LED Lighting?

[ali19]

So I have over herd somebody talking about LED lights that are as good as MH lights but less heat and more efficient. Is this true? are there LED alternatives? Or is it just me thinking this up? Could they give off the same power? I am only doing soft coral and fish so i don't need ultra power! Plus the electric bill is a concern for me too!
Thank you!

 

[jstdv8]

there was a pretty good discussion in the lighting section about 2-3 weeks ago. Someone was ahving good luck with a cree light by the sounds of it.

 

[gill again68]

From the limited reading I have done, the LED is great but expensive. There is a big thread on this forum about a DYI LED and that is something I am going to look into in the future. Do a search for LED DYI and I think you will find it.

 

[ali19]

Tried searching with little luck so i had a look the old fashioned way! but not much info on what i was looking for but i will dig around! Thanks guys!

 

[wangotango]

There is a lot of information on that other big forum.
In a brief overview: Most people are using the 3W Cree XR-E LEDs.
http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/StoreFront
You're going to want one LED for every 10-25 square inches of tank surface, along with optics, drivers, and a heat sink.
-Justin

 

[king_neptune]

LED's are the current pinicle of MArine lighting aside from the sun.
Bulbs will last about 10-15 years(50,000 hours), and then only lose about %25 of thier power.
So basically your gonna replace only a few times in your life.
they produce much less heat.And your electric bill will be a small fraction. Say from $75 a month for a few 250 MH's to $10 a month for the equivalent LED system. LED's are win from all angles. You can even put them on a dimmer, or create your own lighting schemes that range from greens, reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and whites.
Im going to be doing a DIY led system in the next month or so, for my 125 DT. There are a few members hear that have already done so, so you can read up on them.
Or you can buy them pre-made from the big companies and pay thousands of dollars. For my 125DT it would run close to 4 grand! OUCH! Or I can DIY for around $700-900

 

[autojunkie]

i have just bought the par38 for my ten gallon and its great.. Ill be addin some zoo's and maybe lps as soon as i bring down the calcium and alk buffers. ket ya knw how it goes

 

[fishhunter]

Originally Posted by ali19
http:///forum/post/3213978
So I have over herd somebody talking about LED lights that are as good as MH lights but less heat and more efficient. Is this true? are there LED alternatives? Or is it just me thinking this up? Could they give off the same power? I am only doing soft coral and fish so i don't need ultra power! Plus the electric bill is a concern for me too!
Thank you!
I have 3 120 watt LED panels. Payed 300$ a pop they are usually 450. Anyway they put more PAR and PUR then a 250 watt MH and about the same lumens of light.
Lets just say I showed my LFS the lights and the owner was blown away. Kick the crap out of his 2000$ 250 Watt MH system that he is running on his SPS tank.

 

[number1gsxxr]

fishhunter, care to elaborate on what brand light fixture you have?

 

[fishhunter]

Originally Posted by number1Gsxxr
http:///forum/post/3216487
fishhunter, care to elaborate on what brand light fixture you have?
Dont bash me or anything but I got em on ----. Just type in LED reef grow light and you will see what im talking about.
The LFS has a lux/lumens meter as well as a PAR meter so I know that these are good. They are 120 "460 nm blue / 14000k white" hi power 1 watt LEDs. On the LFSs meter, they let off around 9600 lumens of light each or around 80 lumens per watt (his 250 watt 10000k halides were just over 10000 lumens per bulb). Cant remeber what the exact PAR was. It was really High, a good amount more then his halides.

 

[king_neptune]

I think I might jsut get these and save myself the hassle of building a DIY array. For the record, your extremely happy with these right?

 

[fishhunter]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3216699
I think I might just get these and save myself the hassle of building a DIY array. For the record, your extremely happy with these right?
Ya these are the best panels I've seen! I really like em!

That is with back ground lighs on. Hell the camera was cranking the light filtering to the max trying to focus and scale back the light to get a good pic. These things are blinding lol

 

[chuckstyl5]

that is great!!! i wish they made a 48" inch .... then again i guess you could attach 3 of them together --- tough decision aqualight pro for 599 or these ...

 

[king_neptune]

Considering I was going to DIY a 72" array for around $900, Ill take these instead. I could hang 3 and that should offer plenty light. My only caution is they are 1w bulbs, because that really is on the low end.
I still think damn good deal. Im gonna pick up a single unit next pay check. And sell my 72" MH/T5 system.

 

[fishhunter]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3217165
Considering I was going to DIY a 72" array for around $900, Ill take these instead. I could hang 3 and that should offer plenty light. My only caution is they are 1w bulbs, because that really is on the low end.
I still think damn good deal. Im gonna pick up a single unit next pay check. And sell my 72" MH/T5 system.
I think they are a good deal as well. I got them for 200$ a pop when they came out in September lol now they are up to 300 hahaha... Oh well. Buy one and see you may or may not like em. I really like them though.
The main problem though with 1 watt bulbs are, it takes 3 of em to make the same amount of light as one 3 watt bulb and so on. So with this 120 watt unit its the same a 40 3 watt LEDs +- a little bit.
The one problem I see with them are they are very focused downwards. there are dark spots at the very top edges of my tank but only like 1" then there is light. I suspended the light 2" above the water level.

 

[king_neptune]

Well, I was planning on a DIY array that sat at a 45 degree angle to shine on the back wall of my tank. So maybe that project can still be a go. Ill probably get one and see how well I like it. I see they also have small 12x12 panels for $28. Would be perfect for my scrubber. Would be nice to never have to change bulbs again. They go bad after 4 months.

 

[fishhunter]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3217243
Well, I was planning on a DIY array that sat at a 45 degree angle to shine on the back wall of my tank. So maybe that project can still be a go. Ill probably get one and see how well I like it. I see they also have small 12x12 panels for $28. Would be perfect for my scrubber. Would be nice to never have to change bulbs again. They go bad after 4 months.
Ya that would be a good idea. I bought the glo T5s for that that reason. Now I have good complete coverage of light. One other thing is these are on off with no switch. (ie: you plug them in there on un-plug they are off.) So timers are good with them.

 

[cidly37]

Led aquarium lights are very good,The led aquarium light can help coral and
Grasses grow,it also can makes your aquarium looks beautiful.
Cidly’s grow light are very good and cheap.