Lighting questions

C

ChappyChap

Reefing newb
My 45 gallon tank is doing great, staying stable and my stock is thriving. The 6 bulb t5 will be fine for what I want to do, but I'm planning a 70-75 gallon build. My first conflict comes at lighting fixtures. I've heard differing opinions on LEDs and halides. I found a nice aquatic life 2x150 watt 36" combo fixture, but I'm worried about it heating up the room, I don't mind a chiller for the tank but I don't wanna have it run me out of the room when I'm watching tv or playing a game because of either noise or heat. I like the ecotech radon fixtures but I would to probably get two for the tank I want. Ive also heard you have to have a pc to program them and i run mac. I could keep the led fixture secured underneath the hood that comes a the tank too, but not the halide fixture. I don't think suspending a fixture is a good fit for my situation. Am I on the right track here? I've also looked at maxxspect razr systems, it's hard to cut through all the marketing bs, so I figured I'd come here for some advice with people w hopefully first hand experience.
 
I believe the radion will have Mac support, it just hasn't been released yet. There are several people here running them, they can probably chime in on how they need to be programmed. I run the AI units myself, you don't need a computer to program them
 
Which radion ficture are you looking at the new radion XR30w or the pro version of that. Both of the new versions you dont need any software to set up they work off your web browser. They also work off of your smart phone to set up and function. You just need safari 5 or above, firefox 11 or above, or chrome 4 or above for you to work.
 
If the tank is more than 24 inches long, you're going to need two LED fixtures, that is going to be the case for pretty much all of them
 
I highly doubt you will need a chiller if you use MH. Hardly anyone uses chillers. The MH won't heat things up too bad, but it will produce more heat (and use more electricity) than LEDs. Using a clip-on fan blowing across the water will probably be sufficient to take care of the heat.
 
Will it heat up the room noticeably? Would it be possible to attach it to a wooden canopy maybe using the suspension hardware? There are no fans but apparently the unit weighs almost forty pounds, so should I just run an open top w the fixture resting on the tank?
 
No it won't, I had two 250w MH above my tank and it was fine. If your set on using your canopy, you should look into an MH retrofit kit.
 
check out the evergrow LED systems. they've been really popular on RC for a couple of years, proven reliable, good customer support, excellent PAR, and very affordable. they have a few new fixtures coming out in 24 and 36" length sizes AND bonus is you can customize your LED layout. one 36" unit under $450 shipped will cover that 48" wide tank and keep SPS without a sweat. they also have a zillion features with timers, moon lights, sunset/sunrise, etc.

reefbreeders is a US retailer for them (Reef Breeders) so if you ever need anything you have US support. but if you want to go even cheaper, set up or join a GB and buy direct from evergrow via alibaba express Find All China Products On Sale from EverGrow Lighting on Aliexpress.com - 120W dimmable led aquarium light for coral reef with 28B + 27W Hot sale free air shipping,Free Air Shipping D120W led custom layout dimmable led aquarium light for coral reef .

i ordered in the last group buy on my local reef club and all 36 or our units came in within a week or ordering without a single error.

they also come with a basic hanging kit but i'm putting together something from pendant systems for a nice wire hung system.

g'luck!
 
the ones i posted have a built in controller on the fixture itself for programming, controlling sunset/sunrise, the moonlights, etc. no need for a computer or other peripheral. and all the settings are saved if/when the power goes out. pretty sweet.
 
ChappyChap said:
Nice. Can you grow clams, Lps, sps,anemones under them?
Click to expand...
you can keep and grow just about anything under them as long as your use reefbreeders layout or customize your own and make sure to provide the correct spectrum to support whatever corals/inverts you plan to keep. folks are getting on average 320 PAR at 18" depth and 120 PAR n the corners at 6" above water line. check out the "chinese led" threads on RC and there are tons of layouts people have used and feedback on them.

BL1 said:
That fixture won't physically fit on a 75g tank, you'll need to get a 48" fixture.
Click to expand...
yeah, if you wanted to use that one, chappy, you'd have to hang it yourself. it is designed to be mounted on top of a 36" and with that light, you'd likely have harder dead spots after the end of the bulbs but likely not a big deal. with LEDs you can use the appropriate optics for whatever height you plan to hang at.
 
monkiboy said:
yeah, if you wanted to use that one, chappy, you'd have to hang it yourself. it is designed to be mounted on top of a 36" and with that light, you'd likely have harder dead spots after the end of the bulbs but likely not a big deal. with LEDs you can use the appropriate optics for whatever height you plan to hang at.
Click to expand...

I was actually referring to the MH fixture he posted but yes neither the 36" MH or LED fixtures would fit, they'd both have to be hung.
 
BL1 said:
I was actually referring to the MH fixture he posted but yes neither the 36" MH or LED fixtures would fit, they'd both have to be hung.
Click to expand...

yes, that is to what i am referring to as well. the LED fixtures i mention are not meant to be mounted on a tank. they are all designed to be suspended/hung and include a basic hanging kit for the task.

the MH if you wanted to hang would require just a bit of DIY time to hang as that is meant to be mounted onto a 36" wide tank.
 
ChappyChap said:
I like LEDs but I really don't have a computer capable of setting them up and controlling and customizing them. Does anyone have experience or opinions of this metal halide fixture? AquaticLife HQI Metal Halide Fixtures with T5 HO and Lunar LEDs
Click to expand...

The following is my opinion... :

MH lights are good, and likely the best to date (that will be changing as LED's gain technology), but you will burn a considerable amount of kwatts of power. ..And you will have to replace the bulbs every year, give or take a few weeks. The bulbs are expensive. Then add the heat to your AC load in the summer if your are in hot country. If you do the math you can't afford MH lamps, if you consider using the saved electric power, heat, and replacement bulbs as wasted when it could of been money to buy coral, dosages, fish, fish food, reactors.. etc.

I don't understand why you are concerned about having a computer to have LED lights. Have I missed something? I'm running LED's and there is no computer connection. The LED's will most likely last from 9 to 11 years without needing replacement. They burn a fraction of the power as MH lights, and produce considerably less heat. Many are growing most any kind of coral you can grow in a reef tank under LED's now.

I was a hard convert.. I did the math and it was a no-brainer.
 
I just read in the comments under a led fixture lots of complaints about non user friendly software for the ecotech fixture. The tank I'm getting is 72 gallons, 36-22-17 I think. I know it's 36" wide for sure.
 
ChappyChap said:
I just read in the comments under a led fixture lots of complaints about non user friendly software for the ecotech fixture. The tank I'm getting is 72 gallons, 36-22-17 I think. I know it's 36" wide for sure.
Click to expand...

I have ready pretty positive things about the Radions, you cant really compare them to the Chinese fixtures that were linked in other posts in these threads. As stated before, for most of the modular LED fixtures on the market, you're really going to want two of them, especially if you don't have to room to hang them a foot and a half off the top of the water line

Also, most LED fixtures DO NOT require a connection to a computer of any kind to control
 

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