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View Full Version : New LED lighting bulbs, what you think?


plancton
02/18/2009, 01:26 PM
These just came out, they seem practical and supposedly replace a 175watt MH with only 42 watts to power them.

http://www.aquariumled.com/

Sculp1n
02/18/2009, 02:12 PM
We had the owner drop by our local forum a few months ago. I'll admit, I'm also intrigued by these. I myself would like to talk to someone who has been using one of these for the past while and get the pros and cons. I would also like to see the price drop. $370 is too high for any bulb and with no one who can really prove that they can hold up for 10 years with only a 30% decline it makes then a high risk for the investment.

Sculp1n

reefscape15
02/18/2009, 03:09 PM
I'm not quite sold on the LED lighting yet. For the price of Solaris fixtures, you could have an awesome MH/T-5 DIY setup with a lot more wattage! I've heard that they last a long time, but if they do burn out, can you get just the one LED or group to replace it or do you have to get a complete fixture? Also i enjoy the shimmer effect of MH, which cannot be reproduced as well with anything else. Just my opinion, but i'm still not ready to use them myself

68sting
02/19/2009, 02:30 AM
It will be nice when the leds price becomes competitive with halides. The lower energy costs and longer life would be nice.

troyman
02/19/2009, 02:36 AM
i with you reefscape love the halides no light compares to them yet and 45 whatss of light is just that doesnt matter if it comes from a candle ,flashlight or flouresent its still only 45 whatss

khaosinc
02/19/2009, 02:41 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14430348#post14430348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by troyman
i with you reefscape love the halides no light compares to them yet and 45 whatss of light is just that doesnt matter if it comes from a candle ,flashlight or flouresent its still only 45 whatss

watts is basically and simply volts X amps. The difference in energy usage is more about heat production as I understand it.

all else fails, compare the 40 watt bulb in your fridge to a 39 watt T5 HO bulb... there's a bit of a difference.

BuddhaKiss
02/19/2009, 02:42 AM
correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always under the impression that watts has to do only with energy consumption and not actual light output. Light output is measured in lumens right? Just like how you might have two powerheads that have the same GPH rating but uses different amounts of wattage.

silverwolf72
02/19/2009, 02:56 AM
Hang a 500W heater over your tank and see how much light it puts out. More watts does not = more light

Maybe I read it wrong but they have more than twice as much par under water than they do in open air.

LED fixtures always seem to compare to a 20K MH bulb, depending on brand that could be really low PAR numbers

Peter Eichler
02/19/2009, 03:15 AM
The coral growth pics are quite unimpressive, but they're growing. The par readings he has up are also quite unimpressive. I give the company serious credit for being honest and taking the time to show the results.

ludnix
02/19/2009, 06:48 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14430429#post14430429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler
The coral growth pics are quite unimpressive, but they're growing. The par readings he has up are also quite unimpressive. I give the company serious credit for being honest and taking the time to show the results.

Talk about underwhelming! At least we know they aren't lying.

I would love to try these out, I can't afford the $375 investment now but if the creators want to give me a test unit to help them out with promotion would be only willing to oblige. ;)

Beaun
02/19/2009, 07:21 AM
Seems like it would be only a good idea for a smaller tank. Anything large (36"+) would need more than one to get enough light across the tank. I would think that if they turned the fixture 90 degrees and held it that way it would produce more light across the tank. Why would you put the long end of the light perpendicular to the short end of the tank?

shred5
02/19/2009, 08:51 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14430348#post14430348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by troyman
i with you reefscape love the halides no light compares to them yet and 45 whatss of light is just that doesnt matter if it comes from a candle ,flashlight or flouresent its still only 45 whatss

First of all watts has nothing to do with par.. T-5 lighting competes pretty evenly with halides in the par department. Par is what matters, not watts.

As far as led go it will be a while but they will and there are many advatages. Now the question is with the law suits flying around leds may be dead in the water. now looks like PFO is gone..

I think these led lamps are being sold by Stephen from coral dynamics. He is a really good guy. Also looks like Coral Dynamics may be up for sale or closed.

Dave

swearint
02/19/2009, 09:06 AM
This thread has some useful info on LED technology:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1561258&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

Todd

plancton
02/19/2009, 10:59 AM
Thinking more wattage = more light is so 1995.

I personally think those lighting fixtures would compare with a 175 MH watt bulb but a 175mh bulb with a good reflector would give more output and light coverage. The problem with these LEDs bulbs is that they produce light only on one side, so the light is quite flat.

Solaris units are amazing, I´ve seen them in action and the corals love them, but they have 2 problems: Price is ridiculously expensive, the units are narrow, and the width of the unit is the light coverage, meaning you would need 2x lamps for a 24" wide tank.

Hopefully one day we will have them at the same price of T5 technology and we will be able to pack our tanks with as much LEDs as we want for a good price.

ludnix
02/19/2009, 02:16 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14432284#post14432284 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by plancton

Solaris units are amazing, I´ve seen them in action and the corals love them, but they have 2 problems: Price is ridiculously expensive, the units are narrow, and the width of the unit is the light coverage, meaning you would need 2x lamps for a 24" wide tank.

That and the fact that they are out of business makes it difficult.

You're right about the reflectors though, I didn't consider the difference between a MH bulb naked and one with a reflector. I guess we would have to go purely off a PAR reading then.

I still would love to try these out on a nano.

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 02:18 PM
those bulbs look neat, but WAY overpriced for what they give.

also sucks they dont seem to have a more blue version.

flyhigh123
02/19/2009, 02:42 PM
meh... slow growth on the pics...

plus it doesnt look like you are saving much energy since it still uses the MH ballast... does the bulb consume all 175watts?

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 02:43 PM
42 watts, which is what makes the growth not so bad after all.

i agree its not the fastest growth, but for 42w its good growth IMO.

seapug
02/19/2009, 03:04 PM
I had great hopes for the future of LED aquarium lighting prior to all the legal stuff that's going on. I'd be hesitant to spend any money on these bulbs and converting my light setup until that all gets settled.

Worth mentioning-- LEDs are point sources of light, so you do get the same shimmer effect created by MH and has the potential to allow you to change the color temp to whatever suits you. It's pretty incredible technology that could do wonders for the aquarium hobby if the patent trolls weren't on the loose.

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 03:14 PM
my main interest in LEDs is to provide some supplemental spots to places the MH are missing

I use 3 x lumenmax elite pendants about 10" off the water, and there are still some lower light areas between the bulbs on a 72" tank.

putting a bulb in between each MH seems like a good idea.

reefscape15
02/19/2009, 05:01 PM
Quoted by Seapug: Worth mentioning-- LEDs are point sources of light, so you do get the same shimmer effect created by MH and has the potential to allow you to change the color temp to whatever suits you.

I understand they are a point source of light, but if you have hundreds of them packed together it seems like there would be hundreds of sources, which would get all mixed in together and not produce the shimmers as intensly as MH. Also you can change the color of the fixture output, but if total fixture output is equal to 400 watts, and you cut it down to produce just the blue light, it cuts the total fixture output. Now if you could change the color of the individual LED's themselves, not just the fixture output, then i would like them more.

reefscape15
02/19/2009, 05:02 PM
I didn't mean to be a jerk or anything, this is just my POV

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 05:31 PM
I didnt think your message came across as remotely rude...

I am with you on the whole 'color changing' marketing. They almost try to make it sound like you can change the color instead of just controlling brightness of different LED banks.


WRT shimmer, I think it will vary with different LEDs. some have optics pointing downwards, and even with hundreds of LEDs using optics, the majority of the light beams will be downward. Yes I think the shimmer would overlap and blur together, but I still believe you'd get more shimmer than T5s, which are emitting light along a long path in ALL directions, not just straight down.

So I think LEDs will still give more shimmer than T5s, but you're right it will still be more diffuse than the single bright pointlight of an MH.

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 05:38 PM
Check out this:

http://www.divinelighting.com/par-38-led-true-blue-12-x-1w-p-275.html

12 x 1w LEDs, it comes in blue and white, and other colors also, fits into a standard 120v socket.

Not sure what to make of the brightness. it claims 900 lumens but I'm not sure how bright that is. It's more lumens than all the other "led light-bulb" hybrids that I found.

4 of these bulbs could be had for $200 and would have a bit more power consumption than the bulb in the OP. I'm curious if the PAR output of 4 of these bulbs would rival it. I'm guessing yes.

same bulb can be found 5 bucks cheaper on ebay.

Eel-byte
02/19/2009, 05:49 PM
It would make a good fugi light, lol.

ReefEnabler
02/19/2009, 05:50 PM
probably so... I am thinking of aiming a couple directly at a certain coral in my tank.... kind of the japanese philosophy at work in an american tank :D

plancton
02/19/2009, 05:50 PM
So how does the PFO lawsuit affects the LED in aquarium use industry?, I mean even if the company that won the lawsuit decides to increase price that would not be a smart move, no one is really convinced on using LEDs because of the price.

possys
02/20/2009, 12:52 AM
Hi everyone, do you know that's new LED will come on the the market and price will be lesss then half of PFO

ReefEnabler
02/20/2009, 12:55 AM
ummm.... yes. wait, what?

narwal
02/20/2009, 01:29 AM
Wattage is current times voltage in electrical consumption terms. A 100 watt bulb connected to 120 volt AC consumes 1.2 amps. Building codes require that no more that there be no more than 80% of the current used in a circuit. A simple way to calculate this is to use 100 volts instead of 120. In this scenario you could have 12-100 watt bulbs on a standard 15 amp service for a potential draw of 1200 amps.

LED lights are the future. They consume far less power, do not deteriorate and do not burn out. Ever. If they fail it is due to mechanical deterioration like breaks in the wiring, but they don't consume anything as a result of being turned on.

In my business of A/V LED lights are just coming of age. The issues they are dealing with are output and color temperatures. Every week there is a new LED product that is better than the last.

Just like computers you will see great strides in LED lighting, even for aquarium use. It's nowhere near ready yet, but imagine that soon you will be able to get LED reef lights that are just as bright or brighter, with the exact spectrum you want, which NEVER burn out and never deteriorate. They will be ridiculously expensive but exactly like computers, you will eventually be able to get a massively powerful CPU(LED) that will cost less than a pocket calculator(T5 tube).