Led lighting choice...

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hine62

New Member
I've done a lot of research on available LED fixtures. What is the consensuses on these three:

StarkLed Blunova
Ecotech Radion
AI Vega

I'm looking at these because of the timer they have and each of them is expandable. Anyone have any experience with them? Is it worth spending $250 more for the Radion?

Hine62
 
ddelozier

ddelozier

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
while some people swear by em, IMHO the technology is too new, and untried/untested. I refuse to pay 3x as much for LED's as i could get MH for. The best Growth i've seen from my corals came when i put them under MH. I'll stick with mh. i Have the fixture 14" above the water, and the temp isnt too big of an issue.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
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to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
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might ask in the Equipment forum for more feedback :dance:
 
DanSReef

DanSReef

Member
Hi. I think over the next several months we are going to see more and more LED fixtures coming out. As someone note before there are those who dont believe that LEDs are proven. I have seen a lot of very nice tanks with LEDs as I have with T5s, MH and combinations of these.

A new combination is appearing and that is T5 and LED together... not just LEDs for moonlights....but LEDs as an integral part of the system lighting. I have such a fixture that I got a week or so ago. It is made by Prestige-LED and called the Gamma. I think the light provides a nice combination of proven T5 and all of the color combinations you want....together with depth penetration of LEDs which I need since my tank is 30" plus depth.

I have used a number of other LED fixtures over the last year and a half. I would say that the simple white - blue combination fixtures are not all that pleasing to my eye. I used a couple of those and they seemed flat. I then tried a fixture with Red and Green LEDs and the sight picture just exploded with depth and detail.

Good luck with your research and with whatever fixture you decide on.
 
PSU4ME

PSU4ME

JoePa lives on!!!
Staff member
PREMIUM
I won't argue that MH's are not the best tried and true method........but they have draw backs (heat, electricity, bulb replacement).

I run LED's (2 Radions) and i like them for how sleek and programable they are......but i do supplement that with a t5 retro because I think a combination of lighting types is the best way to go.

Not knocking anything or anyone but I would say that LED's are a solid choice due to the benefits......just watch because corals seems to take longer to acclimate to this type of light.
 
ddelozier

ddelozier

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
I agree wholeheartedly with DansReef. To the people who use JUST Leds in whatever their config, I wish them the Best of luck, but you wont catch me doing it. As the Hybrid LED/T5ho systems become more widely available, and affordable, i am of the opinion they will be the "next MH". Mixing LED's shimmer, efficiency, and lifespan with T5's Reliability, broad spectrum, and performance will end up being a win win. Similar to the MH/PC combos that are still common and sold today. Once they drop the "snake Oil" sales pitch, and start combining the 2, i'll take another look. Led's themselves are still unteste/proven imho and are at least 2x as expensive. Untill the LED/T5 combo's dont cost 3x as much as comparable MH/T5, i'll stick with MH. Heat is an issue, easily dealt with. Cost of running metal halides, well if saving money was my goal, i wouldnt be trying to keep Reefs. I'd buy an ocean poster and Craigs list my tanks. Im a full time IT Tech. just because something's NEW doesnt mean its BETTER. I have to adjust with technology changes, but i have to stick with Proven technology even if its not the NEWest tech out there.
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
Someone has to take the lead when new technology comes out or progress would never take place...

Corals do not know or care what the light source is. I've little doubt a few decades ago someone was saying 'no way I'll put metal halides over my tank - corals need natural sunlight!' The first bulbs probably weren't very successful either as they most likely were intended for street lights.

Our problem is how poorly educated we are on what part of the light spectrum various corals use and the flood of early LED systems that used only a combination of cool white and royal blue LED's that didn't cover enough of the spectrum. Now we have a variety of white LED's to choose from with different color temps and spectrum distributions in addition to the number 'colored' LED's that are good for accenting a narrow part of the spectrum. I spend a LOT of time looking at spectrum analysis for each LED when building (or choosing) a system.

LED's are still in developement but make no mistake - they are the future of aquarium lighting and excellent results can be had today. My coral growth and color is excellent even if my photography skills aren't.

As for the 3 units you selected, you're paying a premium to be able to control them wirelessly. That's up to you if it's worth it but lights are generally 'set it and forget it' pieces of equipment. They each use the same LED's that are avaible to us for DIY systems as well so I'd research the LED's they included and go with the fullest spectrum.

Of course with DIY projects you can usually be one step ahead of these guys. It takes them a lot longer to R&D and then get a unit into mass production. For example, I had the near-UV LED's that are going into the new Ecotech Radion PRO months ahead of Ecotech (that's right, a new model Radion is coming out for $900...)
 
Choff

Choff

Well-Known Member
I first set up FO tank back in the early 90s and MH were the industry standard then. I couldn't afford them and was talked into these sulfur lights that were supposed to be almost as good. Not that I was trying to keep corals alive, but I did manage to grow crazy amounts of cyano that drove me out of the hobby. I can't still recall the beautiful yellow they cast over my tank lol

Sent using Tapatalk 2
 
H

hine62

New Member
Thanks for your input. I think I'll wait to see what comes out this year. Two of the three above have not released the software that is used to control the LEDs, so there is no rush.

btw... sorry about the wrong forum post. I meant to put this in the LED Lighting section.
 
engineer goby

engineer goby

Has been struck by the ban stick
I've been struggling with the decision to go LED for the past year but I think at the rate things are changing I will just order new bulbs and stick with T5 for another year. It reminds me of buying a pc back in 1997 and how quickly that top of the line IBM was an obsolete piece of junk.
 
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