Am I converting to LED's, finally?

Zack@BRS · Oct 9, 2017

Hey everyone, looking forward to getting more active on the forums again! I've normally posted on here as Nanofins, but it's been a while since I was really active. Excited to start participating in some of these conversations along with the rest of the BRS team!

With National LED day being this last weekend (I know, weren't you stoked?!), it seems like a good time to reflect on how far LED's have come over the last several years, and where we're at in the hobby. Personally, I have to admit to being a die-hard T5 holdout. I really prioritize coral coloration over almost every other aspect of my aquarium lighting (big surprise, I'm sure), and it's hard to get away from the results I've had with T5's. That said I've been seeing big strides over the last couple years and I've seen more and more LED-lit tanks in person that have impressed me. Curious about other people's preferences and thoughts.

Something that has me really excited is the new Aquatic Life hybrid fixtures. I feel like this might finally address the shortcomings many of us see in LED's, while avoiding messy retrofit installs. Ryan has asked me several times if I'd run a different light over my 60 cube here, and I've turned down all alternatives up to now. I just hate to mess with the success I'm having. After having run a test fixture of the new Aquatic Life hybrid over the office tank, I'm giving this serious thought. I'm even thinking of this as an install for my home tank as well. It seems like there's a lot of other people that are excited to see this as well!

Jimbo662 · Oct 9, 2017

I'm really excited about this new fixture too. I'm getting ready to start a new build with a 5ft tank. I've got a 24" Giesemann Aurora over my current 32" tank and would love to get one for the new tank but the cost is scaring me away...I'm sold on T5/LED hybrids. I've got two XR15 G4 Pros sitting in their boxes that are just waiting to be put to good use. I figured I could get a 3rd which would allow me to put one near each end of the 48" fixture and one in the center to get good coverage on a 60" tank.

Zack@BRS · Oct 9, 2017

Jimbo662 said:
I'm really excited about this new fixture too. I'm getting ready to start a new build with a 5ft tank. I've got a 24" Giesemann Aurora over my current 32" tank and would love to get one for the new tank but the cost is scaring me away...I'm sold on T5/LED hybrids. I've got two XR15 G4 Pros sitting in their boxes that are just waiting to be put to good use. I figured I could get a 3rd which would allow me to put one near each end of the 48" fixture and one in the center to get good coverage on a 60" tank.

That sounds like an awesome setup!

siggy · Oct 9, 2017

Hey Zach, What are you seeing and what type of schedule are you using to see the results that has convinced you to add LED's. I was looking at the Hybrid fixture as well, the only drawback is control on the t5's. I would like to just run 1 front and 1 back during the morning and evenings, so I will have work right out of the gate installing a connecting conduit or cable to do this. I also noticed a sun blaze T5 fixture on the BRS site. If I removed the two
center bulbs and reflectors will i be able to fit a XR15 between the remaining bulbs. That would give me the control in a clean application. and yes I would punch a 3" hole for each fan. Just thinking

Zack@BRS · Oct 9, 2017

My strategy so far has been to use the LED's (a Kessil A360 in my case) to run dawn/dusk effects in the mornings, having the LED's ramp up and T5's kick on as I ramp towards the midday period alongside the Kessil (I run peak lighting for about 5 hours). I had the front 2 T5's kick on after a couple hours, then front and back for peak, then back down to just the front before they finally turned off and went back to just LED. I experimented using 4 ATI Blue + for the T5 portion, and tuned white balance with the LED's. I really liked the effects, and the tank has looked stellar visually. I can still get the really good overall coloration and even coverage I'm used to with T5 while also getting more dynamic lighting effects with the LED's.