Aquaray Led Lighting

[dannywrc]

i currently run 2 duo's and 2 t5's and they seem to be fine with pretty much everything so far. even got a few acros high up in the tank that are growing well. They give a nice shimmer effect too, not as nice as a halide but a lot cheaper to run. worked out they half the electricity bill compared to the 2 t'5s they replaced.

i recently had them replaced under warranty against the old 500's but they dont seem as bright although the light seems to have better coverage.

 

[ChrisKis]

Hi, Well I've got a new job and been working for TMC for 2 weeks now in Chorleywood (London). All our coral tanks run the Aquabeam 1000 tiles, they hang about 18 inches above the water and the tanks are about 12 inches deep, they look great and with most of the corals with us for less than a week you can still see the growth in that time and the colours are stunning. Now with the Aquaray multicontrol you can run up to 8 x AquaBeam 500s or 4 x AquaBeam 1000/1500s or any combination. Check out the TMC website for the info and a pdf of the PAR readings.
Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[water_boy]

Hi, Well I've got a new job and been working for TMC for 2 weeks now in Chorleywood (London). All our coral tanks run the Aquabeam 1000 tiles, they hang about 18 inches above the water and the tanks are about 12 inches deep, they look great and with most of the corals with us for less than a week you can still see the growth in that time and the colours are stunning. Now with the Aquaray multicontrol you can run up to 8 x AquaBeam 500s or 4 x AquaBeam 1000/1500s or any combination. Check out the TMC website for the info and a pdf of the PAR readings.
Hope this helps.

Chris

Hi Chris,

I found what you wrote very useful but i have a couple of "my system" specific questions im hoping you could help me with.

At present i am running an 8x39w halide style lighting system with 4 actinic and 4 marine white tubes and i must say i am really happy with the coloration and i am also seeing impressive coral growth. (theres a couple of videos and pictures in my journal, link in sig).

I am a bit of a tech freak and can see the advantages of LED lighting and it really appeals to me so i am looking to upgrade my lighting over the next 6 months. I really like the tiles and the idea of plugging them all in to a single programmable controller but find it a little confusing as to which specific products from the aquabeam range i would require to achieve;

a) the same lighting levels
b) a cohesive system that can all be programmed by a single unit
c) if the lighting would still be suitable for all types of coral with LED only lighting (i have some LPS and will have a couple of the easier SPS in my tank eventually)

If you could advise me on what you think would be suitable as a full set up i would be very greatful

 

[ChrisKis]

Hi, Well I've got a new job and been working for TMC for 2 weeks now in Chorleywood (London). All our coral tanks run the Aquabeam 1000 tiles, they hang about 18 inches above the water and the tanks are about 12 inches deep, they look great and with most of the corals with us for less than a week you can still see the growth in that time and the colours are stunning. Now with the Aquaray multicontrol you can run up to 8 x AquaBeam 500s or 4 x AquaBeam 1000/1500s or any combination. Check out the TMC website for the info and a pdf of the PAR readings.
Hope this helps.

Chris

Hi Chris,

I found what you wrote very useful but i have a couple of "my system" specific questions im hoping you could help me with.

At present i am running an 8x39w halide style lighting system with 4 actinic and 4 marine white tubes and i must say i am really happy with the coloration and i am also seeing impressive coral growth. (theres a couple of videos and pictures in my journal, link in sig).

I am a bit of a tech freak and can see the advantages of LED lighting and it really appeals to me so i am looking to upgrade my lighting over the next 6 months. I really like the tiles and the idea of plugging them all in to a single programmable controller but find it a little confusing as to which specific products from the aquabeam range i would require to achieve;

a) the same lighting levels
b) a cohesive system that can all be programmed by a single unit
c) if the lighting would still be suitable for all types of coral with LED only lighting (i have some LPS and will have a couple of the easier SPS in my tank eventually)

If you could advise me on what you think would be suitable as a full set up i would be very greatful

I don't have the Aquabeams in my tank yet and it's hard to tell your current light levels, but the Aquabeam 1000 HD Ultra sounds like the one you need, the reef white has 7 x 14,000K white LEDs and 3 x 50,000K blue LEDs, it's recommended 1 per 2.5/3 foot of tank, so 2 for your size tank, but the great thing about the Aquabeams is that if you wanted a little more light you could add a more, I would start with 3 and maybe add a fourth later if needed, the 1000 HD will do all corals but the sps's will need to be higher in the tank as with most lights. If you need a whiter light then the Aquabeam 1500 XG Ultima has 10 9000K Ocean white colour LEDs and 52% higher output than the 1000 HD and a wider angle so covers 33% more, you could have 2 1000 HD with 1 1500 XG in the middle and then with the multicontrol unit(which has 2 channels) have the 2 1000's on 1 channel and the 1500 on the second channel which will allow you to fade the 2 channels at different times to get a good sunrise, mid-day sun and a sunset effect.

I hope this helps
Chris

 

[water_boy]

Hi, Well I've got a new job and been working for TMC for 2 weeks now in Chorleywood (London). All our coral tanks run the Aquabeam 1000 tiles, they hang about 18 inches above the water and the tanks are about 12 inches deep, they look great and with most of the corals with us for less than a week you can still see the growth in that time and the colours are stunning. Now with the Aquaray multicontrol you can run up to 8 x AquaBeam 500s or 4 x AquaBeam 1000/1500s or any combination. Check out the TMC website for the info and a pdf of the PAR readings.
Hope this helps.

Chris

Hi Chris,

I found what you wrote very useful but i have a couple of "my system" specific questions im hoping you could help me with.

At present i am running an 8x39w halide style lighting system with 4 actinic and 4 marine white tubes and i must say i am really happy with the coloration and i am also seeing impressive coral growth. (theres a couple of videos and pictures in my journal, link in sig).

I am a bit of a tech freak and can see the advantages of LED lighting and it really appeals to me so i am looking to upgrade my lighting over the next 6 months. I really like the tiles and the idea of plugging them all in to a single programmable controller but find it a little confusing as to which specific products from the aquabeam range i would require to achieve;

a) the same lighting levels
b) a cohesive system that can all be programmed by a single unit
c) if the lighting would still be suitable for all types of coral with LED only lighting (i have some LPS and will have a couple of the easier SPS in my tank eventually)

If you could advise me on what you think would be suitable as a full set up i would be very greatful

I don't have the Aquabeams in my tank yet and it's hard to tell your current light levels, but the Aquabeam 1000 HD Ultra sounds like the one you need, the reef white has 7 x 14,000K white LEDs and 3 x 50,000K blue LEDs, it's recommended 1 per 2.5/3 foot of tank, so 2 for your size tank, but the great thing about the Aquabeams is that if you wanted a little more light you could add a more, I would start with 3 and maybe add a fourth later if needed, the 1000 HD will do all corals but the sps's will need to be higher in the tank as with most lights. If you need a whiter light then the Aquabeam 1500 XG Ultima has 10 9000K Ocean white colour LEDs and 52% higher output than the 1000 HD and a wider angle so covers 33% more, you could have 2 1000 HD with 1 1500 XG in the middle and then with the multicontrol unit(which has 2 channels) have the 2 1000's on 1 channel and the 1500 on the second channel which will allow you to fade the 2 channels at different times to get a good sunrise, mid-day sun and a sunset effect.

I hope this helps
Chris

Thanks alot for taking the effort for that i appriciate it.

Although i have just totted that lot up and i would be looking at the best part of £1000 to buy brand new

Might have to be patient and scout the bargains out on fleabay and the like as that is far to much for me to be spending on lighting unfortunately.

 

[ChrisKis]

It is alot but it's something you can build up, they should last about 10 years so no bulb changes and 2x1000 HD + 1x1500 GX = 83w, compared to your 8x39w = 312w, but you need the money up front.

Good luck and I hope you can find a good bargain, you will love them if you get them

 

[water_boy]

yeh i completely agree its a toss up isnt it. Im seeing quite a few of the 600 strips up for grabs, how do the compare say to the 1000HD's i persuming you would require 2 to replace 1HD?

Also the 500's whats your opinion on them?

Sorry to be bugging you so much

 

[ChrisKis]

No problems, if I can answer the questions I'm happy too.

The 600's as far as I know are just redesigned 500's, the housing has changed making more secure and now they can be mounted directly in to a hood, they also have a wider angle, they are the same Cree XR-E leds and are 12w (I think)14K whites, 50K blues.
I think they are more for the smaller tanks, but if you could get them for a good price why not, you can only use 8 on the multicontrol but there's nothing stopping you having two controllers if they have the time as each other.

You can always get some cheap 500's and replace with 1000's/1500 one at a time as they all will run off the multicontrol.