LEDs for a 30 gallon tank

[Nigma]

hey guys, just wondering what specs should i be looking at? how many volts? or wats? i would like to keep coral in there, not high end coral... but simple coral

i am setting up a new tank for the office


PS, tank is about 30in wide

 

[Reef Wall]

I have seen 2 of these in action on a 40 gal one white and one blue. Keeping softies and lps. Tank looked incredible with the shimmer of a MH. Corals looked very healthy. Link below.

Reef Brite 24in LED Strip Light - Blue/White: Premium Aquatics

 

[Nigma]

oooh ouch that's expensive! lol
is there something cheaper? i was looking through ebay the other day... they had some less expenisve LED.. but i am not sure how much luminosity should i get that is strong enough for a 30 gallon tank

 

[imsobored152]

if your a DIY person, give it a shot. I did it on my 35

 

[Nigma]

@imsobored152 how many LED lights do you have?? and how much luminous/wats do you have? what type of corals do you keep?

 

[BigAl07]

Nigma you can save some $$ doing it DIY but LED still isn't cheap. The junk you see on Ebay is Cheap for a reason.

 

[imsobored152]

+1^
Ive got (6)16watt whites and (10)3watt blues
The 16watt leds are ~1100 Lumens the blues im not so sure about(chinese blues)
Right now ive got zoas/palys, hammer, some kinda ORA Cap, bubble coral, trumpet, rics, xenia and gsp. The only thing not doing great is the trumpet, but I think that cause it keeps getting knocked over almost daily. It still looks good, but hasnt grown. I don't dose anything.

This is the only picture I have showing a FTS with the lights in it. Its right after it got set-up, hence it being a bit cloudy. And all safety issues have already been pointed out, so please dont hi-jack this guys thread with safety issues you see.

I think this picture is only with whites, i'll try and find one with blues

 

[imsobored152]

Here a FTS with white and blues(Also an old picture)

 

[Nigma]

looks good dude, where did you get your lights? did you make them your self? how much did they cost?

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I have seen 2 of these in action on a 40 gal one white and one blue. Keeping softies and lps. Tank looked incredible with the shimmer of a MH. Corals looked very healthy. Link below.

Reef Brite 24in LED Strip Light - Blue/White: Premium Aquatics

Unless you can find more info out about what LEDs are in that tube, I wouldn't trust them. Any LED fixture you'd be willing to pay for unfortunately is probably no good.

The standard right now for DIY projects is 3W (3v, 1A) Cree or better PCB mounted LEDs. A decent driver is the Buckpuck, found at LED supply any many others. Power supplies are generic and just about any can be used, though Meanwells are better for large applications. Expect to put a diode about every 2 inches, unless it's just for general lighting, then you can put as many as far apart as you want.