LED Lighting
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oceanparadise1
The Coral Dudes
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1438514
check that thread out he mad his own LED lights
check that thread out he mad his own LED lights
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I was going to go with LED's on my 65. Was all set but just changed my mind. The people I have talked with that have experience with them say there is still to many flaws and problems.
I decided to go with halides then since I have them from my previous tank. Even purchased new bulbs. Just yesterday I changed my mind again.
Seeing as this will be a simple tank with mostly easy corals I decided to get some t-5 lights. Now I honestly hate t-5's but for what I plan to keep they will do the job, will fit inside the canopy and were cheap. I basically sold my halide set up and paid for them. I hope the technology improves on the LEDs and I continue to dislike t-5's. It will make it real easy to switch when it happens.
I decided to go with halides then since I have them from my previous tank. Even purchased new bulbs. Just yesterday I changed my mind again.
Seeing as this will be a simple tank with mostly easy corals I decided to get some t-5 lights. Now I honestly hate t-5's but for what I plan to keep they will do the job, will fit inside the canopy and were cheap. I basically sold my halide set up and paid for them. I hope the technology improves on the LEDs and I continue to dislike t-5's. It will make it real easy to switch when it happens.
robharold
Farmer wannabe
Gooch, Why do you hate T-5's? For tanks say 120 or less they are a great option. I know several folks who are now trading in Halides for T-5.
It is not an option for me b/c I would need far too many bulbs for the effective coverage are in my soon to be constructed tank or I would go for it too.
It is not an option for me b/c I would need far too many bulbs for the effective coverage are in my soon to be constructed tank or I would go for it too.
oceanparadise1
The Coral Dudes
ive heard from people also that have the solaris and there are just too many glitches and problems with them right now. so they wouldnt be one i would consider. i have t5's and personally love them. they look great. and corals are growing nicely.
The consumption of the LED fixtures is a lot higher than you think.
These aren't your 1 watt LEDs used in nightlights...and make no mistake, they kick out some heat as well.
bulb replacement...still remains to be seen as no one has had them long enough to know if they are as advertised...
something to think about...
Sweet yes...practicle today? questionable.
These aren't your 1 watt LEDs used in nightlights...and make no mistake, they kick out some heat as well.
bulb replacement...still remains to be seen as no one has had them long enough to know if they are as advertised...
something to think about...
Sweet yes...practicle today? questionable.
rebelprettyboy
xMRxCOMPLTEx
Give LEDS a couple more years and then theyll be worth buying. Everyone from SWF has had problems with their fixtures pretty much. the LED lights not lasting long as they should. when some go out blows out a few others, blah blah blah. Just not worth the money right now. In a couple yrs price will go down and the technology will go up. Then the trend will be to have them!!
coral88
Hobbyist for now
I just ordered 3 CCFLs 2 12 inch blue and a 12 inch white just to see what they look like. If they don't give off to much light I may use them for moon lights on my 75.
I'll post pics when I get them :iconbiggrin:
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I have always been a halide fan. I know t-5's do teh job and have seen some awesome tanks lit by t-5's. I at one time had a 300 gallan tank, two 60's, a 180, four 125's a 90 and a 75 gallon tank. I had 21 halides and three 8 bulb tek lights over these tanks. Side by side comparison just from the looks of the t-5's and halides was no comparison. Every halide tank looked better than the t-5 tanks. I ran all the tek lights about six months and just never liked the look compared to the halides.
When I go the the LFS in town and look at the t-5 tank and the halide tank I am still in love with the halides. I know the bulbs are better than when I had them but I just personally prefer the halide look. Probably always will.
The one tank I witnessed lit by led's was awesome looking and I consider this a temporary thing until Leds improve. To me that is the direction I want to go. I will use the t-5s to light my fuge if I ever do a bigger tank.
When I go the the LFS in town and look at the t-5 tank and the halide tank I am still in love with the halides. I know the bulbs are better than when I had them but I just personally prefer the halide look. Probably always will.
The one tank I witnessed lit by led's was awesome looking and I consider this a temporary thing until Leds improve. To me that is the direction I want to go. I will use the t-5s to light my fuge if I ever do a bigger tank.
I have successfully been running LEDs over a small tank for over 6 months now. I created the array myself and I'm running around 64W of LEDs.
The greatest thing about LEDs is the PAR/W. It's higher than any other light source at shortish distances. I'm measuring over 630 PAR at about 6" (on the sandbed of my tank) and have actually had issues with keeping sps from bleaching. My rics love it though.
The Solaris fixtures get a deservedly bad wrap from the poor consistency of their build quality, and that they are 2-3 generations behind on LED technology. I did some comparisons against my fixture and the 24" Solaris I4, and the results were pretty comparable. Keep in mind I'm running about 1/3 the wattage and a little over half the number of LEDs.
Here are some pics.
Solaris comparison
Solaris I4 on full tilt
Me
Last two photos were taken with the same settings in full manual mode on a Nikon D40
My pico
LEDs are viable, just not quite yet. The biggest hurdle is the cost, which is still quite prohibitive. I did build mine for considerably less than PFO charges for their setup, but I don't have the fancy controller, yet :)
The greatest thing about LEDs is the PAR/W. It's higher than any other light source at shortish distances. I'm measuring over 630 PAR at about 6" (on the sandbed of my tank) and have actually had issues with keeping sps from bleaching. My rics love it though.
The Solaris fixtures get a deservedly bad wrap from the poor consistency of their build quality, and that they are 2-3 generations behind on LED technology. I did some comparisons against my fixture and the 24" Solaris I4, and the results were pretty comparable. Keep in mind I'm running about 1/3 the wattage and a little over half the number of LEDs.
Here are some pics.
Solaris comparison
Solaris I4 on full tilt
Me
Last two photos were taken with the same settings in full manual mode on a Nikon D40
My pico
LEDs are viable, just not quite yet. The biggest hurdle is the cost, which is still quite prohibitive. I did build mine for considerably less than PFO charges for their setup, but I don't have the fancy controller, yet :)
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