Lighting

[dabadguyswon86]

I currently have 2 18" bulbs and am looking to upgrade my lighting. Any suggestions?

 

[akma]

How wide is tanK?

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/sale-trade/92890-fs-4x29w-24-ati-sunpower-t5ho.html

 

[dabadguyswon86]

48"

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

leds. there expensive when you buy them but im estimating a $400 per year saving.

 

[NYreefNoob]

you only have 2 18" bulbs ona 48" tank ? what do you plan to keep ect. and anthony this is another of those wasted post and $400 isnt even close to what you will save. there is a thread showing cost on rc as a comparison

 

[ryangrieder]

Buy some flashlights...

Kidding. What do you want to keep in the tank? Salt, fresh, fowlr, reef?

4 bulb t5. Your best choice. Tek light, salt water critters has them on a great sale for around 210.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

what is so wasted about it. and every ones house is different. i save 400 in mine with nyc electricity and bulbs and natural location temperature.

you only have 2 18" bulbs ona 48" tank ? what do you plan to keep ect. and anthony this is another of those wasted post and $400 isnt even close to what you will save. there is a thread showing cost on rc as a comparison

 

[NYreefNoob]

and this has been the problem with your post, you have added nothing to help the guy out, did you ask what he plans to keep ? whats his price range ? before reccommending a diy led if the guy is cable of doing one ? not trying to pick but come on. and how do you figure your saving $400 on the use of leds ? did you put a meter to see draw ? amperage ? watts being used ? do you know what the other used ? not guessed but actual number's

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

yes i used the wattage of the light and figured the electricity which is .10 per kilowatt hour plus delivery. then $50 per light bulb for mh. also keep in mind im running a 125 gallon tank. the old lights were 1200w and these are 432 with no light replacements and no excess heat so i dont need to run a chiller because just a fan keeps it cool.

and this has been the problem with your post, you have added nothing to help the guy out, did you ask what he plans to keep ? whats his price range ? before reccommending a diy led if the guy is cable of doing one ? not trying to pick but come on. and how do you figure your saving $400 on the use of leds ? did you put a meter to see draw ? amperage ? watts being used ? do you know what the other used ? not guessed but actual number's

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

need to provide more data about your tank like all the dimensions and what you are(or plan) keeping there. There are many ways to upgrade. What's the problem with current setup? Do you (will you have a heat problem)? Ventilation problem and so forth. A pic will always help too.

 

[reefs4life]

With your math alone it's over $1,100 in savings so can't do math, one.

Two, Rick is trying to say that you get off topic and I agree 100%. The guy asked what kind of lights he should get and just because you think LEDs are so great doesn't mean that they are the best option for everyone. Like Rick said you asked nothing about the tank and jumped directly to LEDs.

Plain and simple, when you post just stick to the idea of the thread, don't just go to a direct conclusion, especially without any background info

 

[dabadguyswon86]

I currently have a bubble anemone and a poly frag. Dont want to go crazy with corals until my lighting is right. The corals i have are doing well so far with the bulbs but do want to upgrade and eventually start buying hard corals, clams, mushrooms etc...

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

LEDs vs 400 watt metal halides

the leds are obviously the cheaper ones but this is with the electricity calculator and yes i realize i jumped right into leds but for savings i wish it was 1,100 savings. the difference is $390 just for electricity not including light replacements or chiller use during the summer since leds don't put out alot of heat like metal halides. you have to zoom into the pics to see the numbers

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I currently have a bubble anemone and a poly frag. Dont want to go crazy with corals until my lighting is right. The corals i have are doing well so far with the bulbs but do want to upgrade and eventually start buying hard corals, clams, mushrooms etc...

even though a bubble tip anemone is not very light demaniding but in a 48" tank, 2 x 18" CF is hardly enough int he long run.


If you are thinking SPS in the future, you should consider a minimum of (1) 400W Mh or (2) 120W of LEDs with lens or (3) 6 x 54W T5

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

even though a bubble tip anemone is not very light demaniding but in a 48" tank, 2 x 18" CF is hardly enough int he long run.


If you are thinking SPS in the future, you should consider a minimum of (1) 400W Mh or (2) 120W of LEDs with lens or (3) 6 x 54W T5

+1

As far as Anthony goes..dude here you go again giving advice when you don't even know anything about the hobby. Stop trying to be Mr. Fix it and worry about your own tank first. Get some actual EXPERIENCE before you start giving advice to people. Hey Fort..go to this kid's house and put him over your knee already LOL

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ithe question was what kind of lighting should he use. i told him leds. no matter what he does, have softies, lps or sps you can use leds and they will be cheaper and more efficient then other lights theres no need to ask how big the tank is or what he is keeping because the question is simple "what kind of lighting should i use" and my simple answer was leds thats it then everyone has to come out saying its a wasted post and i dont know anything. theres no point in doing so he asked what kind of lights to use whether he has no coral at all or he wants to pack it with sps he can still use leds and be the best either way.

+1

As far as Anthony goes..dude here you go again giving advice when you don't even know anything about the hobby. Stop trying to be Mr. Fix it and worry about your own tank first. Get some actual EXPERIENCE before you start giving advice to people. Hey Fort..go to this kid's house and put him over your knee already LOL

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

just thought you might want to see how the leds look. this is 24 out of the 144 running and look how bright it is. it lit up the whole tank with just 24 so imagine all of them on how bright it will be while saving so much money on the bill. it cost a total of about $1,800 to build. the second one is a video if you click it.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Side track a little but I think info contained is useful to the thread starter too so,


A.J.,

make a splash guard, and preferrably completely seal the side facing the water so that moisture will not touch the circuit.

How much you spend on the aluminum plate and the heat sink?

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

im thinking of getting one of those glass covers because i have acrylic ones i made but they have like a tint to them so i want clear ones. and for the aluminum i got it for 98 with shipping its 72x12 .190 thickness and i got the heatsinks off a company on ebay all 3 for 71 with shipping. they are 10x7 and 2 inch fins. total square inches is about 900 each.

Side track a little but I think info contained is useful to the thread starter too so,


A.J.,

make a splash guard, and preferrably completely seal the side facing the water so that moisture will not touch the circuit.

How much you spend on the aluminum plate and the heat sink?

 

[dabadguyswon86]

I want a light that i can put anything i like in my tank and not worry about the lighting.