lighting a 5.5g pico

[picoreefguy]

so my pico is coming closer and closer to being ready to start cycling. i have the stand and (most of the) canopy built. the back and one partial side of the tank has been tinted. ive got the AIO style filter chamber built and siliconed in. got the pump and a diy flow divider. now im thinking about lights. ive been looking at a 2 diffrent options the first is going with rlbn bars from superbrightleds.com

 

[ghbrewer]

Now, I am not an expert, but when I was researching lighting for my Fluval Spec V many people said that the stunner strips do not provide enough par. Whether it is true or not, I do not know, but most suggested using the panorama's with reflectors. When I looked into what it could cost, I ended up just building one using the solder less LEDs from RapidLED. Just something to consider. The stunners may work for what you are going to do, but I just didn't want to take any chances considering the cost.

 

[picoreefguy]

yea i had thought about doing a diy from rapid led in the beginning but with this tank i wanted to go with a slim/sleek aesthetic which only leaves about 2 inches of clearance in the canopy for lighting and the heatsink on a diy setup plus any mounting hardware would be too large to fit. and a panorama pro would be right above the water if not touching it which is why im going with the stunners they are less than half an inch tall. and i think stunners would be capable of growing coral with no problem. i met a guy that had the same tank as i do and he only used one white stunner and had softies growing in his setup so i figure with 4 times the strips i shouldnt have much of a problem since im not going to have anything that would need lots of par anyway.

 

[hiimsean]

I used a par38 bulb over my 5.5g and grew most LPS and zoas pretty well.

 

[picoreefguy]

yea that would be good too but limited space throws that out the window

 

[sewer urchin]

I've got a couple of spare 250 watt MH's
;-)

Would something like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltake-chipset-blue-orb-cooling-fan-4600-RPM-/161215128888?pt=US_CPU_Fans_Heatsinks&hash=item25892ba538">Thermaltake Chipset Blue ORB Cooling Fan 4600 RPM | eBay</a>

work and attach some LED's to the surface. Still would need a driver although.

 

[picoreefguy]

any idea of the dimensions on that heat sink? i coundlnt find anything on their ebay page.