LED upgrade kits.

[davej]

I ended up going with a rapid led kit. Was dead simple to do. Great instructions. Might be selling my setup in the near future, up sized to a 60 gallon cube.
PM me if you want to check it out.

Dave

[kamloops_reefer]

for DIY I was happy with LED group buy myself for cost and direction on what to get. They have a forum section under nano reef they respond to daily.

[TheMikey]

I went the LED route as well, about a year ago right when the "Full spectrum" lighting was taking off. My corals grow very well and I have some good colouration (although I had only set up the tank with the LEDs in January, so it's still new).

That said, one of things I haven't considered was resale. It's going to be almost impossible to get any kind of return on the kit I purchased. Sure, I saved $150-250 (used v. new) compared to a similarly powerful AI unit (with full spectrum). That said, if I need to upgrade my lights ever, I think it would have been better long-term to get a pre-made unit.

Anyway, just my $0.02. I know I saved a bunch off the hop, but I wonder how the savings will compare long-term.

[mike31154]

Depending on the pre-made unit you purchase, there probably won't be much of a return on resale either, the way LED technology is developing & continues to develop. I never looked at the resale factor when I built my rig. It's coming up on 3 years since I put the fixture in service & it's still working great. There have been a few hiccups & I will make another slight change in the near future, but all in all it's been worthwhile for me.

[w00t]

I have a Rapidled kit on my RSM, completely happy with it. I would pick it over the steve's kit to be honest.