LEDs for 90 gal reef

R

Reg1987

What's the best LED setup for a 90 gal reef tank?

It would need to mount inside an oak canopy, and would replace six - T5s. There currently are 3 fans on the open back of the canopy for air flow.
 
I only have limited experience with LEDs but I like my AI Sols a lot. You would most likely need to drill holes through the top of the canopy for the mounting screws to go into the fixtures though to try and get the LEDs as high as possible.
 
Tank dimensions? 48 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 25 3/8? There are several options that will work, but what you want to keep & where can play into it. Anything much over 20" deep may require some optics if you want to grow SPS down low.
 
Mine is a 70 gallon but it has odd dimensions as it is 60" long but only about 14" front-to-back. I've got 3 of them running lengthwise and about 13" over the waterline to get better coverage. Originally they were only about 7" above the water line with the standard hanging rack so they were not mounted lengthwise and I got some spotlighting effect so I raised them up. I also swapped out the stock 40" optics in the center for 70 degree optics and ran them lengthwise instead. If you run them lengthwise and higher up, you might be able to get away with just 2 SOLs on a 48" The beauty of the system is you can always add another one if you feel you need different coverage.

What I ended up doing for mounting was to take the top off the hood and then suspend the LED's over the hood with Aquaticlife hanging arms bolted to the stand (wife won't let me drill holes in and suspend stuff from the ceiling) to get the height I needed. I also ended up just using one of the mounting bars in order to mount the lights lengthwise.

ETA: If they need to be inside the canopy you'll probably need more modules
 
Mine will have to be mounted inside the canopy. I don't even need to ask.....So, I may try 3 modules for a 90.

I didn't realize that they had different optics available. Closer to the water, a wider angle optics? Is there just two options for optics?
 
40*

60*

80*

those are the more commomly used optics, the lower the # the tighter the beam. On a 25" tank I think you would be safe in the 60* range
 
The AI Sol uses 70 degree optics on the outer LED pucks and 40 degree optics on the inner pucks and those are the only options I am aware of. Each LED puck actually has 3 LEDs with a dedicated optic for that puck. What I did was order the 70 degree optic pucks so that all of mine are now 70 degrees. You can see what the components look like here for a better visual:

http://www.aquaillumination.com/support/replacement-parts.html

I may have a spare DIY Sol here shortly that you can try out if you are just curious as to coverage that you might need and how many units you need before ordering.
 
I have a 75g that's 48x18x20. I am running 2 AI SOL Blue's with the 70 degree optics. I have a Perfecto canopy that is 8 1/2" tall. I added some
1 1/2" blocks to the inside of the canopy to raise it up (this does cause more of the black aquarium surround to show). Then I cut holes in the top of the canopy so that the AI's rest on top of the canopy, and added a little trim molding around them to secure them. This puts them ~10" above the water line. I am also going to change out to the 70 degree optics because I am getting some spot lighting. I've had them for almost 2 months and am up to 70% power. I do feel like the give more than adequate coverage.
 
The ecotech Radions are another choice. They are a full spectrum light that you can change through your computer. From 10k, all the way to 20k lighting or custom. They are a little pricey. But some are having good success itch them. Plus they use 135 degree optics.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=32.459535,-99.713917
 
Not sure how to mount the Ecotech Radions inside of a canopy? All their website addresses seems to be a hanging kit. However, the135 degree optics seems to make sense for a low mount to the water necessitated by mounting inside the canopy.
 
Mr. Saltwater tank on YouTube has his sitting on top of the canopy through cutouts or if your canopy is really high. You could always hang it within the canopy.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=32.459545,-99.713882
 
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