Congrats on your TOM ....Very impressive.
I'm interested in changing over to LED's but have a few questions.
I have a 96" x 36" x 24" deep reef that I want to delete my 4 - 400 watt Metal halides & replace with AI SOL lighting system. I ultimately want to keep SPS corals. Here is my list of questions:
How many units will I need:
How often will I need to replace the LED's themselves
What is an estimated energy savings
I'm trying to figure out investment vs pay off with electric bill and replacement of metal halide bulbs 1 time per year
Thank you, and Congratulations again... Beautiful system...Job well done.
many thanks GlassShark, I appreciate your comments
remember you only need light where there is coral, so the number of light fixtures depends on your aquascape, my tank for example is intentionally darkened over the entire back 12"
however considering you were to light the entire tank and have enough light to grow SPS, I would think 8-10 AI sol blue fixtures would be adequate.
LEDs reportedly last a long time, around 50,000 hrs, so we are talking about 10-11 years! the other advantage over incandescent bulbs is that you are not having to replace bulbs every six months, so there is less possibility of variance in light intensity
energy savings are substantial, AI sol blue's draw 75 watts compared to your 400 watt metal halides, however there are other savings if you are having to cool your tank due to the heat generated from the halides, and of course the ongoing replacement costs of the halide bulbs
savings to consider...
electrical draw: AI's x 10 =
750W vs MH x 4 =
1600W
MH bulb replacement costs every 6 months
expense to cool tank from heat generated from MH's