I might upgrade to a 36" by 24" by 24" tank soon. My dream lighting is a 250w halide/4xT5 combo. 2 halide bulbs + 4 T5 bulbs will be 140 dollars a year replacement... 700-800 dollar fixture, 2 years it will pile up to 1100ish probably. Are there any LED set-ups that can compete with this fixture for around 1000? I fail at DIY.

The only way you are getting 250W performance for under $1000 is to build it yourself. The Eco-Lamps KR92 is about as close as you will get for that budget, and it's still $1300. An AI unit will run you about $1800 (3 modules)

Yikes. I figured as much though... Over time they will become cheaper, right?

Maybe in 5-10 years. The LEDs are really the driving cost right now, and they aren't budging much in price.

Oh... do you do custom orders Evil?

just DIY it it's not hard just ask evil

Is it really that easy? I'm 14. I know absolutely nothing about wires and electric stuff...

Is 100 par on the sandbed enough for clams?

Depends on the clam. I've seen derasa and squamosa on sandbeds that I doubt were getting even that much. I wouldn't put a crocea or maxima there. Which sucks b/c I get around 80ppfd on my sandbed and would love to toss a clam in there.

for under 1000 you could easily light that tank with DIY LED...if you can maintain a reef tank i dont see why you can build an LED retrofit with someones help

where in the hell are you getting $1000 at 14?

Not a chance. Not any time soon anyway.

DIY isn't that hard if you do the research ahead of time, and take things slow. Rushing into this only leads to disaster, just like reefing. Maybe start with a smaller project to get a feel for what is involved.

I'm thinking I will do a smaller project on my Biocube 29... I'll make sure I research, and I know if I have any questions I can ask here



Heh. My mom says its "my hobby" but she likes it as much as me.

I'm lucky