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#1
05-06-2015, 09:37 PM
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Generic this LED vs that LED opinion request.
So...
I'm going to put some LED's into my RSM 130. Even though the growth is great with the stock lighting, the colour just doesn't make me feel like the cash spent on corals these days is worth while. I recently was over at Wheelman's place and bought a few things...taking them home and putting them into my tank really just made me realize how much more value you get from corals when you have the led glow. I was sort of sold on Steves LED http://shop.stevesleds.com/Red-Sea-M...8794102442.htm At around 400 bucks shipped to my door. Then the AI Prime came out, and now I am looking at it wondering if for about 275 bucks, that might be the way to go. http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=ld-aifhyprb Steves LED fits right into the canopy with minimum modification. The AI prime will require some minor hood mods. Anyone care to share their experience or opinion? Last edited by gobytron; 05-06-2015 at 09:42 PM. 
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#4
05-07-2015, 03:36 PM
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This is fairly subjective.
I always say that nothing makes corals look as good as the old 110 watt VHO 454 T12's did... LED's have also come a long, long way in the last 5 years. Remember the PFO Solaris? Frankly, I would never drop 1000's of dollars on an emerging technology, which is what LED is for the aquarium trade. All those guys and gals who dropped 1,2,3,4 or even 5 grand on a light that is how horrifically outdated were all necessary in getting this stuff to the point where it is being mass produced overseas....which is where we are now and why the technology is evolving so much faster now and at the same time, getting cheaper. I have been watching LED come on for a while and it is really only within the last year or two that the quality of light seems to come pretty close to T5/MH.
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#5
05-07-2015, 04:57 PM
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I ordered a kit from RapidLED for my RSM130, currently being shipped so I will be setting it up pretty soon. I had a handful of extra 700mA LEDs so I ended up getting an extra driver so I'll have ~50% more than the kit usually would. I got the 'full spectrum' kit that has 1 red, 1 green and a few UV LEDs in addition to the White/Blue mix.
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#6
05-07-2015, 05:23 PM
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Quote:
Mind if I ask what you paid and why you went with this kit? I like how Steves LEDs give you the option of the, building it for 95 bucks....you also get a few snazzy upgrades for paying the extra too. Are you just running stock lighting now?
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#7
05-07-2015, 06:19 PM
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I ended up going with a custom LED setup for my BC29. I looked into Steves, Rapid and LEDgroupbuy. I ended up getting a basic kit from Rapid (customizing it to use WW, RB and CB) and then supplementing it with additional UV and OCW leds, giving me a full spectrum build.
To help with the heating issue, I oversized the heatsink which also helped to allow me to cluster the LEDs so that the different spectra blended and I didn't get the disco-ball effect. For me, this was the biggest drawback to Steve's setup was the linear placement of LEDs. If you consider most effective LED fixtures (Radions, AI) they all run a cluster layout of LEDs. I was able to build and layout the LEDs with little difficulty.
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#8
05-07-2015, 08:43 PM
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Quote:
For the RSM130 I'll put a build thread up soon, a few people have asked about it. The tank is dry so the lighting is stock but will be coming out. I'm trying to get it all set up exactly as I want it. Going to build custom reefscape with cemented dry rock as well. I'm patient (meticulous?) so I'm taking my time doing so. I went with the 3 knob dimmer and Meanwell drivers. It was $350USD including shipping (with the extra driver). So I'll have 3 separate dimmable channels (1000mA Royals, 700mA White/Blue, 700mA Red/Green/UV/remaining). The set of LEDs I'm going to cannibalize into the 3rd channel came from a aquastyleonline kit and to be honest that's what led me to picking the slightly pricier stuff as in my experience cheap drivers/LEDs are just not worth it. This isn't limited to reef work either. The LEDs themselves are passable but the driver and potentiometer are iffy and I wouldn't trust them for quality and safety. I thought about the Storm controllers but even when I had an Apex I didn't use it to its potential, so I'll let the RSM timer do the work and just manually set the dimmers. I've soldered lots of stuff in the past and am comfortable doing it myself. Recently pieced together a set of electronics repair gear so I'd like to break it in. (Variable power supply, decent multimeter, soldering station, etc.) I'll be replacing some batteries in old cartridge games too. 
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#10
05-13-2015, 02:52 PM
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Modded 250 hood
Here is what I did with mine. I found a couple of mitras for cheap, so I used them. Worked out really well, hard wired them into the profilux as well. I pulled the top plates off the mitras as well and added 6 fans to help with any heat issues. So far, it keeps things real cool and the fans are very quiet.
 
__________________
There's plenty of room for all God's creatures. Right next to the mashed potatoes.
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