Not much discussion on LEDs anymore

[batt600]

All the pic i posted are all cell phone pics

 

[duke62]

Trying again

Trying different setting i just learned lol

 

[jerl77]

duke i willo stop by and take some shots

 

[strgazr27]

Straight out of the 4S. And this is with OLD T5s that need to be replaced...

 

[jerl77]

just for you duke about 4 feet away

 

[jerl77]

here you go batt600:fight2:

yes a blue tort

 

[Mattl22]

Oregon tort just starting too take off under 72 3 watt Cree LEDs
I phone pic

 

[Mattl22]

Cali tort

 

[Mattl22]

Nice milli from wet thumb!!

Color is not my issue with LEDs my issue is slow growth but could just be in my head tank only up year and a half and most sps only in for about a yr

 

[jerl77]

 

[jerl77]

 

[mbg75]

Mille under t5

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[strgazr27]

Either LED guys spend too much time looking at their lights or you guys need some White Balance instruction Lol. WHY do all the LED shots look simply Blue/Gray other than the corals?

 

[cybermeez]

What I commonly hear from the guys running LED's is that people didn't know how to run them back when LED's first came out or you need to run them at 50% or hang them 12" off the tank or.....

LED's have been out long enough at this point that I think it's been long enough that those who adopted them should have STUNNING tanks by now.

I see only 2 benefits to running LEDS over MH and 1 over T5's. Heat and electric for the MH's and Electric for the T5's.

Damn, finally found the end of this thread!

That second paragraph has flawed logic. LED technology has been evolving at lightning speed over the past 2 years. What was state of the art one day isn't 6 months later. So, comparing the more mature lighting technologies to LEDs is like comparing apples and oranges. For example, just look at the incredible advancements Cree has made in the past 12 months.

Also, not all models of LED fixtures out there are created equal. LED performance decreases as temperature increases. So, if the fixture lacks adequate temperature control (i.e. heat sinks and fans) performance will be compromised.

I've experimented with different types and combinations of lights over the years:

• 2 x 150w DE MH combined with 2 x 130w CFLs
• 2 x 250w DE MH combined with 2 x 650w CFLs
• 2 x 250w DE MH combined with 2 x 130w CFLs
• 2 x 400w SE MH
• 2 x 400w SE MH combined with 2 x 54w T5s
• 2 x 160w Pacific Sun Python LED lamps with 3 ch colors (3w Cree XP-G and XP-E LEDs)
• 1 Pacific Sun Metis Hyperion R2 lamp with 8 ch colors 2 x 140w (3.3w Cree XM-L, XT-E and XP-E LEDs)

For a variety of reasons I am happy with and prefer LEDs. The Metis Hyperion R2 is a big improvement over the Pythons. It's smaller, more efficient, has drastically better color output and is (hopefully) more reliable than my Pythons were. I have yet to measure the lumen output for my tank set-up, but tests showed a better, broader light cast with the lamp 24" from the surface of the water as opposed to 12".

The electricity savings alone is enough to switch to LEDs. I no longer have to run a chiller (even in winter) or the AC because they transfer almost no heat to the tank. My electric bill went from an average of $400 a month to $125 for a 1 bedroom apartment. Admittedly it isn't entirely attributable to the LEDs. I'd also replaced my Mag 12 return pumps with a more efficient Waterblaster, but the LEDs represent a good deal of the savings.

So, there are a lot of variables here to take into account, and I haven't even mentioned the influence of water parameters.

Robin

 

[strgazr27]

How is it flawed? As far as I can tell neither the Radions nor the AI's have changed in the last 12 months. As far as the Cree's go yes they are evolving and getting better with time which means those that are using them now should be showing great results. Yes husbandry plays a large part in it but if you cant show a dramatic difference in 12 months than either your husbandry is off or the lights aren't what they are cracked up to be.

And honestly how many of us have $2000-3000 to drop all at once on a fixture.

 

[James404]

400 a month? I run 3 x 400w MH and no chiller on a 225 + 75g and my electric bill is 236 a month on a 3 bedroom house.

 

[cybermeez]

A blanket statement that "LED's have been out long enough at this point that I think it's been long enough that those who adopted them should have STUNNING tanks by now," is the flawed part. It implies that all LEDs are the same ergo all not as good as MH or fluorescents, if you see what I mean.

The latter two technologies have remained virtually unchanged since the early 1990's. By contrast LED technology advances almost monthly and doubles in scope every 3 years. Just not a fair comparison based on that statement IMO.

 

[cybermeez]

400 a month? I run 3 x 400w MH and no chiller on a 225 + 75g and my electric bill is 236 a month on a 3 bedroom house.

It's the Manhattan price of ~ 20 cents per KwH coupled with running a chiller and/or AC - usually both since the chiller exhaust heats up the room - 12 months a year.

 

[James404]

Ah ok that makes more sense, I think I average 12 cents a kWh.

 

[smoknreefrs]

i cant wait. im in the market for new lightning. i run mh now, but i am in limbo between a t5 setup or a led setup...