Rapid LED or Aquastyle LED??

Please...Don't say both are good! Just said Cree from Rapid is better LED! LOL ;D This way I can just not look back and try to save $100!! Yup....I decided to dig down under another $100 to get Cree from Rapid. ;D any good review about them and the MW driver. So...Here is deffinitely what I'll be getting according to Rapid email this will give me about 400watts of light.

36 LED DIY kit 16 CW, 16RB, and 4NW w/60Degrees optic.
8 LED UV kit
2 4x16 Heat sink
2 Potentiometer

So... 44LED total and 22 LED/heat Sink. This should be more than enough to light up 65G tank and cover all the area. And total cost will be just under $400.

On the side I do have a 36" RGB LED strip that I bought from ebay a while back. It can change into like 12 difference colors. Some thing look like this one

24" 2Ft SMD5050 LED Strip RGB Multicolor Waterproof+Remote Control 36LEDs"NEW" | eBay

It can be cut down to the size you want. So...If I need Red, Cyan or Turquoise I can just swith.

Any other suggestion??

 

Like I said, I've read TONS of threads and reviews on both! Never heard 1 complaint about rapid/Cree's/Meanwells, but I have read a decent amount about Aquastyle, a TON about maxwell drivers! So look at it this way, you could gett the aquastyle and have to ditch out another $140 for new drivers in a few months anyways! Or just pay the extra $100 now and get the far superior system and not have to worry about it! Its like getting the Cree system for free!

What lights are you gonna run on each driver?

 

Like to get 20K from 36LED Mike from Rapid said that I need 2RB/1CW But not sure if I have enough white to bright up the tank. I migh to with 14CW and 22RB .... 7CW + 11RB +4UV per heat sink.

 

Be careful of ur driver situation! Ya need 8 -12 LEDs per driver I believe!

 

OK...after 2 weeks of waiting! Just place on order though RAPIDLED today!! I can't wait !! Here is what I order...

• 1 x 36 Ultra Premium LED DIY Kit with Dimmable Drivers
  (Driver Type: D (1-10V analog), Lens Color: White, Lens Width: 60 Degree, Thermal Compound Type: Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive, LED Color Ratio: 14 Cool White, 20 Royal Blue, 2 Red)
• 3 x 10K Ohm Linear Potentiometer
• 2 x 4.25" x 16" Aluminum Heat Sink
• 1 x 8 LED Violet UV Kit

I'll post some pictures after I received the kit and after it all finish!

 

50gallon FW tank

Hey, So i've got a 50 gallon planted FW tank that i am right now totally underpowering and would like an upgrade into the LED world. I've been looking into RapidLED DIY kits and from what i read it looks legit and high quality. I have my own idea's on how many LED's i would need but I wanted to ask this community for some advise and what you might think would be a good set up for this tank. The tank is 48"widex19"verticalx12.5"deep. I have cabombas, red lugwigia, amazon swords, anubias, hair grass, christmas moss and will get some chain swords. my fish include raspora's, blue tetra, neon tetra, bristlenose pleco, cory's, and ghost shrimp.

I am new to aquariums but am very quickly getting addicted, and would really like to get into reef tanks, but i wanted to try my hand at a few FW tanks in order to really build a firm knowledge base within the industry.

Thanks for any advise, I can't wait to read any replys i might get.

Mark P

EMT-A