So What's The Deal With These LEDs?
- Thread starter chipmunkofdoom2
- Start date
Ratpack
Active Member
I would like to know more about this too. I might try a DIY fixture.Good info deserves revival!
im re-researching DIY LEDs, one thing there isnt much talk about is bulb placement locations on a heat sink vs tank coverage at typical tank depths.
Good read above Sean!
cameron2324
New Member
great read thank you for the info you mention that it is like a spot light i have a standard rectangle 150 that is 6ft long how many LED'S would be recomended? I assume i cant get away with 2 and do you reccomend any brands?
cameron2324
New Member
also i have 2 24in T5 lights if i did the two T5's on one side and did LED's on the other would i be able to tell the difference in the light they put out? this would just be done until i can get the money for all the LED's
cameron2324
New Member
it may be a neat experiment to run for a year i may end up doing it out of nesessity due to the cost of LED's it would be cool to see first hand with the tank having the same exact water parameters just two different light sources to see which is more benifical the tan would have to have the same corals and inverts on each side of the tank as well though to see which has better growth color and health
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
That would be a good side by side comparo, but would look very odd methinks.
I seem to recall that Vivid is doing 1/2 LED and 1/2 "regular" on their 800.
With LED's like all other forms of lighting have their good point and bad points. The major bad points are the high initial cost, the low quality and low light of some of the cheep units, and that the direction of the light is straight down. The major good points are much less power consumption, much more adjustable, some units can be programmed to to all sorts of tricks like cloudy days, storms, moon phases.
Another consideration is that MH and T5s can usually be repaired using standard off the shelf parts. LEDs usually require replacement parts or service from the manufacturer.
Right now LEDs are all the rage and on many tanks they are ideal, once you past that initial investment. If you have good light now from you MH, there is no rush to upgrade. With your deeper tank, your going to want fixtures that use 3w and/or 5w LEDs. Your going to need the light penetration they create.
LEDs keep getting better, so holding off is sometimes a good idea. If you do upgrade, you might want to time it with your MH bulb replacement.
Your likely to need more LED fixturers than you think. Since they tend to direct the light straight down, if they are placed too far apart, you can get dark areas in the tank.
Some people supplement the LED lighting with T5 actinics or other blue/violet T5s. The feel it makes the "colors pop". Personally I feel that they are either not using enough LED fixtures, or not adjusting them well, and that adding T5 sort of defeats the some of reasons for going with LEDs, like control of the light and lack of bulb replacement. Others feel differently.
As usual I recommend buying top quality equipment, since you'll only need to buy it once.
Another consideration is that MH and T5s can usually be repaired using standard off the shelf parts. LEDs usually require replacement parts or service from the manufacturer.
Right now LEDs are all the rage and on many tanks they are ideal, once you past that initial investment. If you have good light now from you MH, there is no rush to upgrade. With your deeper tank, your going to want fixtures that use 3w and/or 5w LEDs. Your going to need the light penetration they create.
LEDs keep getting better, so holding off is sometimes a good idea. If you do upgrade, you might want to time it with your MH bulb replacement.
Your likely to need more LED fixturers than you think. Since they tend to direct the light straight down, if they are placed too far apart, you can get dark areas in the tank.
Some people supplement the LED lighting with T5 actinics or other blue/violet T5s. The feel it makes the "colors pop". Personally I feel that they are either not using enough LED fixtures, or not adjusting them well, and that adding T5 sort of defeats the some of reasons for going with LEDs, like control of the light and lack of bulb replacement. Others feel differently.
As usual I recommend buying top quality equipment, since you'll only need to buy it once.
cracker
Well-Known Member
Thanks DaveK, All around Your advice is sound. I just ordered new bulbs and considered looking into Led's this year. I'm not in any hurry. Like I was saying before, I like my mh lights. I run 20k Radiums.They aren't too blue just right for my taste.and I really don't have heat issues. Oh well I'm rambling here! LOL
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Start with $budget$ and whether or not you are willing to DIY .
cracker
Well-Known Member
Hey Stir, How's it going? I'd definitely buy a commercial unit. My electronic skills are not very good. My buddy keeps melting his DIY lights. This guy is an electrician and he has spent more on diy than buying one. LOL Also earlier posts are a couple years old. I assume the technology has improved since. I'm just throwing around ideas to improve my tank overall. Thanks Brian
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Goin decent, before I built mine I dug around all these LED threads gathering info.
If your going commercial, you almost can't go wrong.
Almost every reputable brand has proven results over the last few years. There's not much doubt anymore that they CAN grow corals, and have them look spectacular in the process.
If your going commercial, you almost can't go wrong.
Almost every reputable brand has proven results over the last few years. There's not much doubt anymore that they CAN grow corals, and have them look spectacular in the process.
1325903997
Member
I found a group on the Facebook"Chinese Blackbox LED Proof Group",3000 more people share their pictures of led lights,corals,reef and fish tank,a lot of info at here,very helpful.Thanks Guys ! We see lots of questions about LEDs & sure to see more... added sticky.
1325903997
Member
Found a group on the Facebook"Chinese Blackbox LED Proof Group",3000 more people share their pictures of led lights,corals,reef and fish tank,a lot of info at here,very helpful.
StevesLEDs
RS Sponsor
Awesome article. I will like to add that measuring LEDs is definitely more difficult than MH. Since MH light is broad spectrum with minor concentration on certain wavelengths, a standard PAR meter works great. Since a properly designed marine LED system uses LEDs with wavelengths that are aimed at coral zooxanthellae's photosynthetic peaks in massive amounts - this quickly saturates a standard PAR meter's sensor.
The proper tool for measurement would be the radiospectrometer. Yes a 10X intensity increase when compared to MH is a bit high, but not as outrageous as you may think. MH outputs light across a huge spectrum from ~380nm - 800nm+. Lower wavelengths take a significantly larger amount of electricity than the higher wavelengths. Note: that is not all usable light to corals. Corals typically absorb the light in the wavelengths where their photosynthetic peaks lay, everything else is reflected.
I can't speak of the Cree LEDs - we only sold those for a while, and had a huge issue with reliability from them. The Luxeon ES (and latest version of the Rebels), when measured in comparison to a very high end MH bulb, while using a radiospectrometer in the chemistry lab at the University of New Orleans, showed that the Luxeon ES fixtures that Steve's LEDs makes, using our custom LED combinations - has shown that they actually output about 8.2 times the amount of "usable" light than the MH. To define "usable light" I mean producing light in massive amounts at specific wavelengths that corals can actually use to photosynthesize and grow. Granted, the MH and LED overall lumens comparison results in LEDs being only ~2.1X more efficient at creating light (heavily depending on the manufacturer and color temp of the MH bulb. But in an aquarium, the whole purpose of selecting a suitable light is to find something that 1) makes corals grow well, and 2) makes corals look awesome.
That said, a good LED system will be able to do everything a traditional lighting fixture can, all while having an even brighter appearance than MH, T5, or any other lighting system, all while providing a significantly higher amount of usable light.
Here's the kicker: MH bulb manufacturer's specs - although seem amazing on the box, start to degrade almost immediately, within a matter of hours. So MH posted specs are only valid moments after plugging them in, and degrade dramatically, where the bulb is barely even usable after 1 year necessitating yearly bulb changes. LEDs have negligible degradation, and remain usable past the 15 year (24/7 operation) mark. All the while consuming significantly less electricity and outputting much less heat.
In conclusion, I love LEDs because they are awesome.
Jeff
The proper tool for measurement would be the radiospectrometer. Yes a 10X intensity increase when compared to MH is a bit high, but not as outrageous as you may think. MH outputs light across a huge spectrum from ~380nm - 800nm+. Lower wavelengths take a significantly larger amount of electricity than the higher wavelengths. Note: that is not all usable light to corals. Corals typically absorb the light in the wavelengths where their photosynthetic peaks lay, everything else is reflected.
I can't speak of the Cree LEDs - we only sold those for a while, and had a huge issue with reliability from them. The Luxeon ES (and latest version of the Rebels), when measured in comparison to a very high end MH bulb, while using a radiospectrometer in the chemistry lab at the University of New Orleans, showed that the Luxeon ES fixtures that Steve's LEDs makes, using our custom LED combinations - has shown that they actually output about 8.2 times the amount of "usable" light than the MH. To define "usable light" I mean producing light in massive amounts at specific wavelengths that corals can actually use to photosynthesize and grow. Granted, the MH and LED overall lumens comparison results in LEDs being only ~2.1X more efficient at creating light (heavily depending on the manufacturer and color temp of the MH bulb. But in an aquarium, the whole purpose of selecting a suitable light is to find something that 1) makes corals grow well, and 2) makes corals look awesome.
That said, a good LED system will be able to do everything a traditional lighting fixture can, all while having an even brighter appearance than MH, T5, or any other lighting system, all while providing a significantly higher amount of usable light.
Here's the kicker: MH bulb manufacturer's specs - although seem amazing on the box, start to degrade almost immediately, within a matter of hours. So MH posted specs are only valid moments after plugging them in, and degrade dramatically, where the bulb is barely even usable after 1 year necessitating yearly bulb changes. LEDs have negligible degradation, and remain usable past the 15 year (24/7 operation) mark. All the while consuming significantly less electricity and outputting much less heat.
In conclusion, I love LEDs because they are awesome.
Jeff
Well said Jeff (@StevesLEDs) 
I always love a little research to back up a write up! Easily understandable why you're one of the best retrofits
I always love a little research to back up a write up! Easily understandable why you're one of the best retrofits