Led

[electricman]

Is there a 48 inch fixture for a 125 gallon tank that doesn't cost 2100 bucks want something cheap in case don't like it. I'll take any ideas thanks

 

[yesjenks]

Check out the Maineland reef capable LED's. Don't have the bells and whistles but, gets the job done.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Easy! Many choices from many brands can handle that size/capacity within budget and with all the bells and whistles.

 

[electricman]

Ok do u have a website

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Hi,

How do LEDs compare to other forms of lighting? Such as output, efficiency
and price. I'm in the market for a new light, but do not know very much about
the LEDs.​

Price of Fixture vs Fixture are getting very similar:
eg.:

For a 48" x 24" tank
2 x 24" Giesemann 230 T5 ==> 2 x ($679+25) = $1408
3 x AI Sol ==> 540+399+399) ===> $1338

Of course there are low priced brands for both type.
For eg.
One can DIY a setup or other commercial products for the tank of the OP 48x36 at about about $1000


Light efficiency:
In reefing, LED is the most efficient lighting technology because the coral likes the blue spectrum for which LED is more effective over other like fluorescence and MH. So if you need warmer colors LED may or may not be more effective.

Energy efficiency for reefing:
General equipment or a reef tank will create a lot of heat with other lights, a lot of heat is transferred to the tank by radiation. LED send out cool light which does not heat up the objects it hits. This in general bring down our reliance of the chiller and thus save money. In rare case, people do find themselves in a very cold basement where they need heater for their tank but that's not very common in New York City area.

Durability:
When I first started moving my LED lights from my stage field to reef 4 5 years ago, most of those LEDs then are still around except they had fallen out of my love and being replaced with newer ones. This week I thinking of scrapping some of the old parts retro my non LED tanks. So I can attest they are very durable as long as salt water moisture does not get to the electronics including the LED diode. The fan will usually go first, so keep an eye on the fan would help.

Scalability and ability to dim makes it a winner:
If you DIY, LED can provide with the smallest increment in power to fit your need. Ability to dim give you the ability and convenience to first overkill and dim as necessary. Othe lighting technology is very hard to achieve neither of these.

Easy to adjust angles of light beam to increase intensity:
WHEN DONE RIGHT, this increase the intensity a lot and thus making the energy consumption even less. However, if DONE WRONG, too tight optics can easily bleach corals-mind you I have seen commercial products that falls into this category. You have to really know characteristics of LEDs before you realize to hang them high enough for proper usage.

Safety:
LED are the safest among all other lights for aquarium because many of them have low voltage in the fixture and use external drivers. Therefore, when the fixture is dropped into a tank, the inhabitants nor yourself will not be electrocuted.

Recent Controversy:
I have been in support of a fuller spectrum of LEDs for aquarium use since my first DIY unit built 5 years ago. However, the market has then switch in favor of blue white combo and yet another company successfully convert everyone to like the royal blue/ cool white combo. Recently, people are starting to debate that the RB/CW combo is too plain and start to move back to add couple other colors. We don't have enough data to say it's the right or wrong directions. However, we do know, LED is even easier than T5 in terms of adding colors into the color mix. T5 you have to know the brand and the model number and SEE THEM in person to tell what color they actually are before you switch a bulb. LED is made very specific, so adding a 420nm or a 620nm could be very exact and even in increment of 1W! How can you achieve this fine increment with any other lights?

 

[pwreef]

Buy this kit for $100 and try it over your own tank. If you don't like it, you only wasted $100. http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-24--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html It won't have the performance of a fancy light, but it will give you an idea of what LEDs are like.
You can use it for a frag or a quarantine tank later. Don't bother with Marineland. Those LEDs are junk.