Should I add this over my tank ( led light strip)

[Nanoprincess]

I have the 38 marine innovative tank. Due to being so hot..hot..hot..In my home and temp tank was so out of controll last week. I hooked up a fan and it blows down over my tank. Works awesome this past week, I watch as soon as my tank temp starts saying 80 I kick on the fan. Keeps my tank 78-80 during the day now.

What I did was slid the glass top half way off and laid my t5 ( 4 bulbs-2whites and 2antics) so my lights are now sitting more towards the front of the tank. ( have no idea where i put the legs) But the whole tank looks lit up to me. Now I have space if I wanted to...to lay across the back section of the tank one of these????

Innovative Marine SkkyeLight SingleStrip LED Light: LED Aquarium Light Fixtures

Would this help with my corals, clams, Stoney corals???

I want to start with just one for now and use the t5's too.... The t5s have a separate switch for the whites and antics.

Out of the three? Which one would you add first? To go with the t5s and why?

Thank you for your help

 

[Built347]

Those leds would def not hurt anything if used in addition to your quad t5.. the will not add much other than some shimmer.. 1w leds are just not very powerful.. it would also be wayyy less than ideal with only those leds,No matter how many of those bars you added.. considering that your keeping high light demanding corals of course..

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Smoker]

You shouldn't get anything less than 3W LEDs. That's what those who know have been saying all along and I'm glad I waited as prices have dropped significantly. I got rid of my 72W T5 for all LED and still the tanks are hot because they'll be at least whatever the room temp is.

$60.00 = 24'' long by 2.75" wide, 30W LED strip. 10x *3W CREE* 80 degree, single row of alternating actinic and daylight, 2 plugs. Includes hanging kit. I bought this a month ago. Total was $100 because I had to pay shipping from China - 6 days. Bridgelux LED was $20 less.

E.shine Store - LED Aquarium Light, CREE Aquarium Light, LED Grow Light, LED Hydro Grow Light. scroll down and also look around their site elsewhere. They have units with fans and timers built-in. For the sizes you have to translate mm to inches. Lots of information.

$120 = 24" adj. to 30" 48W using no-name 3W LEDs. These have the switch on the unit.
EVO 24 LED Reef Bright

I bought the above in a 30W version at half the price. Actual unit is 18" and it only extends to 22" (maybe not big deal if you sit them on the glass). They are bright and have good spread. Two of these would give you 60W for the $120. The brackets/legs should be interchangeable so order two sets for the 24" - 30" unit if you went this way. It depends on how fussy you are about the look you want. The longer you wait the more prices will drop, but stay away from the overpriced 1W things.

 

[ddelozier]

So long as you understand that 1w Led's will not do much for corals you can add those if you want. Anything under 3w wont put out enough light to help photosyntetic animals. They will add a cool shimmery effect. If your t5's are 50/50 actinic and white, you have adequate light. You could get the 20k strip to use as moon light. Other than adding a bit of different color or moonlight, etc, these lights will just be for show/display purposes. As long as you understand that, all is cool with adding them. They will hurt nothing.

 

[wscttwolfe]

Get em, they can't hurt. I would recommend the actinic LED option in that link. I just went LED and wish I had more blue/purple

 

[Roots]

I you are gonna get 1w strip LED I would go with the Ecoxotic stunner strips. Just as much light but less money.

 

[Nanoprincess]

Thanks friends
So if their were 3 of those across my tank then that would equal 3 watts right???? I wanted to start with one to add more shimmer for sure and a different color. I have 4 LEDs ( moon lights) built in it already but it's still really dark. I thought evening time I could use some kind of antic deep, bright. But really Iam not going to spend the money if one strip alone adds nothing in the growth of corals. That would be to me great for looks but kinda silly for now to spend the money.

But three of those would equal 3 watts right???lol

 

[Roots]

Thanks friends
So if their were 3 of those across my tank then that would equal 3 watts right???? I wanted to start with one to add more shimmer for sure and a different color.

But three of those would equal 3 watts right???lol

No, not correct. All lights come in different wattages which equals different intensities. Light intensity is what we are talking about when we say 3 watt LED are better for Coral growth than 1 watt LED. Read up on the Inverse Square Law in order to understand it better. Light intensity drops the further away from the light source you get. 1 watt LED lights offer a lower amount of intensity versus 3 watt LEDs. 1 Watt LED will suffice for coral growth in certain conditions. Shallow frag tanks for example or nano tanks. They offer enough intensity only for a short distance from the fixture. No more than 10"-12" depth.