I bought 2 of these LED lights to replace 504 watts of 48" VHO Florescent lighting for 75 gallon tank (48"x18"x 20")with very good results so far. The 48" VHO's were mounted under canopy lid and I completely removed them and cut 2 evenly spaced rectangular holes (15.75" x 8.50") in the canopy lid. Inside the lid I mounted 2 pieces of .25" acrylic to cover under the holes for the lights to set on. I set the LED lights on top outside the canopy so they would shine through the acrylic and does not get moisture like the VHO's did. Mounting the fixtures in the dry on the outside on top of canopy will greatly increase the lifespan of the fixtures. I used separate timers for the white & blue dimmable lights for a sunrise effect. After acclimating the corals to the new LED lighting with the dimmers, I found that in my aquarium I could not run the LED's @100% it was too bright for my corals (slight bleaching effect) so I dimmed to 50% with great results. With the White @50% & Blue @50% , both fixtures together consuming 110 watts @50% compared to 504 watts VHO previously. The heat factor was also greatly reduced! My corals (all Softies) are all doing great after 3 months of these lights running @50% capacity. The 3 fans on each fixture are very quiet and keep the fixture cool. These LED's are very bright and evenly distribute light throughout the whole aquarium mounted 7" above water surface. The Shimmer effect is fantastic! After a lot of research of LED fixtures, I would certainly recommend these affordable LED lights to any Aquarium enthusiast looking for alternative lighting.
My set up is a 225 system this is a deeper tank than the normal yet the lights shine to the deepest part of the tank I have a 1/3 CHILLER and a 40 gallon sump that houses 2 filter socks, a protein skimmer and a UV sterilizer. My tank has never looked better and the fans 3 per unit are super quiet and do a great job of venting the warmer air out of the hood area.
I actually received then in early November but had them installed only last week. They replaced 2 400 watt MH bulbs as well as a bulky and hot ballast. The install used 4 brackets for each until hung from the inside of my canopy running on timers the whites on from 12:30 PM until 6 the blues from 10 AM until 6 supplementing the 2 LED units are 4 T5 25 Watt Actinic on from 9 AM to 10 PM.
I made the decision to replace the MH with LED for a number of reasons and the main reason being electricity costs and bulb replacement cost every 12 months. I needed to buy new MH bulbs but before I decided to spend the $200 I made the wise decision to go with LED. I did my research and ended up with the TAO TRONICS units for cost, quality, features and ease of ordering.
They ARE FANTASTIC the water shimmers my corals never looked better and I can't wait to see the enery saving next month as I estimate a savings of $30 $40 per month on my electric bill. I already notice my chiller going on less and the stable temperature is at least 1.5 degrees lower with the new LED lights.
I highly recommend the TAO TRONICS units you can't go wrong and the price will gradually drop and more features will be added but I'm glad to have jumped on the LED bandwagon!!!I purchsed this product due to the Price. I did have an issue when I received the 2 sets of lights. On one of my lights the White LEDS did not work at all. After receiving instructions from the customer service center on on what to do to try and fix the issue and after taking the cover off I figured out that the one of wires was not making contact. I resoddered the wire and that fixed the lights, since then i have had no issues. I am very pleased with the lights. they really do make my corals in my aquarium stand out and the fans are super quiet.I have to say I'm very impressed with the light. I got it hung this morning. The included hanging kit comes with 4 cables and a quick disconnect. It was easy to hang "had to make a hardware store trip for some extra cable to hang for the ceiling" I'm running the light at 40% blue and 20% white till my coral gets used to the extra light. Even at the low setting it appears much brighter than my old nova extreme 4 bulb t5 setup. At a full 100% blue/white the light is crazy bright.
All my coral pop with color. My Sps have great polyp extension. I'm very excited to see what kind of growth I get. All of my zoanthids look great. Only coral that does not seem to like all the extra light is my yuma, but that is dead center under the light at this time and will soon be moved to one of the outer walls of the tank.
One light does seem to cover my 40 gal breeder well. I've hung the light 8" above the water level and it appears to cover the entire tank. I'll be really excited once I can have the par levels tested on the tank.
Also I all ready plan on buying a 2nd light for a frag tank.
Shipping came very fast. The light did come from China and traveled over 11,000 miles to reach me. I placed my order and had the light 5 business days later.
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