Lighting "rule of thumb" watts for LED???

Gday Reefers

I couldnt find a good thread for this, so i thought id ask,

With high output LEDs ,for the units with 2watts or 3 watts each diode,
for a 120 gallon reef mostly LPS and few SPS placement high on the tank, tank dimension is, 48 x 24 x 24

how many total watts would i need?

Regards
Frank

 

when dealing with LEDs, its no so muh watts per gallon thing as it is a PAR thing.

 

WITH LEDS ITS LESS THAN THIS!!!

But if you go for the fluorescents...
Its 1W/L-2W/L or 3W/Gal-6W/Gal

6W/Gallon is only for corals which need tons and tons of light. Some people use 1,5W/L or 4,5W/Gal, so your 120Gal would need 360W-540W-720W.

My tip: use 360W if you are not gunna have expert corals and if you want a beautiful reef. If you want even more colourful corals go for the 540W, and, if you want a disney-like reef, go for the 720W. Just remember, the bill always comes in the end...

 

You don't really measure led output in watts. Its in PAR. You really just have to research different lights and their coverage.

But on that tank;
2-3 AI Sols
2 radions
48 Cree system from rapidled.com
72 led system from aquastyle.com
5X par38 bulbs
2 MU series from boostled
etc

Todd sails likes these, http://www.3reef.com/forums/led-aquarium-lighting/chinese-120w-leds-my-first-review-131959-new.html

 

MAybe for MH's or T5's but 720W of most leds would set fire to water!

For instance my system is technically around 180 watt Cree system and i run my blues at 70% and whites at 40% and almost bleached my corals.

 

Thank heaps Reefers

ill definitely do more research before converting to LEDs.

but keep it comin.. more opinions and experience the better!!

thanks

 

All of the lighting systems you listed above are very good choices also dont forget.

ReefTech LED
Pacific Sun Lighting
Vertex (my Fav)

 

just as an example, how many of this would i need??

Lighting - LED Lights & Moon Lights - High Power LED Lights - 12W AquaSpot B/W ES - Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online - 12W AquaSpot

 

For T5HO 2.5wpg to 3wpg is sufficient to have an awesome looking SPS dominant tank if you are using a top of the line unit.

 

yeah with led's its par or pur rating. i only have 19 watts of led's over my tank.