Imput on DIY LED build

[Jbshifter]

Hi fellow aquarists!

I wanted some impute on my contemplated LED set up. The tank is a 48x15x24 90g. Currently has an oak hood that I could mount the LED's into, but they would be 4" off the water and would not have optics. I am looking at running 48-51 LED's for this tank with the goal to support SPS, heteractis magnifica (possibly), and some tridacna. The other option would be to build 1-3 pendants with optics and hang it 18~24" from the top of the tank (more if necessary). What are your thoughts and recommendations as from what I have read LED can put out a LOT of light and maybe my count for LED's is too high? Anyone with any thoughts/ideas?

 

[johnanddawn]

i would say your count is fine assuming your talking crees

basically though there are two schools of thought with LEDs - kinda like your basic question
1) a solid array of LED's to distribute an even tank light (like T5s)
2) pendent types and region lighting where some areas are very high and others are allowed to be shadowed (like MH)

if you like your canopy and the over all look of your tank you could easily build a nice array inside it and accomplish you goals
if you would like an open top look, 2 pendent types (assuming you have a center brace) with 24 each would be nice as well

personally i like the flexability of pendents but in your case i think what your looking for in the over all look of the tank would take precedence.
remember though that if you go pendent you will have to aquascape to match the lighting as the light is very direct with optics and does not "spill" like it does with other light sources
and another benifit of pendents is they allow height adjustment to give you that perfect mix of concentration of light to area of coverage
good luck withyour build