basser1 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 For our hobby? Hey gang, I know some of you don't go to RC, but there is a lively debate there where someone started a thread about how LEDs are bad for our hobby. Seems the dude spent over 4,000 dollars on some Led fixtures and got all flustered with using them. As you may suspect there is a lot of LED bashing from the MH/T-5 crowd, and LEDs are not ready for prime time..... Here's a link if you're interested. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2483909 Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 These guys are mostly running large tanks and there are inherent challenges with lighting large and/or deep tanks properly. LEDs are not as 'Plug'n'Play' 'Foolproof' (yet) as many are used to as witnessed by the many comments Edit: Changed to keep Ben from overheating Link to comment
paulrw Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 there's a hydroponics store a couple towns over from me i go in on occasion to get worm castings for the garden. i noticed they had kessils for plants so i asked the gentleman who runs the establishment what he thought he informed me that between him and I they were junk that they were useless and you can't grow anything with LEDs never mind the kessils. he actually got quite angry and animated. which led me to find a different hydro shop that had a full display setup with a setup like the brs plastic frag tank with one half being lit by HO t5 fixture and the other side being lit by 3 kessil plant fixtures. to help show their customers that these low heat energy efficient options do work. Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Just gotta think a bit more when getting LEDs is all. XD Because yah, not exactly plug-and-play yet. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Be nice Jedi.. eaaaaasy.. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Just gotta think a bit more when getting LEDs is all. XD Because yah, not exactly plug-and-play yet. No, they definitely can be plug n play, but almost all are missing one key ingredient. Link to comment
Houdini Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Yep LED's are bad and the world is flat. Just ask anybody. Link to comment
Dan R Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I am relatively new here in saying that I have done a lot of research. Looking at the good progress at the tank here on NR using different lighting I believe the kind of light is more personal preference. I also know this debate will go on till the end of time. Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 No, they definitely can be plug n play, but almost all are missing one key ingredient. I actually have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. Link to comment
markalot Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 For larger tanks I think the way the market has touted LED's are very very bad for the hobby. Has nothing to do with LED's themselves, just the way they are designed and marketed in my opinion. You need a LOT of LED coverage in a large tank and the power can be reduced. Instead LED makers like to sell these elite expensive fixtures and make the claim you can use 4 of them over a large tank. Just no. Imagine a theater with a single row of spotlights above the actors. Lots and lots of harsh shadows and it's not going to look very good. Think about being in the tank looking up at the lighting. If you look up at a MH with a big reflector you'll see the bulb and at least 4 reflections of the bulb, each sending light to you at a different angle. Look up at T5 and you see all the bulbs and reflections of all the bulbs, really bathing you in light. Look up at most LED fixtures and you see single pucks of light all coming to you from the same general angle. If price was no object it would be fairly easy to duplicate multiple light sources using multiple fixtures but that's not the way the top of the line fixtures are designed or marketed. Ironically this is why some larger tanks using the cheaper chinese fixtures get better results. Lots of LED coverage over the tank rather than spotlights. In addition, if the tank owner has the money then buying twice as many top of the line fixtures and running them dimmer works well too. There's another argument about LED's not being able to color up corals. I reject that argument. Katropora under Maxspect Razors The reason I switched to T5 was light spread (this coral only looked good when viewed from the top) and lack of perceived brightness in the tank. At 350 PAR my tank looked dim due to the way LED lacks a peak in the green spectrum. This is where the new LIME LED comes in. Add some Lime and make the tank look brighter to your eyes, otherwise it's very easy to kill corals with lots of PAR and still think the lights are too dim. For nano tanks coverage is not really a big issue. It's easy to cover a smaller tank with LEDs. Still, even on my 29 gallon, I would rather have 2 rows of LED pucks, one in front of the other, for coverage. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 No, they definitely can be plug n play, but almost all are missing one key ingredient. Something about lime led? I am wanting to get a better understanding of the LED. I have white and blues so I am missing a lot of channels. However, so far so good, it takes a lot of tweeking to get the right balance. I am quite pleased with my LED's but I am always open to improving it. Link to comment
jlangtree Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 This guy so far is the only one to sum it up well. If I could find a MH small enough I would definately place it on my little tank to give it a go and shelf the LED for a while. "Originally Posted by jackson6745 I will not go LED on my tank because:1)the initial cost is way too expensive2)To have the proper coverage I will not be much more efficient than running T5 or halide. 3)The results are inconsistent at best 4)Resale value is horrible do to the changing models constantly coming out 5)The results with T5 and halide is just too damn good. 6) I believe no matter which LED I choose, the same flaw will be present...... An intense beam of light illuminating my corals from a steep angle coming from a small diode. Essentially I am overexposing half of the coral, and under lighting the other half. No optic can fix this problem." Link to comment
Mojado Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 No, they definitely can be plug n play, but almost all are missing one key ingredient. Can you tell me what the ghl mitras 6100hv is missing? I was pretty impressed by it, but at the time I had little idea what to look for. Link to comment
Chadf Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 This guy so far is the only one to sum it up well. If I could find a MH small enough I would definately place it on my little tank to give it a go and shelf the LED for a while. "Originally Posted by jackson6745 I will not go LED on my tank because: 1)the initial cost is way too expensive 2)To have the proper coverage I will not be much more efficient than running T5 or halide. 3)The results are inconsistent at best 4)Resale value is horrible do to the changing models constantly coming out 5)The results with T5 and halide is just too damn good. 6) I believe no matter which LED I choose, the same flaw will be present...... An intense beam of light illuminating my corals from a steep angle coming from a small diode. Essentially I am overexposing half of the coral, and under lighting the other half. No optic can fix this problem." That sums up why leds suck pretty well. Link to comment
HM3105 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Isn't the real problem with LEDs that people misunderstand how they are used? We keep trying to use them the same way we've used MH and T5 and are suprised when we get different results. Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 That sums up why leds suck pretty well. +1 Link to comment
basser1 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 This guy so far is the only one to sum it up well. If I could find a MH small enough I would definately place it on my little tank to give it a go and shelf the LED for a while. "Originally Posted by jackson6745 I will not go LED on my tank because: 1)the initial cost is way too expensive 2)To have the proper coverage I will not be much more efficient than running T5 or halide. 3)The results are inconsistent at best 4)Resale value is horrible do to the changing models constantly coming out 5)The results with T5 and halide is just too damn good. 6) I believe no matter which LED I choose, the same flaw will be present...... An intense beam of light illuminating my corals from a steep angle coming from a small diode. Essentially I am overexposing half of the coral, and under lighting the other half. No optic can fix this problem." However, with MH/T-5, you need to run a chiller to keep things cool, more expense and not to mention replacing the bulbs annually, another expense. Link to comment
Lawnman Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 However, with MH/T-5, you need to run a chiller to keep things cool, more expense and not to mention replacing the bulbs annually, another expense.I don't run a chiller. Must be because old people keep there house at 82 . Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hybrid... Advantages of both. Your argument is invalid...lol Link to comment
basser1 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 I don't run a chiller. Must be because old people keep there house at 82 . Hell, I had to keep my house so cold I had icecycles off my nose!! Link to comment
WhiteWulfe Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hybrid... Advantages of both. Your argument is invalid...lol Yup... A hybrid setup that takes the best of both and lets them work together. Oh, and looks sexy too - that always helps too. Link to comment
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