Lighting Choices

[Syed123]

Hello all. I am currently transitioning my current tank to a new Red Sea Reefer 170. I was thinking of moving over my Ati Sunpower T5HO to the new tank. The unit is working perfectly .Only problem is that it's time to change bulbs. It will cost me about $262 to change the bulbs/yr. I was thinking maybe I could switch to LED's since I'll be spending the money regardless. I was looking at the LED options and an AI prime will cost me $322 after tax. Then another $60 for the mount. Cost wise 2 years minimum and the cost trumps the bulb cost. But I read online I'll have shadowing. So preferably I should be running a Radion XR15 or a kessil A360 or a Hydra 26. With that I would need to buy mounts for all of these options. In terms of cost these 3 other options are expensive but I can justify it if they last me 3 years minimum. Also I want just 1 unit and not 2. I'll go over my budget.

I was also looking into the Amazon Black Boxes but I don't want to go that route since I want a unit that will last (these seem to be a mixed bag in terms of component failures). But they are cheap which is tempting.

Is it worth switching to LED's in terms of cost and performance as compared to the ATI T5's? I have LPS and Softys but will be adding some SPS to the mix in the future.

 

[jda]

Where are you buying bulbs? How many are you changing? If you are paying more than $19-20 for ATI, then find a new place. Some are cheaper than this.

Prime is a low output toy compared to a Sunpower... or other LEDs. Prime is good for a nano and that is about it. All of the ones that you mentioned probably will not cover more than 18x18 with a bunch of colonies... and even then, you could have shadowing as they get larger.

Factor in 5 years of use for a LED fixture. Most people don't have units that are older than this... the ones that do are in the minority.

 

[Ron Reefman]

IMHO it is well worth the up front cost to switch to leds. But all the fixtures you listed use pucks and the ALL will have issues with shadowing, not that some shadowing is really that big of a deal... maybe some if you are doing all high end branching sps corals.

Some black box fixtures are better than others. Simply buy the better known brand name units. They all have less shadow issues because they use wide arrays of individual leds rather than having them all bunched up as single point light sources.

If you want the array of leds for less shadows, and you want control of color with 6 channels (unlike most BB fixtures) and you's like to have sunrise/sunset 24 hour intensity of all 6 channels... oh, and you'd like a good looking, slimline case with both legs and hangers, look at a 16" or 24" Reef Breeders Photon V2+ fixtures. Besides, all this good stuff, they are a sponsor here at R2R and therefore have a sponsor forum so they are super easy to get a hold of and ask questions. They are $375 and $400 and come with a 2 year warranty.

BTW, as jda said, most led fixtures aren't more than 5 years old... but I think most t5 fixtures and even MH fixtures get changed out almost that often as well. I have 2 fixtures, one is a year old and the other is over 3 years old and both look and work like new!

My old system with Photons:

And my rebuilt 40g cube with Photons about a year ago:

And an almost FTS taken a week ago:

 

[Syed123]

Where are you buying bulbs? How many are you changing? If you are paying more than $19-20 for ATI, then find a new place. Some are cheaper than this.

Prime is a low output toy compared to a Sunpower... or other LEDs. Prime is good for a nano and that is about it. All of the ones that you mentioned probably will not cover more than 18x18 with a bunch of colonies... and even then, you could have shadowing as they get larger.

Factor in 5 years of use for a LED fixture. Most people don't have units that are older than this... the ones that do are in the minority.

I'm buying bulbs from an online vendor. The thing is here in Canada the bulbs are quite expensive. About $28.99 per bulb online and in retail stores. You can go a bit cheaper with Coralife bulbs for $24.99. I'm changing 8 bulbs.

5 years isn't that long. I was expecting 8-10 years.

So pucks may not be a good option then considering shadowing.

@Ronreefman

I'll check out the Reefbreeder LED's. Though i think here in Canada they are under Evergrow LED's. I do like the spread as seen in your pictures!

 

[jda]

There are people who have older panels. I would just not count on it. The good ones seem to last longer than this, but people want to upgrade. 5 years is just a good "guess" when working numbers.

I have had my AquaMedic Halides for about 13 years. I have had to change a few ignitors. My SE stuff is about a decade old. My ATI was one of the first PM... so maybe 7-8 years old. None of this really matters too much, but these are all fixable if they break... some panels are and some are not. Factor all of this into any cost equations.

Did you see the BRS video on using T5s for 24 months. Some have started this, but some thing that it is bunk. It might be worth watching to make up your own mind.

I am not a fan of puck style LEDs. Panel would be my choice if somebody forced me... probably Atlantik V4 first with their true UV and IR, but RB or SB would be after them. Some complain about the disco, but this is small potatoes, if you even can notice, compared to shadowing.