LED lighting

[aujay]

I have been following a few threads on other forums about LED lighting potentially replacing MH. I was curious if anyone was already using LED's for their primary lighitng.

It seems that LED is definitely the direction of the future. The light converts nearly all electricity into light vs. about half heat and half light for more conventional bulbs, even fluorescents.

I spoke with a friend that said the power savings on traffic lights paid for LED upgrades in less than a year. And the LED's had a much longer lifespan.

I remember discussing the prospect of LED's for a reef tank with a friend. Looks like now is possibly a reality. It would be nice to not have the heat issue with lights.

 

[Nitroq2]

I dont think there is a lamp out at this time but I think PFO is set to release one named Solaris (sp.) i think its due out in july

 

[aujay]

It came out this past july

http://www.solarisled.com/

From all the threads I've read, it has a similar color to a 20k MH. It seems the pictures taken under LED look a lot bluer. Some people say their SPS open up more. And supposedly there is a 10 year life to the light rather than the 1 yr recommended for MH bulbs.

 

[aujay]

Here is also a review of the LED systems. Remember, the costs are quite high right now. On the order of $2300 to replace the lights on my 90 gal.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2

 

[Nitroq2]

Man you mean I am a year behind? I seen something about July.

 

[kng]

aujay,

I saw it at the MTRC frag swap. They were claiming it was equivelant to a 250 W MH. It didn't "look" like it was equivelant. Not sure how the corals actually do under it though.

 

[H@rry]

I saw the same thing that Kyle saw at the Nashville swap. The guy had a par meter (I think that's what it was) and the LEDs had more par than Philip's 250w MH. You could put your hand right under the lights and not feel any heat (or hardly any heat). This might be a deciding factor for people using a chiller.

I don't know about the savings on power paying for the lights in a year. If it cost $2300 for a 90 it would cost me about 5K to convert mine. I don't know how long that would pay the current power bill. Sounds a little far fetched to me. Maybe in a year or so they will come down. I'm gonna wait until more people have had an opportunity to test then over coral for a year or so.

 

[greenbean36191]

Using the default price on the energy calculator, it looks to me like you'd save about $1050 in energy and bulb replacement (at $70/yr for a bulb) over the 10 year life of the thing vs. a 250w setup. They estimate the life of the LEDS to be somewhere around 50,000 hrs though so that puts you closer to 17yrs if you're running it for 8 hrs/day. With the 17 yr figure the savings would be roughly 75% of the cost.

 

[aujay]

Most of the calculations I've seen say that LED's would pay for themselves after about 5 years of operation. One, you have four arrays, and supposedly each array is equivalent to a 250 W MH. Also, if you don't need a chiller, thats money and energy saved there. There's less energy spent on lights, and energy saved on cooling your home. Of course, my MH help heat my home in the winter time.

One of the reasons the light might look different is that it is a more narrow spectrum. It generates much less in the UV spectrum which is known to bleach corals. Those of us with MH that have worked under them know the sunburn you can get on your arms.

I agree, I'm not buying one soon, just because the startup is so much. I'm considering unloading my tank until my life gets less busy in a couple of years. I might consider it then. Evaporative cooling and the ensuing humidity are issues at my house. You know when you open windows when its 50 degrees outside to let the house dry out some, its bad.

But I think a lot of people's aversion to them is the perception of less intense light. I think we subconciously associate light with heat and so less heat we think less light, not realizing infared is something our corals cannot use, nor can the opposite end of the spectrum, the UV.

 

[bobbyreefer]

Re: LED lighting

Check out www.ClearlyLEDs.com Looks like these guys offer LED lighting specifically for reef tanks

Bobby

 

[timrandlerv10]

hey...what he said about his friend...i thought that was nuts until i read it out loud to somebody else...TRAFFIC LIGHTS...



Lots of other industries are using LEDs because they last longer, use less nrg and stay cooler (helping them last longer again).

for us its more about par and spectrum, but you can vary EVERYTHING with LED, and i bet they didnt just throw this together. What we need is somebody that doesnt work for them to say what they said 'my corals grow great and its cooler.'

 

[8BALL_99]

Well how ever you look at it they aren't cheaper...They might work as good as mh or even better.. But as of right now they cost more. Now if you live is So-Cal or somewhere else that has Very high Electricity and stays hot most of time then they might look a little better. But even then I dont think prices really compare yet.. Now in a couple of years who knows. I would have to really see them in action long term though to be convinced.. Tons of people say T5s have more par then MH less heat blah blah blah.. I used T5s for a year.. They didn't look as good and corals didn't grow as fast. I dont care what a light meter says just how my tanks do..