# Pendant LED options.



## Ceiji (Aug 5, 2010)

Hi all,

I have a 6ft tank with 22" depth. I am aiming for medium light and would prefer LED. Initially I thought of two 36" led lights to span the length of the tank. But from researching, I found that a single strip will only give about 25par. So I would need a total of 4 36" lights. I think this will drive up the cost considerably.

Another problem I have is that, I have driftwood poking out of the water surface. So I cannot keep the lights right on top of the tank. It will need to be a little high so that it doesnt touch the wood tips.

Because of all these reasons, I was thinking of hanging pendant lights. I guess I can get away with two. While searching online I came across Kessil Amazon Sum A150W http://www.marineandreef.com/Kessil_...p/rke09810.htm

So 2 of that would cost me $450. I dont that like at price What are other options that I have? Am sure there guys who already have pendant leds. Can you help me on this?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

You are making a very common mistake - you want great performance for a cheap price. That does not work unless you are willing to accept a few issues.

The LEDs that give you 25 PAR will give you even less than that if you raise them even a few inches from the water surface. You will be lucky to get 15-20 par with the fixture 8 inches above the water.

The only "cheap and good enough" option to use an LED is to buy flood lights. Ebay is full of them. For a 22" tall tank you are going to need the 50 watts. The 30 watt flood lights will barely illuminate the tank (with a bright spot right under the light). But if your tank is 6' long you are going to need at least 3 of these 50 watt lights. At about $70 each you are looking at about $210.









Keep in mind that you will end up with light that is somewhat unnatural color. The flood lights that you are going to get should be 6000K. Not 10,000. The 10,000K flood light produces a very cold white light and it makes plants and fish look very unnatural. But even with the 6000K you may find that the light is a funky color because LEDs don't really cover the spectrum and produce a pleasing light unless you mix them.

So you see - no "cheap and great" solution. I'm not even going to ask you why you want specifically LEDs. The answer is probably "because everybody wants them". For much less money you can have a beautifully lit tank but without LEDs.


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## micheljq (Mar 25, 2013)

Hello,

2 -36" led fixtures from Buildmyled would give you something like 45-65 PARs at 24" from the light, depending on the optics, according to their website. I do not have one, never tried.

As for myself I use one led fixture and one single T5HO fixture for my planted 65G tank.

It would cost 2 X 229$ plus taxes and shipping.

You can check there and call them : http://www.buildmyled.com/dutch-planted-6300k/


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## 1.0reef (Apr 19, 2013)

Ceiji said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I have a 6ft tank with 22" depth. I am aiming for medium light and would prefer LED. Initially I thought of two 36" led lights to span the length of the tank. But from researching, I found that a single strip will only give about 25par. So I would need a total of 4 36" lights. I think this will drive up the cost considerably.
> 
> ...


 Buildmyled is a good option, lots of good spectrum choices other than CW.
If you're willing too, some 3 watt Cree's or Luxeons in the right spectrum on dimmable drivers would be awesome, a solderless rig shouldn't cost too much and should be relatively easy to put together.


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