LED experience for under $2

reefwars · #1 07-06-2011, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milad

You guys realize LEDs are cheaper than MH in about 2-3 years time if you do a DIY.

Think of the bulb cost, electricity cost of the MH, electricity cost of the cooler to cool the tank because its getting hot.

Aquattro you just need to see the right LEDs, not your standard LFS issued marineland strips. I konw there are a few guys in Victoria that have picked up LEDs from me, you should hit them up for a tour of a real LED fixture with quality LEDs.

thats if your leds even last 3 yrs and what if you upgrade then you need more leds while a mh can be used on a variety of tanks.if not installed correctly leds burn out if you want to up grade its a pita and its trial and error on colour like t5's are if you order too many blues your screwed if you order too many whites your screwed.mh have been proven year after year and they work we know this leds are still in the experimental stage and sure they have their benefits but so do mh.im thinking about trying out some leds from you milad so dont think im bashing but at this time they def arent supperior.its kinda like acryliuc vs glass both have pros and cons

intarsiabox · #2 07-06-2011, 02:48 AM

Or just wait 3 years and really good quality manufactured LED fixtures will probably be cheaper than DIY is now and you still would break even.

Milad · #3 07-06-2011, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

thats if your leds even last 3 yrs and what if you upgrade then you need more leds while a mh can be used on a variety of tanks.if not installed correctly leds burn out if you want to up grade its a pita and its trial and error on colour like t5's are if you order too many blues your screwed if you order too many whites your screwed.mh have been proven year after year and they work we know this leds are still in the experimental stage and sure they have their benefits but so do mh.im thinking about trying out some leds from you milad so dont think im bashing but at this time they def arent supperior.its kinda like acryliuc vs glass both have pros and cons

Some good points.

They can burn out on you if you over power them or get less quality ones or mount them incorrectly. I guess I just have faith people use them correctly.

As far as too many of a certain color, thats not big deal as long as you get dimmable drivers. If you dont, then you are screwed. Most people get close the 14K look then adjust their light using the dimmable drivers to the color they want.

So lets say you are like my girlfriend and you go through mood swings... Ok I dont have a GF but lets pretend I do.... And one day you like 14K look and 3 months from now you decide you want more of a 20K look. As long as you have dimmable drivers, its a flick of a switch to switch between the looks. Cant do that with MHs.

I currently work for a company that deals with maintenance and building of buildings. We did a pilot project on street lighting around one of our campuses by switching out the lighting which was MH or HPS to LEDs. First people are amazed by the color the LED lighting is producing, second the maintenance superintendents are shocked because over the last 2 years they havent had to touch any of the lamps, zero maintenance. Not only that, the energy manager for the campus is high fiving the lighting superintendent because hes saving him so much money.

I know its not a reef example but out in the field, LEDs are being proven day after day as zero maintenance.

Milad · #4 07-06-2011, 03:02 AM

btw thread is derailing! back to OP topic, Ill have to give that a try to see how it looks.

intarsiabox · #5 07-06-2011, 03:19 AM

I've been leary of LED's since last year when I went into one of the local SW stores to see the new LED fixture they had on display over their main display tank. After about 30 seconds I started getting a bad headache from it and the lights produced a grid effect all over the tank. I don't know if this is typical and I wish I could remember which brand it was so I could avoid it. It wasn't a cheap set up either. My LED flashlight actually looks better this fixture did.

whatcaneyedo · #6 07-06-2011, 03:29 AM

Remember the PFO Solaris fixtures? Does anyone still own one or did they all break down as PFO went out of business? I'll wait for the industry to mature some more.

I'm also concerned about the spread. A single 250W MH in a good reflector can light a 3'x3' area quite well. What would a person need to achieve the same goal with LED? I plan to make my next tank 5' long and 3' front to back which I'll be able to comfortably light with my current two pendants.

reefwars · #7 07-06-2011, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Remember the PFO Solaris fixtures? Does anyone still own one or did they all break down as PFO went out of business? I'll wait for the industry to mature some more.

I'm also concerned about the spread. A single 250W MH in a good reflector can light a 3'x3' area quite well. What would a person need to achieve the same goal with LED? I plan to make my next tank 5' long and 3' front to back which I'll be able to comfortably light with my current two pendants.

thats kinda my thing too im using my 250w halide on my 20g and can upgrade to a larger tank with no upgrade to light as it has a good refector if i were to order leds for my 20g and wanted to upgrade back to my 60g cube is the spread gonna cover the extra width??

Milad · #8 07-06-2011, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Remember the PFO Solaris fixtures? Does anyone still own one or did they all break down as PFO went out of business? I'll wait for the industry to mature some more.

I'm also concerned about the spread. A single 250W MH in a good reflector can light a 3'x3' area quite well. What would a person need to achieve the same goal with LED? I plan to make my next tank 5' long and 3' front to back which I'll be able to comfortably light with my current two pendants.

The spread is all about the optics. Most LEDs come with 125 degree lens on them. Most users of tanks that big put something like 60 degree optics on the LEDs to focus the light on the area. To get an output of a 250W MH you can do about 36 XP series LEDs or 28 XP/XM mix. I would think coverage is more of an issue of a single point light than a bunch of smaller spread out LEDs. For instance my penisula casts shadows because of how my rock work, under a standard MH fixture. With LEDs, you can spread them out with the correct optics and you can get more coverage, or tighten them up and do spotlight effects.

Here is some info on picking the right optic but it will give you an idea how the coverage works depending on which optics you choose and how high you hang the light. http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/pages/Cho...ght-optic.html

whatcaneyedo · #9 07-06-2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milad

The spread is all about the optics. Most LEDs come with 125 degree lens on them. Most users of tanks that big put something like 60 degree optics on the LEDs to focus the light on the area. To get an output of a 250W MH you can do about 36 XP series LEDs or 28 XP/XM mix. I would think coverage is more of an issue of a single point light than a bunch of smaller spread out LEDs. For instance my penisula casts shadows because of how my rock work, under a standard MH fixture. With LEDs, you can spread them out with the correct optics and you can get more coverage, or tighten them up and do spotlight effects.

Here is some info on picking the right optic but it will give you an idea how the coverage works depending on which optics you choose and how high you hang the light. http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/pages/Cho...ght-optic.html

So to get what I need I'd have to build it myself? Ouch... I haven't even completed my current trade.

StirCrazy · #10 07-06-2011, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Remember the PFO Solaris fixtures? Does anyone still own one or did they all break down as PFO went out of business? I'll wait for the industry to mature some more.

haha, they were using old old LEDs, not anywhere near the power of the current ones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

I'm also concerned about the spread. A single 250W MH in a good reflector can light a 3'x3' area quite well. What would a person need to achieve the same goal with LED?

3x3 from a single MH is not a good even output and is realy streatching the light out. yes it can light this amount but at a lower par. 2x2 is the effective max for MH.

Steve