Has anyone tried the nano-customs 5.6 LED Retro Kit? I'm downgrading from a 90g SPS and a 55g mixed reef to an AIO and was thinking of putting the nano-customs 5.6 LED Retro Kit into a Nano Cube, BC, etc. I want to know if I will be able to grow SPS w/ this retro.

i am not positive as i dont know a whole ton about LED but i do know the guys over at nanocustoms make GREAT products you should not worry one bit about the quality of their products. now i believe you should be able to grow anything you want under that lighting but i am not positive and i know someone more informed and/or one of the guys at nanocustoms will chime in sometime tomorrow to give you the specifics on this light setup

thanks. Yeah, I've always loved the idea of LED's, the output to power/wattage ratio is unbelievable and for reef tanks the fact that you can get MH intensity w/out the heat transfer is excellent. I gave a speech in college(8 years ago) on how LED's would quickly replace all household lighting, and all lighting in general. Well, it didn't happen as quickly as I thought, but it will happen.

I have the 3.6 kit in my NC12, seeing good growth on my new monti and good growth on my trumpet (3 new heads in the month since the LEDs installed), mushrooms, ric, and zoas reproducing, but polyps are smaller, theoretically they can be smaller and still have enough surface area to gather what light they need, they were much bigger under the PCs to be able to gather enough light. I have the ric slightly shaded now, seems to spread more, but no new growth as of yet.

My monti cap has been in there just 2 weeks and has already grown maybe 1/8" around the rim, just popped it off the disk and glued it to a rock, so it will need to encrust that now, should be able to do so quickly enough I think.

i am so close to pulling the trigger on the led 3.6 kit. does anyone know if they could support stony corals? ive sent nano tuners an email. if it does or doesnt i think im going to get them. the electric bill will be cheaper and i wont have to change bulbs in a long time.

monti cap + trumpet coral = stony corals. its the last S in LPS or SPS.

Yes.

sorry apoptosis. im still a noob

No big deal. I re-read it and my post came off a bit jerkish. My bad. LED is the future of aquarium lighting. Higher up front cost but much lower monthly electricity and no bulbs to replace.

Figured I'd update my previous post, my zoas are budding off left and right, my ric has grown larger and added another mouth, and my mushrooms are budding off new ones, the monti cap has grown almost a full inch in the 7 weeks and 2 days I've had it. I also got an orange digi about a week ago and it seems to be doing well, and a chalice frag amd acan frag this past saturday night along with a chunk of toadstool, all seem happy, although the toadstool is being a butt and I'm having a hard time keeping it fastened down, going to try a toothpick next.

I believe the S is actually for "scleractinian"(I could be wrong), which is a big, intelligent-sounding word for "stony", LOL, I'm just joking around.

Anyway, I'm glad to see the new LED's are working out pretty well at this point. I remember when I first saw a PFO Solaris a few years ago and was absolutely infatuated with it, but knew that looks can only get you so far. Now, with the advancements in technology, LED's are starting to establish themselves as the go-to lights for proven high power/high efficiency, and in a few years will be the only lights worth having. I, actually, get very excited about the future of all lighting(reefs, household, street-lights, etc) because of what LED's bring to the table. In the years to come, my belief is that LED's will put an end to all flourescents, halogens, halides, HPS, etc, at least I hope it does, I'm getting tired of battling the temp problems w/ halides.

You're right, the last "S" IS for scleractinian ("hard-rayed").

Ive had the 5.6 for awhile now, i got one from the second batch that were sent out.
The kit is easy to install all snap connections and whatnot. I have SPS LPS clams anemones (sebae and afew mini carpets) mushrooms pair of perc. clowns. Since some of the parts in the kit have since ben upgraded (new better drivers) their sending me replacement parts to bring my kit up to the new "standard". Its a great product, i would highly suggest it.


Grad.

Grad, what LED strip order do you have and how does it look, what would you have gotten different and why? Do you think I would have enough with the 3.6 for clams or should I go with the 5.6 Kit. Any info would help. Thanks

I have the order posted somewhere on this forum in the lighting section. The 5 strips are arranged
( )( )(RB)(W)(50/50)(W)(RB)( )( ) The blank ( ) represent open spaces for added strips.

Also i dont use any optics.

The only think i dislike about the setup is the availability of the Edison Opto Strips or the emitters themselves. I found sources for the strips, but they dont have the leds Nanotuners uses on them (they use higher end edison opto leds over those that come on the part #. The part # i found was using 1W leds, Nanotuners has the strips made with 3W leds. I was able to find a MCPCB with the same dimensions that fits CREE XRE leds, so i have extra strips to replace/add on to my kit with. If i had found these Cree XRE strips prior to knowing what i know of the availability i would have ordered the heat sink/drivers/project bos/fans as i could make the wiring harness for the system and used the Cree strips.
- I have extra Cree mcpcb that screw onto the Nanotuner heatsink if your interested, i also have reflow soldering equipment so i could put the leds on the mcpcbs, in any combination if your interested.
Pics of the strips here

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...45&hl=MCPCB

With the long life leds have when driven properly, i wont have to use these Cree strips for several years. But i would rather have them and not have to use them, then have a strip or multiple strips go and my tank go without light.

As for keeping clams, i have a little maxima (bought him at 1.5") 6 months ago and he is now over 2.5". also its color went from a brown/exterior mantle with a minor blue interior to an all sky blue mantle. I have him on the sand bed in my BC29, its loving the light. All its done is angle itself differently to move its siphon intake out of direct current.

The 3.6 LED retro would likely work for a clam, it believe it would depend on the depth of the tank/clam placement. Personally i would just go for the 5.6 for anything around 30gal, you could keep virtually anything photosynthetic. The 3.6 would likely work for most coral in tanks around 15gal

The 5.6 kit is awesome, definitely worth the money as they spent the time to test it all/design it. The quick plug connection they put on all the color coded wires makes popping this thing together a breeze, putting all those small clips/plugins on the wire ends takes alot of time on Nanotuners part, and i commend them on making the kits installation as simplistic as possible for the customers who aren't electrical/DIY savvy.

Ill get some links on here to some of the videos of my tank so you can see, ill take a new one today as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y4kvaV-TsM

Take note the videos/pics sometimes are more blue than in real life.

-Grad