I have a 48" 10 bulb ATI Powermodule on my home tank, the 48" Aqua Illumination module I have seen is brighter than my Powermodule. This of course is just my observation.

On a second note, Ron, you are more than welcome to come over and pull some numbers off my tank. Also, it would be nice to see all of this back and forth discussion on the comparatives between LED and conventional lighting moved to a new thread for this purpose. I was actually just enjoying Ron's build thread as it was.

Ian

I have created a thread specifically for this type of conversation, if everyone is interested maybe the MODS can move the latter half of this vs conversation to the thread I have linked below.

I feel this is detracting from this excellent build thread......

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...374#post510374

Thanks Ian. Good Idea. Let's move the debate over there.

No Worries, it's good to discuss it and try to develop real information. I agree that there is lots of manufacturer hype and BS. One reason I built my own array, aside from costs, is that most of the commercial LED lights make compromises of some sort unless you spend big dollars on the high end fixtures.

In any case, let's continue in the other thread.

nano-reef.com seems to have the most active LED community but more is showing up on reef central now too.

Hey Ron great thread I've been following since day 1 but I want to know now that you have your new led fixture up for a few days running, how are all the SPS corals doing? Also do you find that your LEDs miss some light in some areas as your LEDs are spreaded out and LED light rays are directed in a straight focused downward "UFO" path and doesn't light its surrounding area like MH or even T5s. As you may have probably already noticed, the solaris's or any professionally made LED fixtures are all built with its LEDs side by side tightly snug. I honestly prefer to spread them out as you did as it covers more area but wasn't sure if it was ideal.

Y'know....sometimes, sometimes it's just fun to build your own stuff. You get to make it suit your personal needs exactly and there is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from the design and build process.

After all, this is a DIY forum, is it not ?

Totally agrees..........GREATER satisfaction from it plus you the educational aspect.

Probably built better as well. :lol:

This should shed some light on the subject. (pun intended :) )
http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLa...aintenance.pdf

Pretty much what we have been discussing on the other thread. Keep the LEDs cool and they will last for a long time.

Time for a quick update. Haven't really had time to work on the controller very much but hopefully soon. But after about 1 month I thought I would post a couple of pictures of the corals.

Here's a shot taken on April 23rd:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Coral11.jpg

And one from May 19th:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Coral12.jpg

It has great colour and some noticeable growth in the last month.

Here's one that was pretty much brown except for the tip:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Coral21.jpg

Now it has a bit of growth but is colouring up all over:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Coral22.jpg

Looks great!

What was your lighting setup before the LEDS?