billybatz9 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Whats the best lighting you can get for biocube? Also, take price into consideration. I dont have much lol If replacing my stock lights will save me money in the future, I will do it. SO please give me some advice Quote Link to comment
smiz Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 well the best and the best you can afford are very different haha. i got a custom milled heat sink and mounted rapid leds Aurora puck under my hood. Looks super clean and the par and color output is comparable to a radion. This ran me around 300 bucks. Prior to the puck I had a diy setup from rapid with just single led chips, and this ran a little over 100. these are just the two option I tried and had great success with. There are a ton of options out there! Quote Link to comment
joy13 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 It really depends on the light you get if you will save money. How big is your biocube? Reefbreeders or evergrow lights are pretty decent leds. When considering the cost of a light figure the price of the bulb replacement. I would spend over $100 per year on each of my tanks for bulb replacement either t5s or MH. If you go with led make sure they are full spectrum and are dimmable. If I had a biocube and wanted a light I would go for a nanobox but that would have to be a whole different tank for me 1 Quote Link to comment
billybatz9 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 well the best and the best you can afford are very different haha. i got a custom milled heat sink and mounted rapid leds Aurora puck under my hood. Looks super clean and the par and color output is comparable to a radion. This ran me around 300 bucks. Prior to the puck I had a diy setup from rapid with just single led chips, and this ran a little over 100. these are just the two option I tried and had great success with. There are a ton of options out there! $300 bucks makes me want to throw up lol I could never spend that much money on my 29g biocube. Maybe a 125 gallon later on in the future, but not my small biocube lol. Crazy how lighting cost more than the fish tank. I might be willing to spend about $150 to $200 if I save up for like a month. But even that feels like a lot for some lighting. I have been looking at rapidLEDS and their packages range from like $185 - $240 (if I recall correctly). Is there a cheaper way to setup LEDs if I just buy the LEDs from Rapids and everything else elsewhere or not really? Do you have your leds hooked up to a biocube? Was there a way to connect the lights to the stock switches on the hood? That would really be cool if I could do that. It really depends on the light you get if you will save money. How big is your biocube? Reefbreeders or evergrow lights are pretty decent leds. When considering the cost of a light figure the price of the bulb replacement. I would spend over $100 per year on each of my tanks for bulb replacement either t5s or MH. If you go with led make sure they are full spectrum and are dimmable. If I had a biocube and wanted a light I would go for a nanobox but that would have to be a whole different tank for me I have a 29g coralife. Got it for $150 on craigslist with skimmer, refractometer, live rock, and chemicals. How important is dimmable? Dimmable on LED packages add like another $60 Quote Link to comment
Horerczy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I built a $600 light for my biocube. If i did it over I could shave about half of that off and keep high quality chips in the mix. Dimmable is very important when you're talking leds. Todays kits are very intense where PAR is concerned and without some form of dimming it would be very easy to bleach everything. Do you care about keeping the hood on? That opens up some fixture options that are fairly cheap that you can hang over the tank. 2 Quote Link to comment
smiz Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Dimmable is very important when you're talking leds. Today kits are very intense where PAR is concerned and without some form of dimming it would be very easy to bleach everything. +1 Dimmable is extremely important on a smaller tank. More so if it is housed in the hood of your cube. Right now I run my leds at under 50% and use a bluefish controller to control everything. I bought individual LEDs and drivers from rapid and installed them myself, so not a retro kit. This cost me about 120. I didnt figure out how to wire the lights to be controlled on the previous switches, but did make the switches run my fans I installed. Unfortunately lights are very expensive, but when you think about it, it is the most important part of your tank. if you have a nice light and a garbage can you can still grow coral lol. Quote Link to comment
billybatz9 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 I built a $600 light for my biocube. If i did it over I could shave about half of that off and keep high quality chips in the mix. Dimmable is very important when you're talking leds. Todays kits are very intense where PAR is concerned and without some form of dimming it would be very easy to bleach everything. Do you care about keeping the hood on? That opens up some fixture options that are fairly cheap that you can hang over the tank. I was kind of hoping to keep the hood on. I like the way it looks with the hood on. Very sleek. And $600 You're killing me +1 Dimmable is extremely important on a smaller tank. More so if it is housed in the hood of your cube. Right now I run my leds at under 50% and use a bluefish controller to control everything. I bought individual LEDs and drivers from rapid and installed them myself, so not a retro kit. This cost me about 120. I didnt figure out how to wire the lights to be controlled on the previous switches, but did make the switches run my fans I installed. Unfortunately lights are very expensive, but when you think about it, it is the most important part of your tank. if you have a nice light and a garbage can you can still grow coral lol. Can you break down the costs for me? and tell me what you bought and from where. I can do $120 But I am no electrician lol Oh god. WHy did I get into this expensive hobbby. I havent even started and I am freaking out with costs. Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I am running two Panorama Pros, which are LED. ~$60 for each plus $40 for the power supply. Lights are not cheap if you want to grow the good stuff. Quote Link to comment
Horerczy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I was kind of hoping to keep the hood on. I like the way it looks with the hood on. Very sleek. And $600 You're killing me All right then. Still easy enough. Best bang for you're buck send Dave Fason of NanoBoxReef a pm for a quite on costs. Besides him rapid led makes a decent retrofit kit just do a little research on what leds you want beforehand. Keep in mind for my $600 quote i did a lot of things that looking back i would do differently. Chiefly among them i spent $236 on the drivers and controller alone. I could have easily shaved that down to ~$90 if I'd picked different components and had better control. Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I have a kit for the tank. Shoot me a PM or email! -Dave Quote Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I currently use TrueLumen Pro LED lights on my 29g and my corals do great(I have a mixed reef with 3 different types of sps in my tank). I was able to get the 36" bars at about $60 each and I use an old 24v laptop power supply. They do come in smaller sizes and require no cooling. I let them sit right on my tank and my water temp stays right at 78 Quote Link to comment
smiz Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I have a kit for the tank. Shoot me a PM or email! -Dave Get it from him ^^^^ Don't look at price or anything just hand him your card, it's the end all be all! 2 Quote Link to comment
chumpy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I have a kit for the tank. Shoot me a PM or email! -Dave Just sent you a email a few days ago thanks for the response will order it soon 1 Quote Link to comment
Jorgieee Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Just sent you a email a few days ago thanks for the response will order it soon Just sent you a email a few days ago thanks for the response will order it soon I just got his kit and installed it recently. I would say it's probably the best kit you can go with the lights are bright, and the spectrum and effects are amazing I wasn't to happy with his customer service but other than that no issues go for it ! 1 Quote Link to comment
Jonnywhoop Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Dimmable rapidLED biocube retrofit over my 8g. Cost about 175-200$. Well worth it because I can grow anything. Quote Link to comment
chumpy Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I have been looking at them all and decided to go with the Nanobox kit and the blue fish controller . Dave will build it for me so all I have to do is minor install as I am on limited time when home due to hungry kids and dog. haha All said and done they are all about the same price. I learned a few years ago that the cheapest way is always the most expensive way in the long run. When ever my budget does not allow it I just save a little and do it right the first time. The end result will pay off. I will post it up when I get it if anyone wants to see it. Quote Link to comment
Jorgieee Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I have been looking at them all and decided to go with the Nanobox kit and the blue fish controller . Dave will build it for me so all I have to do is minor install as I am on limited time when home due to hungry kids and dog. haha All said and done they are all about the same price. I learned a few years ago that the cheapest way is always the most expensive way in the long run. When ever my budget does not allow it I just save a little and do it right the first time. The end result will pay off. I will post it up when I get it if anyone wants to see it. If you order the kit from Dave it comes with the storm controller I don't think you will need that controller just a heads up Quote Link to comment
smiz Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 the bluefish is a upgraded option for controllers from dave 1 Quote Link to comment
Johnrriddlesr Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 On 10/1/2014 at 6:22 PM, DaveFason said: I have a kit for the tank. Shoot me a PM or email! -Dave I know this is an old post but if you have kits still available could you send me some info. Lowdown222@aol.com Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 38 minutes ago, Johnrriddlesr said: I know this is an old post but if you have kits still available could you send me some info. Lowdown222@aol.com here ya go. https://nanobox-reef.myshopify.com/ Quote Link to comment
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