L.E.D Questions

[Magma]

Ok poorly made drivers makes more sense than Chinese ones. I also understand what you mean from changing the bulbs after they start to loose colour for looks and for growing reasons, I guess it boils down to each person needs for what they want to grow and how often you want to do the upkeep.

Im wondering now that you mentioned the lower power leds if you cant just use more of them instead of the higher intensity ones? So instead of 1W leds you grab 2 smaller ones or 4 depending on the amperage they are and use those instead? Again it might depend on the tank you want to put them over..

[chandigz]

Low power leds have proven to be virtually ineffective for growing coral. They are also a lot less efficient. The new high power leds produce a lot more light per watt then low power led. You also don't get the penitration with low power led. The intensity drops off so fast passing thru water. A local store was selling led light strips with 200 low power leds in each tube Because he figured leds are leds and I know someone that got conned into 6 of these (1200 leds) on a 65 gallon 22" deep tank and they were totally useless for keeping coral growing or alive. 1 Watt leds? They are outdated when it comes to reef lighting. They proved ineffective except for shallow tanks. You want The newest generation 3 watt leds. Most decent fixtures use three watt leds driven at 700ma for a wattage of 2.5 watts. They drive them below their max opperating range to make them last longer because of don't run as hot. Everyone thinks leds don't get hot, they do. Thats why they need a proper heatsink/cooling system. They don't emit heat as they don't produce infrared radiation(heat is not projected into the tank). The more efficient the led the less thermal resistance so they don't get as hot. Just over a year and a half ago 107 lm/w was top of the line and now the newest Crees can produce over 160 lm/w and will run at a maximum drive current of 3000ma. In Cree's research they have actually broken the 200 lm/w barrier that was once thought impossible. You here Cree a lot because they are the leaders in led technology and have some of the highest standards. There are others but some say Cree are the best.