Are you happy with your LED's???

[Delphinus]

I'd actually love to consider a move to LED. When I look at the options though .. and I'll give this thread as a perfect example, someone early on mentioned a unit over their size tank that is similar in size to mine - and for the briefest of instants I toyed with the fantasy of switching - so over to the vendor mentioned, find the unit listed and .... oh wow 4 grand, ok, this fantasy is over. To use the Prius metaphor .. that's like buying a Prius but paying the price of a Porsche GT4. Unless I'm overlooking something it feels to me there's a HUGE disconnect between investment and return. To me the question isn't about whether LED's can "work" or not, that's immaterial. They work well enough, I believe that without question. The problem to me is the enormous cost burden up front. With my current setup I probably spent less than $500 to get it set up but I can mix and match as time goes on or add another T5 here or a spotlight LED there .. I can buy a LOT of replacement lamps and pay the difference in electricity for many many many MANY years before I hit 4 grand. I'd love to make the plunge but until I get a huge pile of money to burn it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.

[doch]

I'm definetly not 'calling anyone out' as you say. To me however, the purpose of this community is to share info. If that info is how to keep an animal or coral, perfect. In this case, I along with several others, am wondering about a new technology, and people's experiences with it. If it were me, I would share with you guys. If I had purchased an inferior LED fixture, I would let you guys know that it would potentially work for softies, but not for SPS. If it broke soon after purchase, I'd warn you guys.

Unless I miss my guess, most of the 'unhappy' section likely purchased a low end unit that did not work out for their tank, and their plans for their tank. If I remember correctly, there are 3 people that are unhappy with their LED, and it is their first tank, and first light. I assume that they made an uneducated decision and it didn't work out for them. We've all done it... at least I have.

All I'm saying is that it would be nice to hear from them. No big deal... ALL of the people that have written down info are in the positive column. This leads me to believe that LED's are scoring well.

That said, I'm not 100% convinced, and as said, the prices for the factory units are still very high IMO. That being the case, (and since I've already purchased my T5's) I'll be sticking with my T5's on the display, and likely purchase a cheap ebay fixture like Dez has. That fixture will go on my frag tank where I can gauge the technology and decide if I want to make the switch in the future.

To all who have shared info, I appreciate it! I feel like this poll will help many in the near future. Hopefully it doesn't get burried too deep.

[naesco]

Tony, Doch.

What are the dimentions of your tank?

In the meantime, take a look at www.fish-street.com under LED lighting. I have the Key model.

Wayne

[lastlight]

I really identify with what you're saying Tony.

The costs of going LED on larger tanks is unreal. I had previously collected used mh parts as they showed up and need a reflector or two for the new tank and voila... lighting is handled. I can replace bulbs and pay the electric for many years before the costs outweigh what an LED setup may cost me.

I certainly want to try LED more all the time but I highly doubt it's going to happen.

[Delphinus]

Hi Wayne, my tank is 72x30x30. Looking at a single unit for that tank, I see two comparable options:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/vt...2+Inch%29.html (almost $5k )

http://www.thereefshoppe.ca/index.ph...4b84f6d9596c71 ($4k)

If I look at the Key model you mention, the largest unit I see is 78cm x 27cm at $630ish. I'm not sure what kind of coverage you get off that, in the worst case scenario though I could fit 4 of those over top of my tank and $600*4 = $2400, still a pretty respectable purchase price.

I was looking at these Orphek units that fit inside a T5/T8 socket and they look pretty neat but even then it looks like something like $160 per unit (I assume they mean one T5 replacement). I assume that it's fair to expect 5 to 10 times the longevity out of one of these over one T5 lamp so maybe that's fair but then you lose the ability to "mortgage" that part of the tank expenses over time.

I have very little doubt that with most units available today, that most people don't "regret" the jump to LED, per se. I doubt I'd regret buying a Porsche one day, although that doesn't mean I can afford to get into one. Life's funny that way.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Hi Wayne, my tank is 72x30x30. Looking at a single unit for that tank, I see two comparable options:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/vt...2+Inch%29.html (almost $5k )

http://www.thereefshoppe.ca/index.ph...4b84f6d9596c71 ($4k)

If I look at the Key model you mention, the largest unit I see is 78cm x 27cm at $630ish. I'm not sure what kind of coverage you get off that, in the worst case scenario though I could fit 4 of those over top of my tank and $600*4 = $2400, still a pretty respectable purchase price.

I was looking at these Orphek units that fit inside a T5/T8 socket and they look pretty neat but even then it looks like something like $160 per unit (I assume they mean one T5 replacement). I assume that it's fair to expect 5 to 10 times the longevity out of one of these over one T5 lamp so maybe that's fair but then you lose the ability to "mortgage" that part of the tank expenses over time.

I have very little doubt that with most units available today, that most people don't "regret" the jump to LED, per se. I doubt I'd regret buying a Porsche one day, although that doesn't mean I can afford to get into one. Life's funny that way.

My son's tank is 6' by 4'. He bought 2 eco exotic Cannon LED 'pendants' for just under $600.00 each from Ocean Aquatics. His tank looks spectacular. He sent Ocean a picture that they are using. I guess a techy can let you know the difference between the two you are looking at at J&L
http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led...-pendants.html

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by naesco

My son's tank is 6' by 4'. He bought 2 eco exotic Cannon LED 'pendants' for just under $600.00 each from Ocean Aquatics. His tank looks spectacular. He sent Ocean a picture that they are using. I guess a techy can let you know the difference between the two you are looking at at J&L
http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led...-pendants.html

I didn't see the Cannon's on Ocean Aquatics website but looked up Eco Exotics website and it doesn't give a lot of detail. What kind of spread does a single unit cover and how high does it have to be mounted to get any descent coverage? It looks like one spot light covers a 3'x4' area on your son's tank, is it an SPS tank with only 2 units? It also looks like you can only get one color in each unit is this right also? Thanks!

[doch]

See, if I did end up going LED, there's no question in my mind that I'd go DIY. From the builds that I've seen, it doesn't look like it would be all that hard. The only thing that I'm not sure if you can do with a DIY LED set up is the lightning flashes. Do I need it? No. Would it be cool to have? Likely. Also, may very well be a novelty that would get anoying after a while. For my tank (48*30*26), I priced it out in the realm of $1200-$1700, depending on what extent I would go to (I tend to go overkill). If I hadn't already bought the t5's my decision would likely leave me with about a 100 LED DIY set up. I already bought the t5's... I think I'll stick with them. For now. Come time to do a bulb swap on my 6*36" t5 (current light, soon to be temporary frag tank light), I'm going to sell it, and build a 48 LED set up for the frag tank. At that time, whether I like the LED's or not, I will certainly let you all know.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

I didn't see the Cannon's on Ocean Aquatics website but looked up Eco Exotics website and it doesn't give a lot of detail. What kind of spread does a single unit cover and how high does it have to be mounted to get any descent coverage? It looks like one spot light covers a 3'x4' area on your son's tank, is it an SPS tank with only 2 units? It also looks like you can only get one color in each unit is this right also? Thanks!

It is a brand new tank but he will be adding SPS a bit later on when the tank matures.
I do not have a light meter but the two units had complete coverage over the whole of the tank. In order to achieve this the pendants hang 12inches above the water line. As he likes the fluorescence the LED provides, he chose blue.
I can't comment on the technical aspects or compare this lighting to other LED lighting from a technical point of view but his tank looks great.
He chose the blue because he likes to observe them fluoresce.

A three foot tank would require one pendant at a $600.00 cost which is comparable to a MH system without the added heat and high maintenace cost.
IMO, one unit would leave the edges dimmer on a 4 foot tank.

If a reefer is starting up a new tank I could not in good conscience recommend MH.

For a reefer who has MH they may decide to wait a little longer to replace their lighting. The price of LEDs will go down a bit, there will be more selection and improvements will be made.