My new lights MH vs LED

[xpertrifle]

OK, So I bought current TrueLumen Pro LED strips. There are only 2 48" strips now, but here is my obsevation. The lights on the right side tank are 1 250w MH (1yr old) with 1 CF, the left side and 2 LED's on the other. I forget what temp they are (the MH and CF), I think It's 14K. One LED is actinic blue (470nm or something) and one 12K. The coral glows like never before with the actinic's, one of these would be worth it on any tank just for the blue. The LED's are not as bright as the MH's on my deep tank. I think they would work really great on a regular (not tall) tank. I will post pics, they are not all that clear. Much more so in real life. The tank is a 180gal. 6' long, 18" wide I think and 31" tall.
The light directly under is very, very intense but I noticed much of the light comes out in a very wide beam. So to capture and direct the light that was lighing the whole room up; down I used aluminum foil in the hood. I dont think heat will be a problem with the foil and LEDs but I'll let you know if I need to put a fan back up.


This is with the LED's on the left, MH on right; before my home made reflector.

After the reflector.

I used alum foil as a makeshift reflector. It made it a little brighter I think, No meter to be sure but looks like it.

 

[miguelp19]

they look pretty good, even in your tall tank. and the price is great. hopefully you'll see some nice growth and if you do then these are perfect. no heat, nice output, they dont cost an eye, and like i said hopefully they'll give you some growth.

 

[sillygoose]

Very interesting to see them side by side like that. Does the foil reflector spread the light? We have a Solaris and I like it but the light is very much a narrow spread.

 

[aquaph8]

The halide shot looks really white. I like the bluer spectrum your getting on the led side.

 

[xpertrifle]

It is not nearly as hot as the picture, but the light is not too bad with the reflector. My plan is for 4 48" lights on a 6' tank. Just trying a couple out first.
The blue is very intense in real life almost a bright deep water tank, I'll try and capture the look with a another camera. It looks like when I had all 20,000K bulbs. nice color but not enough light.

 

[99Trev]

Thanks for the pics!!! I have been looking / reading / researching a lot about LED's, and it's great to see a side by side.

Are you going to leave the setup (LED / MH & CF ) for any length of time, or are you going to convert everything over?

 

[xpertrifle]

I have 2 more lights ordered. I will I stall them this week and take some pics with only the LEDs so you can see it.

 

[99Trev]

I did some Googling and have a couple more questions for you:

Is there a reason you went with the 453nm and one 12K instead of the "mixed" Marine Fusion?

And if you don't mind a little more in depth question... I do not have a lot of space in my canopy. You said you got the 48". If you measure the actual length (including any mounting and wires), what do you come up with?

 

[xpertrifle]

The reason I selected one 12k and one 453nm over the mixed was because I was concerned that I would not get enough light.
When I had only 20k MH's I was not happy with how dim the tank was; after I switched to 14K MH's my coral color looked like crap and I needed to add extra blue lights.
This combo is a better compromise of light and blue. If you only have a 24" deep tank the fusion may look really nice. But mine is a deep show tank.
The light fixture is 48" the mounting bracket screws flush against the end, basically a L bracket with the L facing in not out. The wires come out the end but make a sharp U back to a cord holder on the light, so to actually answer your question its about 48 5/8"

I took this picture with the MH's

This is one week after being under the LED's. Lights 29" over the coral 13" of that is water

 

[99Trev]

Looks like the coral(s) are really happy. Thanks for the update (and hopefully some more once you get the others installed).

 

[xpertrifle]

Ok here it is with only 4 48" LED strips.

Looks pretty good dont it! A little intense right under but lots O' blue.

 

[fishaholic911]

Looks nice I see the RBTA found his home and is happy

 

[xpertrifle]

The RBTA is starting to bubble up again! Aslo his color is looking nice. I'll keep things updated.

 

[Reefcamp]

Great thread just ordered some strips myself. What was the final mix of the lights? I know you started with a 12k and a 423nm did you just double them up?

 

[xpertrifle]

I have 2 12k lights and 2 actinics. all 48" to give me overlap on my 6' tank.

 

[Reefcamp]

Yeah I think I made a mistake, I got the Fusion, a 12k and a actinic. I have a cube tank and have no idea how to arrange them for good light distribution.

 

[xpertrifle]

I put them slightly forward in my canopy so I could aim them back to shine more on the face of the rock. Not just strait down.

 

[rogermccray]

How are you liking these strips now that you have had them for a few months? I have an Oceanic 215 Bowfront that is 30" deep and am trying to figure out the lighting for it. So far these strips seem like the best option. I was thinking of getting four 36" strips, with two of the 423nm and two of the 12k strips.

 

[xpertrifle]

I love my new electric bill, almost nothing!
I have been experimenting with light cycles. At 16 hours my SPS grew like crazy, one rock of mushrooms went from 5 to 15 in a month or two! But other than splitting and growing alot, most of the coral would not open up very much. Of all the times I've tried 12hrs seems to be the happiest.
Did I say the blue is REALLY blue. I even have a clam thats doing very well. The only change I've made is I added a clip on light with a full spectrum bulb from walmart simply because the blue was overwhelming.
Other than that I like em alot.

 

[rogermccray]

Where do you have the overlap on the strips? in the middle?