LED lighting

[dannyny]

Hey guy i need help/suggestions on LED lighting.

i want to keep a reef tank(fish with mainly soft corals but capable of keeping hard coral). my tank is a 50 rimless from glasscages (36x18x16")

i wanted to go with an Ai Sol fixture. i spoke with a few people that sell them and they say to go with 2 fixtures a few say i can get away with 1 fixture with shadowed corners.

my question is can i still use this light with shadowed corners? does this mean i can not place coral there or should i just go and get a different light fixture altogether?

any other fixture suggestion would be great. i spoke to a few guys that custom make them and they are about the same as the ai sol, i just like the ai sol's design.

also saw the EVO 150 fixture and i think that would be suitable for my tank but i havent gotten any feedback on that product.

any help would be great thanks again guys. you all have been awesome so far.

 

[isnyc300]

i think 36x18x16" is the dimensions for a 40g breeder. id go with an ecotech radion. from my experience ai dims after a while and evos are loud. i have acan leds and i would rather have the radions. The coverage is great. but thats just my opinion.

 

[dannyny]

i think 36x18x16" is the dimensions for a 40g breeder. id go with an ecotech radion. from my experience ai dims after a while and evos are loud. i have acan leds and i would rather have the radions. The coverage is great. but thats just my opinion.

thank you. i think it's a 40 gallon as well but it is listed as 50 on the manufacturer's website (glasscages)

would i need 1 radion or 2 radion fixtures?

 

[jcdeng]

1 radion, which is $750

 

[dannyny]

1 radion, which is $750

would i need 1 ai sol or 2 ai sols?

 

[strgazr27]

1 AI will not cover that tank without significantly darkened corners. Also need to hang the AI at least 10-12" above the water line to get the 24"x24" coverage they claim. As far as AIs losing brightness I've never seen it or heard of it. Perhaps the other poster can show evidence of this? IMO buy a 6 bulb T5.

 

[jcdeng]

would i need 1 ai sol or 2 ai sols?

36 inch I would go 2 AIs

 

[dannyny]

1 AI will not cover that tank without significantly darkened corners. Also need to hang the AI at least 10-12" above the water line to get the 24"x24" coverage they claim. As far as AIs losing brightness I've never seen it or heard of it. Perhaps the other poster can show evidence of this? IMO buy a 6 bulb T5.

what if i do not plan to grow coral in the corners? if i do decide i will purchase another unit in the future...

6 bulb t5 is great i just dont want to replace bulbs every 6 months

 

[strgazr27]

Your going to have a lot of light spill both front and back to get the side to side coverage you need to decently light the tank. Cut off is fairly sharp with them so it will be a noticeable corner darkening.
As far as replacing bulbs every 6 months I don't know who told you that or where you read it but that is really not the case. Depending on your photoperiod your looking at a 9-12 month replacement schedule at roughly $110. If you don't plan on keeping strictly SPS corals a 4 bulb T5 will work very well with the tank and provide more than enough par to keep a healthy tank.
If you can live with the dark corners than 1 AI could work. 2 would Cover a lot more evenly but will result in twice the light spill and you'll be running them at less than 50% likely.
$880 for 2 AIs or $300 for a 4 bulb. $100 for bulb changes leaves you at least 4 years of bulb changes w your left over budget. And you have more color chices, better coverage.
It's up to you really.

 

[dannyny]

Your going to have a lot of light spill both front and back to get the side to side coverage you need to decently light the tank. Cut off is fairly sharp with them so it will be a noticeable corner darkening.
As far as replacing bulbs every 6 months I don't know who told you that or where you read it but that is really not the case. Depending on your photoperiod your looking at a 9-12 month replacement schedule at roughly $110. If you don't plan on keeping strictly SPS corals a 4 bulb T5 will work very well with the tank and provide more than enough par to keep a healthy tank.
If you can live with the dark corners than 1 AI could work. 2 would Cover a lot more evenly but will result in twice the light spill and you'll be running them at less than 50% likely.
$880 for 2 AIs or $300 for a 4 bulb. $100 for bulb changes leaves you at least 4 years of bulb changes w your left over budget. And you have more color chices, better coverage.
It's up to you really.

Ahhhhh!! Why do u guys make such good points?!?!

This is my first salt water tank ever I won't have sps anytime soon by the time I do I will either upgrade my tank size not likely or I will buy an additional light. Would you safely say I can keep a handful of corals with a handful of fish in my tank placed strategically where the light would shine brightest for a good amount of time before I have to upgrade?

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I told him 6 months to replace the bulbs. If the manufacturers say every 9-12 months I do it in 6.

Just like skimmer companies overrate their skimmers and how many gallon tanks it'll skim efficiently. I size my skimmers to be rated at 1 1/2 times the tanks gallonage.

Just the way I think. But hey if you want to stretch the use of a 20-30 dollar bulb to push it be my guest. I'll spend $140 each 6 months and be happy that I did.

 

[strgazr27]

I told him 6 months to replace the bulbs. If the manufacturers say every 9-12 months I do it in 6.

Just like skimmer companies overrate their skimmers and how many gallon tanks it'll skim efficiently. I size my skimmers to be rated at 1 1/2 times the tanks gallonage.

Just the way I think. But hey if you want to stretch the use of a 20-30 dollar bulb to push it be my guest. I'll spend $140 each 6 months and be happy that I did.

As I said it depends on how long your running your lamps for. When I had a TEK 6 bulb only 4 of the bulbs were on for 8 hours. 9 months is not that long in that situation. Depending on your fixture and at what temp the bulbs run at 9-12 months is far more common than switching out at 6 months but hey if money is no object have at it. And with a 6 bulb fixture your looking at $120 for bulbs. Not just a single bulb. Your method would cost me an extra $120 over an 18 month period.

Usually one see's a 20-30% drop in par in the first 3-4 months with very little change in par up till the 8-10 month time period. You do need to watch for color shift issues more so than par loss. You can easily lower your fixture most times to make up for par loss but it won't correct a color shift.

Interesting read on the subject here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641235

As I said you can change them whenever you feel you need to but to say they have to be changed out is a stretch.

 

[garys reef]

I have AI'S and love them I started with 2 over my 90 and had some shadowing but if you place your corals right you won't have a problem now I have 4 and can put any coral wherever I want

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[strgazr27]

I have AI'S and love them I started with 2 over my 90 and had some shadowing but if you place your corals right you won't have a problem now I have 4 and can put any coral wherever I want

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And the tank is AMAZING in person.... There, I said it Lol.

 

[garys reef]

When am I gonna see yours

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[dannyny]

i think i will go with 1 led unit first then see how they it works if needed i will add an additional unit

 

[strgazr27]

I got a nice stretch coming up from the 16-24 off so anytime than. Going to be ripping the first of many rooms apart so don't mind the mess but the tank room is nice Lol. Check my thread, i updated the pics.

 

[garys reef]

You won't be sorry with AI'S

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[garys reef]

I love remodeling lol ill text you but if you need a hand just let me know electrical anything two sets of hands better than one bro

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[strgazr27]

i think i will go with 1 led unit first then see how they it works if needed i will add an additional unit

You'll definitely be happy. Just watch how high you set them as far as percentage goes till you get everything use to them.
Ask Gary, they are pretty strong fixtures and your not working with that deep a tank. Keep it 10+ inches AWl and you will be happy.