Next Generation LED Lighting

[abcha0s]

ReefTech PAR Numbers:



I know PAR isn't everything. However, it does give a relative comparison against other "like" technologies. PAR from one LED system can be compared against PAR from another LED system.

[cale262]

Originally Posted by abcha0s

....
It may be possible to arrange introductory group buy pricing, but I don't have any details on this yet either...

- Brad

I'd be down for one...maybe two.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by KevinK

I in fact was gust brain storming a bit about this.

se if hydro is going up to 0.13 to 0.15 a kwh, pannels run from $ 100 to $ 200 (for DIY on ebay) it might be intresting.

what will bring it in the $$ is the batery's and converters, however if you would run a frag tank on the pannels, than it would not matter when the light is on ore off, and there must be a way to direct feed the led's from the panel.

this way the led will dim as sun is going down and go back on when there is sun/light, but this would not matter (cant get it more natural than this)

might still need a driver, but keep it as plain as you can, oterwise the $$ ad up to fast.

in fact same thing you can do with 24v DC pumps like I think the tunze.

so when evening comes, pump output would be low to non, and then when sun gets up in the morning, pumps start slowly to turn, and flow is variating during the day as light intensety is going up nd down.

again also with the pumps, you cant get it more naturalthan this (you do still need some pumps to run all day !!, ore go on only 16 houres a day)

all interesting to se how to do this, with as less technology (battery's and inverteres ) as you can

In reality it's best to run any solar array, micro-hydro, wind powered or combination thereof system with a bank of batteries and control dimming/speed of your lights/pumps by other means. Daylight varies considerably at our latitude and cloud cover will also affect solar array output. Same with wind power, constantly fluctuating. Micro-hydro is probably the only way to supply a consistent amount of power 24/7. Check the link below for a pdf instruction manual for a micro hydro generator made by an Aussie company. Page 14 is a great diagram showing a hybrid system using all 3 technologies. There are also some good explanations of why batteries are pretty much a must have for any such system. Your ideas on having lights & pumps vary output/speed according to varying light conditions during the day are novel & interesting, but I don't think I'd want to leave it completely up to mother nature to do this for me on my marine tank. Great thoughts though.

More & more LED options are becoming available with high power Crees that are simple screw in replacements for the incandescents & CFLs in common use today. It's becoming less of a requirement to build your own LED array as these things come down in price. Much easier to replace a 3 watt screw in bulb when it burns out, than pulling the nice array you spent countless hours building, getting out the soldering iron again and replacing the dead LED.

http://www.rpc.com.au/pdf/HYD-200-Manual.pdf

[cale262]

Originally Posted by abcha0s

....
It may be possible to arrange introductory group buy pricing, but I don't have any details on this yet either...

- Brad

Originally Posted by cale262

I'd be down for one...maybe two.

Anything new develop here?

[abcha0s]

Next Gen - Next Generation ReefTech LEDs.

Small companies adapt to market trends very quickly. Check this out! - Awesome.

NEBULA - One LED Board - Think Nano Tanks!







DEFIANT - Two LED Boards







NEW PROMETHUS - Four LED Boards

[Bblinks]

Originally Posted by abcha0s

Next Gen - Next Generation ReefTech LEDs.

Small companies adapt to market trends very quickly. Check this out! - Awesome.

NEBULA - One LED Board - Think Nano Tanks!







DEFIANT - Two LED Boards







NEW PROMETHUS - Four LED Boards

Finally, I guess the cat's out of the bag. These units are amazing looking with awesome power and controllability.

[es355lucille]

Hi Brad. Where do we find information on this new generation light? I did a quick search on google....and came up with very little. Any pricing? Thanks in advance.

Brad

[abcha0s]

Originally Posted by editour2

Are those par readings with or without focal lenses?

Hi Editour

Sorry I didn't get the chance to respond to your PM. I will try to answer your question here.

The PAR values are without optics (focal lenses). ReefTech along with Pacific Sun and Vertex have all gone the no optic route.

Optics are used to increase the light intensity by focusing the light. This has the benefit of increasing efficiency but has the disadvantage of creating a spotlight effect.

The question is - do you really need to increase the efficiency? The answer in my opinion is "no". The lights are already efficient enough and generate enough PAR to keep even the most light demanding corals, so there is no point to the use of optics.

It could be said that optics allow you to reduce the power consumption of the fixture, but the savings is not significant and you may need more LEDs to cover your tank, so any savings in power is likely lost.

For larger tanks, optics impede the ability of the light to spread across the tank.

In my opinion, optics are remnants from the days of 1W LEDs. With the more powerful and more efficient LEDs, they are not necessary nor desired.

BTW - Thanks for posting. When you get your lights please let us know what your experience and opinion is. There are lots of us here that are very interested in hearing more about the lights. We hope you will come back to update us.

- Brad

[cale262]

Originally Posted by abcha0s

Next Gen - Next Generation ReefTech LEDs.

Small companies adapt to market trends very quickly. Check this out! - Awesome.

...


NEW PROMETHUS - Four LED Boards

Not the same but still saxxy...

[Bblinks]

Yeah, it has finally arrived. I think I am more excited than you are. I can't wait till you set it up. Whats your thoughts so far comparing the 2 units?