Want your opinion on LED lighting!

[MIG1969]

Soon I'll be upgrading to a 125G + I'm hoping to get a 6ft (72") tank.
During the past 5 yrs I've have change from MH to T5, and T5 to MH and now back to T5 lighting. I think its more what the endusers like and what his or her expectation, in hoping for the end results, color or growth. For me its about cost, the electric bill and of course how my corals look.

Its been awhile that LED has been introduced in the market for nearly 2 years, and I've been entertaining the thought of purchasing a LED fixture. I heard pro's and con's, and there seem to be more Pros', but when everything is set and done, bottom-line these fixtures are not cheap....very expensive.

That being said, and because I am almost 100% sure I want to own a LED fixture. This is the reason I wanted to start a thread to see who here owns a LED fixture, and can share their experiences, thoughts and recommendation on brand. Those that have LED fixtures, please provide pictures of your LED lighting.

Thank you

 

[BigAl07]

I have a RETRO LED unit on my 12g NanoCube. There is a link to it (and the build thread) in my signature.

My ONLY regret is that I didn't do it SOONER!

I had mine built by an RS member named "chipmunkofdoom2" and he did an amazing job. He's got plans and ideas for larger units and I'm confident if you're willing to work with him on time and design he can come up with a MACH-DADDY LED unit for you.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Allen - any thoughts on these ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures ?

Aquarium Lighting & LED Lights: ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures

 

[Clownfish518]

It is no secret that I have been a skeptic with LEDs. It is one thing to light a nano; another to light a tank 24" deep. But there are some products that are finally hitting the market that show promise for larger tanks.

A good number of them use 1 watt LEDs; I don't think these will work well on deep tanks. Some are using 3 watt LEDs. These may just do the trick.

I myself am planning on testing the Reef Brite strips. These are basically light strips about the dimensions of a T5 bulb and reflector which uses 3 watt LEDs. One strip produces about twice the PAR of an ATI blus plus bulb in a reflector. I am going to put some on my 30, and if that works (I can keep a BTA) I will add them to my 120 build when that happens. So stay tuned

 

[Clownfish518]

Allen - any thoughts on these ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures ?

Aquarium Lighting & LED Lights: ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures

If I am not mistaken those are 1 watt diodes. I would want 3 watt diodes myself for a larger tank - those might work well on a nano

 

[BigAl07]

Allen - any thoughts on these ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures ?

Aquarium Lighting & LED Lights: ecoxotic Panorama LED Fixtures

Yeah honestly they would be great over a Freshwater or FO or FOWLR tank but since they are only 1w LED (48 LED = 48w in the specs etc) they aren't capable of supporting photosynthesis.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Thanks for the feedback !

Wonder why they would not offer the same configuration using 3w LEDs?

 

[BigAl07]

I'm not a big fan of "linking" to another reef forum but this is one of our local forums and this guy is doing a sweet LED set-up. It's a good read


RASOC - LED Lighting

IMHO 3W LED is a MIN for photosynthesis! Just imagine what we'll be seeing a couple of years down the road . . .

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks for the feedback !

Wonder why they would not offer the same configuration using 3w LEDs?

3W LEDs are MUCH more expensive, new, and require better support (drivers, power supply etc). It takes many hours for a fixture to go from concept to working production unit. There's still a back-log for the 3w LED's they are so new.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I know the technology getting there... a friend yesterday showed me a Audi R8 that has led headlight... I didn't know led could be so bright as to be car headlights now.

Audi of America > 2010 Audi R8 4.2

 

[BigAl07]

Glenn for 2010 Audi R8 4.2 Starting at $114,200* I'd imagine they'll put about anything in the world into that car If you've got the $$$ there are ULTRA High Output LED out there but availability, longevity and drivers are still IFFY in many cases.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I'll need the technology to get under 1k, for me to consider it & everyone saying thier sps coral are thriving

 

[CMG]

I'm not a big fan of "linking" to another reef forum but this is one of our local forums and this guy is doing a sweet LED set-up. It's a good read


RASOC - LED Lighting

IMHO 3W LED is a MIN for photosynthesis! Just imagine what we'll be seeing a couple of years down the road . . .

So does this mean if I have a 12x12x12 inch tank I cannot use the 1w LED's even though it is pretty shallow? I have one on order and am researching lights right now. I would like to hang 2 LED strips, one white and one blue for LPS's.....

 

[Martian]

I know FW is different, but his photo is of a 3 foot tank with 28 inches of water depth lit by 6 x 1W white LEDS backed up by a strip of alternating red/blue and a strip of low power whites. You can see there is plenty of light in all parts, lots of photosynthesis and it was pretty short exposure photo too (little fish movement blur).
I also have a Nano reef running for 3 months now and will be trying the LEDs on that before long.
It really depends entirely on what you want to grow in your tank. LEDs have great penetration and shimmer too. I'm too new at reef to say much on that yet, but on planted FW they are awesome,the plants have never been happier and the whole setup runs much cooler than it did with fluorescents for the previous 5 years. Also I haven't scraped algae off the glass for 8 months now and the water is crystal clear with minimal monthly water changes. Never had that with fluorescent!!!
Price is still a bit high, but it sure saves on the electric bills :yehoo:

Good luck and if you can afford it, it gets my vote.

 

[Eric]

I'm not expert but IMHO cost doesn't justify the savings at this point.

 

[imsobored152]

I love my leds, mine was a DIY. Its only been over the tank for a month or so, and I dont have much in the ways of coral, but the ones I do have are doing great. Ive got a 35G 36"x12"x~17"H
Zoas, ricordias, hammer, some kinda orange cap, candy cane(or was it a trumpet?) palys, haitian anemone, GSP, xenia.

nothings been bleached out, so im hoping for the best. The rics are getting bigger, zoas too, the rest is too new for anything noticable.

Im using (6)16 watt whites, and (10)3w blues. I love it. I'll get some pictures later, its not the prettiest thing ever, but it works

 

[bigdog6286]

I agree the cost is prohibitive towards the cost of a fixture but the DIY build is definitely within reason.

I'm very happy with the my DIY build. Here are the pics of my tank before my corals were added. I need to update it but you get the idea.

Fish Tank - a set on Flickr

 

[flier-x]

There is a lot of commentary in this thread regarding wattage, 1W bulbs not being strong enough, thus a 48W strip not being able to replace a CFL or T5 of similar size, etc... I don't know if this is true or not, but I do believe that talking about watts is the wrong measure. Lumens seems like what should be talked about here. LEDs typically put out a significant multiple of lumens per watt as CFLs. It might be 2 or 3x, though I don't have specific facts. Given differences in efficiency between LEDs, T5s, CFLs, etc... the wattage is meaningless, as they all have different lumen/watt values. The wattage is a measure of electricity consumed by the system, not light put out by the system. (At least this is my understanding, if I'm wrong, please let me know)

I am considering upgrading my 29g (lit by CFL) to a 40g and seriously considering some LED options to grow soft corals (basically whatever I can grow with CFLs).

 

[Angel Fin]

I have a friend who spoke to me of LED lighting for my tank about 3 years ago! He is not involved in the hobby but spoke of wave length, color spectrum, heat, energy, etc. from the perspective of an electronics teacher.
Since that time I have contemplated the subject & now I see more & more posts on the topic.
I am very interested to see all of your DIY projects' progressing!!
You guys rock!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Garage1217]

Quick and to the point... I have run leds for quite awhile over my old system and will continue to do so on my new build. I had NO issues growing ALL types of corals, even down to the bottom of my 24" deep tank & retain outstanding coloration with all types of SPS. However leds are not all made equal obviously. You need to know what you are doing and what leds to choose. Some of the stuff being touted around as high power using smd plcc-6 leds and the like actually make me laugh a little. Anyways, if you set things up right you will reap the rewards of...
- Drastic energy savings
- Drastic heat reduction / ac savings in the summer
- Drastic lifespan vs replacing bulbs

Overall a total WIN

That is my 2 cents....