Lighting Website Updates

[plack]

"First off as the Meister mentioned the balancing of the spectrum."
I saw the solaris at my local reef club in person and you can adjust it infinitely I was told.

I also used a Lux meter first hand and it was constant unlike a halide so All the corals get a more even amount of brighter than T-5's and comprable to some new halides!

( I recently tested them in a store many new t-5's aginst old worn out 12kReefluk was similar but nothing comared to new metal halides)

Sure there are presets but if you tinker with it the sky's the limit
As I understand it!



Paul

 

[hahnmeister]

You can adjust them with just the LEDs that they have is what they mean. The white LED's are dominant in the blue spectrum (alot like an Aquablue/actinic white T5), with less green, and little to no yellow-red. The blue 450-460nm LED's are just that, and same for the 420nm actinics. They have added some green LED's to suppliment this spectrum which is otherwise lacking, and I wonder how long until some 3000Kish or Red LED's are worked in? Recent tests in Germany have shown that althoug corals seem to benefit from blue light more than other spectrums as far as growth is concerned, I will cite all the pigmentation prolems that lights that are dominant in blue can create. I have a buddy who used to run his tank with nothing but radiums and VHO actinics. I convinced him to go with Ushio 14,000Ks and supplimental blue+ T5s, and you wouldnt believe how the corals colored in. Previously, there were corals that were blue/purple because there was no other choice... gold tip and red corals that were purple and blue. After the switch... I couldnt believe all the choice corals he had collected all that time and nobody would ever have known. Golden colored acros with red tips had their colors back... pinks were pink... he could grow poscillipora again...something that he couldnt do before with all that blue for some reason. Dana Riddle cites in his review the huge dominance of the blue spectrum in the Solaris as a major bonus... yet some German researchers would say the opposite, as light sources too dominant in blue have also been shown to cause photoinhibition easier than 'fuller spectrum' sources.

 

[plack]

currently I have tried 14K ushio DE 250 watt HQI Pfo ballast and it looked too yellow the light never changed and I never knew it was defective untill I got a pheonix 14K and now I am switching to reeflux 10K.

It seems Every one is quick to say whats wrong, to them ,about led's yet they do have advantages and do in the long run work well it's just too much money up front for me!!

Paul

 

[hahnmeister]

Actually, I think the new I4's are the first ones which can give halides a run for the money. Now its just a matter of the spread and cost (and spectrum, but Im sure that will follow as well).

 

[The Grim Reefer]

One big downside I see to the LED's is what happens if the unit fails? You gotta ship the whole beast back to the factory for repair? I would be waiting for them to be made modular before I would consider owning one.

 

[RiddleLabs]

Aloha Hahnmeister,

The Germans (and many other researchers for that matter) are correct in that blue light is largely responsible for photoinhibition.
Blue light can trigger dynamic photoinhibition, which is part of the zoox's protection from excessive light. Dynamic Photoinhibition is quite normal, and part of the natural diurnal photoprotective cycles.

Now. Are lamps skewed towards the blue end of the spectrum bad for corals? The answer is 'yes' and 'no' - it depends upon the quantity or intensity of blue light. At sub-saturating intensities, blue is OK, and perfectly normal. When blue intensity is ramped upwards, the natural dynamic photoinhibition comes into play.

Dana

 

[jjmcat]

Anyone know the par readings from the blueline 10k 250 watt bulbs ran on an electronic ballast?They have the look of a 14 k bulb.These bulbs are much brighter then my 14 k evc bulbs.

 

[dastratt]

Hope this question isn't too far afield.

I recently hooked up a new PC bulb to my PC fixture and it seems to have blown (I saw a reddish light near the end closest to the connector for a second and then nothing. I hooked up the old bulb and it worked as before).

The retail outlet (Marine Depot) is asking me to return the bulb to them. They say if testing shows it is defective then they will send me a replacement.

I'm thinking about the shipping hassle and also wondering if they may end up deciding it is not defective. Any opinions on whether it makes sense (the bulb cost me $28, it is a 24" 65W 10k Coralife).

Can anybody help me here?
thanks!

 

[plack]

The Grim Reefer

I was also told by a solaris rep in person that the led's are in modules for easy replacement and repair.

 

[tunaluver]

is sanjays site working for anybody else? its not working for me. looking for info on the helios compared to xm 20k 400w

 

[hahnmeister]

Wow, that Aqua Illumination unit looks interesting. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/review

Is there something Im overlooking in that review? I mean, my only complaint COULD be that I like a fuller spectrum, but its not really even that bad. You could pair it up with a couple T5s or something to bring up the actinic or something. But 88 watts to compete with the 250watt 20,000K XM? Thats getting better. When they hit the output of a 250wattDE 14,000K pheonix or Ushio, and only cost $500, I might have to bite.

I wonder if I can put one on my light rail... that would be sweet... my 125g lit with only 88 or so watts of LED and 216 watts of T5s. Lol. Id be growing SPS with 2.5 watts per gallon! If that doesnt destroy the Watts/gallon myth, I dont know what does... oh, wait, yeah... a skylight.

 

[kinerson]

Are you sure it's 88w? I think they said it saves about 1/3 energy costs compared to a XM 20000k 250w so...

 

[kinerson]

Check there website, I may be confused.

Reduced Energy
The AI will realize over a 1/3 savings when compared to a low output metal halide (250W). In addition, consider the energy consumed by a small (400W) water chiller, and the heat produced by the chiller that must be removed using air conditioning. The compound energy savings can be substantial.

 

[TropTrea]

Then you have some of us that have our sumps and refudiums located in the basement and are adding heaters to keep the water temp up.

So you also have to look if 1/3 savings on the light bill will also result in a 1/3 gain in the heating bill?

Dennis

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11015550#post11015550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kinerson
Check there website, I may be confused.

Reduced Energy
The AI will realize over a 1/3 savings when compared to a low output metal halide (250W). In addition, consider the energy consumed by a small (400W) water chiller, and the heat produced by the chiller that must be removed using air conditioning. The compound energy savings can be substantial.

 

[TropTrea]

Lets say your using a pair of Metal hides using a total of 3 W=KWH per day. If these lights reduce your usage to 2 KWh per day and your electric charge is 0.11 per KWH hour then you are saving 11 cents per day in electrricity. Now at a cost a 2,490 for a 4" system it will take you 62 years of energy savings to make this upgrade economical.

But if going to have to by a light fixture anyway then you might be paying $500 to $1000 for it so you would only be paying an added $1,500 for this fixture. so you would have pay it off much quicker.

Now there may be added saving an bulb replacement costs though. With the MY T-5 fisture you would be spending about $100 a year on bulbs. But for the LED's we do not know how long they will lst and what replacemments will cost.

Dennis




QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11015528#post11015528 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kinerson
Are you sure it's 88w? I think they said it saves about 1/3 energy costs compared to a XM 20000k 250w so... [/QUOTE]

 

[hahnmeister]

kinerson, the wattage of the unit is given right in the title of the review, and its output is said to be greater than that of the 250watt 20,000K XM. Now, that doesnt sound that impressive... Ill give you that... but its 88 watts vs. 250! Thats an electrical savings of about 65%.

Now, to get the light equal to that of a pheonix 14,000K or ushio 10/14,000K, I would need two of the 12" units... so its not a total match because the halides I normally use.

Im sure sometime in 2008, these LED units will start to look like apppealing alternatives more... able to compete with 400watt 20,000Ks with 1/4 the energy.

 

[prugs]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/review

I have issues with the way Danna submitted the testing results for the Aqua Illumination fixture.

1) Who is going to mount their lighting fixture 1" above the water surface? The article says the legs were removed from the AI unit & 1" above the water surface.

2) The PAR charts representing AI vs the tested MH use different colors, giving the illusion the AI fixture has more PAR.

3) As mentioned before. No one who wants good growth is going to use the MH unit used in the comparison.

 

[k9cop1512]

TropTrea, and others....

Quick note on energy costs..Formula is Watts divided by 1000=KW
KW x your electric rate (typically around .15 per KW after you figure in all utility charges) now, multiply by the # of hours you operate the lights will give you per day cost. Times 31, per month cost, etc.

If I use the 11 cents you gave an example of. If you have 1 250W MH, with the ballast, you're looking at around 275-300W depending on ballast effeciancy. A 250 MH will cost around 3 cents per hour/ 30Cents per day (10hrs), $10per mo, $120per yr.

I have a 3' fixture. 500W MH plus 78watts of T5 Actinics. W/ballasts, we'd be around 650W. this would =$355/yr @ .15 per kw hr. Led would cost around $120/yr to run. I'd save $240 with out figuring savings from not needing as much cooling!!

Their wedsite says a 3' fixture would cost $1900. With just the savings in lighting electricity, I'd pay for the fixture in 8yrs.

If I change my MH's and T5's once a year, that costs around $250/yr. Add that into the equation of lamp savings and lighting only energy savings, I'd pay the fixture off in 4yrs ($240 energy/yr + $250 lamps/yr) Again, now you could figure out your energy savings on not using the chiller!

There! Being an electrical contractor, I get asked about energy savings all the time. I did this quick, but it should be accurate. Hope this helps! Tim

P.S. As you mentioned, I also do not know the cost or what's involved in replacement of the LED's in the future. I only know they rate this fixture at 50,000 hrs, which is 5.7yrs.

 

[k9cop1512]

Oh, By the way...Easiest way to figure out your KW rate per hr, because of all the other supplier charges, etc.....Take your electric bill and divide by your KWhrs. In Western MA, I'm paying 15.8 cents per KW/hr. Tim

 

[prugs]

The like the electrical calculator here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

I am at approx $75/month.