jenna Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Ok. That's good to know. I'm really tempted to just go LED. The heat and power consumption of MH has been nagging at me since I've been trying to make a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I have had LED's for more than 8 months... 300 30 deep and full of sps an color and growth is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 MH are cheap. You could get everything up and running with MH and then switch to LEDs at a later date. That way you would get the system all dialed in and know you have everything right before you play with lighting. The biggest disadvantage of LEDs (in my opinion) is the inconsistency. Some people have great luck and others terrible. There are lots of sale threads with new high end LED fixtures that didn't work. It makes me a little worried about the ones I bought, but I am up for a challenge and know the rest of my system is solid. If my corals start to suffer it will be a good probability that it is the lighting. With a brand new build it may be harder to determine the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to steer you away from LEDs, because I do feel they will be the lighting of the future but just trying to point out that you can do both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 She already has metal halides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 No we don't have metal halides yet. We have T-5's over our 90 gallon and I have been planning on using 400w halides for the new build but I don't have them in my possession yet. Nate, I know you're not trying to steer me away. You make a good point. That's the biggest reason that I'm nervous about LED- I really know nothing about them other than they're new and starting to catch on and that some people say they look great and work well. On one hand, I feel like well, I'm just gonna end up wanting LED anyway; may as well just go with them from the beginning and figure it out now. Get any issues worked out right away while we don't have too much coral in the tank. But, on the other hand, I know MH works well and I like how they look... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsz3 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 if you decide to go led just be sure to get the right nm spectrum to start with so make sure there are the cyan gren violet and deep blues and that the fixture is controllable built in with 48+ data points or with a controller or a potentiometer. The bigger name makers have been redesigning they're fixtures to incorporate these. look up the maxspect r420r I've been looking for a long time and am still on the fence about what fixture to go with, leaning towards reef breeders as theres is about the same but cost less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sorry thought that's what you bought at Garrett's that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatcher2014 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Get on rapidled.com and look at there DIY kits they have solder kits and solder less kits which is what I'm going to start investing in. When I was living in Ohio I knew quite a few people that were doing the DIY led kits and there coral thrived under the LEDs. But make sure u get the dim-able LEDs so u can adjust them properly. Now as for the par and amps that you run through it I have no idea on any of that but if u call there customer service and talk to them they are extremely nice and very knowledgeable I mean I know that's there job and should know about that stuff but they will break it down for u Barney style as we say in the army so u can understand what it does and the best way to set ur system up. Personally if I were u go LEDs right off the bat it will save u a lot of money in the long run and the look u get is crazy awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm gonna go into the store tomorrow and talk LED's Hopefully I'll be able to make a decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 FWIW my DIY LED fixtures ( I have 6 total) are all Royal Blue, and Cool White-no other colors, and anyone who has seen my tank will tell you they now are a believer in LED, its all I have ran for over a year. I used to run nothing but MH and T5 for actinic That being said there are a LOT of LED fixtures out there I wish you luck- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Lighting has been ordered! We went with 6 EcoTech Radion XR30w's (clap) I'm really excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Wow nice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm totally geeking out over it right now haha :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Nice. Garrett couldn't up sale you on the new Pro models? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ha! I think the regular ones were all my heart could handle for one day lol.. but he said that they were upgradable to pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ha! I think the regular ones were all my heart could handle for one day lol.. but he said that they were upgradable to pro Just messing with you. I'm not sure that the Pro models offer enough of a performance gain to offset the cost increase. The new lenses would be nice for the height of your tank though. I would think the lenses are much cheaper than the full upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Oh I know you were! LOL yea it'll definitely be nice to upgrade the lens if we need to, but I have a feeling it's going to work just fine We'll see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 No updates? Been waiting two weeks for photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 They are plumbing and filling today! I just got a text about the plumbing glue fumes affecting Ralph lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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