How much would you pay?

[nate_m]

I'm ready to buy some lights for my reef tank. Looks like I'm gonna be out about ~$500 for a halide/T5 setup...
BUT...
What about LEDs? Is the solaris worth $1300? Never change a bulb again. No water heating. No timers. Seem to good to be true.
SO...
The questions are:
1. Are LEDs far enough along to warrant using them in a reef tank?
2. Worth $1300 for a 24" fixture? If not, how much would you pay?
Thanks for the help guys!
- Nate

 

[nemo_66]

i would never get solaris. the computers are to complicated and always brake. i heard that one guy had to replace his entire fixture like 5 times!

 

[sudc]

The short answer ,IMO, is no and no.
I think the technology is way too new and has a lot of bugs to be worked out. In 4-5 years they may become the norm but they definitely need to get cheaper and more effective. People say they are equivalent to 20k halides, i doubt even that but assuming its true, 20k halides dont give nearly the growth 14k's do.
I have seen them in person and thought the color was weird. The blue and white gace off an odd effect that i didnt like at all. From what i've seen and read, i wouldn't get them right now even if they were the same price as Halides. I think they are a few years away at least.
For a 24", $1300 is INSANE too spend on lights. You could buy absolute top of the line halides for less much than $500 easy.

 

[azfishgal]

I paid about $550 for retro kit with two 250W 14K Metal Halids with IceCap ballasts and a Mini Luminarc Reflector to cover my 6' tank. You could probably get away with just one. Here is a picture:
(Keep in mind the pictures make my lights look more blue than what they really are. The color is very nice and all my corals and fish pop with color.)

 

[deltablack22]

Wow, the canopy is done... It looks great AZ.

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by DeltaBlack22
Wow, the canopy is done... It looks great AZ.
Check out my diary, LOTS of pics.

(you'll have to go back a few pages)

 

[zanclus]

Mate M... for a 24" tank you can go with a single MH 250w plus 2 24"t5s for around $400 I'd stay away from solaris.
AZ... looks nice . You have lots of real estate to fill ...

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by zanclus
AZ... looks nice . You have lots of real estate to fill ...
Thanks, and I'm working on it. I bought a toadstool today so that's one more.

 

[zanclus]

Jmo but if you want to keep sps the toadstool will have to go in the future. Toadstools (sarcopytons) release chemicals into the water which hinder the growth of sps. I had a beautiful one about 10" across and my SPS were doing ok but growth was almost non existant.After reading about Leather corals and their toxins I decided to sell the toadstool. In 2 months I saw a major difference in growth rates. Its chemical warfare out there .... so choose your corals and direction you want to go carefully John

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by zanclus
Jmo but if you want to keep sps the toadstool will have to go in the future. Toadstools (sarcopytons) release chemicals into the water which hinder the growth of sps. I had a beautiful one about 10" across and my SPS were doing ok but growth was almost non existant.After reading about Leather corals and their toxins I decided to sell the toadstool. In 2 months I saw a major difference in growth rates. Its chemical warfare out there .... so choose your corals and direction you want to go carefully John
I run carbon, won't that help? I thought I saw a few people on here that have leathers and SPS. I could be wrong though, wouldn't be the first time.

 

[puffer32]

Originally Posted by azfishgal
I run carbon, won't that help? I thought I saw a few people on here that have leathers and SPS. I could be wrong though, wouldn't be the first time.
You are correct. I have both, and am seeing good growth on my SPS. Just keep the leathers downstream of the SPS.