LED lighting Systems

[Bifferwine]

With T5s, you do not need anywhere near 6 to 9 watts per gallon. You would be able to keep anything you wanted under about 4 watts per gallon. What matters with T5s is whether the bulbs have individual reflectors or not. Individual reflectors are supposedly able to increase the light that goes into the tank by up to 300%.

On my old 55 gallon tank, I was running 4x54 watts of T5s and I was able to keep clams, SPS, anemones, everything. Right now, I am running 6x54 watts of T5s over my 90 gallon tank (with individual reflectors) and I have SPS and a clam that are doing great. In fact, a lot of people with 120 gallon tanks use the light fixture I have over my 90. I told you the exact lights I was running over my 90 gallon tank earlier, and I recommended them. I wouldn't have recommended lights that weren't going to be able to sustain a reef!

The watt per gallon rule of thumb is outdated because certain types of lighting are more efficient than others. You can have a PC fixture and a T5 fixture that are the same wattage, but the T5 fixture will be way better than the PC fixture and put out a lot more usable light for the corals.

 

[Bifferwine]

Current Usa 48" Nova EXT Pro T5HO 6 x 54

These lights would be perfect for a 90. That's what I'm using over my tank. $322.

 

[parrotchute]

Don't listen to her!!! LEDs are the future!
ha
Well, honestly, if money isn't an issue, I think LEDs are a great choice - but I don't think they're an economical choice for at least another year or so. I'm willing to bet that in a year we'll start seeing MH and t5's disappear as LEDs and plasma really start pricing down.

 

[RIJohn]

With T5s, you do not need anywhere near 6 to 9 watts per gallon. You would be able to keep anything you wanted under about 4 watts per gallon. What matters with T5s is whether the bulbs have individual reflectors or not. Individual reflectors are supposedly able to increase the light that goes into the tank by up to 300%.

On my old 55 gallon tank, I was running 4x54 watts of T5s and I was able to keep clams, SPS, anemones, everything. Right now, I am running 6x54 watts of T5s over my 90 gallon tank (with individual reflectors) and I have SPS and a clam that are doing great. In fact, a lot of people with 120 gallon tanks use the light fixture I have over my 90. I told you the exact lights I was running over my 90 gallon tank earlier, and I recommended them. I wouldn't have recommended lights that weren't going to be able to sustain a reef!

The watt per gallon rule of thumb is outdated because certain types of lighting are more efficient than others. You can have a PC fixture and a T5 fixture that are the same wattage, but the T5 fixture will be way better than the PC fixture and put out a lot more usable light for the corals.

Current Usa 48" Nova EXT Pro T5HO 6 x 54

These lights would be perfect for a 90. That's what I'm using over my tank. $322.

Well thanks you Biff for clearing that up. I didnt realize how much reflectors did to the light out puts. I do however appreciate all the help you have given me with my set up though. Another question how many plugs does your system have, I know it may be an odd question but curious.

Don't listen to her!!! LEDs are the future!
ha
Well, honestly, if money isn't an issue, I think LEDs are a great choice - but I don't think they're an economical choice for at least another year or so. I'm willing to bet that in a year we'll start seeing MH and t5's disappear as LEDs and plasma really start pricing down.

Its really not so much the cost right now. I had been shopping around for some time and have decided to put solar panels on my home for electricity and hot water. Convertining all gas appliances to electric. I would like to go green as much as possible in hopes to say that I tried my part in helping the planet. My family, son, mother, step father and girl live in the same home with only a 2 13gallon trash bag a week of trash. We compost organics like vegies, and dogs eat the meat. We recycle everything. So I am trying to lower my foot print. Originally when I bought the lights I ordered something else, since lights I ordered were no longer available I picked the next closest thing which is what I have now. I went for watts per gallon my fault for not posting sooner on this site.:frustrat: Awesome color and viewing is great, the HEAT FREAKING SUCKS.

 

[Bifferwine]

My lights have 2 plugs.

 

[RIJohn]

My lights have 2 plugs.

I guess it would be safe to assume each one does two bulbs?

Do they throw off heat? I would feel safe to say if they did not as much as the Halides.

 

[Bifferwine]

No, it's a 6 bulb system. One plug runs 2 bulbs and the other runs 4. Don't ask me why! That's just how it is.

They don't produce any noticeable heat. MH are notorious for producing a lot of heat. It's a lot more noticeable because it's concentrated from one source.

 

[RIJohn]

No, it's a 6 bulb system. One plug runs 2 bulbs and the other runs 4. Don't ask me why! That's just how it is.

They don't produce any noticeable heat. MH are notorious for producing a lot of heat. It's a lot more noticeable because it's concentrated from one source.

6 Bulbs ok thats not that strange of lay out. 2 for actinics and 4 for daytime kinda makes sense to me. At least its less plugs then the haldide system I got. mine is five plugs, 2 for each T5,, 2 for each Halide, One for Lunar.

No noticeable heat is awesome, I knew metal halides threw off heat. Just didnt know home much heat, nor did I realize that the system had such big ballasts. When the lights came in it took me a while just to figure out what the big metal boxes were, finally realizing that they were ballasts. The halides would be great if the system ie ballasts and lights didnt through off the tremendous heat, and heat my home five to six degrees after four hours of use.

 

[parrotchute]

Yeah, my old t-5's didn't give off any noticeable heat.

 

[ccCapt]

No, it's a 6 bulb system. One plug runs 2 bulbs and the other runs 4. Don't ask me why! That's just how it is.

They don't produce any noticeable heat. MH are notorious for producing a lot of heat. It's a lot more noticeable because it's concentrated from one source.

I'll just point of the fact that a watt gives off the same amout of heat no matter what produces it. 6 x 54w T5HO = 324w will give off more heat than 2x150w MH = 300w and less heat than 2 x 175w MH = 350w. The difference is MH heat comes from a small 2" source and the T5HO tube is 4' long and spreads out the heat. Both must have some sort of cooling and both can cause heat issues. I've run MH's for over 20 yrs and never had heat problems. Even LED's give off heat and they must be cooled or they will burn out fast.

 

[Bifferwine]

6 Bulbs ok thats not that strange of lay out. 2 for actinics and 4 for daytime kinda makes sense to me.

It's actually 3 actinics and 3 daylight bulbs. I don't know why they are split 4 and 2. Because the fans run no matter which plug is plugged in.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'll just point of the fact that a watt gives off the same amout of heat no matter what produces it. 6 x 54w T5HO = 324w will give off more heat than 2x150w MH = 300w and less heat than 2 x 175w MH = 350w. The difference is MH heat comes from a small 2" source and the T5HO tube is 4' long and spreads out the heat. Both must have some sort of cooling and both can cause heat issues. I've run MH's for over 20 yrs and never had heat problems. Even LED's give off heat and they must be cooled or they will burn out fast.

Yup that's why I said it's more noticeable from MH lights.

 

[bjohanson1234]

It's actually 3 actinics and 3 daylight bulbs. I don't know why they are split 4 and 2. Because the fans run no matter which plug is plugged in.

Because most ballasts either run 2 or 4 bulbs. So to keep costs down, they used a 2 bulb ballast and a 4 bulb ballast not three 2 bulb ballasts or two 4 bulb ballasts only running 3 bulbs

 

[Bifferwine]

Because most ballasts either run 2 or 4 bulbs. So to keep costs down, they used a 2 bulb ballast and a 4 bulb ballast not three 2 bulb ballasts or two 4 bulb ballasts only running 3 bulbs

Well that is a good explanation then!

 

[RIJohn]

Ok so decided since I had some free time in my day that I would do some math of cost for purchase of the Nova system, compared to two of the LED systems. I didint really shop around on bulb price but did a means from one web site.

So the Nova, 6 bulbs at 54w, two bulbs running for 10hrs and four running at 8 for a total of 2808w per day. Using manufactors recommendation on bulb replacements every year or 1

The LED system two fixtues at 73w for ten hours each, for a total of 1460w per day. Using manufactors hours converted into yrs for replacements, which was about 6yrs.

Nova LED Panorama
2808w 2.808Kw 1460w 1.46kw per day
1024.92Kw 532.9Kw per year
$102.49 53.29 Kw= $0.10
$120.00 $0.00 per year bulb replacements
$322.00 $1519.98 Initial Cost of unit/units

$424.49 $1574.73 first year
$222.49 $53.29 second year
$222.49 $53.29 third year
$222.49 $53.29 fourth year
$222.49 $53.29 fifth year
$1314.45 $1787.89 Total of the five years.

So at this point it looks like the T5 system compared to the Panorama 23in and 17in system is cheaper for the first five years. Although this was done on some set specs with an average price for a bulb.

For me looking at this way I would rather invest high now and reduce things later on. $4.40 a month for my light system opposed to $10 sounds good to me. Also I think I would like to try LEDs out, if it fails then what I need is cheap enough...

 

[RIJohn]

Sorry for the bad spacing, when I typed it spaced out correctly but did not post that way.

 

[reeffreak]

John,I am thinking about going to these sometime.Well,maybe before picking myself off the floor from fainting.Don't forget to put these on the list of possible LED lights for your system.

Galaxy LED

Or how about a compromise(LED and T5)

http://www.aquaticselite.com/Galaxy_T5_s/28.htm

 

[ccCapt]

Here's the best, scientifically conducted MH vs T5HO vs LED comparison to date.

Feature Article: Quantitative Comparison of Reef Aquarium Lighting Technologies: Metal Halide, T5 Fluorescent and LED | Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine
"Based on this quantitative data, is its quite obvious that the LEDs have come of age in providing a viable solution to lighting reef aquaria. While a lot of other factors that may be involved in making decisions such as power savings, cost, longevity, controllability, cost of ownership etc. these are not the factors considered here. Based solely on quantitative light output data, I am excited about the future of this technology for reef aquarium use. In fact, I have replaced my lighting for the 29G reef aquarium with this Eco-Lamps KR-92 fixture, and am looking forward to replacing the 2X150W Metal Halides on my 55G reef with a 4ft version of this fixture. Future articles will present results on other LED fixtures that I am currently evaluating."

 

[RIJohn]

Here's the best, scientifically conducted MH vs T5HO vs LED comparison to date.

Feature Article: Quantitative Comparison of Reef Aquarium Lighting Technologies: Metal Halide, T5 Fluorescent and LED | Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine
"Based on this quantitative data, is its quite obvious that the LEDs have come of age in providing a viable solution to lighting reef aquaria. While a lot of other factors that may be involved in making decisions such as power savings, cost, longevity, controllability, cost of ownership etc. these are not the factors considered here. Based solely on quantitative light output data, I am excited about the future of this technology for reef aquarium use. In fact, I have replaced my lighting for the 29G reef aquarium with this Eco-Lamps KR-92 fixture, and am looking forward to replacing the 2X150W Metal Halides on my 55G reef with a 4ft version of this fixture. Future articles will present results on other LED fixtures that I am currently evaluating."

Thanks for the link, it was a good read on how the systems compare to each other scientifcally.

 

[RIJohn]

I was wondering how much Kelvins played a role coral growth? I noticed most bulbs that I have seen range from 10k to 14k with some going higher then that. I just dont know how the Kelvins factor into everything. I do know higher Kelvins give off more blue hue.