LED's for small desktop frag tank

[nate_newton]

So I'm putting LED's in the idea bin for my small frag tank, currently it has the 10" T5's. It measure's 12"x21"x9". The tank is mainly for SPS, mostly Montipora's and Birdsnests. How many leds would you suggest to light the tank?

[jolson10450]

roughly 12, I have a 5.5g mini nano that measures 16"x10"x8" tall and i have 6 leds over it and it lights it perfect, with the 21"x12" you will need a decent amount more, buy a DIY kit with 12 leds in it from rapidled.com here is the link:

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-...ium-LED/Detail

you will also need 6 optics to add to it for the xp-g LEDS unless you decide to go with no optics which at only 9" deep you possibly could, or use 80 degree optics, i would buy them just in case so you dont have to pay shipping if you change your mind.

go to heatsinkusa.com and pick out an appropriate heatsink for your application, i usually space my LEDS 2" apart evenly but its really personal preference.

the rough cost with shipping and everything should be roughly $150 i would say but it will last you 5+ years

[evilc66]

12 could work. A few more wouldn't hurt for some additional coverage considering the length of the tank.

There should never be a reason for using optics on a tank that small, unless you plan on mounting the fixture extremely high. There isn't even a real need to use XP-G LEDs either, and in this case I'd steer clear of them, and go with neutral white XR-Es. Sps seem to be a little more finikey when it comes to color rendering, and the neutral white LEDs will help quite a bit with that, especially seeing as you are planning on reselling the frags, where apearance is most important.

[nate_newton]

So 12 or white then, any blue? I do have some zoa's and a few chalices also, I'd say maybe 1/3 of the tank. I guess I'll just keep my 2 6"x7" heatsinks and use them for mounting. One other question. Since this will be close to water what should I use to protect it. Previously I've used acrylic from Loew's. Because there is some heat it bows down, what's best to use and can still support the fixture?

12 could work. A few more wouldn't hurt for some additional coverage considering the length of the tank.

There should never be a reason for using optics on a tank that small, unless you plan on mounting the fixture extremely high. There isn't even a real need to use XP-G LEDs either, and in this case I'd steer clear of them, and go with neutral white XR-Es. Sps seem to be a little more finikey when it comes to color rendering, and the neutral white LEDs will help quite a bit with that, especially seeing as you are planning on reselling the frags, where apearance is most important.

[evilc66]

You always have to use blue LEDs. The 12 LED count was for both colors.

If the acrylic is bowing, then use something thicker. Acrylic is the best option, as it's cheap and easy to work with.

[nate_newton]

Thanks I thought you meant blue too but didn't mention it.

[evilc66]

It's always implied. The only time you would use white only is for freshwater planted tanks. They are too yellow by themselves for reefs.

[nate_newton]

What happened to the dimmable Meanwell drivers on Nanotuners? Didn't they also have an led kit?

[cg5071]

The link jolson gave has some decent looking stuff. FWIW since I am not a pro with LED's. They have the dimmable ones but pay attention since one works with reefkeeper and something else then the other works with something else yet.

[nate_newton]

Thanks Chris, I was searching and came upon that site also. Though I wish I could do a reefkeeper or similar, probably not for awhile. It should be interesting since you have a lot of the same as I have but under MH.

The link jolson gave has some decent looking stuff. FWIW since I am not a pro with LED's. They have the dimmable ones but pay attention since one works with reefkeeper and something else then the other works with something else yet.