kmay Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Ok, I know this topic has been brought up a million times, but I can't seem to find the right thread. I need suggestions on LED fixtures. I have a 90 gallon tank. I won't be able to hang fixtures, so will need one that has mounting kits available. I like simple rather than having a bunch of programmable bells and whistles. I know I would need two fixtures and would like to keep it at about $300 per fixture. I have some SPS, Zoas, and some anemones. I currently have a six bulb T5 fixture. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 It depends on what you want really and usually you pay for what you get. Chinese fixtures are the cheapest: typically 100 dollars for a 16" fixture and found on Ebay. I think you can get a 36" for around 200. These do not have legs, but most people make a mounting bracket from some metal pipes and they look great. The color really isnt bad on these but they are very powerful. Most have a knob to dial the blue and whites separately. I wrote a review on this site somewhere about these. Im very happy with them over my frag tank. No warranty typically. Next would be something similar to the ReefBreeders. Programmable, but still very reasonably priced at 320 for a 16", 450 for a 32" or 500 for a 48" These have a pretty good warranty on them and tend to be pretty common in the hobby. I know there are other brands similar to the chinese and reefbreeders, but this is a start. Im not very knowledgeable on the high end stuff maybe someone else can help discuss them in more detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I know that some have been very impressed with the price and performance of these Ocean Revive lights. Tank novice has 3 of these over his 220g reef tank and they do look very good. If you want to spend less, you can get them with the dimmer and purchase use your own timers for the two separate channels for $175 apiece. You will still have to figure out how to hang them though. I think you could use some of the kits from other brands and make them work for the lights you choose. Or you could take the plunge and go with the higher level lights (yes, the ones with the bells and whistles) since they also have the accessories to put them over your tank without having to customize them to your needs, but this option as you already know is more expensive. I am sure you have done plenty of research already. I just went through this myself; although, I did have the ability to hang them. There are so many options that it can drive you crazy; however, it really does come down to what you want to spend and how much you are willing to DIY. I know that some on this site have even built their own... In the end, it is really going to come down to what your needs are, what you prefer, how much DIY you are willing to take on, and obviously your budget. The EcoTech LED's while expensive do have a nice option for placement over the tank. The bracket attaches right to the tank, may fit other lights as well. You can purchase the brackets separately. The same may work with Kessil Gooseneck Adapters, they also have 90 degree options. Also, Aqua Illumination has a rack system or rails that go over your tank, you may be able to customize these as well. I tried to post the pictures from their sites, but just to tedious... Hopefully, someone with more experience than I will chime in as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Just looked at the Reefbreeders. I like the idea of one light rather than two separate lights. The photon series comes with mounting legs (they aren't the most attractive, but I assume they get the job done). That fixture also looks pretty easy to program. Price is really good but it looks like the 48" model is on backorder. I guess I have waited this long... Any other brands I should look at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefNewby82 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I have a RB Photon 32" and really like the color,PAR and programming on it. Logan was good at responding to all of my emails before,during and after the process. He even sent me a few extra diodes for no charge just in case,for after the warranty period. Keep us posted on what you choose! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I second the reef breeders. I opened for 2 24's over my tank for redundancy. Awesome warranty they may have but it still take a bare minimum of a week to get a light back. I had to warranty a value fixture awhile back. I have the photon series but if you don't care about programming then snag a pair of value fixtures. Even at 16" they'll cover the tank just fine. Opt for 120 degree lenses whatever you do for the fact they'll be closer to the water than most people go with a hanging kit. Is there a reason you can't hang them? Aside from measuring and customizing the hanging kit that I had with mine it took me maybe 15 min to mount them up. I got mine used and it was sized for a much higher ceiling than mine. I have quite a few extras of the toggler bolt things PatO recommendedo that you can have. All you would need then is about $5 worth of eyelet screws and hooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Do you use the mounting legs or did you hang? Many people say they raise their LED pretty far off the water especially at first to keep from frying things. The mounting legs do not look too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I can't hang because I have vaulted ceilings. It would be a lot of wires to hang that far down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 If your tank is located under a vaulted ceiling, it may take longer cables to reach your tank depending on where your tank is located. Even so, IMO, on the plus side of hanging your lights it looks cleaner, you don't have to worry about accidentally knocking your lights off of legs or breaking them, you can adjust the height of the lights to your needs, with legs (I used those in my previous set up as well) it may make it difficult to work in your tank without removing the lights each time, hanging kit will also give you more options on what lights to go with, and you won't have to reach around to the back of your tank to mount brackets to hold the lights. When I decided to go with LED lights, I initially used the brackets from my previous light set-up. It just didn't look right. The brackets and bars hanging over the tank looked bigger then the LED lights. For my set-up, I like my lights much better with the ceiling hanging kit. It looks much cleaner. Most of the kits come with lots of cable, but if that isn't enough, Lowe's and others sell whatever size you need. It took some measuring to center the lights, but after that it was not difficult at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefNewby82 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Can you just put up a decorative shelf above the tank and hang the LED's From that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 A decorative shelf would be sketchy, the photon 48 is about a 20lb fixture An don't most shelves are good for maybe that on the high side. PatO, I'm pretty sure had vaulted ceilings. Hard to remember, bought the lights off him a year ago. It's pretty easy to make new lines to work with the remainder of the kit you get from reefbreeders. The 1/16" cable is only like 10 cents a foot and then the end stops and ferrules run about a dollar a pair. The swagging tool to crimp it all together is the annoying part at $30. Greenwood Lowe's did it for Brandon when we went in there. Brownsburg made me buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatO Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 yea, i had vaulted ceilings with mine. worked great. it depends which part of the vaulted ceiling yoy are on. i was on the low side. i could see you not watning to do it on the high side. 10+ feet of cable to the light would stink. there are other options for a "shelf" but without the shlef. i can take a pic when i get home if i remember. use L brackets made for shelves but dont put anything on it. hang the light from there. doesnt look bad IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The ceiling is at least 15 foot over the tank. And, my husband and I are not the most handy, DIY type people! Orlando had an interesting wall bracket if I remember correctly. My T5 fixture that is currently over my tank has legs and I don't mind it when I am cleaning the tank. Just worried about the intensity of the new LED fixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I have seen some pics of utilizing a brace on the wall in which you could attach arms to that could hang over the tank and then hang them from there or straight from the wall. You can paint the brace to match the wall. It did look pretty good and would give you the option to adjust the height of the fixture. Here are some pictures that I found to give you some ideas. The last two pic is the option of customizing an existing mounting fixture so that it works with the lights that you choose and attaches to your tank. The 4th pic looks like it is made entirely out of wood and then stained. Might be a great option to give you the most flexibility to hang your lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I believe the last two pic's are the EcoTech Radion hanging system and the AI EXT rail system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatO Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 pic 2 and 4 are exactly how i have mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke33 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Just go to ebay and search for 80/20 aluminum and buy some 1" aluminum pieces, will run you 50-70bux and you'll have a stand for a 48" tank. You can get it in black or chrome and you won't need to cut anything and assembly is super easy. As far as what light to get, there are tons of led's out there now that are nice. Just make sure you can run blue independently one way or another. I like programmable myself but you don't need it. For your cheaper programmable I think your looking in the right direction. I like the evergrow's myself as they are programmable, have major pop and good spectrum. Look for blue, white, red, green and UV. If you are looking for cheap cheap that work well the MARS fixture's are good(basically the evergrows without programming). You could spend 200bux on a 32" light that would be fine for your tank, just not programmable. But with two timers your good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Luke, did you build an 80/20 light stand? If so, do you have pics? Thanks for all the other pics, guys. It gives me some ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke33 Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Kim if you look at my last two aquarium threads you'll see the pics. The latest one is a black finish, looks much nicer than the chrome. I'll try and get a pic this weekend of it more close up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 I found the pics, Luke. That is pretty slick! So, just to be clear, If I hang the lights, I won't need a 48" fixture, just a 32" and know that the sides of the tank might be a little dimmer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke33 Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Yea if you hung a 32" light just hang it 10-12" over the tank or you could get two 16" fixtures, would work fine. Those Mars fixtures on ebay are tough to beat if your not worried about programming. Plenty of par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmay Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Now I am thinking the programming is pretty neat after watching a video on it. I like that it doesn't have to be hooked to a controller. Isn't the reefbreeder and the evergrow the same light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatO Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Most likely from same manufacture. Just different layout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke33 Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Same light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjherbst Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I have a rb value fixture. I am very happy with it. I have mine wall mounted. Mine is hung using twist and lock anchors. These were very simple to install. The hooks are from wild birds unlimited. They are just used to hang bird feeders. I am very happy with my setup and if effective for what I need. I have posted some pics below. It's worth nothing I am not very handy either. This only took 45 mins to level, line the holes, and drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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