Thinking of upgrading to LEDs

paddyob · #1 05-01-2013, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueTang<3

If your on a limited budget why not wait, not sure where you want to tank the tank but I think you might be limited in what you are able to do with your tank with that fixture.

Limited in which aspect ? I don't know anything about LED at this point except u know $1000 is out of the question. So I saw under $400 and a name with a decent rep.

What's the issue with these just so I know. I am Looking to replace my six bulb tek.

jjntm · #2 05-01-2013, 02:48 AM

I believe that is the one JL uses on their frag tank... I personally don't like it... and the frags never seem to keep their color for more then a few days to a week... Personally I would avoid upgrading till you can afford AI's...

intarsiabox · #3 05-01-2013, 02:59 AM

Being that the LED's are all blue and only have 6 per foot I think the fixture would be better suited for supplemental lighting or a very low light requirement tank if you could live with the color. I've seen some AI Sol's go for pretty cheap on here and would maybe hold out for two of those instead. I bought a chinese fixture that uses 3W blue and white Crees and each channel is manually dimmable for pretty cheap. But the Sol's had much better spread and penatration.

mrhasan · #4 05-01-2013, 03:31 AM

For limited budget, growlight LEDs would be great. Many people have great success with those and two of those over your tank will be a blast. I don't know much but as far as I have heard, these fixtures are no good for corals above, possibly LPS. For that price point, I personally wouldn't buy it. Like Steve already wrote, it has 24 LEDs over 48" while aisols have the same amount of LED for 24" coverage.

Aquattro · #5 05-01-2013, 03:49 AM

What's wrong with your T5?

paddyob · #6 05-01-2013, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

What's wrong with your T5?

Tired of buying bulbs. It's a constant drain. Replacing at 6-8 months. It's a retail gold mine knowing the mark up.

Why not replace and move on from that?

Aquattro · #7 05-01-2013, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paddyob

Tired of buying bulbs. It's a constant drain. Replacing at 6-8 months. It's a retail gold mine knowing the mark up.

Why not replace and move on from that?

I think unless you can actually buy decent lights, you're better off replacing bulbs until you've got enough cash for decent lights. No point downgrading from a decent T5 setup, so as with everything in this hobby, do it right the first time or you lose more money than you can count!

WarDog · #8 05-01-2013, 04:49 AM

Try these?
http://www.buildmyled.com/

mseepman · #9 05-01-2013, 04:20 AM

Take a look for the D120 fixtures...two of those would only cost a little more than that Vertex light (which I believe is only for supplimenting another light and not a light by itself). There are some easy places to get it here in Canada and they do a good job for the money plus are dimmable.

sphelps · #10 05-01-2013, 02:51 AM

No problem with those lights but you'll need more than one to replace a 6 bulb T5 fixture. The 48" fixture only has 24LED or 72W which is the same as one AI sol which sell for around the same price. So in reality these are competitive with many other options and are modular.

If you're switching to LEDs aim for around half your current T5 wattage for something reasonably close in power. If you're upgrading you'll want more power than that and you'll want to consider additional colors as 50/50 mix isn't ideal.