LED Question HELP

[oceandeep85]

Ringo®;975962 wrote: Dimmable T-5's are tough to come by and normally quite pricey.

I gotcha...

so... what should I be rooting around for when I'm there? What's a good fluorescent option for someone with a 10 gallon standard nano? Should I be concerned about intensity and bleaching? Any advice on types of bulbs I should be looking for?

 

[ringo®]

Haven't been in a Petsmart in a while. I think you would be better off just finding something in the FS forum. T5's are going to be the crowd favorite as far as fluorescent lighting goes.

 

[oceandeep85]

Ringo®;975972 wrote: Haven't been in a Petsmart in a while. I think you would be better off just finding something in the FS forum. T5's are going to be the crowd favorite as far as fluorescent lighting goes.

ok. I wonder if I can just get a flourescent lighting fixture from Lowe's or Home Depot and just get reef flourescent bulbs at Petsmart

 

[kilralpine]

Its likely you can find a shroud at a home improvement store but the reflectors ARE garbage so you will lose some (possibly negligible) amount of light. At the very least it needs to have some sort of reflector or you'll be wasting like 50% of the available lumen. The other thing to note is the ballast you'll find there are probably not that great and may be under powered.

 

[ringo®]

T5 bulbs and fixtures you see for reef tanks are going to be high output. The stuff at home depot won't be.

I would throw up a WTB thread and see what kind of response you get. PAR bulbs are another good option for nano tanks

 

[oceandeep85]

kilralpine;975976 wrote: Its likely you can find a shroud at a home improvement store but the reflectors ARE garbage so you will lose some (possibly negligible) amount of light. At the very least it needs to have some sort of reflector or you'll be wasting like 50% of the available lumen. The other thing to note is the ballast you'll find there are probably not that great and may be under powered.

I know this is probably going to sound totally idiotic.. but, couldn't I just cover the inside of the ballast/shroud/fixture with tinfoil or reflective spray paint or even some cheap mirrors and just grab one or two inexpensive fixtures from Lowe's or Home Depot and just get some decent coralife bulbs tonight at Petsmart?

 

[kilralpine]

Coralife bulbs aren't decent in comparison to some of the top end T5 manufacturers but they do work yes. As far as a reflection yea you have options. You can find the reflectors by themselves on the web, anywhere from like 5-50$. Mirror will work but one that is narrow and long enough for 3-4 angles will be difficult to piece together.

Something like this

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Amazon = 35$ but thats probably for a 3-4" fixture

 

[oceandeep85]

Coralife bulbs aren't decent in comparison to some of the top end T5 manufacturers but they do work yes. As far as a reflection yea you have options. You can find the reflectors by themselves on the web, anywhere from like 5-50$. Mirror will work but one that is narrow and long enough for 3-4 angles will be difficult to piece together.




I see. So, if I do pick up something from Lowe's or Home Depot like a shroud or fixture, do I have to get a T5 fixture for t5 bulbs or can I get any fluorescent fixture and put the bulbs I want in it..

 

[Reefplumber13]

OceanDeep85;975994 wrote:

Coralife bulbs aren't decent in comparison to some of the top end T5 manufacturers but they do work yes. As far as a reflection yea you have options. You can find the reflectors by themselves on the web, anywhere from like 5-50$. Mirror will work but one that is narrow and long enough for 3-4 angles will be difficult to piece together.




I see. So, if I do pick up something from Lowe's or Home Depot like a shroud or fixture, do I have to get a T5 fixture for t5 bulbs or can I get any fluorescent fixture and put the bulbs I want in it..

It has to be a t5 fixture. And t5 bulbs. Ps don't waste your money on a fixture from there post a WTB add on here you will find what you need.. but first you might want to research t5ho lights. Not trying to be rude but it sounds like you have no idea what to do when it comes to lighting

 

[oceandeep85]

jtsreef;975997 wrote:

It has to be a t5 fixture. And t5 bulbs. Ps don't waste your money on a fixture from there post a WTB add on here you will find what you need.. but first you might want to research t5ho lights. Not trying to be rude but it sounds like you have no idea what to do when it comes to lighting

Not taken as rude at all. I fully admit I have no clue... haha.

 

[kilralpine]

Yes the ballasts, bulb length, and the end caps that hold them are all specific to T5. T5HO in particular require certain ballasts with higher outputs.

 

[Reefplumber13]

OceanDeep85;975998 wrote:

Not taken as rude at all. I fully admit I have no clue... haha.

Do some research. On t5 lighting and leds for reef. Set a budget. And go from there keep in mind t5 bulbs you will need to replace every 12 months or sooner with cheaper ones. And leds last for like 10 years give or take. I think. Leds are more out of pocket up front. But cheaper in the long run.

 

[acroholic]

Dave,
I thought you had an LED light on order?

 

[oceandeep85]

jtsreef;976000 wrote:

Do some research. On t5 lighting and leds for reef. Set a budget. And go from there keep in mind t5 bulbs you will need to replace every 12 months or sooner with cheaper ones. And leds last for like 10 years give or take. I think. Leds are more out of pocket up front. But cheaper in the long run.

yeah...

Just to be clear. I'm saving for a nice dimmable, full spectrum LED light box (or two) with different dimmable channels and different wavelength white, blue, violet, green and red LEDs.

What I'm looking for right now is a more immediate flourescent or LED alternative to provide some light in my tank since my current LEDs are burning out (two down, 4 to go) and I'd like to be able to keep it long enough to add at least one coral.

 

[Reefplumber13]

OceanDeep85;976004 wrote:

yeah...

Just to be clear. I'm saving for a nice dimmable, full spectrum LED light box (or two) with different dimmable channels and different wavelength white, blue, violet, green and red LEDs.

What I'm looking for right now is a more immediate flourescent or LED alternative to provide some light in my tank since my current LEDs are burning out (two down, 4 to go) and I'd like to be able to keep it long enough to add at least one coral.

I sent you a pm

 

[oceandeep85]

Acroholic;976003 wrote: Dave,
I thought you had an LED light on order?

I have one picked out, haven't ordered it yet. Also, as an update, still battling with Petco to cancel that original order...

 

[bulkrate]

I have the feeling you're going to end up spending more to tinker something marginally suitable together and then upgrading than if you'd just bought something that meets your current needs + a little headroom.

Lighting is not the place to compromise if you're hoping to have photosynthetic corals in the not to distant future, and to have them grow & look nice. But unless you can get the emitters wholesale there's not a lot of options below a certain basic price point.

At $120 either the current orbit marine LED (not freshwater) could get you started, be resellable and give some nice features & styling through the next couple of years. Or if you've a decent arm lamp handy (i.e. one that can support 2-3 lbs when extended) a PAR38 full-spectrum bulb from someplace like Coral Compulsion would do. Or simply bite the bullet, get your ebay LED array and know that it'll be "good enough" to get things rolling while coming in south of $100. Buildmyled.com is another option - I've seen several people on nanoreef comment that their newer products get the job done.

Having roasted more than my share of lps and easy stony corals - dimming is a must have feature if you don't already have a good mix of light/shadowed spots in your rockscape.

 

[acroholic]

OK guys.....I am going to suggest somethng to Dave, and a lot of you will probably lose respect for me, hehehe, but I have used this type of light from Odyssea, and it worked great. I used three of their 24" dual T5 lights as lighting over my 180 gallon freshwater tank for 2+ years, and they never failed to light, and they had separate powder coated aluminum quick disconnect ballasts, etc. I am only suggesting this because it is a good price point at what Dave might consider a temporary, not break the bank solution for his light needs in his tank.

Here you go:

http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52302.htm">http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52302.htm</a>

4 bulb 20" T5 fixture with LED moonlights for $59.

[IMG]http://www.aquatraders.com/v/vspfiles/photos/52302-2.jpg alt="" />

Dave,
Just as some background, Odyssea brand lights are cheap, and are not highly thought of. There was an issue many years back with their metal halide lights starting fires, but this was not an issue with their flourescent lighting. You get everything you need, but have the option of switching bulbs at your discretion. And I personally found the build quality of the lights I used pretty nice. Fixture shells and ballasts are powder coated aluminum.

Flame suit on.
Dave

 

[oceandeep85]

Acroholic;976012 wrote: OK guys.....I am going to suggest somethng to Dave, and a lot of you will probably lose respect for me, hehehe, but I have used this type of light from Odyssea, and it worked great. I used three of their 24" dual T5 lights as lighting over my 180 gallon freshwater tank for 2+ years, and they never failed to light, and they had separate powder coated aluminum quick disconnect ballasts, etc. I am only suggesting this because it is a good price point at what Dave might consider a temporary, not break the bank solution for his light needs in his tank.

Here you go:

http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52302.htm">http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52302.htm</a>

4 bulb 20" T5 fixture with LED moonlights for $59.

[IMG]http://www.aquatraders.com/v/vspfiles/photos/52302-2.jpg alt="" />

Dave,
Just as some background, Odyssea brand lights are cheap, and are not highly thought of. There was an issue many years back with their metal halide lights starting fires, but this was not an issue with their flourescent lighting. You get everything you need, but have the option of switching bulbs at your discretion. And I personally found the build quality of the lights I used pretty nice. Fixture shells and ballasts are powder coated aluminum.

OK guys, flame suit on.
Dave

haha... umm... *gulp* this is exactly what I'm looking for to get me through a month or two.. no longer than that... haha.

However, with that said, I'm really not sure what I'm going to do. I'm going to at least walk around PetsMart and see what they've got before I make any decisions.

 

[ringo®]

Acroholic;976012 wrote:
Flame suit on.

No flames from me. While not top tier, they aren't nearly as bad as the web makes them sound.