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Ultimate LED guide


evilc66

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He11 yeah! New LED Guide!!... Bookmarked...

 

One thing that I'm really glad you stressed in your article is the potential energy savings of LED lighting. For a smaller system it won't be a whole lot per month, but it really adds up. Combine that with the fact that you don't have to replace bulbs every year and you've got a real cost savings. I did a simple calculation Saturday a $2000 LED setup vs. an $800 800W metal halide. The LED array would break even with the increased up-front cost in only 3 years!

 

Now in addition to the efficiency, could you post some links to how well LED's work for coral growth? I've googled some stuff, but I haven't found very much recent information (from well trusted sources giving accurate numbers) yet similar to all the stuff you can find for MH or T5. I'm not just talking PAR, but rate of coral growth, algae growth, etc...

 

Keep up the good work. I'm also looking forward to the completion of your latest LED array....

Edited by ajmckay
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He11 yeah! New LED Guide!!... Bookmarked...

 

One thing that I'm really glad you stressed in your article is the potential energy savings of LED lighting. For a smaller system it won't be a whole lot per month, but it really adds up. Combine that with the fact that you don't have to replace bulbs every year and you've got a real cost savings. I did a simple calculation Saturday a $2000 LED setup vs. an $800 800W metal halide. The LED array would break even with the increased up-front cost in only 3 years!

 

Now in addition to the efficiency, could you post some links to how well LED's work for coral growth? I've googled some stuff, but I haven't found very much recent information (from well trusted sources giving accurate numbers) yet similar to all the stuff you can find for MH or T5. I'm not just talking PAR, but rate of coral growth, algae growth, etc...

 

Keep up the good work. I'm also looking forward to the completion of your latest LED array....

 

Coral growth is going to be a difficult one to quantify. I can tell you based on my experiences what it could be, but I don't have the tim eor the funds to set up comparitve systems to see how well a coral would grow under different lighting systems. I wish I could though :)

 

Adin, thanks for the sticky, but I wonder if this wouldn't be better kept in the lighting forum?

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Think you could list of couple of DIY LED threads that you think are built well? Maybe some different set-ups with different brands, optics, heatsinks and all that good stuff so everything is in one place.

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Thats going to be covered in the next section in detail, but here are a few to get you started:

 

LED Supply

Luxeon Star

LED-Tech (For our European bretheren)

Deal Extreme

Kai Domain

 

This will give you an idea as to what you are looking at part wise. There are many other places to get supplies. Some better than others depending on quantity and quality.

 

Think you could list of couple of DIY LED threads that you think are built well? Maybe some different set-ups with different brands, optics, heatsinks and all that good stuff so everything is in one place.

 

I'm sure I can do that, once I get permission from the relevant people.

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For those of you who have a par meter.......

 

What would you say the average par number is for a single LED with 40 degree optics at 12, 18 and 24 inches. If you don't know thats cool, but for a guestimation... what would you say?

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Don't have numbers for a single LED, but I do for an array.

 

Array of 10 LEDs. 4 XR-E Q5s @ 1000mA, 4 XR-E royal blues @700mA, 1 3W UV @ 700mA.

 

12" - ~500PAR

24" - ~200PAR

 

These numbers can vary based on brand of LED and lens, and the drive current used.

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Thanks everyone. Kamy is being kind enough to take my guide and tidy it up a little and format it so there will be a downloadable pdf that you can print as a handy desk reference, once it's done of course :)

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The Propagator
Thanks everyone. Kamy is being kind enough to take my guide and tidy it up a little and format it so there will be a downloadable pdf that you can print as a handy desk reference, once it's done of course :)

 

BAD ACE !!!!

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