Cichlid LED?

[zerreissen]

Good morning fellow MAASTards!

I currently have a 75 gallon Eheim Professional aquarium with a low profile hinged top/canopy. I'm currently running two T5 bulbs in the canopy, however when feeding the cichlids, water splashing on the bulbs is causing them to shatter, not sure it would be wise to just add a splash guard.
I'm thinking about switching the lights over to Ecoxotic LED's, however, I can't decide if I should go with Stunners or Panorama Pro's. I also cannot figure out how many and which colors to go with (I don't currently have any live plants and don't plan on adding any).

Any opinions or suggestions?

Pic of said aquarium:




Thanks!

[hobogato]

i was really tempted to buy that led fixture that shane (bbqhillbilly) has for sale for my cichlid tank.

[Bill S]

You do need to remember that FW lighting is different. I have 10K VHOs on mine - and it still looks a bit too "white" - in other words, choose colors lower on the spectrum than you would for a reef tank.

In your case, I'd put up splash guards, or move the light up with some feet.

[StevenSeas]

i would do the 8,000K one of these.

http://www.current-usa.com/lighting/truelumen-pro-led-striplights

[justahobby]

You do need to remember that FW lighting is different. I have 10K VHOs on mine - and it still looks a bit too "white" - in other words, choose colors lower on the spectrum than you would for a reef tank.

In your case, I'd put up splash guards, or move the light up with some feet.

Agreed. In my very limited FW knowledge I did notice that FW fish (tanks in general) look much better at a warmer kelvin than SW. 67k really gives a natural appearance.

For a splash guard I would check w/ Jack (txav8r) @ mrcobscorals (wet acrylic).

[zerreissen]

i would do the 8,000K one of these.

http://www.current-usa.com/lighting/truelumen-pro-led-striplights

You would go with the Truelumens over the Stunners? Any particular reason why?

[StevenSeas]

I think the light doesn't bleed out as much. Also you could just get one 4' strip to go over your tank instead of linking, which should make it cheaper i believe. I also think the 8,000k current strips are more readily available than the comparable ecoxotic.

[zerreissen]

You do need to remember that FW lighting is different. I have 10K VHOs on mine - and it still looks a bit too "white" - in other words, choose colors lower on the spectrum than you would for a reef tank.

In your case, I'd put up splash guards, or move the light up with some feet.

I guess I'm in the minority here when it comes to freshwater then. With the bright colors of my Mbunas, I prefer the brighter whites. I am currently running one Coralife Actinic and one ColorMax and I love the "pop" that the Actinic gives.

I had thought about splash guards, but I already had to modify the endcaps by cutting the mounts off to fit in the low profile canopy, adding splash guards would put them even closer to the water. In my opinion, low profile LED's would work best in this situation.
I got the tank/stand/canopy from a friend, and it did not come with lights. Eheim no longer produces aquariums, and I'm not sure what it came with stock. I would assume that they were power compacts to be able to fit in this canopy.

[zerreissen]

I think the light doesn't bleed out as much. Also you could just get one 4' strip to go over your tank instead of linking, which should make it cheaper i believe. I also think the 8,000k current strips are more readily available than the comparable ecoxotic.

Ecoxotic has 48" Stunner strips now, and they are cheaper than the 48" Truelumens. Do you know of any stores who have the Truelumens and Stunners on display? I'd love to see an in person comparison.

[StevenSeas]

not of the 8,000k spectrum. but now that you bring up that you like the brighter/bluer spectrums there are these http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-s...AL-420248.html which are 50/50, cheaper than either of the others (atleast where i looked) and have a baked in reflector. Also I know the Pollys in UC does have these on display.

Sorry for bringin up these other brands too, just lots of options out there.