Elos 160XL set up

[dragoneggs]

Goldfish Street - Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Okay, I made a decision on lighting and decided to take the plunge on LED lighting. I had the fortunate luck to be in Hong Kong and visited the famed 'Goldfish Street' in Mong Kok. This crowded alley is home to who knows how many aquarium stores. It is pretty much all there is on both sides of the street for a couple blocks! Blew my mind! This allowed me to see LED fixtures on top of SPS tanks right along side MH lighting. I was impressed. More on the lights later but here are a few pics from my stroll on 'fishstreet'.

 

[DolphinLVR]

nice Mark! Can't wait to see pictures when you get back!

Jeff

 

[dragoneggs]

What really made me 'cry' was the prices on fish and coral... in alot of cases it was a tenth of the cost in the states! And for some beautiful coral that fetch a premium as well. Also interesting was the aquascaping with plants... some fresh water tanks looked like tropical mountains with the water so clear that you thought it was a 3D photograph of beautiful mountains with trees. No fish just plants that gave an unreal illusion. Unfortunately they really frowned on photography, so I apologize for the pics they could have been better.

 

[DolphinLVR]

Dang I bet that was an incredible visit to Goldfish Street! I coulda probabaly spent all day there

 

[NC2WA]

Mark,

Drooling over the angelfish in the first set of pics...

 

[Myteemouse]

do tell on growth with LED's please
How did they look
any other lights on the LED tanks??
How long were the tanks with led's have the lights on them??

 

[thatguy559]

Okay, I made a decision on lighting and decided to take the plunge on LED lighting. I had the fortunate luck to be in Hong Kong and visited the famed 'Goldfish Street' in Mong Kok. This crowded alley is home to who knows how many aquarium stores. It is pretty much all there is on both sides of the street for a couple blocks! Blew my mind! This allowed me to see LED fixtures on top of SPS tanks right along side MH lighting. I was impressed. More on the lights later but here are a few pics from my stroll on 'fishstreet'.

this place is great i was there in feb.....made me think about led lighting as well.:eek2:

 

[dragoneggs]

do tell on growth with LED's please
How did they look
any other lights on the LED tanks??
How long were the tanks with led's have the lights on them??

Well, my new tank is clean and empty sitting on the floor so I can't personally report on growth, but I will say the established tanks that I saw in Hong Kong with MH and LED side by side on 30in deep tanks, the SPS was liking the LED just as much if not more! The color 'pop' was exciting and the LED was next to a 400w MH that was about 15in above the water. LED about a foot. I plan to have my 160w LEDs just above the water using the provided brackets that will span the front/back of my tank (31.5in)... sorry just can't think in metric yet.

I will try to post some 'empty tank' pics tonight to show the configuration.

 

[dragoneggs]

this place is great i was there in feb.....made me think about led lighting as well.:eek2:

I honestly think LED lighting will be mainstream much sooner than people realize. Efficiency is proven and when you see them lighting up your corals you will be hooked!

 

[dragoneggs]

Apologies for those following along on this thread as the build is painfully slow... but those who have done customs know... planning, patience, and perseverance are key! More business trips in the near future but hopefully April will be water month!

 

[tamarindthai]

LED,,,,,i might have to give it a try for so many reasons,,,
Mark,, you saw it side by side bt Led and MH,,and you like LED,,ah ha

 

[DolphinLVR]

Any updates Mark?

 

[dragoneggs]

Let there be light... LED light that is!

:idea: Yeah okay I need to update... Dang yes I do like the LED look! Here are a few pics of my tank on the floor with the lights hooked up. I really like the low profile and the wide spread of these units! I bought two units, first pic is one unit just out of the box. Comes with hanging kit and spanner brackets so you have options. I think I am going with the spanners because I like the low profile look. The second, obviously a FTS with lights on an empty tank. The third is of the controllers... they display time/temp of unit.

 

[DolphinLVR]

Nice Mark!!

 

[dragoneggs]

Nice Mark!!

Yeah these units are basic in function (don't have the adjustability I think you do) but the build quality seems very good, sexy looking and simple controls... although I haven't programmed the built in timers for each of lights. Three watt whites, one watt whites, and one watt blues are on independent switches. When off, there are a few violet 'moon' lights that come on.

 

[NC2WA]

Mark,

looks crisp and clean, but do LED tend to be more blue than white?
as I am not seeing much white.

 

[dragoneggs]

Mark,

looks crisp and clean, but do LED tend to be more blue than white?
as I am not seeing much white.

Well I can't comment technically as I did not adjust white balance... in other words, straight out of my p&s camera but it definitely has a 14K or higher look when all are on but then again I can't say I am a good judge of that either so I have posted a few more pics... all white, all blue, and blue and white 1w only. I hope this helps. Only blue looks higher than 20K. Looking at the tank and my laptop pics at the same time I would say the tank looks not as blue (more violet) than the pics on my monitor.

 

[tamarindthai]

looking good ,,Mark,,i start to like it already
maybe i will try it out on one of the frag tank,,,oh boy!!alright just about to jump on the band wagon

 

[dragoneggs]

looking good ,,Mark,,i start to like it already
maybe i will try it out on one of the frag tank,,,oh boy!!alright just about to jump on the band wagon

Jump, Dang, Jump!

 

[DolphinLVR]

When are you getting water in that tank Mark?