Please teach me about LEDs.

i am thinking about leaving t5's. I am unhappy with the growth and color of the limited SPS I have in my tank. ( please See my sig for specs)

AlthoughI honeslty believe I would like halides much more, I do not want to extra costs of running them.

So can somone tell me about LEDs? I know nothing about them.
Whats the least expensive? how many would I need?
Which DIY system is a good one to use. etc etc

 

well you need a chiller if you get halides so i wouldent bother if your correctly using t5 bulbs with a quality reflector you should have no issue people who buy oddysea or whatever its called lighting ask why my corals arent growing
its quality that counts i used a 2 bulb t5 with a 90g tank and a glass lid and kept sps lps polyps and a brain so dont say it cant be done or t5 has issues
marineland makes a led fixture for reefs check out foster and smith its about 430 for the 4 foot setting with nightlights
its over 3300 par if im not mistaken



basics
less heat
energy savers
brighter
tons of bulb life

 

I am anticipating the release of the Orphek PR-25 PAR 38 bulbs...12X 2w diodes...I will have 3 over my 75g reef. they should be "under $200". No official price has been set yet.

 

seano are these bulbs going to be around 200 apiece?? so to light your tank with 3 that would be $600? do you still think I would need 3 for a 55 or could I get away with 2??

 

Hello,

the MarineLand REEF LED are lack luster at best, they are not even close to MH lighting.

Nothing that I have seen to date beats MH lighting- nothing, really good LED's might come close- those that use lenses and high power- but the verdict has yet to be defined. I have tried Cree 1 watt and Cree 3 watt, I have no experience with the 5 watters.

However, for a fish only or softie tank, some of the the better LED lamps are quite good- even the ML LED reef lights are not to bad for this selection/usage.

Pay close attention to PAR value AND color rendition AT YOUR tanks parameters as mesured with an accurate PAR meter- pay little attention to LUX value as it means very little. The lighting spread is very different- consider this.

PAR at a given depth is what you should be looking for- given the coral you want to keep- this will determine proper placement of your coral(s) when using LED lighting. This means you may have to re-arrange your tank to allow for LED lighting.

Most LED do not match equalivent MH in real world comparisons, sorry to bust anyones bubble- but this is simply fact. (as of this date) I personally wish this was not true, but it is- watt per watt comparrision.

BTW- watch for the up comming plasma lights- these are really impressive- trust me.

 

not interested in halides or comparing them for that matter, just looking to find what a good led DIY consists of, how many would I need for my tank, best priced ones, and I know all about the marinland no interest in that.

 

Bobo...no price has actually been set. I really have no clue what they will cost. Orphek has only ever said "under $200." But that really isn't saying much....$100 is under 200, but so is 175. That 75 extra will make a big difference in overall cost.

The reason that 3 bulbs is need and not just 2 is because of the length of the tank, not the width. Orphek had 3 of these bulbs over their "test tank" so I figured I would need 3 for my 75g. They confirmed it. If they cover a 24" are with that 60* frosted optic lens, then you could get away with 2 bulbs. But I think they will be closer to covering an 16" - 20" area. Orphek had the bulbs 18" above the surface of a 24" deep tank.

 

If you're interested in an all out DIY, give this a look:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/diy-dimmable-rapidled-kit-converting-mhs-96138.html

 

Im currently Testing out 2 Ecoxotic Par38 12,000k Bulbs. Two bulbs on a 4' and 2' deep tank easily light up the tank. I simply added them to the DIY canopy I made as an addition to my moonlights and T5's to give a nice shimmer .

SO far the corals are responding great, newer additions acclimate alot faster that seem to be in the reach of the Par38's. Ive never had a colony of zoas come through shipping and open as soon as the lights turned on with the LED's.

 

but I dont understand what im looking at. I know nothing about these guys. when I go to the website all I see is a bunch of parts.

How many leds will I need for my tank? (36 long)

Which colors are which? for instance 6500K 10k, 22k etc.

What all components do I need? (number of leds, drivers, what other components?

Is DIY only for canopies?