Lighting a 20 gallon (without halides, for once)

[Anonymous]

So like I mentioned elsewhere, I'm going to do a small tank of almost exclusively xenia in the near future. That said, it won't be -all- xenia, I'll probably do one or two other species for accent. Anyway, I'd like to do this tank without the halides I always used to use over small tanks. Thing is, I have no experience with LEDs and the only t5 experiences I have are all over freshwater planted tanks. So I'm not sure how to judge them where corals are concerned.

For example, on the low end, I have a 4x24w Nova Extreme SLR t5 fixture lying around that I've used on the freshwater tanks. Swapping out the bulbs to ones more suited for reef tanks, what kind of results could I expect? I mean, really, we're talking mostly xenia here. No clams, no anemones... maybe a little acropora millepora, but it'd be up close to the surface if I included any.

On the other hand, what about these Ecoxotic LED fixtures: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=21599 ? How would you expect them to perform?

I could certainly sling a 150w or 175w halide over the tank, but honestly I'd just as soon play with some of the new toys if they'll perform well enough.

I'll admit I'm also toying with the idea of an Elos Mini with e-lite instead, but the wife's looking to buy a cat and I can just picture it ending up inside the tank at some point....

 

[Saltlick]

Well, I think you give yourself too little credit. You KNOW what bright is, whether it was over
freshwter or salt.
Now for the opinion train. I think you can bag those LEDs for now. I would take that used T5
fixture over a LED fixture anyday. They should be close to each other "green-wise" and like
you said, it's ONLY Xenia. BTW, I thought you were KIDDING about the Xenia only tank. :roll:
I would plug up the old fixture. Any money you save on the alleged power-miser LEDs is going to
be lost in the purchase of the new fixture. And from what I read, they are FARRR away from
working the bugs out of those things. They are like Microsoft, they are shipping them to take
advantage of our green focus right now, but they are letting reefers be the guinea pigs to work
out the reliability problems, etc. "What;s that, WIndows 8 is coming out this summer?" :wink:

 

[Petsolutions]

I've got personal experience with that particular LED fixture and have had some hands on time with it, and it would definitely be bright enough. I don't see how there could be a problem with that particular unit, as it is such an incredibly simple design. The LED arrays each run on their own controller, if one array goes out the rest continue to function and the manufacturer sends a replacement array right away. No noise at all is also a plus, if you are used to systems that have fans in them, and the visual appearance of metal halide shimmer in the water is a plus. Not having to swap out bulbs yearly is another plus, but that is a given.

I've seen and heard about quality control issues with lesser made fixtures but those were prototypes from various manufacturers, and that thing really seems to be built like a tank. This is of course all my own personal opinion and I don't have any sort of long term charts or graphs to back up reliability or performance, as the fixture hasn't been around very long. If I were shopping for an LED fixture, I wouldn't have any hesitation purchasing that one if my bank account allowed for it, and if it suited my needs.

All that being said, I agree the T5 fixture you have would be fine for your intended purpose if you decide not to swap out your light fixture for LED's. I'm a fan of T5, and I have found it to be a really great light source for freshwater planted setups and marine setups.

If you do decide to swap it out for the LED fixture, make sure you shop around, free shipping is available on things like that right now from a sponsor of this forum.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I think you give yourself too little credit. You KNOW what bright is, whether it was over
freshwter or salt.

Well, yeah - I used to take the Tim Allen approach ("more power!") with my reef lighting.... 720w over a 60g, 380w on a 40g, 175w on a 15g, etc. I just have no first hand knowledge or experience with the LED fixtures, haven't even seen one in person.

BTW, I thought you were KIDDING about the Xenia only tank. :roll:

Heh, no. I mean it. For years I toyed with the idea of doing a reef with only a handful of coral species, just large areas of the tank devoted to each specific species. Never got around to doing it, though. Then the past couple years since my last reef I've been playing around with Amano style freshwater planted tanks, the design philosophy of which also tends to rely on just using a handful of species of plants. Got me thinking back to applying it all with a reef and there you go. Mostly xenia, with one or two other species for accent/focal points. I think I can pull off something quite nice with it. Some pink monti digitata or acropora millepora to break it up a little bit and draw the eye, maybe a couple of chalk bass to tie the pinks and the whites of the corals together...

And maybe one of these years I'll get around to the other idea I've been toying with forever, the bonsai acropora

 

[Petsolutions]

Takashi Amano...one of my idols. Glad to hear you have tinkered with his style a bit, I have learned an awful lot from his books and articles.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got personal experience with that particular LED fixture and have had some hands on time with it, and it would definitely be bright enough.

Thanks John. Just how powerful are you finding these lights to be? Off-the-cuff, I know there aren't real measurements yet. Would you think they'd handle clams and the other higher light intensity stuff, or keep it to more moderately light demanding species only?

If you do decide to swap it out for the LED fixture, make sure you shop around, free shipping is available on things like that right now from a sponsor of this forum.

Thanks, I'll remember Probably be a month yet before I make any purchases for the tank, though. Have to get through a move first.

 

[Anonymous]

Xenia only tank? I think that 4x24 fixture would be more than sufficient for the task. As you mentioned swap bulbs out, toss in some blues, purples, maybe a red or something. You could get some nicely colored weeds going

As to the LEDs, personally have no experience with them, and IMO they are overly expensive as fixtures now and only sane in price if go the DIY route (which you've already expressed a lacking of knowledge )

 

[Anonymous]

Xenia only tank? I think that 4x24 fixture would be more than sufficient for the task. As you mentioned swap bulbs out, toss in some blues, purples, maybe a red or something. You could get some nicely colored weeds going

As to the LEDs, personally have no experience with them, and IMO they are overly expensive as fixtures now and only sane in price if go the DIY route (which you've already expressed a lacking of knowledge )

Yeah, I'm a confessed Don't-It-Yourselfer. Honestly, though, the price is pretty much a non-issue. I'm more interested firstly in something that will perform well, secondly in looks (both of the lights and the fixture) and thirdly in keeping the potential cat out of the water.

 

[Anonymous]

As a tinkerer you could get the Ecoxotic 12 watt modules and create your own hood. I am thinking of using them along with the blue stunner strips in a DIY hood for my 30x30x18 cube that I am planning.

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/mercha ... e=ecoxotic

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/mercha ... e=ecoxotic

 

[Anonymous]

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/mercha ... e=ecoxotic

Actually, this one has a stunner strip included and two more can be added as an option. The transformer has a 3 way splitter incorporated.

 

[Anonymous]

Premium Aquatics carries these, but there are no specs or color temps.

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/mercha ... Code=ledio

 

[Anonymous]

How about these:

http://www.fish-street.com/maxspect_pro ... ory_id=118

Made in China though.......... .

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Dan.

The Maxspects look to be really nice, but I have to admit, I've only come across one person who is using one (and he bought his in China). I should probably look into them a bit more.

And yeah, if I go with the Ecoxotics (whether the units or the full fixture) I'd definitely include some of the stunner strips.