LED Craze

[mike31154]

Maybe my initial post here (#6) was a bit long & dry so many readers just didn't bother & skipped it. The point I was trying to get across is that DIYing a LED solution for your system is getting easier all the time without having to solder or even use 'modular' LED components. More & more conventional screw in base bulbs are appearing on store shelves. Many of them now feature high power LEDs of suitable colour temperatures for our application.

If you're willing to be patient and wait or search online for vendors offering these types of bulbs at a reasonable cost, you should be able to build a suitable fixture with replaceable components using conventional bulb sockets that have been in use since the light bulb was invented. Many hobbyists have been using the PAR38 floodlights screwed into normal household sockets to light up their little slice of the ocean. If one burns out or a new improved LED appears on the market, chances are before long, another PAR38 with the new technology will be out there as well and you can switch it out without having to discard an entire fixture.

The MR16 lamps I described in my earlier post are another option. I've been watching some of the DIY LED builds with massive heat sinks & hours of soldering involved. Have a lot of respect for the patience & work they put into them & the end results are quite impressive. But it's not something I'm prepared to undertake when there are so many other, easier options appearing on the LED horizon.

[ponokareefer]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Maybe my initial post here (#6) was a bit long & dry so many readers just didn't bother & skipped it. The point I was trying to get across is that DIYing a LED solution for your system is getting easier all the time without having to solder or even use 'modular' LED components. More & more conventional screw in base bulbs are appearing on store shelves. Many of them now feature high power LEDs of suitable colour temperatures for our application.

If you're willing to be patient and wait or search online for vendors offering these types of bulbs at a reasonable cost, you should be able to build a suitable fixture with replaceable components using conventional bulb sockets that have been in use since the light bulb was invented. Many hobbyists have been using the PAR38 floodlights screwed into normal household sockets to light up their little slice of the ocean. If one burns out or a new improved LED appears on the market, chances are before long, another PAR38 with the new technology will be out there as well and you can switch it out without having to discard an entire fixture.

The MR16 lamps I described in my earlier post are another option. I've been watching some of the DIY LED builds with massive heat sinks & hours of soldering involved. Have a lot of respect for the patience & work they put into them & the end results are quite impressive. But it's not something I'm prepared to undertake when there are so many other, easier options appearing on the LED horizon.

Which companies are you referring to?

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

Which companies are you referring to?

Regarding complete fixtures or MR16 & PAR38 lamps? I understand the AI SOL has had a significant price drop recently, so it stands to reason there will be continued downward pressure price wise with all LED items, fixtures as well as individual bulbs & discrete components such as single LEDs. Companies that don't follow the market trends will soon fall by the wayside. The big guys, such as GE, Phillips, Osram are savvy enough having been around forever, that they'll be fine. But you never know, look what happened to GM a few years ago. I'm quite surprised they've apparently bounced back they way they have.

[mike31154]

Here's a thread on Canreef featuring a nifty LED build using PAR38 lamps. Pretty much plug & play, if one burns out or you wish to change colours etc. easy to replace. Can add more at any time to further customize. Nice looking tank from what I can see.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ight=PAR38+LED

[ponokareefer]

Thanks for the info Mike. Here is a link to a build on reefcentral using PAR38's.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ight=par38+led

In terms of cost, they seem like they would be the cheapest out there, and easiest to do. Are their any sponsors or Canadian companies that sell PAR38's for reef tanks?

[mike31154]

Not sure about Canadian distributers at this point, I've been somewhat lazy in researching that since I'm on the MR16 kick at the moment. All lighting providers in Canada seem to be really dragging their feet in getting decent LEDs on to store shelves. This is why I'm still holding off and ordering bits & pieces though fleabay from China. I got a LED screw in bulb at London Drugs last week on a coupon so cost ended up being fairly reasonable at under $20. It's a dimmable Phillips 8 watt 470 lumens at 2700K bulb meant for household use, so not much good for our application. But it's surely only a matter of time until reasonably priced goodies are available more suited to our purpose.

This is why I continue to wait and use my current 2x250 MH & T5HO set up. If I had more disposable income, I'd have purchased a LED fixture some time ago. The EcoTech Radion is awful tempting since I run MP40 VorTech pumps, but the price is too high at the moment and in the end, I'm not convinced that the light communicating with my pump drivers is really necessary. I could buy a hell of a lot of MR16 bulbs for the price of a Radion. Yes, the pumps are costly too, but I started with a single new one & purchased the others used.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Not sure about Canadian distributers at this point, I've been somewhat lazy in researching that since I'm on the MR16 kick at the moment. All lighting providers in Canada seem to be really dragging their feet in getting decent LEDs on to store shelves.

your not going to see a lot of canadian companies producing low cost led lighting. its a fact of economics. the canadian market is to small and our power is to cheep for them to sell a reasonable amount that why you tend to see new stuff starting to trickel in in the home lighting market but its not cheep. Home depot actualy has the new philips ones on for 15 bucks off which makes them afordable.. I have bought 10 so far and have another 4 ot 8 to go to finnish switching my house over to LED. these ones are exelent bulbs.. look yellow when there off and put out light just like a normal light bulb when there on.

if you watch the market we will start getting ones that are big sellers in the US.

I reciently ran into this issue with my smoker and the pucks I like. the crown royal pucks for the bradley are now discontinued (I bought the last 4 boxes they had in canuck rubber here) the reason being that it is not cost effective to make them for the canadian market alone and due to them being a by product of booze they are no longer alowed to be inported in to the US with out large tariffs so they are no longer making them.

it sucks, but it is a result of our cross boarder teriffs and trade agreements.

Steve

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

Home depot actualy has the new philips ones on for 15 bucks off which makes them afordable.. I have bought 10 so far and have another 4 ot 8 to go to finnish switching my house over to LED. these ones are exelent bulbs.. look yellow when there off and put out light just like a normal light bulb when there on.
Steve

That's the exact same Phillips bulb I got at London Drugs with the coupon.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by mike31154

That's the exact same Phillips bulb I got at London Drugs with the coupon.

don't need the cupon at home depot. and they extended it till into nov also now.

Steve

[ponokareefer]

Just out of curiosity, what should I be looking at for the number of LED's? For PAR38's, I have the exact same tank as the reefcentral thread, which is a 125 gallon. He suggest using 7 PAR38's. That's only 49 led's, and all XR-E's. Modularled has a kit for a 4 foot tank that has 72 LED's in it, but now carry the HO XR-E's, which, I would assume, would mean I would need less. Reading some theards on reefcentral, they recommend even higher numbers though, which is where the numbers came from my initial post. My tank is 24 inches deep, I have 2 clams, RBTA, frogspawn, and soft corals.