LED vs MH

[vonjankmon]

Has anyone seen the new Marineland LED fixtures?

Marineland Double Bright LED Lights | LED Lighting | Lighting Systems | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

Looks like the 36-48 inch model has 16 1 watt wight LEDs and 3 60mW actinics. They are only 7.4 inches wide so you could put two over most 48 inch tanks. They are very inexpensive compared to every other LED fixture but I just do not know how LEDs compare to traditional T5s to make any kind of conclusion on what the light coming out of this fixture would be.

Starting to see a lot of hybrid fixtures now that are a combination of LED and T5 or halide and LEDs. The LEDs are usually acting as the blue antinic lighting.

 

[tankedchemist]

I wouldn't purchase any new marineland stuff until other poeple have tried it out and reviewed it. My marineland lights (the new halide version that came out sometime last fall) were nothing but a giant PITA.

 

[OmegaOmega]

There are pics in mine on my build thread, starting around January.

So far, I really like them, they look extremely natural, no gaps, and are 100% controllable though my ghl controller. I get rainy days, moon effects, full ramp up/down of the blues/whites to simulate the sunrise/set. My corals have amazing growth right now and the colors look great. Can't complain.

Where did you purchase your lights from parrotchute?

 

[dcantucson]

^ David had a very bad experience with LEDs. It's okay David. You can cry. It's okay to cry. :cry:

oh damn, but seriously, what did i miss dcan?????

When I first got my Zero Edge, I also purchased the PFO Solaris system. Long story short, I had some LED's go out and one of the three power sources quit working after about a year of usage. I contacted the Company only to find out they had gone out of business. That was a loss of $3,500.00. :grumble:

 

[parrotchute]

ReefGeek - Aqua Illumination lights.

 

[OmegaOmega]

Can someone explain the difference between T5 and PC? I originally thought they were the same thing but when I looked at the specs it looked like maybe not?

Is a T5 high-output comparable to a MH? The T5 HO setup on Reefgeek is super cheap and looks great - would this be good with a 120g tank (with a 25" height)?

 

[tankedchemist]

T5's are awesome. PC's are lame.

T5 HO's aren't as intense as MH, but almost anything you can grow undre and MH you can grow with a T5, except perhaps anemones or clams, maybe some SPS.

T5's don't penetrate water as well as MH's do, but they do so much better than PC's. PC's also don't have the "right" spectrum for corals to really thrive, ime.

 

[OmegaOmega]

So one of the things I haven't seen addressed in the forums is the impact of UV with the advent of LEDs?

With LEDs there's no UV and I wonder if that has a positive or negative impact to growth in the tank. Are there certain things my tank isn't getting with LEDs that it would gain with MH or the opposite?

Are LEDs less likely to bleach corals?

Also is there any benefit to simulating sunrise/sunset and 'storm/cloud' settings like you can with an advanced LED system or is it just marketing?

Does anyone know of any links to documents or research regarding the comparisons of a T5HO against MH and/or LEDs? I couldn't find anything when I searched here...

 

[parrotchute]

Not sure about the UV issue; I don't know for sure if they wouldn't have any UV.

LEDs, especially the higher end ones with comparable output, can bleach corals just as easily...

The sunrise/sunset may not have beneficial effects, but it is more natural and possibly stresses the fish less than the lights just coming on. Maybe things grow better with the lights slowly ramping up throughout the day, til noon, then going back down, but I doubt any significant studies have been conducted. The rainy days give corals a chance to recovery, as they use a lot of energy growing under the light. (see the book, Corals). I think most of the benefit, however, is similar to the sunrise/set, with it just being a more natural effect, more closely modeling real life.

I wouldn't say those benefits alone give good reason to switch to high end LEDs right now, at least until prices go down. There are a ton of LED companies out there right now, too, so a lot of research into which kind to get would be a good idea if you're thinking of going that route. I got them because I didn't want to switch out the bulbs as often, and wanted the controllability they offered.

 

[bjohanson1234]

So one of the things I haven't seen addressed in the forums is the impact of UV with the advent of LEDs?

With LEDs there's no UV and I wonder if that has a positive or negative impact to growth in the tank. Are there certain things my tank isn't getting with LEDs that it would gain with MH or the opposite?

Are LEDs less likely to bleach corals?

Also is there any benefit to simulating sunrise/sunset and 'storm/cloud' settings like you can with an advanced LED system or is it just marketing?

Does anyone know of any links to documents or research regarding the comparisons of a T5HO against MH and/or LEDs? I couldn't find anything when I searched here...

Also, you have to remember that UV light is mostly blocked by the glass of the bulb and the splash gaurd.

 

[OmegaOmega]

Not sure about the UV issue; I don't know for sure if they wouldn't have any UV.

LEDs, especially the higher end ones with comparable output, can bleach corals just as easily...

The sunrise/sunset may not have beneficial effects, but it is more natural and possibly stresses the fish less than the lights just coming on. Maybe things grow better with the lights slowly ramping up throughout the day, til noon, then going back down, but I doubt any significant studies have been conducted. The rainy days give corals a chance to recovery, as they use a lot of energy growing under the light. (see the book, Corals). I think most of the benefit, however, is similar to the sunrise/set, with it just being a more natural effect, more closely modeling real life.

I wouldn't say those benefits alone give good reason to switch to high end LEDs right now, at least until prices go down. There are a ton of LED companies out there right now, too, so a lot of research into which kind to get would be a good idea if you're thinking of going that route. I got them because I didn't want to switch out the bulbs as often, and wanted the controllability they offered.

I think the cost of buying the LED system can be realized. If I look at what I want to keep as livestock in a 250w MH environment as opposed to a Pacific Sun LED system running at 70-100% capacity; I can see a huge gain in power savings over a five year period, not to mention consumables such as bulbs for a MH system.

The upfront cost for me, in a Pacific Sun CREE system is $2000, and that's all I'll spend on hardware for the next five-to-six years given the lifespan based on average usage. That comes out to about $34/month plus a reduced electric bill.

The replacement bulb for an XM MH 250w is ~$60-70 (depending on shipping) and while, granted, it doesn't need to be replaced every month, it is not an additional maintenance expense. Add on top of this the electricity consumption and any chiller needs (run-time that would be required b/c of heat output or the requirement to buy a chiller for a larger system).

I think the when we look at LEDs from a cost perspective it's fair to say that it's expensive up-front; but I don't think one should rule them out simply on sticker price alone - the overall impact to your in-home tank landscape by proxy is something to be considered.

The More You Know ===★