Lolling for a new light for my tank

russ13

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#1
Hey ya'll,
I'm thinking about putting a new light on my 60 cube. Right now I'm using a Chinese LED and it works ok. I picked up another led that was supposed to be more powerful but it wasn't and made the tank look really bad. I'm looking for something that will be a bit more powerful and give me more control over colors. I don't have a lot of experience with good lights cause I'm super cheap and have always bought the cheap stuff. Any input would be great.
Thanks,
Russell
 
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#2
Have u thought about running 2 cheap led side by side? I'm sure u gona like it and happy with the result.
 

russ13

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#3
Have u thought about running 2 cheap led side by side? I'm sure u gona like it and happy with the result.
I tried that but it's a 24" by 24" cube with a canopy so there's not a lot of room. It didn't intensity the lighting in the tank that much and they were almost side by side. If I did that I may also run into a heating problem.
 
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#4
I think the radions r worth the money.
Look at it this way. Before leds I ran halides and a chiller. Switched out to leds and dropped the chiller. Some say then u spend more on heaters but I sealed my stand and canopy. This hold the heat better. Then I put fans as exhaust to let the heat out. So when the water gets to 78 the exhaust fans kick on and pull the hot air out. I run 2 300watt heaters on the 300 gallon. And one is a back up in case the first one burns out. So I saved on electricity there.
Then with halides I had to replace bulbs every nine months to a year with LEDs they say they can last up to seven years. so I saved money on replacing bulbs.
Sure radions are expensive. But the savings to me added up to be a smart move.
My radions are about 5 yo and still grow corals well.
Here only cause I love showing off



 

theMerchant

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#5
have you thought about building one yourself? I have a RapidLED kit for my 24 nano and it was never running more than 50% cause it was too bright. If you dont like soldering , they sell a premade light also. Call Mike, he is very helpful.
 
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#8
PM sent. I have a 24" led new. Controller and remote. 3 channels - white/colored, blues, moonlight blues. It's perfect for a canopy, since the outer casing is unpainted and has a lip on each end to sit in canopy. It's total of about 24.25" Was going to take apart and do a diy led/t5 hybrid but too much work. $140
 

Smite

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#9
What about adding t5 retro to your current leds? If it were me I'd go all t5 but that's for sticks and just my preference.
 

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