LED FIXTURE

[Crab Rangoon]

Sorry to bring back a buried thread, but this hits right on the note I'm researching & deciding on at the moment. Also apologizing in advance for the long-winded post lets hope a few of you suffer through the whole message, though.

Its a Neo Nano... 24x24 16in high... Only need one from what I have read. Reef geek agreed, but getting a second opinion. They said to suspend 10-12 in above tank and it would be more than enough.

I'm about to set up a 36x36x27" tank, and I'm 100% decided on going with LED lighting - the only catch is it's going to be a fish tank, rather than a coral tank.. My problem is that those I've consulted on the proper AI application for this tank are iffy on how many would be satisfactory. I was recommended 3-4 units for coral growth purposes, or that I could "probably be happy with / get away with" only using two (which is plenty more than I planned on lights for my fish). While I understand 4sqft is a smaller footprint than 9sqft, and that 16" is quite a different depth than 27" depth - I also know that I'm not focused on growth & am not insistent/hopeful of raising SPS in the aquarium.

Heck, two of the people I emailed about the newest AI even compared it to a 400w, when I'd loosely compared it to a 250w - and there is NO WAY I would ever use more than a single 400w MH over said tank. Now I really have no clue what the optics on the AI are, nor have I seen any specs on their lenses to give me an idea of if I can get away with using one - and at what height it would need to be. Regardless, after having multiple sources suggest me 2-3 units, I started to give up on the idea of the AI, and look elsewhere.

My alternative is a pair of AquaRay 1000HD's, which still meet my wants/needs (light, controller/adjustability, clean/minimal appearance, no added heat, and "greener" lighting bill) at a similar price. But 2 of the 1000HD's w/a controller does cost a little more than a single AI w/controller, but the 2 fixtures staggered over the tank could give a better spread in theory than the single AI.. and I could still add an AquaBeam, or PAR38 later, if I see fit. My main hang-up on the decision making is this:

(1x) AI -------vs- (2x) 1000HD
(24x) XP-G's -vs- (20x) XR-E's
total of $629 -vs- total of over $700

So is it really worth it for me to spend more cash on the AquaRay setup, when it will actually stick me with a smaller number of LED's, producing less light-per-bulb even, and having to mount up more fixtures over my tank? I have nothing against paying the price to get what I want - but there is no way I should spend over $800-1000 on my lighting budget for a [b]fish tank[b], where a really impressive PAR throughout would be wasted illuminating fish that would rather eat corals than live amongst them. Should I just order a new AI fixture, and just supplement with something else down the road "as needed" ?

***note: AquaRay is indeed releasing their lights (or new lights) with the XP-G's in the near future - but with no release date or final plans announced, and me needing a light rather soon, I can't consider it a current option for the comparison or purchase.

[wesheltonj]

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