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Old 09-09-2011, 09:16 PM
ReefOcean ReefOcean is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sphelps View Post
You divide cubic inches by 231 to get gallons not 324. But I agree that might not be the best way to decide on the amount of LEDs, kind of similar to the 5W per gallon deal.

As far as I know you need to be in the range of one LED for each 10-15 square inches. So for example take your tank foot print to be 48"x24", that's 1152sq" meaning you'll want to aim for a range within 76 to 115 LEDs, give or take. Now deciding on a final number will depend on your tank height and coral requirements. For something average say 24" tall and mixed reef with SPS you'd probably aim right in the middle of that range.
yes

The degree of optics also impact the coverage significantly.

Also, you can save on LEDs depending on where you place your coral. If you keep all your sps in the middle, you dont need a large density of LEDs at the ends of the tank.

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