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db7080 
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Joined: February 13 2013
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 Topic: Led help
Posted: December 07 2013 at 10:45pm |
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Please help me decide :/ vega hydra kessil radions. It's going on a 150gal that's 5'x2'x2' mixed but mostly sps
I wanna hear all options. Sps going everywhere from 8 in underwater to on the sand bed 24 in deep.
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phys
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Posted: December 07 2013 at 10:53pm |
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does price matter? Does the look matter? How about control? Do you want individually controlled colors for a custom look? How many will you need to cover your tank? ---- all questions to ask yourself. Most companies are becoming pretty competitive so get the best spread of wavelengths you can afford at the highest output. Its better to need less from them than more after a purchase.
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JohnnyHeavens
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Joined: January 02 2013
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Posted: December 07 2013 at 11:22pm |
I have Radion Pros above my home display and they are great. In contrast with the Hydra over my QT/Treatment tank, I would need atleast one additional hydra over my display to get what the two Radions put out. Of course given the price difference you could for the price. I looked pretty har at the kessil 350s but I wanted different control of the lights. Thus phys' questions...What is it you are looking for.
Having said all this, I don't know anyone that has the radions and is thinking they wish they had one of the systems you mentioned.
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Fatman
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Joined: December 23 2011
Location: South Weber, UT
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Posted: December 07 2013 at 11:30pm |
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Reef'd Up just built four heat sinks of LEDs to get her the control, spectrum and flexibility to mix it up as she liked. They turned out great. I saw the tank last night and the colors are awsome. No bleaching and the coral are coloring up nicely. She is only running them at 15% now.
The ability to get exactly what you want requires you to build them yourself or have them build for you. The control is way better and you have a lot of flexibility. I is slightly cheaper, but engineering it out and building it takes a lot of time. Not just an evening for one with a lot of colors and spectrum. Might want to look aroud a bit then decide. I can't imagine I'd ever buy a factory set, I'd prefer to build it out myself.
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ReefdUp
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Joined: March 20 2011
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Posted: December 08 2013 at 12:55am |
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Hey Fatman - I just measured my PAR. I'm getting 250-400 PAR on most of my SPS, 1300 PAR in the water 10" below the LEDs, and about 150 PAR on the sandbed (~40" from the LEDs)...and that's at 15%. LOL. I think I went overkill.
Anyway, yes, DIY setups can be awesome, but they can be junk as well. I've spent hours beyond hours researching and designing...mostly because the off-the-shelf units didn't meet my needs.
Figure out *WHY* you want LEDs first. Is it for the control, efficiency, initial price, color options, etc?
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www.reefdup.com
Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987
200g, 75g, & 15g Systems
PADI Advanced Open Water
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Fatman
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Joined: December 23 2011
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Posted: December 08 2013 at 1:19am |
 ReefdUp wrote:
Hey Fatman - I just measured my PAR. I'm getting 250-400 PAR on most of my SPS, 1300 PAR in the water 10" below the LEDs, and about 150 PAR on the sandbed (~40" from the LEDs)...and that's at 15%. LOL. I think I went overkill.
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Yes, you did. But it's very nice to have all that extras space if you every want it. There's a lot of room between 15 and 100 %. Plus you did some very cool colors to enhance your light. That tank could easily have any type of weather, season or daylength. That was one (four) fun build(s). Best part was you paid for all the stuff I got to play with. Fat
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db7080
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Posted: December 08 2013 at 12:16pm |
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Well I love the control of the ai and raidions. But I have a 120 dimable eBay fixture now and it works fine, I just need more par. I want to be able to put sps wherever I want, not just the top half. Also something with good coverage so I can possibly only use 2 fixtures over a 5 foot tank. I am planning three but if I could get away with two, that would be soooo awesome!
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db7080
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Posted: December 08 2013 at 1:16pm |
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Now looking at reef breeders photon 48" anyone have one? I'm mostly sps so I can't buy a light that won't handle sps at all levels of the tank
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ReefdUp
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Posted: December 08 2013 at 1:28pm |
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I think you may be worrying about LEDs handling SPS a bit too much. As long as you buy a quality system (manufactured or a proper DIY), you should have more than you need. Keep in mind that PAR measured under LEDs is usually lower than metal halides, but that's ok (LEDs are more targeted and efficient with their spectrum. Plus, most PAR meters are designed to measure PAR in the plant photosynthesis range.) In my case, I'm getting the same performance out of my LEDs at 15% as I was with my 800W metal halide system. And, I have a 31" deep tank...and my LEDs sit 10" above the water.
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www.reefdup.com
Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987
200g, 75g, & 15g Systems
PADI Advanced Open Water
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