Tattooedsoul87
New Member
I was woundering if 4 Ecoxotic Panorama 12W LED Modules in my 60 gallon (48x16x17") tank, would be enough to support my sps corals that I keep in the higher part of my tank. thanks
Ecoxotic Panorama LED Module
- Thread starter Tattooedsoul87
- Start date
The Ecoxotic Panorama 12W LED Modules have 1w LED's, which are considered low wattage. I'd say you'd be asking a lot of them if you used them to keep SPS corals. I don't think you'd have much of a chance.
Jut to give you an idea, Panorama makes an LED fixtures that contain either 4 or 6 strips and typical use for a 60 gal would be about 2 of the 4 strip fixtures or 2 of the 6 strip fixtures. Note that this is 2 or 3x the amount of lighting you plan. Also note that those fixtures costs about $650 (4 strip) or $800 each (6 strip), so if you bought them outright, you'd be spending about $1300 or $1600.
With a DIY LED project, you can save some money, but the costs of the LEDs are still somewhat high. What this means is that your going to spend a large percentage of what the commercial fixture would cost. For example, those modules are about $95 each. If you got 8 of them, you'd spend $760, plus the cost of o materials needed to build your own fixture.
Jut to give you an idea, Panorama makes an LED fixtures that contain either 4 or 6 strips and typical use for a 60 gal would be about 2 of the 4 strip fixtures or 2 of the 6 strip fixtures. Note that this is 2 or 3x the amount of lighting you plan. Also note that those fixtures costs about $650 (4 strip) or $800 each (6 strip), so if you bought them outright, you'd be spending about $1300 or $1600.
With a DIY LED project, you can save some money, but the costs of the LEDs are still somewhat high. What this means is that your going to spend a large percentage of what the commercial fixture would cost. For example, those modules are about $95 each. If you got 8 of them, you'd spend $760, plus the cost of o materials needed to build your own fixture.
I did all LED lighting in my RSM 250 and no problems, but it was a huge investement. I have 4 of the 8000k white modules and 2 of the blue, then i added 4 stunner strips to help out. The effect is very nice and my lfs said i shouldnt have any problems. I have pics if you want to look at them.
We'd LOVE pics. Flyguy 
Tattooedsoul8 just keep in mind that what your LFS offers you in regards to advice isn't always accurate or in your tank's best interest. I was in a LFS a few weeks ago when the LFS offered to sell a REEFER this new LED fixture he just got the details on. It was an off-brand 48" unit with 2 rows of 8x1w LED. It was designed for lighting a FRESH WATER tank yet the LFS was suggesting it to a guy with a REEF tank. Just remember they aren't always "Current" with their equipment and some of them are on the "devious" side of the moral fence. They don't make $$ unless you buy stuff and the more stuff you buy to fix problems the more $$ they make as they "Help" you.
With LED you really want/need to invest in the 3W per LED unit and as the technology advances maybe they can produce 1W units with enough intensity to support photosynthesis in the high light loving coral. For now though 3W is pretty much required for this process. Here's an analogy:
Tattooedsoul8 just keep in mind that what your LFS offers you in regards to advice isn't always accurate or in your tank's best interest. I was in a LFS a few weeks ago when the LFS offered to sell a REEFER this new LED fixture he just got the details on. It was an off-brand 48" unit with 2 rows of 8x1w LED. It was designed for lighting a FRESH WATER tank yet the LFS was suggesting it to a guy with a REEF tank. Just remember they aren't always "Current" with their equipment and some of them are on the "devious" side of the moral fence. They don't make $$ unless you buy stuff and the more stuff you buy to fix problems the more $$ they make as they "Help" you.
With LED you really want/need to invest in the 3W per LED unit and as the technology advances maybe they can produce 1W units with enough intensity to support photosynthesis in the high light loving coral. For now though 3W is pretty much required for this process. Here's an analogy:
ChrisOaty
Member
I know you can get the LEDs cheaper at dealextreme but they come from china so i've heard shipping takes a few weeks. If you're building for a larger system and you've got the time, I'd get your LEDs from rapidled, heatsinks from heatsinkusa, and look for a good price for a few Meanwell ELN-60d power supplies. For me, I had wire, solder, and thermal paste. There are a lot of other options including dimming, drill/tap vs. thermal adhesive, optics, etc. There are a lot of build threads out there if you poke around a bit. If it were my tank, I'd probably build 3 12X3w led panels to go over a 60gal. I've also heard of people getting pretty good color results from adding a few red LEDs in the mix. Quickly putting this together online, it looks like a minimalist kit (18 XP-G, 18 Q5, 3 ELN-60D, 3 Heatsinks, Thermal Adhesive) would cost you about $350 including tax and shipping.
I've got a pair of Ecoxotic 8k/453 Panorama modules over my 46 gal bow front and everything is fine. It's noticeably dimmer than my 4-bulb T-5 fixture, but it doesn't seem to bother any of my inhabitants. That being said, I've only been running it that way for a few weeks. My BTA picked a place that's somewhat shielded from the direct light. My duncans, zoas, and frogspawn are all doing just fine.
What I really like about the LED lights is the shimmer effect! It's just as good as the MH tanks I've seen. Ecoxotic is coming out with some new stunner strips next month and I'm anxious to get some actinic strips to make the colors pop and maybe a white one or two to brighten things up.
Right now my panorama modules are screwed into my T-5 fixture. I just took out two bulbs and put them there. I was hoping to run the LEDs with two actinic T-5s, but it gets too hot in there and the LEDs start shutting down. Next plan is to get the stunner strips and build a hood to get rid of the T-5 fixture all together.
What I really like about the LED lights is the shimmer effect! It's just as good as the MH tanks I've seen. Ecoxotic is coming out with some new stunner strips next month and I'm anxious to get some actinic strips to make the colors pop and maybe a white one or two to brighten things up.
Right now my panorama modules are screwed into my T-5 fixture. I just took out two bulbs and put them there. I was hoping to run the LEDs with two actinic T-5s, but it gets too hot in there and the LEDs start shutting down. Next plan is to get the stunner strips and build a hood to get rid of the T-5 fixture all together.
I built my DIY hood out of some pretty cheap, but finish grade wood from Lowes and stained it to match my DIY stand. I have three Ecoxotic Panorama 8K/453 Modules and three Ecoxotic 453 Stunner strips with reflectors. I LOVE the bright view of all the lights on and the shimmer is Halide-like. I run the actinics before and after the whites and the colors POP!! My Zoos and Frogspawn are amazing and the Duncans glow a little too!
Pics (my actinic only pics came out a little overexposed, so they're not included...):
Pics (my actinic only pics came out a little overexposed, so they're not included...):
chipmunkofdoom2
Well-Known Member
Be VERY cautious when using 1W LEDs. They won't explode or kick your dog, but they aren't the major leagues of LEDs. They're around the same intensity as PC bulbs in general. Nothing wrong with that, but be aware. They work better for smaller tanks than large, and they can probably support all PCs can and maybe a little more, but that's about it. There are exceptions to every rule, but in general you almost always need 3W LEDs to replace MH.
Jackalope
Member
Only way to know is check the par output. ecoxotic proclaims those are mainly for supplemental use. let us know how they do, im very curious as my tank is doing very well with 55par and its said that 200-400 for SPS's. really its about what nanometer of light you are giving them. i can push 1000par with some 17watt LED spotlights from lowes and the corals lose there color and start to fade away (die). check out my lighting forum on my sig. =-)