can put the fixtures just a few inches over the water.
If you don't need to dim the lights or adjust color then you can do this for ~900-1000 in parts.
why do you wanna change to LED? i think you should stick with the T5 set up you have now.
With those strip lights your lookin at close to 2000$ worth of lights. When you could possibly make your own LED setup for less.
I was thinking of the long term cost savings of the LEDs IE electric and bulb changes, as well as the awesome actinic glow and shimmer that you get.
Partly do to the fact that Consumers energy here in Kalamazoo charges double rate on electric after 600 KW so my bill has doubled since I set up the new tank. and the left side Tek lite is the old model and it is need of replacing soon as are the bulbs in it.
looking at it as $230 for the fixture and $180 a year for bulbs plus half the energy draw really adds up in the long run.
Yeah after looking at some of the DIY kits that my be the way to go. how close should they be to the tank though I have the T5s about 7" off the top, can I go that far without lesses?
Yeah after looking at some of the DIY kits that my be the way to go. how close should they be to the tank though I have the T5s about 7" off the top, can I go that far without lesses?
thanks
Matt
even if you were to pack your LEDS into a smaller area (heat sink) when you go without optics you get a massive amount of spread. at 7" off the surface of the water a average single emitter would project a circle of aproximately 24" in diameter, so you'd get perfect coverage at that height actually.
4 sets of 24 leds ... i would get dimmable ... for the extra money ... the feature is will worth it
i loved my leds ... ( then i was a R-tard and sold them )
click there ^^^^^^^^^
[quote name='flying high' date='June 2006, 01:06 AM']We are all victims of our own gene pool. Im sry someone pee'd in urs[/quote] www.picoaquariums.com
like to glue animals to rocks and put disturbing amounts of electricity and saltwater next to each other!
you're going to pay for optics with one of their pre-packaged setups, which you will not need. in fact, if the lights can only be about 7" off the surface as your T5s are currently mounted, even 80 degree optics will ensure you will *not* get the coverage you are looking for when only using ~96 total LEDs unless you put them onto a much bigger areas of heat sink.
From T5 to LED?
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Originally Posted by Gyyro
