Am I getting the right LED fixture?

D

Dyzio545

New member
Hi all. I run a 55 gallon mixed reef tank for about 5 months now. I started off with a Nova Extreme T5 4 bulb fixture. Now I see the need to upgrade because I plan to go sps dominated. I was looking into many LED fixtures, and it seems to me that Aqua Illuminations is probably if not the best fixture I've seen. Now, for my 55 gallon tank, would this be a be the option that fits my tank:

http://www.aquacave.com/aqua-illuminations-br2-modules-kit-3342.html

Two more questions...

1. I really can't decide on whether I want more white or more blue. Can anyone help me out here?

2. In the picture (in the link above) the two LED fixtures are hung vertically on the rail. Meaning in the Up and down fashion. Can I also mount the 2 LED fixtures horizontally? Meaning left to right on the rail?


If anyone has these fixtures, I would appreciate any comments or feedback on them. I am still a newbie when it comes to LEDs.
 
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Dyzio545 said:
Hi all. I run a 55 gallon mixed reef tank for about 5 months now. I started off with a Nova Extreme T5 4 bulb fixture. Now I see the need to upgrade because I plan to go sps dominated. I was looking into many LED fixtures, and it seems to me that Aqua Illuminations is probably if not the best fixture I've seen. Now, for my 55 gallon tank, would this be a be the option that fits my tank:

http://www.aquacave.com/aqua-illuminations-br2-modules-kit-3342.html

Two more questions...

1. I really can't decide on whether I want more white or more blue. Can anyone help me out here?

2. In the picture (in the link above) the two LED fixtures are hung vertically on the rail. Meaning in the Up and down fashion. Can I also mount the 2 LED fixtures horizontally? Meaning left to right on the rail?


If anyone has these fixtures, I would appreciate any comments or feedback on them. I am still a newbie when it comes to LEDs.
Click to expand...


I like the white, most people get the blue


Yes, you can mount them horizontally with a little modification
 
An easy solution is to get dimmers and control how much blue and how much white you want. Everyone has their own preference and each tank will show light differently.
 
To me all Led's are over priced, but I have seen a couple of friends tanks with the AI SOL Blues and I am impressed with the color. Once I get through with some family medical issues I may look into these. I have seen alot of web pictures of these but seeing them in the real world was even better. I can't say how the whites look but have read that people like these also. Just my 3 cents worth.
 
Forfend said:
Over priced upfront but cheaper in the long run to operate and change bulbs less often.
Click to expand...


Yeah and thats really where the money saving is IMO. If you think about it, if you have lets say T5 bulbs. How much money will you spend over the years replacing these bulbs? Eventually, for the price that you have been replacing all these bulbs, you could of had LEDs and not replace anything at all. Also, the very low energy it takes to power these LEDs will cut down your electric bills.
 
Yes but eventually you will have to replace the leds down the road. So the difference over time in bulb cost savings is negligible. The real money savings is in the power consumption as stated.

On another note anyone can pick up any T5 brand bulb and put it in any T5 brand fixture. They're all standardized sizes. LED manufacturers essentially have no universal adopted standard. Every lighting system has their pros and cons.
 
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muffe said:
Yes but eventually you will have to replace the leds down the road. So the difference over time in bulb cost savings is negligible. The real money savings is in the power consumption as stated.
Click to expand...

First, let me ask this - do you rock LED's?

Where to begin ripping this to shreds? I dunno, maybe your math and my math are different.

LED's have less than 70% luminous decay after 50,000 hours. Assuming 8 hours run time per day, after ten years of usage, you would be around 28,000 hour. Still short of the life expectancy, but we'll use 10 years as teh service lifetime, just for the sake of argument ;)

YEARS down the road...

He/she says he wants to go SPS, so they would have had to increase his lighting anyway - probably to an 8 bulb fixture. Lets say he only replaces bulbs once per year. 8x$20 (very conservative) = 160/year - just in bulbs. Times 10 years = $1600 - JUST IN BULBS (We'll assume you got the T5 fixture for free - just for kicks).

If you go with 3 AI units, your out of pocket is $1700. The fixture pays for itself in 10 years. Not to mention, savings in electricity. Assuming a CHEAP electricity rate of 12 cents per kw hr, the 8 bulb 4 footer uses 54wx8 or 432w per hour, times 8 hours = 3456w/day. That comes to 41 cents per day - not too bad, right? Wrong - $2.87/week, $11.48/month, $137.76/year - bear in mind this is just teh price of electricity - transmission charges and local taxes get added to this. Over 10 years you'll pay $1377 in electricity.

The AI units use 74w each at 100% power. Assuming you run them at full power (which not that many ppl do) that's a whopping 222w. That comes to 21 cents per day, $1.68/ week, $6.72/month, $80.64/year. 10 years of electrons for this (assuming a static electricity rate - which is just wishful thinking) and you get 806 bucks. So in electrons alone over 10 years, the AI saves over $570.

Run a chiller? Halides? See where this is going?

Moral of this story - don't take advice on LED's from those who do not rock LED's. :deadhorse: Dead horse officially beaten.
 
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Over priced upfront but cheaper in the long run to operate and change bulbs less often.
Click to expand...

If they last the claimed "50,000" hours. Lets say I have a four foot, 4 bulb 54 watt T5 which is 216 total watts. I have to change bulbs out say once every year at 25$ per bulb which equals $100 per year x 10 years = $1000. At most will have to change ballast maybe twice during this period at about what $400 or somewhere in that price range. Now I buy three 74 watt leds for the same tank ( based on a 4' tank) at "average price $530 a piece which = $1590. This is supposed to last again, "50,000" hours. This is Great. Only problem is that with the T5 's you are only using 6 more watts than the Led. Forgot to include that the price of the T5 fixture is approx. $500. Now I am looking at a total of $1500 for a T5 plus the extra 6 watts per day, per month, per year x 10yrs versus almost $1600 for an Led x 222 watts per day, per month x 10yrs ( hopefully not having to change a puck or circuit board which will cost alot extra) I fail to see any major difference in cost. A watt is a watt.
 
A 4 bulb T5 fixture over a 24" deep tank will grow softies nicely. He/she wants to grow sps.

Woops, completely missed your other Q's..


1. I really can't decide on whether I want more white or more blue. Can anyone help me out here?
Dunno, do you like the 14k look or 20k/radium look. If the former, go Sol white, if the latter, go Sol blue.

2. In the picture (in the link above) the two LED fixtures are hung vertically on the rail. Meaning in the Up and down fashion. Can I also mount the 2 LED fixtures horizontally? Meaning left to right on the rail?
I'd start off with 2 modules and a 4 foot single rail (55's are 4 feet long, right?). Mount the 2 units sideways and see how that goes - you can always add one more on if need be. The 55 is pretty narrow so spread front to back will not be an issue.
 
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math aside, it is funny how people say the LED fixtures will pay for themselves in 10 years!! :lolspin:

LED is the new thing in the aquarium industry and has yet to stand the test of time.

all the LED owners need to stop trying to justify the cost of these fixture with savings, fact of the matter is they are all overpriced. :deadhorse:

/rant former LED owner
 
fact of the matter is EVERYTHING in this hobby is overpriced. $50 for a metal halide bulb? Come on. I started with LED's in 2008. Everything has to be new for awhile. LED's themselves, however, have been around for a long time they are a proven technology. They just haven't been used for lighting aquaria until recently.
 
lol, good job taking things out of context... you know i meant not proven in growing and sustaining healthy coral populations.
 
also, not everything in this hobby is overpriced. expensive?, yes... but not always overpriced. a good metal halide bulb can be found for $20-40, which isn't bad considering you can now buy a used MH fixture for under $100.

anyways, i don't mean to derail this thread, so carry on.
 
jcolletteiii said:
Weren't you just asking for advice on LED's a month ago? You're already a 'former LED user'? http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2006215&highlight=led

My corals are healthy, colorful and growing. Under LED's. For nearly 3 years. I don't think that if LED's were incapable of growing SPS (or corals in general) that they would have lived this long.
Click to expand...

thanks for searching my name and trying to derail this thread by trying to take a personal jab at me. but, yes i am a former LED owner, i went from PC to MH to LED and now to T5. i built a DIY 3w cree LED fixture w/ non-dimmable drivers for under $100.00, guess why? because i got the LEDs for under $1.00, but that is neither here or there... if you have some kind of problem with me, feel free to pm me and stop cluttering this thread.
 
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