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You sucked me in


MeCasa

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I thought (and still think) ya'll are nuts for putting so much money and so much work into a aquarium light system. My aquarium has been down for a decade and a lot has changed, so many great options with the only limitations being imagination and $$$. I said Bah Humbug, there's no way I'm spending that much on my aquarium lights, I'm drawing the line at $100 and that's it...PERIOD.

 

I found those cheap "Advanced Moonlight System- Complete" from Steve's LED for only $50 give or take. Great deal and I was proud of myself. Then I said one won't be enough and they're only $50 so I'll get two. Then I found out that the recievers would have the same frequencies cutting down my options. Well, I'll just change the remote, reciever or whatever..........

 

After a day of reading "basic LED" sites, visiting countless internet LED dealers etc. etc. etc.

 

Well we all know the rest. I'll buy one of those cheap systems to get me up and running and then I'll start building a decent system....But, I'm drawing a line At $300 and if I spend $500 I want one of ya'll to shoot me.

 

PERIOD

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I think alot of people fall victim to this pattern... waste more money thinking they're being frugal, then kick themselves for it down the road. I sure did! Suckered into a cheap LED fixture that completely washes out the color of most of my corals. Nor does it have the power to grow more advanced corals that I'm now desiring since I've become more experienced in the hobby.

 

Have you considered Reefbreeders?

http://reefbreeders.com/value-led-fixture/

 

I've been looking at those, and from what I've read, they're a great product for the price. Comparable to Radions (from what I have seen people discuss on forums) and will grow anything.

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I should share some of the cost sheets from my lights.

 

I think my cheapest light that I got for any tank is my nanobox @ $300 for my little Aqueon Evolve 8 (Capacity 6.6G with about 4 gallons of display area).

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OK, here’s what I’ve done. I have neither the time nor the money to get creative and I promised my grandkids I'd have this tank up and running a week ago and I'm still getting parts together not to mention taking a serious hit to my pocketbook. On the other hand I don't really want to buy those Steve's $50 specials so I decided to throw something simple together quick

 

I'm just going to run one 6’ string of 120 view angle and by adding the white I might be able to increase my colors and get away from using my old hood which needs new bulbs anyway.

 

Here's what I've got so far, tell me if everything will work and yes I know Chinese stuff is cheap but it's what I can swing this week. Besides, this is a good learning curve.

 

2.4G Touch Panel Dimmer Remote Wireless RF Controller for LED RGBW Light Strip

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111328697456?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

This is the same unit SuperBrightLeads is selling for $35

 

5050 RGB WARM White LED Strip RGBW W SMD Flex Light 5M 300LEDs Waterproof 12V DC

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351021096493?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

I thought about getting this double but it’s 7Amp and the controller is 6Amp and they're not waterproof

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231211979157?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

 

The power supply confuses me because I don’t know if needs to be dimmable? But I figure this lead calls for 290mA which should be 7Amp per foot multiplied by 6' should be 42watts which means I should buy a 60. If the controller is dimmable does the PS need to be too?

 

Do I need a heatsink or fan?

 

Will this go together?

 

Thanks

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jedimasterben

Not gonna work. Those LEDs do not have the output that you need for a tank with coral, not to mention RGB chips have terrible color.

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The tank is 72 x 18 x 28 and it's just at the point of having water this weekend. Whatever I do here is no more than an inexpensive starter kid designed to get me up and running.

 

I've already learned enough that I'll be re-building as I go.

 

Here's the Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-Single-Output-Volt/dp/B005T6TN44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398349441&sr=8-1&keywords=12VDC+Enclosed+Power+Supply+100

 

Thanks

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jedimasterben

Can you suggest a LED strip that does?

 

And I figured out the Power Supply.

The tank is 72 x 18 x 28 and it's just at the point of having water this weekend. Whatever I do here is no more than an inexpensive starter kid designed to get me up and running.

 

I've already learned enough that I'll be re-building as I go.

 

Thanks

for a tank that is 28" deep, you aren't going to light it with SMD strips. You'll want a minimum of 3x LED panels such as those from Reefbreeders, or several BuildMyLED strips, as they're the only ones with enough power to do the job you need them to do. The Reefbreeders Value panels are $180 each, the BuildMyLEDstrips are $400 each for 72" strips and you'd need a minimum of two of them.

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You can always start cycling without lights. That way the tank will have rock, sand and water in to keep the grandkids happy for awhile while you come up with some decent lights.

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jedimasterben

Yup. There's no point in spending money RIGHT NOW to have light that won't do what you need it to, spending more money again to do it the right way.

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The tank is 72 x 18 x 28 and it's just at the point of having water this weekend. Whatever I do here is no more than an inexpensive starter kid designed to get me up and running.

 

I've already learned enough that I'll be re-building as I go.

 

Here's the Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-Single-Output-Volt/dp/B005T6TN44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398349441&sr=8-1&keywords=12VDC+Enclosed+Power+Supply+100

 

Thanks

 

Wow at 6 feet long and 28" deep you are going to need way more than $300 to light that beast.

 

Lighting a nano for $100-300 is doable and you can have a fairly decent light that will keep lps and maybe sps, but for a tank that large you are looking at a huge T-5 fixture, multiple LED fixtures.

 

Are you set on coral, or mostly fish?

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At that pricepoint I think you have to go Chinese.

And they aren't all bad. I went with a nondimmable chinese fixture for my tank and was able to make it work.

 

$300

3 White/Blue Dimmable Fixtures for 6ft tank

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/72-dimmable-led-reef-coral-light-6-channel-dimmable-no-fan-noise-untra-thin-180W-90/1322598721.html

 

$400

3 Better Full Color Spectrum Dimmable Fixtures

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/180cm-72-6ft-Programmable-Timer-LED-Saltwater-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Marine-Coral-Reef-Grow-Light-Hoobie/1405523507.html

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Everybody that says 'fish only' is only kidding themselves.

 

I can't spend much more right now, I'm in the middle of building a house and I still owe the IRS for 2013 God bless the merciless bast$rds.

 

Since the power supply will handle 12' and the LED strip comes 16' long I can increase it to two 6' strips and still be at $100

 

Or does the quantity not help with the depth?

 

Perhaps multiple leads of varying color?

 

Will smaller angles help or is the problem more overall penetration than view angle?

 

This is exactly the definition of sucked in, this is how I ended up married.

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jedimasterben

Everybody that says 'fish only' is only kidding themselves.

 

I can't spend much more right now, I'm in the middle of building a house and I still owe the IRS for 2013 God bless the merciless bast$rds.

Then I wouldn't buy anything right now.

Since the power supply will handle 12' and the LED strip comes 16' long I can increase it to two 6' strips and still be at $100

And what will that do? You still will need hundreds upon hundreds of watts of those SMD LEDs to have any usable intensity, and that will far exceed your budget.

 

Is there any leads I can buy to help out, perhaps multiple leads of varying color?

Not in the budget you're dealing with. You can have A) light for the tank that will keep things in it viewable, or B) light that will sustain corals. A is cheap, B is not.

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I appreciate the support. I will spend the $100 to keep the tank viewable for the grandkids and build a decent system when I have the time and money. I have my own business so there's generally some feast time to go along with the after Christmas famine.

 

I'm not new to saltwater aquariums as I had this very tank set up for a decade + but that was before reefs were so commonplace. Reef frags were never prevalent back then and difficult to keep alive even if we got them so we never had much. Even withouit the reef, I'd almost forgotten that a large aquarium was always a good method of depleting extra funds. I could always tell the IRS that I need the serenity that a tank provides helps maintain my sanity therefore it should be a medical deduction :-)

 

Thanks again

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