Overwhelmed - LED lighting options

[volantis]

Hi all. I'm new here. I have a couple tanks that have been inactive for several years. I kept Discus for several years and loved them but have decided I'd rather have a nice saltwater tank instead of a barebottom tank needed 50% of the water changed every day...

I have a 125g tank that I'd like to get setup. I've been doing all the reading I can and have a pretty good feel for what to do in most areas. The one place I'm pretty confused is lighting.

I want to go with LEDs for heat/longevity/energy reasons. But I cannot figure out for the life of me what I'm looking for. I went to an LFS and he showed me some LED lights that seemed to have 6-8 lights in each enclosure and he said would be about $450 apiece. He said they'd do sunrise, sunset, and some extra stuff like clouds and thunderstorms. He said my 125g tank would need 3 of them.

That's all fine, but when I've started researching online I can't figure out what I'd actually need. I like to research things before I buy them and I have no idea what type of LED system I'm looking for, how it mounts, controllers, etc. I end up seeing single LED lights and lots of other things I don't understand.

Can someone give me a starting point to research the LED systems I'd need? I'm sure this is asked often, but I've Googled as much as I can and haven't found what I'm looking for. I would be very appreciative.

 

[SarahSmile]

Hi Volantis! Lighing is confusing, especially leds since there are so many different options and opinions.
Go to search on this forum, (top, middle) and type in Leds. There have been many, many discussions involving leds. You can see reviews and many links to units others have tried or are thinking of trying.
You can spend $200 on leds, you can spend $1500. It comes down to your needs. Do you need sunsets and thunderstorms? Do you need to stay within a certain budget? Do you need to keep creatures that require a ton of light? Do you need a plug and play fixture or do you like DIY projects?

 

[little_fish]

Hello and welcome!
+1 Sarah

 

[cvcdrk]

How many lights you'll need will depend on how wide your tank is.
Most of the reputable manufacturers have tools on their websites to determine how many you'll need. You just plug in your tank dimensions or view it in a graph.

For high-end lighting you'd be looking at something like EcoTech Marine Radion X30w.
The Maxspect Razor, AI Sol/Vega and Kessil A350w's would all be mid-range for price I would say. They don't do the exact stuff the Radions but they will grow almost anything.
If all of those are out of your budget, there are two other alternatives. The first, if you're so inclined would be to DIY some LED pendants....if you have the technical ability and are good with your hands you can do this for pretty cheap.
The other option is the "chinese" LED lights that are available everywhere from Amazon to Ebay. They sometimes don't have a brand name....Taotronics is one of the brands, though, that you can search for. these are in the <$200 a piece category....but I will preface with that while I've seen a lot of people using them on this and other forums and having great results, they are still unproven.

You'll need to consider depth if you go with one of the cheaper options as they may not have the penetration required for a tank as deep as yours....I'm not sure on how deep they penetrate...look up individual light's PAR ratings for this info.

Also, while it's good to support your local LFS....if you're shopping for lights they're almost ALWAYS going to be cheaper online I think. With the exception of the carefully controlled MSRPs on the Radions and the AI lights, you could see very different prices online I've noticed.

 

[volantis]

Thanks for the input everyone. These brands are a great starting point. I'll do some research and see what I come up with.

How many lights you'll need will depend on how wide your tank is.
Most of the reputable manufacturers have tools on their websites to determine how many you'll need. You just plug in your tank dimensions or view it in a graph.

For high-end lighting you'd be looking at something like EcoTech Marine Radion X30w.
The Maxspect Razor, AI Sol/Vega and Kessil A350w's would all be mid-range for price I would say. They don't do the exact stuff the Radions but they will grow almost anything.
If all of those are out of your budget, there are two other alternatives. The first, if you're so inclined would be to DIY some LED pendants....if you have the technical ability and are good with your hands you can do this for pretty cheap.
The other option is the "chinese" LED lights that are available everywhere from Amazon to Ebay. They sometimes don't have a brand name....Taotronics is one of the brands, though, that you can search for. these are in the <$200 a piece category....but I will preface with that while I've seen a lot of people using them on this and other forums and having great results, they are still unproven.

You'll need to consider depth if you go with one of the cheaper options as they may not have the penetration required for a tank as deep as yours....I'm not sure on how deep they penetrate...look up individual light's PAR ratings for this info.

Also, while it's good to support your local LFS....if you're shopping for lights they're almost ALWAYS going to be cheaper online I think. With the exception of the carefully controlled MSRPs on the Radions and the AI lights, you could see very different prices online I've noticed.