Are these LED's any good?

verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
I am wanting to upgrade my lighting from my tek 8 bulb t5 fixture to a led fixture so my parents don't complain about the electric bill. So I stumbled across taotronics 212w led fixtrue 2:1 ratio of blue and whites (you can see them on amazon). Now If they are good how would you mount them, it says they have 60 degree optics. I have a 75 gallon tank so I was thinking two of them because I have a brace in the middle of my tank. So if i did two that would be 424 watts of leds over my tank is a lot and I have lps, sps, and some soft corals like zoas and ricordeas. They also have a 3 year warranty.
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
powerful! Same ones on the auction site?
Its the puck style with the 4 diff pucks... kinda a square unit...
U would need two but id deff acclimate to that... over prob a month or two. Those seem powerful but ive never seen em. U can get cheaper ones imo that do the same.
 
verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
No i know which one the square is. Would that be better? This one is rectangular and has 6 pucks. What I mean is will they be good for a coral tank? The ones im talking about are these "(New Release) TaoTronics TT-AL05 LED Aquarium Coral Reef Tank LED Grow Light (212W Output; Blue/White Ratio - 2:1)".
 
verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
Also what other ones are you talking about? the white and black ones that look a little sketchy? they have a lot of fan problems these cleaner looking ones have better fans.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
No reds, greens or UV. A lot of the colors of the corals will wash out and not be as vibrant without those spectrums. Plus, I believe that it's been shown that SPS need a full spectrum of light to get the best growth anyway. SPS corals, since they are such light loving corals, have adapted themselves to use most of the suns spectrum...
In other words ....

http://timlaman.photoshelter.com/image/I00009IochzwleuE
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
Honestly if u want those colors and not DIY it ur gonna pay a lot of money!
144w's in leds is plenty! If the fans blow though than that ruins the relax part of the tank!
 
verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
If you need those colors how come there is only 1 fixture of leds thaty has them right now and 1 thats coming out soon and those are the most expensive way like 1guydude just said. I am not looking for the best growth. I am looking for good growth and color for less money.
 
verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
The ones that you showed me on ebay are the exact same ones on amazon for 100 dollars cheaper lol. So I think I am going to get these:
<<Links to third party retail and auction sites are not permitted on the saltwaterfish.com message boards. >>
I am thinking two for a standard 75 gallon tank.
How high would I have to mount them?
Also how hard would it be to acclimate corals and clams to these?
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
ur not supposed to post links to competetors man! This is a store as a forum..... ull prob get a pm lol...
btw the link i pm'd u only had $10 shipping.
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
u wont know till u get em and plug em in.
Wat r the optics?
If ur handy, i always recommend the DIY route.
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
??? IDK never done it, i had the money but like all money it burnt a whole in my pocket and i ended up with manufactured fixtures.
The only problem with DIY ones that i see far to often is that they never in case the heatsink. You always see this big heatsink with all these wires and fans above a tank or in a hood. Id like to see more casings or something instead of just heatsinks...maybe some research would clear this up...or if ur handy like i said.
 
verojeremy

verojeremy

Member
Yeah I am 14 years old and I would need my dad to help me; but he is a landscaper and knows how to fix sprinklers and stuff so I think that may be an option.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Siptang,... Richard,... he is building a DIY LED Unit for is (I think 76g bowfront) So far it's about $200 worth of materials total. Here's the link to the build. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/392514/my-new-diy-led-set-up I'm sure that if you watch this thread over the next coming weeks that you can learn how to build a very nice DIY LED fixture for $300 for your tank. But, as the dude pointed out - if you aren't mounting it inside a canopy, you might want to consider putting it in a case. (They make small computer cases that you can just buy the case for on NewEgg.com) It even comes with fans. lol. Cut the side of it open and put the LED heat sink inside of it and hook the computer fans up to it and you got yourself a nice little case for dirt cheap. You might even be able to find some free laying around.
I think DIY is definitely the way to go. If you are going to buy a fixture, you can not get it fixed. Or, it will break way after warranty has expired. Going with DIY, if a LED light goes bad, you just have to replace that one light. If the driver goes bad, you just replace the driver ... instead of the entire fixture.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Be wary of these knock-off Chinese imported systems.
Time was that you could identify them on that famous site where you bid on stuff from their location, but now they've got US based sellers that are distributing their products to give some the idea that they are made in the US. Many of them are manufacturing products to look exactly the same as other commercial products. I'm not saying that is what is going on here, but in the LED world, if the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Aquarium applications drive the LEDs hard, at near AMR (Absolute Maximum Ratings), and for hours per day. Sorry to say, but if the LEDs are not made by Cree or Luxeon, they are likely to suffer an early failure. On the Chinese imported systems, you also have to be aware of factory seconds being marked as "new" LEDs. I've made this mistake enough times to be ashamed of myself, and I've gotten burned every single time.
 
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