LEDs Are Bad?

[WhiteWulfe]

Y'know, now I'm wondering what an MH/T5/LED combo light would look like.... Just because it would be beyond silly.

[DurocShark]

Why would it be silly?

 

I have an Orbit Marine and a MH/T5. I could totally see using the Orbit for ramp up and down, and the MH combo handle the high noon punch, with some color enhancing t5 bulbs in there to make up for the blue/white only LEDs. Best of both worlds.

[WhiteWulfe]

I think I say silly because not only is that a lot of power being used (as well as heat going into the room), but I honestly can't fathom how Dave at NanoBox could make it look remotely sexy Also, I would expect that much light from three types of sources to be somewhat overkill, wouldn't it?

 

EDIT: I could definitely see the usefulness of the flexibility of such a setup though - just a case of how it would work out logistically... I will admit though that a t5/led hybrid is leaning more towards what I'm thinking of for lighting my own tank when I eventually start up a saltwater, because our living room gets warm enough already.

[WibblyPig]

Actually I could really go for something like that on a 28x28 cube (If I had one). LEDs ramp up for sunrise over about 15 minutes. Then 10,000K, actinic and red T5s come on. Finally the MH kicks in. Do it in reverse and some leds stay on for moon light.

 

Put it all in a 6" tall black hood that's streamlined (and vented) and you could grow anything. Don't know if you'd get the shimmer lines or if the t5s would wash them out.

[GHill762]

Y'know, now I'm wondering what an MH/T5/LED combo light would look like.... Just because it would be beyond silly.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/352805-ocean-light-plus-halidet5-combo-retrofitted-with-nanobox-leds/#entry4865094

[Benny314]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/352805-ocean-light-plus-halidet5-combo-retrofitted-with-nanobox-leds/#entry4865094

 

I was just looking for the build tread for this very light unit lol.

 

Great idea, have to say I personally feel it to be over kill. But each to their own.

[Ahanix]

sarcasm

Not long ago, I remember when the ushio 65k/ ACTINIC "03" were king of the hill.

Ask anybody who has been in the hobby any length of time how many skimmers they have tried

 

LEDs are just like anything else, YOU have to find the best way to us them in your particular setup

 

Are LEDs perfect, No, But they are the reason that Ice Cap closed its doors.

If you don’t know who Icecap was, O-Well

 

Here is a nice article on lighting, http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/aafeature

 

This statement really sums it up. There is really just so much involved with everything in our aquariums that there is not a single "right" way of doing it. We are considered a niche group as it is for the size of aquariums we can successfully keep, and there is another thread going around about how people frown on others for keeping smaller aquariums.

 

In regards to lighting, if LED's were a failed product, we wouldn't see such a complete shift towards them - new fixtures keep coming out every other Tuesday because the technology is changing that frequently. Look at the first gen LED fixtures compared to what is being sold today - It's no wonder people are having problems with their tanks, we have SO much room for adjustment, it's that much easier to kill and scorch coral, compared to I use this "Single Ushio MH Bulb and it work's great" or I use 4-6 ATI / KZ / Geismann Bulbs and my tank looks good. We essentially are throwing hundreds of different combinations at our tanks and hoping for the best.

 

That being said, I'm glad we have such a vast support on this forum for new / untested technology, we are really the reason for success and growth in the industry.

[timmylucas]

I have led's and Ive never had such good growth on my corals. and the fixture I use is very simple and inexpensive

[WhiteWulfe]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/352805-ocean-light-plus-halidet5-combo-retrofitted-with-nanobox-leds/#entry4865094

 

Okay, that's absolutely gorgeous. What kind of extras did the u13's add in to the original setup?

[markalot]

Here's a Radion lit tank over at RC. His previous tank was also all LED.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2445919&page=2

 

There is no doubt LED's can grow and color up corals, let's put that part to rest. That tank is gorgeous.

 

He's using 2 Radion gen2 pros, so I'm guessing $1400 worth of lights.

 

Max wattage is aprox 170 watts at full power per light, so 340 watts if both are running full. He included his graphs and it appears he's running at a max of 46%. I'm not sure if power usage is linear so lets say his power usage for the lights is ~250 watts both lights 46%??

 

Now I'm going to see what happens if he uses the T5 light I like the best, the Sunpower 60 inch. Going with the 8x80W that would be 640 watts of lighting. The cost of the 8x80W fixture is $670 at Marine Depot and each bulb costs $24, so that puts the total light cost at $862 plus $192 per year (using this fixture with the active cooling).

 

LED cost = $1400

 

T5 cost =

$862 first year

$1054 2 years

$1246 3 years

$1438 4 years

 

This doesn't count the extra electricity costs.

 

So, in my opinion, if one is happy with the light spread 2 Radion Pros will save you some money over a T5 unit, but the T5's will give you better spread. This assumes the Radions will still be going strong after 3 years and electricity costs are a fairly minor factor.

 

The unknowns here?

 

How much is the electrical cost difference?

How bright does the tank look to the eye?

How good is the light spread?

 

The last two questions are what caused me to switch, but that's all subjective.

 

For nano reefs we have Ark's winning tank, using the gen3 Radions. More proof LED's can grow corals.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/_/2014/arkayology-r83

 

So perhaps I'll step back a bit from saying LED's are bad for the hobby, but you can see why people have issues with them. Shadowing, easy to run too bright, the temptation to fiddle with the color.