Lighting for Corals & Expenses

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I'm worried something stupid might happen with my RO system because I'm positive houston water is filled with copper from our plumbing.
 
mrg02d said:
Do those LED kits include blue leds? Im betting those whites are 6500k and that means yellow looking tank. YUCK! Id make sure it includes blue leds that have good PAR. Seems to me that a PC light would cost much much less and provide more light than LEDs.

LEDs seem like the Hybrid cars...They are more efficient, yes but the regular gas cars cost so much less that they are the best still.

Will LEDs grow SPS corals? If not, then absolutely no reason to not go PC here with such a small tank.

You could build your own LED driver and save even more money. They arent all that hard to build either. Just a constant current driver that can put enough voltage across your LEDs to forward bias them. A beefy voltage regulator could be used. Some capable of several amps of current draw with a 37v operating voltage.

EDIT: Doesnt 6500k grow algae like nothing else? Seems to me these LED setups will likely have algae problems to deal with. Might just offset the benefit to having LEDs...

Matt
Click to expand...

Out of all the options, a PC light would be better? I really have to disagree. While its true, not much is known about LED's several things are known. When you do it right, you get about the same PAR as a HQI bulb at about half the wattage. They also have a lifespan of 50-80,000 hours or something before the spectrum shifts. Even at the low end, that 13 years of 10 hours a day. In the same span you would have to replace your PC bulbs over 75 times at 20 dollars a piece. yikes. Not to even mention how much they save you on electricity.

LEDs will grow just about anything, again provided its done correctly. Not to mention when he is done with this tank, he can pop off the LEDs and carry them over to a new project with ease.

I'm not sure about the LEDs in that package, and i havent looked at the spectrum chart in awhile, but i know they are not yellow, and do not grow algae like crazy.
 
Jimbo7 said:
Out of all the options, a PC light would be better? I really have to disagree. While its true, not much is known about LED's several things are known. When you do it right, you get about the same PAR as a HQI bulb at about half the wattage. They also have a lifespan of 50-80,000 hours or something before the spectrum shifts. Even at the low end, that 13 years of 10 hours a day. In the same span you would have to replace your PC bulbs over 75 times at 20 dollars a piece. yikes. Not to even mention how much they save you on electricity.

LEDs will grow just about anything, again provided its done correctly. Not to mention when he is done with this tank, he can pop off the LEDs and carry them over to a new project with ease.

I'm not sure about the LEDs in that package, and i havent looked at the spectrum chart in awhile, but i know they are not yellow, and do not grow algae like crazy.
Click to expand...

id honestly want to see more success stories before i sink this much into lighting when i could get something alot cheaper and know it works for a fact
 
Yikes copper in the water? I wonder if DI resin will remove it? If so, better add a DI filter to the RO system...(easy to do).

As for the LEDs, some of the referenced LEDs stated 5000k (YIKES) to 8000k as the possible range. Thats a terrible accuracy. Id sincerely hate it if I spent $200 on LEDs and got some that were 5000k...I think I would poop myself in a fit of rage over that. Seems better to make certain you know the exact color temp before handing over money like that.

As for LEDs reducing algae, I dont see how they could do unless they are guaranteed at a specific color temp. I dont think algae grows well above 10,000k. Maybe if you got true 12000k LEDs it would stop the algae from getting the light it needs? I think t5, PC, and MH all produce some amount of various color temp. besides the main one speced. That may be where the LED has the advantage as they are SUPPOSED to be monochromatic.

I would have to agree that t5 would be a great way to go here. PC would be easier and likely a bit cheaper. LEDs would be the hardest to use and cost much more than anything else (MH included).

Matt
 
plus you have to spend the time putting it together. why not just go to flipping radioshack and buy leds from there? lol i mean really
 
ilostnemo said:
plus you have to spend the time putting it together. why not just go to flipping radioshack and buy leds from there? lol i mean really
Click to expand...

You're ignorance on this topic is outstanding. Please do some research on any topics you are going to advise someone on. People come here for real advice, and if you are going to give an opinion, at least know somewhat of what you are talking about because you can influence people.
 
your ignorance on anything other than leds is also outstanding. your just gonna praise leds all day long. and those people are really annoying we was listing other options other than 200 leds.
 
and yours saying i dont give real advice? yeah ok. you only say leds reall advice is sayin all options :0
also its called joking around.. guess you cant handle that
 
Jimbo-Id have your back on the LED idea if they could guarantee a color temp. above 10000k or so. The tolerance given on the referenced LEDs is absolutely terrible. Thats too much money to spend on such uncertainty for me...

I most deffinately agree that if done right, the LED path is the best if they rival MH...They cost the most up front, but cost the least over years to come. One problem is that better things will come out before these LEDs need to be replaced. Sinking alot of money into something like that right now might be a bad idea for someone with little money to spend.

I plan to one day go LED, but will keep my t5's until better things come out. Now, when they can guarantee 12000k LEDs and offer than cheaper, I will be on board. :-D

LEDs are the hybrid cars of today. Simply havent beat the competition yet.
Matt
 
id have his back too its just the fact its not guaranteed. and yes i would love to go led. its cheaper in the long run i just dont wanna dump money into something i cant rely on
 
If you look at my first post, i also told him about T5HO setups and UVL's plans to release them. The only reason this thread took an LED route is because he originally expressed an interest in it, and decided thats what he was going to do. The only reason I mention LEDs around this forum is to get people to do research, because there is a good chance they are the future of lighting for our hobby. The more people we can get to experiment, the better.

I'm all for joking around, but understand people are trying to learn here, and you throw out things like "get them at radio shack" you only stand to confuse people about the differences between them.

Sorry for hijacking your thread. Let us know what you end up doing and if you have more questions.
 
mrg02d said:
Jimbo-Id have your back on the LED idea if they could guarantee a color temp. above 10000k or so. The tolerance given on the referenced LEDs is absolutely terrible. Thats too much money to spend on such uncertainty for me...

I most deffinately agree that if done right, the LED path is the best if they rival MH...They cost the most up front, but cost the least over years to come. One problem is that better things will come out before these LEDs need to be replaced. Sinking alot of money into something like that right now might be a bad idea for someone with little money to spend.

I plan to one day go LED, but will keep my t5's until better things come out. Now, when they can guarantee 12000k LEDs and offer than cheaper, I will be on board. :-D

LEDs are the hybrid cars of today. Simply havent beat the competition yet.
Matt
Click to expand...

http://ledsupply.com/docs/cree-xre.pdf
there is some info on the specifics of the wavelengths.
 
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