Bridgelux LED vs. T5

[SigEpLucas]

Sorry if this has been brought up but I couldn't find anything on the forum on these. about 2 months ago I upgraded my 2.5g pico at work to a 10 gallon and I've been using the same light but need a bigger one. I was looking at two fixtures and wanted to hear some thoughts of what would be better.

1. Is a 55x3w Bridgelux LED fixture ($250). There are a few of them out there and they are really cheap so I wanted to see if anyone had any long term success with these? They are fully dimmable and have a built in digital timer as well.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dimmable-Digital-Timer-fixture-Moonlights/dp/B008D3QBWW/ref=sr_1_69?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1360336221&sr=1-69&keywords=LED+Aquarium+fixture"]Amazon.com: 120 Watt Dimmable with Digital Timer coral reef LED fixture With Moonlights: Pet Supplies[/ame]

2. is a Nova Extreme 108w T5 ($290). This looks like a great light and I know t5 lights can be great. I figure this is a more proven choice than the LED but it also doesn't have any built in timers, 2 plugs, etc.

Current Nova Extreme Pro 20" T5HO Light 108 Watts | eBay

What are thoughts on these two options for a well stocked 10g reef?

Thanks!

 

[little_fish]

This would do you awesome: 12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Mixed Color with UV) - Rapid LED

 

[SigEpLucas]

Yeah I've looked at those before. One thing I'm looking for is the ability to control blue and white independently. So the ability to have two switches is something I want that I would not be able to get with PAR bulbs. Also would one of the PAR bulbs be enough?

I really want a scenario where I know that I have enough light to keep anything I want. I feel like a PAR bulb might be a gamble to how much coverage I end up with throughout the entire tank.

The LED fixture also gives me the ability to add a second fixture for a 4 ft tank in the future and seems like a good choice I just don't know anything about the Bridgelux bulbs. I know cree are the best but can't find a good cree LED light fixture in that price range.

 

[little_fish]

There are actually some Par38 bulbs that do come with switches so you can control the colors independently, I was just too cheap to look into buying one. And yes, one par bulb would be enough. Several people are using in the 10 gal tanks and have all sorts of stuff, SPS included.

 

[SigEpLucas]

Got it. Thanks for the feedback! I will look into those as an option! Thanks!

 

[RockStacker]

For your option #1, I use similar units except without the integrated timers.

You would save more money and get similar performance getting the LED version without the integrated timer. You can get those as low as $150.00 on Ebay.
Just use a regular light timer from a hardware store ($5.00-$10.00 worth).

The $100.00+ markup just for a built-in digital timer is not worth it IMO.
Plus more electronics = more stuff that salt creep can screw up.

However, if those integrated electronics control automatic ramp up and dimming down, then that's another matter.

Also, look at the fine print on those listings. They claim to be 55-LEDs at 3watts each.
But total power output of the driver is only 60 watts each channel.
So if you set the knobs at maximum illumination, then each bulb would only be at around 2.1 watts.
For me that is not an issue because I do not even need to set the illumination higher than 60% for my tank, so the theoretical power cap would not even be a factor.

 

[SigEpLucas]

Thanks for the Feedback RockStacker I think you are right about the timer. I don't think using separate timers will be an issue. I think these lights look great over your tank. Are you using the ones with or without the lenses? Which do you think would work better over a 10g?