aquarium owners... LED question

[peiserg]

i looked on reefcentral.com for the first time in a couple years.. but there was a bewildering array of info.. too much for me to process, anyway...
/
Basically, i have a 48" wide 120g salt tank that i current run a dual MH with 4 CFL bulbs right now. I'd like to switch to an LED setup. I've got a ton of live rock, a dogface puffer, 2 black wrasse, a fire wrasse? and a clown... i've also got what might be a couple of anenome's and a couple crabs plus a starfish. THe tank has been running for about 10 yrs.

any suggestions? thanks.

 

[gleibig]

If you don't need the lighting to keep corals alive (didn't sound like you have a full reef tank) then I wouldn't spend the $$ on a crazy lighting system. I recently tore down my 2 reef tanks right about the time LED's were coming out. I thought about trying them because the MH suck so much power, but the cost of an LED system for a large tank was crazy.
I switched my 240gallon over to mbuna cichlids last year. I loved the shimmer that the MH gave but didn't need the 2x400watts for cichlids, so I kept with the MH, but now just run a single MH bulb on a dimmable ballast. It runs a 250watt and also dim it to 175 on a lumenarc pendant and it covers my 60"x36"x25" tank perfectly.
So, I would say if you don't have a ton of coral, I wouldn't spend crazy $$ on lighting. Just find something in the color spectrum you like. On my 125reef, I ran 150 watt 14k Pheonix double ended MH and I loved the color. It was a good mix of blue and white.

 

[peiserg]

Ok to be more specific.... what brands and models are onea i should consider vs. Avoid? I know nothing of led lights.

 

[gleibig]

I can't really offer any advice with the LED's. I looked into them briefly until I realized that I would need several $$$$ fixtures to cover my 240gall. Since I tore down the reefs, I haven't kept up with new products at all. IMO, the whole hobby has gotten too expensive. I probably had $8-$10k in my 240 build, not to mention the insane utility bills every month.

 

[gleibig]

Here's a pic of my cichlid tank I took today. It's lit by one 250wt halide.