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Nope, you synch it to what suits you. My lights come on at 15:00 to 22:00 for the last decade.

You get a lot of control ability, more than you need with an Ecotech, it looks smart, I am not sure there is anything aesthetically on the same level and at a similar or better price. I had the Maxspect Razor on a 60x 45 x 45. The spread was ok, but suspending it was better. I dont think you are...

http://www.theaquatools.com/electric-equipment-calculator Look at the graph at the bottom of the page on the above link.

I have Anubias growing in tanks with only 8 par measured. They do not need much.

Sorry I meant selling online, but I get the impression they are not properly out yet, hence the pre-ordering. Interestingly they seem to have at least one distributer who has long time gone out of business :)

Can you buy direct from Evolution Aqua? I can't find any shops selling the new series.

Nice Sam.

I was looking at one of these for an 80*50*50cm tank, but I am not clear on how much rim is required around the tank for the mount? The brace bars on my tank are quite high, there is only 1cm between the rim and brace bar except in the corner which I don't think I an ideal position. Any ideas or...

LEDs come in many forms and some can quite easily be more powerful than t5s in terms of PAR and way over the light you need. The short of it is you really do not need to be going above 2x 39w t5s for the outcome that you are looking for. 54w t5s are over 1000mm usually.

I have an 18w one on a breeding tank (30"x12"x15" h), PAR was very moderate around 30 at the substrate which is fine for most plants. I always get confused over whether having multiple of the same leds would have a cumulative effect or the same. Unfortunately I dont have a larger model to check...

Al, you put me to shame. I was meant to write up about the Pacific Suns. I remember Rachel from way back in 2009 when I bought a KR92 for my reef. I drove over to Weston Marine Life and spent the best part of a day there talking to her and her husband. I think the main issue for me with these...

You should be able to grow hair grass with the lighting you have, but if you really want to add this additional lighting then I can only say that from my experiance of the Arcadia stretch is that its colour rendition is slightly on the pinkish side which is ok if you like it. I have a smaller...

I dont think the Classica stretch would be too bright for low tech, I have one over a 30"x12"x15"h breeding tank and the PAR numbers are not very high... I just checked with a PAR meter and the readings are only 20 at the bottom right under the unit, this is with the light attatched to the glass...

Personal preference more than anything else.

I use a 120w 8000k on a 120 litre TMC Signature. Its a good light, colour rendition and controllability are good enough certainly in the price range. My lighting peaks at 55w and is about 10" above the water. I am selling mine in the next month though because I am upgrading my tank.

Reuben, do you mean brown diatoms? if so I would say that is more associated with cycling aquariums and low light. I have many breeding tanks many using different led lighting. The one I mentioned has one single grobeam 600. It lights a 76cm x 30cm x 38cm high tank. The PAR readings: Normal...

I have one over an 80 litre breeding tank, but it is about 6-8" above the tank. I have a PAR meter I can check tomorrow, but I dont think it was that high.

Hello, why would you want to have the lights come on for most of the time when you are not there? My tank lights start to come on from 16:00 or 17:00 (i have a few aquariums) and they go off around 23:00 On one tank I have a Maxspext 120w over a 60cm long TMC signiature. It hits max 60% at...

Ah, it might be possible then, let us know what they say. :)

I dont think so, one of the reasons it fell off my radar, unless things have since changed.

Yes a lot of copying of western design in China, but now that you have posted that I wonder whether this was an original TMC design or did they get a company in China to rebrand an existing unit for them, after all it is nothing like the other TMC led lighting and as already mentioned similar...

All, I had this response from Maxspect International. Thanks Gary for the contact. "Basically all components inside the power supply will consume some power, especially the LED driver, the lower the intensity of the LED chips, the less efficient it'll become in terms of converting the higher...

Hi Martin, 8x54w on a 4footer from an ATI is way more light than you need. Hopefully you have the dimmable version, if not then you really only need 2x54w. It will likely make things difficult for you otherwise. Bulbwise any combination that you like the look off, although prolly best not...

Im not too keen on the look, its not nasty, its ok, but more importantly I thought the sizes were odd. They dont explain anywhere what footprint they are suitable over. They have a 40cm nano version with fewer led colours and functionality and the larger being 69cm long is strange size, what if...

Ah ok, that might have a lot to do with it. Thank you for the explanation. I will have a look to see if the meter gives me any information about what powerfactor its using, but I suspect it is not an expensive one given that it was a freeby from an energy supplier.

Hi there, I just tried it now, but with lights going off completely and the wattage still remains similar to around 20w. I then went and tried a TMC PSU (duel cables) with no lights attached, it was drawing about 7w. I remember some years ago talking to the UK supplier of Eco-lamps, he did...

Nathaniel, I have the 120w over a 60x45x45cm. I also have a PAR meter! :) Like George says, these are powerful and my concern would be too much light rather than being enough. I didnt like the legs and also felt it didnt spread the light evenly enough, but if your tank is narrower that...

Hi Gary, yes that would be great. I just thought it odd that they were using that much power overnight. Sanj

I have a Maxspect razor 120w over one of my tanks. It is only only on 55w max and overnight it is only on 1% output. I was testing the watt output using one of those monitors that you can get from Energy suppliers, it was reading 20w consumption when I measured it at night when the lights had...

I dont think this new, it has been added to the Grobeam range, but it does not have different lenses to the original Colourplus under Aquaray. This post reminds me I need to give George back the one he leant me... :oops:

It depends a little on how far from the water surface your lighting can be placed, is it in a hood, a luminaire over the tank or suspended? I tend to favour leds, but if you are having to place the light close to the water surface i.e. within 2-3 inches then flourescent would probably be better...

When I bought mine they only did black silicone in that size. I went for black for the same reason. I also suspended the light, I felt the legs did not allow for enough spread, but you might find it ok.

Mine is the 60x45x45cm one.

Gary, I have the 120W over my TMC signature. I do dial down the output to 60% Max, but probably averages 40-50% on average. The leds are split into two channels of control and you can dial them between 0-100%. Power consumption scales pretty close to 1:1. I cant imagine anyone wanting to run...

Thanks for the feedback Livewire, just to confirm TMC informed me that there is no difference in the Colourplus 1000/1500 other than rebranding. This would make sense when I was looking on an American site selling TMC products it stated the Colour plus 1000/1500 were the same. It confused me...

Tom is probably your best man to ask this question, I thought I might be able to help but my ATIs are the pre-dimmable model.

Hi livewire, what did you end up buying? I mean the difference between the colourplus 1000 and the colourplus 1500, or is that what you meant?

Does anyone know the difference between the Colourplus 1000 and 1500? The leds seem to be the same...

Nice, the light system supports look the same as the Maxspect Razor, but the light unit itself looks different. I am not sure what model they are.

I think concensus of opinion is not always based on all those opinions having first hand experiance. Most people I would hazard to guess dont actually know. What a lot of us do know is that plants will grow under many different light Kelvin and the difference in performance is negligible for...

I would doubt many will. You might be better off asking on the Ultimate Reef forum where a lot more people use LEDs. I do use LEDs but different manufacturers. I use Pactific Sun Metis and also use Maxspect Razor on another tank. Lexi on here also uses the Maxpect.

Yeah, they do look reasonably smart. I prefer the feet on the older version. Z series has a more ugly stand. Weird sizes though, I dont see how that will work if they arent flexible.

6 hours is all you need usually, but you can increase it from there after some months. Personally I would not go beyond 8. Personal choice, but it keeps things simpler and under control and what is the point in spending £ on electricity if it is not adding much. :)

I am really liking the look of this brand, more so they use wooden cabinets and offer a lighting frame solution. The prices look reasonable too. Too late for me though, I already bought a TMC signature.

You probably could if you suspend it. This website suggests so and you dont need the level of output required for reefs. Maxspect R420R (RAZOR) LED Lighting System: LED Aquarium Light Fixtures If you use the leg props only I think you will end up with areas too high and some too low in PAR. On...

I considered them, but the 150W models do not have a dimming facitlity which in my book is not up to standard when investing in LED lighting. I went for an 8000k Razor instead.

Re: Help with my new led lighting Im thinking on the lines of Maxspect Razor 8oook model...

Well... Im growing plants in my breeding tanks now, some only have 8 PAR at the substrate. Regarding plasma and other technologies, they take time, they will be talked about then fade away, leds for example are not the product of just the last few years, they were first developed many decades ago.

I dont think it will be a problem especially since you are suspending it. It should only need to be a few inches, if that for light spread.

You can have split photo periods, but I am not sure that the photo periods you are suggesting are long enough. I use pretty short photoperiods 6-7 hours on different tanks, but it appears you are suggesting shorter than this and pretty long rest period in between. Try it, there is only one way...

I used to have these lights on my reef back in 2009. The model I had was the KR92. They were and still are one of the more powerful led units in the market, easily outperformed TMC in terms of PAR output. The fans at the time were not silent and they were not dimable back then. I went to Weston...

I use Pacific Sun Metis 2x 100Watt suspended 12" above one of my tanks which measures 32" deep. I am getting 40 mMol at the substrate and the lamp is running at 80% of its power output...

Every time I see that thing it reminds me of a video cassette... well intially. I think if anyone is going to go big bucks for an led you really need to do your homework. Personally I went for a PacificSun led unit, like the Radion geared towards the Reef keeping market, but I was able to...

Ditto, with the lighting you are using, i dont think the perspex and condensation will be reducing it to a degree where it is detrimental to lighting levels for growing HC.

You can do eventually, but I would start off with just the two and see how things progress. I did that with my tanks, but even now the lighting duration is pretty short at 6 hours. Try starting low light duration 6-7 hours max on just two and then build up when the plants mass grows. On a...

It is more than sufficient light, potentially too much for a managable system. You can grow most plants with half that lighting in T5 with reflectors as George is always saying. Does your lighting system allow you to turn two sets of light off in case you need to? Either that or can you raise...

Oh, I hope you are seeing some improvement in regard to that clot. ATI units are powerful, but like Darrel says they will be fine if high enough.

I have 8x 54w T5s 18" above the water level in an 8ft x 3ft tank that is 28" in height. The light output is enough to grow just about any plant, infact for much of the daily lighting duration I only use 4x 54w (two 4ft tubes in parallel along the length of the tank). Although I use ATI pendants...

Much in the Aquatics industry is based on BS, just so you spend more money.

I am a little uncertain about the look of the unit, but I have not seen it in the flesh either. I would be nice to see it in action over a tank.

Those people... :roll: Ditto what the others have said, what you have is enough. I have a Dennerle 60 litre tank which is 43cm deep came with 2x 11w lights. Dennerle's products are oriented to planted tanks. Make light the limiting factor and you will have an easier ride.

There is no particular reason to my mind. I have looked at them before, they are not really any good for my large tanks simply because I would need many which I dont think would be practical, economic or aesthetically appealling. Perhaps for my 60 litre... then again depends on the mounting...

I have not used the tile, but the grow beam strip lights. Some others have grown plants with tiles with good success.

The guy is still using clay based Aquasoil that would bind NPK even if it only comes from tap water, I didnt think the likes of Amano dosed excessively either, but the use of all those removers seems a waiste of money going by the cost of just phosphate removers here in the UK. Still its a...

Lol oh after that massive rant ive just realised this question was posted weeks ago... :~

This is not an easy question to answer partly because most people do not have extensive experiance with Led lighting. I can tell you that a grow beam is powerful enough to give arond 30 PAR or more at 30" which enough for most plants. That is past experiance from using Aquabeam 500s although I...

I think that would be fine. When you initially start keep your photo period down 6-7 hours. I dont go above 8 hours full lighting even when the tank plant growth has matured.

4 x 54w is ample on a 200 gallon. IMO 6 tubes is overkill and more than likely lead to problems. I am guessing this is a 7ft or 8ft long aquarium?

I dont know what luminaires you are thinking off, but you can usually operate them independantly in pairs. I do that with my ATI powerchromes.

Not much information on it yet, its not pretty and advertising it over a rimless aquarium doesnt do it justice i think. However I did like the fact that the leds were also angled so that the light can come from the side aswell as from the top. This could be a big improvement on leds making more...

Thats strange, that was not the impression I was getting from reefers anyway. They seem to rate ATI over Geismann if only marginally. ATI employs active cooling which helps maintain T5 PAR out put over time as compared to passive cooling used in Giesmans. A downside could be that with more...

I dont know your tank dimensions, but you most probably dont need all 4 on for 4 hours. It will probably be overkill and give you more algae issues, unles of course you can maintain co2 and nutrients in excess. It is generally easier to make light the limiting factor as it is the easiest aspect...

Ok, so I am seriously considering using these LEDs for a future set up. They are from an Austrian company called Vertex. Once again it is the reef hobby that has created the demand, but these are affordable ish, well in line with TMC tiles and bars except much neater, fewer wires and I believe...

Hello, I have mentioned this company before and have owned a KR92 unit when I kept a reef tank. These took off a couple of years ago and are one of the best LED lighting units in the market in regard to thier very good PAR output and inkeeping with relatively lower electricity consumption...

Perhaps of some interest, those of you have spent hours searching on the net about LEDs over the last few years will have already seen this: Controlled Tests with Plants and The Aquatic Life Implications; http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html#par Personally though I...

Hi George, It is probably the same they have, it is an Apogee Quantum Flux. My parents live in P'boro, but then so is the PFK offices. But if you ever need it...

I own a PAR meter so I could always measure the output if you set this tank up.

They have tested the same TMC tiles as well as the Arcadia T8 replacements. Perhaps others, but im not sure on that. TMC tiles are not rated so well with Reef keepers compared to the LED competitor units from China/Honkong (Ecolamps and Maxspec), but that is chiefly down to PAR which is not the...

Luis, what LEDs did you see?

I think some of what is being suggested is that some people want to wait until LED gets to that more perfected level before investing. A bit like T5s in the early 2000s, it took half a decade and theyve plateauxed. In 8-9 years there are going to be so much sexier lighting, led will probably...

Do they grow plants? They certainly do, I grow them in a 27" deep aquarium with Aquaray 500s. However do they grow plants on "par"(te hee) with what the people at TGM expect... that might very well be a different expectation. They do have every right not to stock the LEDs if they do not wish...

I would ditto that and adjust the photo period to the time that you are around. My lights come on at 15:00 and are off at 23:00.

Only my lucky pants need a photoperiod and that is only for a "brief" period. :D

Hey Faizul, I second Clive, stick to the first option. Under that system i doubt there are many aquatic plants you cant grow if all other factors are good (flow, nutrient, co2...). Hmm.. Penang the home of Kuan Yin :)

Lol timing is awful, but this time last year I sold my 2x54w D-D units (of which I had 4) for £50 each. Bah oh well.

Mr Lord Lucan (?), if you wish to look at my own thread on ~1600 litre aquarium. It is 28" high and 36" wide, 96" long. I have 432watt system over the entire tank, but actually only need 216 watts of lighting (the lighting units are at least 15" above the water surface). These were T5...

I think Aquatic products are very much in the grip of the Matrix. Its all about knowledge and I dont have enough yet. In the light of the above, it would seem that the case for LEDs is weakened slightly on the replacement level. I know you cant expect everyone to buy a PAR meter, it is...

I bought 2x 4ft (2x54W D-D razorlight ballasts) three years ago from Paraquatics and they were really well made, i did use 50:50 Aquafleur: Day light. I thought they were fine. I later used Aracadia tubes on the same ballasts there was no size issue. You could phone Paraquatics to double confirm.

Or the Arcadia tubes made especially to fit awkward Juwel aquariums. Either way more expensive than non aquarium branded standard size tubes.

Cooler higher specs penetrate deeper hence bluer light in deeper water environments. The marine whites I have are v1 aquarays. The marine spec tiles are indeed 9000k which kind of concerned some reef keepers, but they leds are not the same as flourescent lighting. In terms of penetration, for...

the stumps were a lucky find by chance at Shirley Aquatics in the midlands. Closed hood is fine, infact if you do go close hood it would be better if you dont get a luminaire style unit, but somthing like the D-D razor lite ballast each holding 2x54w or even individual ballasts per t5. That way...

I have not got any pics on my computer yet (beacuse it is not particularly a well scaped tank). However i will try and get some up shortly. The Marine Whites are 10,000 k which is fine for planted tanks, but it is more about how the colour looks to you. 10,000k is a 'colder' looking light than...

You will be able to grow most plants incl many high light plants although im not sure what the ones you have are. I dont have grow beam tiles but i have seven strip s (500's) on my 80cm x 68cm x 68cm set up. five of these are marine whites from an older reef set up and 2 are grobeam 500s. PAR...

Steve, my tank is fairly similar to your planned set up. The only thing i would suggest really considering is 32" high tank, several people gave me advice about the practicle difficulty of high 30" aquariums. It is possible, but does make it more difficult to carry out maintenance in planted...

I have actually found the PAR meter to be usefull. It depends on your set up. I dont think most people in the planted hobby would have considered 432w of T5s over an 8ft long x 3ft wide tank to be alot of light, but actually I have to keep my units as high as they can be from the water...

I have 2 x 4 tube powermodules and I choose these over the OT2, for the reason that i considered them to be better quality and output than the Arcadia unit. The Sunpower i cant vouch for, but it is a lower spec in regards to build than the Powermodule. I dont use ATI bulbs, I use Osram and...

Another option are the ATI pendants either the Sunpower or the higher spec Powermodule. They have more optimised PAR output. They are pretty powerful though, maybe too poweful ifthey are only a few inches above the tank.

22" is not that high, you can grow plants with those tubes, adding the extra light may increase the range of plants further, but it will also mean that you definately will have to dose with carbon (co2/liquid) and ferts. In short yes it is ample light at 138w I believe.

The only real benefit is the order which looks best to you.

I have a 60 litre Dennerle, dimensions are different to yours, 15"x15"x16"h , so deeper and a cube. They are plant specialists in their own right and provided 2x 11w for this tank. If your 24w extends the length of your tank or near abouts, you dont really need to be adding extra light to grow...