Old school thinking about Mars aqua 30" LED's

[G.T]

So i have always used Halides, apart from small spells with t5 and led. I always go back. Every summer its a battle with 400's, keeping the living room cooler than the Sahara Dunes! So i am thinking maybe going to leds. I do not want to spend more than say $350 on this upgrade. I was thinking maybe 2 x 300watt mars aqua's. They are the correct length for my tank 30". The front to back is 18" height is 25". So anyone on here use the mars aqua 30"?
My tank is LPS SPS.
My thoughts are they measure 31" long each 7.2" width so 2 of them and reef brite 30" actinic strip between them, will basically give me almost 100% coverage of the tank in light. Is this the right way of thinking?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-Dimmab...763664?hash=item3aafeec3d0:g:SRAAAOSwpzdWsKXs

 

[s_kelley]

Don't do it!!
I spend 700$ on a fixture and it cooked all my corals, I was not impressed, light was very spotty, if ya know what I mean
I'm back w halides and am very happy, but agree on the heat issues

 

[Dekon]

Garry, there is a whole thread on Reef Central about the Mars Aqua and people's results and mods. That is where I got my info for the LED's I wound up getting.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2474870

 

[G.T]

Garry, there is a whole thread on Reef Central about the Mars Aqua and people's results and mods. That is where I got my info for the LED's I wound up getting.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2474870

Thank you Sir will take a look, and enjoy the Read.

 

[G.T]

Don't do it!!
I spend 700$ on a fixture and it cooked all my corals, I was not impressed, light was very spotty, if ya know what I mean
I'm back w halides and am very happy, but agree on the heat issues

I am so on the Fence. I am so Pro Halides, and mostly Against LEDS. What fixture did you get? Tell me your Story. Recently i had the pleasure to see, tim190's tank (Manchester) And it was the most impressive tank under LEDs that i have ever seen. The colouration was just amazing. When i see success stories like that tank, it makes me wonder!

 

[dz6t]

LED does work but I will think twice about MarsAqua.
1. The color blending is poor, so you will get red dots and green dots on you sand bed.
2. They are NOT 300w at all, they draw 188w at full power so it is just simple math and physics.
3. They have no heat sinks inside, the fan, ballasts and LED diodes are no brand in-house version.
4. I had the 165w version and it is dimmer than an AI Sol blue at 85w.
5. There is no violet nor near UV

 

[s_kelley]

I got the reefbreeders photon 48 and was in love with the color controllability, timer, and power savings........but
My beloved dozen acan colonies melted away seemingly over night. my setup had been up and running for years and all I changed was the light. I messed around with the intensity and even borrowed a par meter. Couldn't figure out what was going on. Easily had a grand invested in the acans so when the last one croaked I said, good thing I kept the halides in the basement and swapped them back out, sold the led's. No turning back everything's happy and healthy again.

 

[dz6t]

The reef breeders photon gen 1 was not much different from MarsAqua or any black box type of LED.
ReefBreeders are some of the better ones in terms of quality.
But MarsAqua just cheap, seriously, that is why they are popular.

Halide is still the best so far.

 

[G.T]

I got the reefbreeders photon 48 and was in love with the color controllability, timer, and power savings........but
My beloved dozen acan colonies melted away seemingly over night. my setup had been up and running for years and all I changed was the light. I messed around with the intensity and even borrowed a par meter. Couldn't figure out what was going on. Easily had a grand invested in the acans so when the last one croaked I said, good thing I kept the halides in the basement and swapped them back out, sold the led's. No turning back everything's happy and healthy again.

Thank you for that sir. i am still on the fence.

 

[G.T]

The reef breeders photon gen 1 was not much different from MarsAqua or any black box type of LED.
ReefBreeders are some of the better ones in terms of quality.
But MarsAqua just cheap, seriously, that is why they are popular.

Halide is still the best so far.

I do not know what to do yet Dung. Need some sleep at least

 

[bdaley]

GT, I was a MH person for life, I did own a Photon 48 and it grew everything great, so much in past years I had to prune and give away a lot. I went back to MH 400w and saw no real difference other than my SPS did grow better, color wise there was little change other than my ACANs (they hate, hate LEDs or at least mine did all the reds turned orange). I then went to an 8 bulb ATI fixture and had better color and growth even over the MH. Jump to today. I just ordered a Red Sea 525xl and a Aurora 60 Led/T5 combo after a lot of research. Time will tell if I go back to MH, but the Photon 48 and the T5 proved I can do what I want without the cost and heat for my love of 400W of pure sun goodness.

 

[dz6t]

Photon 48 is a much better light than Marsaqua and it was $600 new.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jeff.:P]

I have an Ocean-Revive led Fixture (cheap! $125+/-) that is growing SPS, LPS and softies with great color. Albeit T5 or MH would probably be optimal for growth. I guess there is a trade off for cost savings, and you need to incorporate that into your personal tank equation. I have a small tank and it will fill out slower than say a t5/MH combo, but that is OK with me. I noticed LPS under LEDs do occasionally have a harder time, but once they are accustom to it they do well. I have lobos, acans, blastos, ect, that are in the outer extents of the tank; out of the direct LED and growing. I think the main point with LEDs you need to find that sweet spot of intensity/PAR and Kelvin, which can be difficult.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Here is a photo from the Oceanrevive people comparing the brightness of the two fixtures.

 

[dz6t]

The OR T series fixture are better than MarsAqua, (at about 50% more expensive).
But they have HEATSINK! and fans.
LED cooling is very important, it affects LED output and life spam.

 

[dz6t]

G.T. you have a beautiful tank, don't ruin it with cheapo LED.

 

[G.T]

G.T. you have a beautiful tank, don't ruin it with cheapo LED.

Thank you. so what would you recommend ? I do not have a tank controller.

 

[dz6t]

For a mix reef like that, it is hard to find a single LED solution to fit all the needs of the coral and the keeper.
I will go with two Hydra 52 HD and supplement with 6 to 8 tubes of ATI t-5. That will cut down a lot of electricity and heat in summer and still retain the diverse spectrum a mix reef needs.

On my 200g deep dimention tank, which is 36 inch front to back, I have 12 tubes of t-5 and a pair of AI Hydra 26. (for adding some pop as well as Sunrise Sunset)

 

[G.T]

For a mix reef like that, it is hard to find a single LED solution to fit all the needs of the coral and the keeper.
I will go with two Hydra 52 HD and supplement with 6 to 8 tubes of ATI t-5. That will cut down a lot of electricity and heat in summer and still retain the diverse spectrum a mix reef needs.

On my 200g deep dimention tank, which is 36 inch front to back, I have 12 tubes of t-5 and a pair of AI Hydra 26. (for adding some pop as well as Sunrise Sunset)

would 6 t5's replace my halide without leds?

 

[dz6t]

I don't think so, the efficiency of t-5 is just a little better than halide like 10 to 15%.
You have 800w of halide which needs about 12 t-5 to replace,