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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Led light for corals

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26 Apr 2016 15:44 #1 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
So, I am still in the process of getting the stuff together for my nano coral tank.

I am now looking at lighting. Can anyone suggest what is an ok led setup to go over a small nano tank?
If I was to BUILD my own what ratio of LEDs should I use? Blue, white, (what colour whites) RGB, any others?
How many of each do I need of each for a 30cm x30cm x30cm cube tank?
How hard is it to make it dimmable?
What would in need for a power source? Etc.etc.

If I was to BUY one for this tank, that would be good for coral growth and make the colour 'pop' is there a inexpensive one I can use?
What about a par38 led bulb?

I don't want something so big that the light is the only thing you see., and it needs to mount on the tank if possible.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks all.

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26 Apr 2016 17:44 #2 by robert (robert carter)
have you had a look on ebay ,they have a huge range of aquarium led lighting . if you know the colour spectrum and lumina you need reckon you should find something suitable .

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27 Apr 2016 12:12 #3 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
That's the problem, I don't know that information!!
There is so many different sorts on the Internet, what do you get? That's why looking for advice on colours, amount etc.

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27 Apr 2016 13:39 #4 by robert (robert carter)
I don't know anything about marines but surely the salty guys on this forum should be able to assist

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27 Apr 2016 18:05 #5 by carlowchris (chris)
The light above a reef tank is probly way more important than a lot of other components that make up a tank.....diy leds are not going to be an easy thing to make for a marine tank.......it's not only getting the right colours but the right spectrum and getting ones that will last and not loose power...

Many companies like ghl ...ai....and ecotech have spent God knows how much money trying to get these things right....

Could be simplier just a buy a led......there is loads out there.

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28 Apr 2016 02:07 #6 by Sukahn (Shane Doorley)
I would agree with Chris on this.

DIY lights for novices dont work. Most people buy kits that have been designed by someone with the knowledge of setting up the lights. From reading about it online a while back there is just too many things that can go wrong and your lights are the post important thing in keeping everything healthy in your tank.

If your looking for decent LED's fluval do length adjustable units that i have used that give good growth. There are loads of other ones and loads of online places to get them, even AliExpress have LED lights that are just like some of the bigger brands just cheaper. But still, brands have spent the time and money figuring out what is good for the reef tanks, imitation ones would not be the same.

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28 Apr 2016 13:38 #7 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
Okay so homemade ones are definitely a no go. I will listen and learn from that advice.
So, I need to look at ready made ones.
As its only a small tank and I don't want the light to overpower the tank in looks or light, what should I get?

I like the idea of the par 38 led bulbs that fit into a normal bulb holder that could be made to look quite good, but not sure if they would work for coral care?
When it comes to led units, I only want a 10cm by 10 cm unit so it's not to big, doesn't cost a bomb, but is still ok.

Here comes Google again, let's see what I can find.

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28 Apr 2016 22:49 #8 by carlowchris (chris)
I've seen two nanos. ...little bigger than yours ...more 40x40....that had par38 on them...

Both tanks now doferent leds both people said the par38 was a good light but the lights hit have now are better

One tank has a big led unit on it something like a evergrow...amd the other had a kessil....the kessil maybe more like the size you want.

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29 Apr 2016 14:37 #9 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
I have been looking at the kessil but need permission to spend £230 on it!! That's for the a160we model.
I love the simplicity of it, just not the price. That's why I was looking at the par 30-38 bulbs instead.
I now understand will have to wait a bit longer, and spend a bit more, to get a decent light for it.
But you never know what people are sell off, so I will keep looking on the regular sites.

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30 Apr 2016 18:54 #10 by carlowchris (chris)
Wow 230..I seen Alex got a purple for 100 Euro..I thought a tuna blue would be a similar price........

Did the 230.included the goose neck and delivery??

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30 Apr 2016 21:25 #11 by Homer (Kevin)
Replied by Homer (Kevin) on topic Led light for corals
Kessil have a rep for blowing and the wattage is ridiculous.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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30 Apr 2016 23:13 #12 by carlowchris (chris)
Had a little look on fleabay...230 is about the cheapest...which is about ten times the price of the par38

You could always do what the other two tanks I seen do.....start off with a par38 and if needed you could upgrade at a later stage....

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01 May 2016 13:49 #13 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
So how did Alex get his for €100??
So I will go with a par 38.
What's the difference between the par 30 and par 38 or ones in between?

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01 May 2016 18:03 #14 by carlowchris (chris)
The par 30 is just blue and white I think but the par 38 is full spectrum

Think the magenta is probly cheaper cause it's only going to be used a refugium light ....where as the others are for above a tank so more likely full spectrum or closer to a spectrum that corals like ...so they can probly get away with charging a higher price.

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