LED: More bang for your buck?

[mattsilvester]

I've had a bit of a break from the hobby over the last year or two. I am going out tomorrow to look at lighting for my new 48"x24"x18" (LxWxH).

It's a rimless tank so I want something that looks smart.

Generally, a 48" T5 with 6 tubes will give me 6x54W right, which is 324W light.

So, should I be looking at (to compare like for like) an LED that produces about the same wattage, or 1W of LED "worth" more than 1W of T5?

I know that quality of product comes into play, and reflectors etc., but very generally speaking can I use less Watt's of LED than a T5 equivalent?

Many thanks.

 

[DavidinGA]

Throw the watt = watt equations out the window.

A good led fixture will use less watts than the t5 setup. With leds you just need good coverage and most led diodes will be 3w each, so if you want you can calculate the watts used if that's important to ya.

Fwiw if your building an sps tank I'd say stick with a sleek T5 fixture and skip leds altogether...

 

[d2mini]

Fwiw if your building an sps tank I'd say stick with a sleek T5 fixture and skip leds altogether...

This ^^^
Unless you can literally cover the tank in LED.
Or go with one of the new hybrid t5/led fixtures if you want some of that extra pop from the LED.

People put a t5 fixture over their tanks where the fixture and tank are almost the same dimensions.
Then they switch to tiny little separate led fixtures spread out across the tank AND led's are little spotlights compared to a t5 bulb,
and then they wonder why their stuff isn't growing. :headwally: Don't make this mistake.

 

[kevin_e]

I would go with T5 or halide myself, if you are choosing SPS. With quality LEDs, you will still need a lot fixtures to cover a 4 tank adequately. You simply won't get away with 2 radions, for example, on an SPS tank despite what people may tell you. You will likely want 4 mounted perpendicularity, or front to back.

With the Radions ($600, 150 watts ea.), that puts you at 600 watts of energy already and at $2600. An 8 bulb ATI T-5 fixture will put you at 440 watts, $618 and 10-12 years of bulb replacements before reaching the cost of the LEDs. The savings aren't necessarily true.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/48-ati-sunpower-high-output-t5-light-fixture.html

 

[kevin_e]

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/giesemann-spectra-metal-halide-t5-fixtures

http://www.seaquestmarine.com/Giesemann_Infiniti_HQI_T5_Light_Fixtures_s/175.htm

 

[mattsilvester]

Wow. Surprised by the replies. Thought LED's were "cutting edge" and the way forward. Seems its unanimous that a good T5 is better!

I'm not concerned adding wattage, for wattage sake; it's results I'm after. SPS - not quite sure yet whether I will go totally SPS or not, but I'd rather spend a little extra now and have the flexibility later. Obviously energy efficiency is a consideration, but here in Thailand electricity is quite cheap...... whereas equipment is expensive......

Thanks to all.

 

[Wazzel]

LEDs work and work well, just not as straight forward as MH or T-5. The only two knocks I have against LED is the coverage and lack of guidance on settings.

 

[kevin_e]

Wow. Surprised by the replies. Thought LED's were "cutting edge" and the way forward. Seems its unanimous that a good T5 is better!

I'm not concerned adding wattage, for wattage sake; it's results I'm after. SPS - not quite sure yet whether I will go totally SPS or not, but I'd rather spend a little extra now and have the flexibility later. Obviously energy efficiency is a consideration, but here in Thailand electricity is quite cheap...... whereas equipment is expensive......

Thanks to all.

They are cutting edge, but I don't think they are fully understood. Most people underutilized (i.e. too few) the LEDs too, resulting in the mixed bag of success.

 

[mattsilvester]

I've been looking online at two options (my options her in Bangkok are limited).

One is the ZETLIGHT ZT6600 - 200W - 27" long "pendant" type fitting, and claims to be able to cover a 48" tank.

Option 2 is Sanrise (LED Lamp) AquaSanrise SL-A004-I 165w - 16" long. I would need two of these. Each unit has 55 x 3W lamps (5 rows of 11). This seems more credible (4" gap, 16" unit, 8" gap, 16" unit, 4" gap = 48").

It's an open top, rimless tank. So I want it to look nice too. A stylish T5 pendant is certainly more attractive than a couple of industrial looking LED fixtures hanging off a bar.

 

[GSMclowns]

Can you order an ATI Sunpower 8 bulbs in Thailand?
I think that would be a perfect fit for your tank.

 

[mattsilvester]

Can you order an ATI Sunpower 8 bulbs in Thailand?
I think that would be a perfect fit for your tank.

I think so. I will go shopping tomorrow and find out!

It seems that a good T5 unit is going to be better than LED, and will be cheaper initial cost too.

 

[mattsilvester]

So my options are:

1. Zetlight ZT6600 (200W LED with CREE bulbs).

2. ATI Sunpower 6x54W with ATI / Geismann tubes (what colous should I get?).

They are basically the same price, including bulbs.

I am not planning on a high end SPS set up but I cant rule it out.

 

[joshky]

I'm putting a 8x54w ati sunpower over my 48x24x16 rimless so you can likely guess my choice. I originally wanted to go with the 6x54w and add reefbrite led strips but I got a good deal on a used fixture so this will do just fine.

 

[mattsilvester]

Update.

OK - so I made a call on it and went for the LED unit (Zetlight ZT6600, 200W LED with CREE bulbs).

My choice was based on a few things. Firstly, not needing to replace / maintain the LED is a big plus for me. I really like the ripple effect too.

So - thanks for the great advice. On mature thought, I do not think the system will be SPS dominated and so hopefully the LED will be adequate.