Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.
- Thread starter Jess1ca
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Animal-Chin
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ya of course, i didnt really mean to connect the two.
I still can't believe my At my LFS i would have to drop $1500 min on LEDs with this power. I guess the real value test will be how long these last...
I still can't believe my At my LFS i would have to drop $1500 min on LEDs with this power. I guess the real value test will be how long these last...
Robbiesamp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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I want to get some red and some green and some violet
Robbiesamp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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I want some green and some red and some violet
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
We hear you. 
Robert_ellis
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1st. So my local led expert said that it would be better to run the 1w bulbs to equal what the 3ws would be because it would reach the bottom of the tank better. Any opinions?
2nd. On a 36" 65g tank what fixtures does anyone suggest because I think 2 fixtures would just be to much light and really over do it so I'm thinking of building my own but wondering what lights to get and how many.
2nd. On a 36" 65g tank what fixtures does anyone suggest because I think 2 fixtures would just be to much light and really over do it so I'm thinking of building my own but wondering what lights to get and how many.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
That's nonsense. How is a 1 watt lamp stronger than a 2 watt lamp? I don't know what fixture is best for you, but keep in mind what you want to spend and what livestock you want to keep.
Robbiesamp
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Reef breeders 32 in light controllable I hear is good
Robert_ellis
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No no... He said put 3 1w as opposed to 1 3w. It wild reach the bottom better.
Robbiesamp
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Yea I was talking about how long the light was its 32 in long and 8 in wide it's a good light I hear
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
If that was the case, why is everyone going to the 2 and 3 watt chips? No one is using the 1 watt diodes any more...except for Marine land, that is.
Robert_ellis
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I don't know but we have this huge electronic store down the road from my house that sells everything. Told me cheaper ways to do led setups and all kinds of stuff but said that. I was tripping out. Told me Cree bulbs are the same as all the other 3w in quality. It's just another brand. He was the led expert there though.
Robert_ellis
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Oh ok. I gotcha... Ill check it out.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm not sure about that. I don't have any hands on evidence that they are better or the same, but people are saying (and again, I'm not seeing any hard data on this) that the Cree chips are more potent. A lot of the stuff you read on the net is copied and pasted from other sources, and some of the information is hearsay. I'm done falling for that without PAR numbers or even PUR numbers to back that up. Btw, Of all of these LED reviewers out there, I have yet to see one post actual PUR numbers. This is probably due to the fact that a meter to measure PUR is about $3500.00 last time I checked.
Robert_ellis
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You would think a manufacturer would get one though to back how their bulb is better. I am also surprised with how much money is spent in this hobby that no one has bought one.
Paglaum22
Aquarium Advice Regular
IMO a one watt vs a 3 watt led, let's make this in a layman's perspective comparing 1000 penlights vs your car headlight, now which one can go farther? I'm sorry if I'm lost I didn't read previous pages
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
Companies like Cree barely feel the reef hobby. The bulk of their customers don't care about PUR or PAR. It's up to a Reef or Hydroponics company to purchase a PUR meter.
audifusion
Aquarium Advice Freak
I've used some of the cree LEDs, mainly the xpg ( their most efficient and most powerful led).
I had some 100w chips (20 of 5w xpg)that were putting out 13000lumens, pretty bright! They don't have par / pur ratings though.
I think you're "experts'" advice is questionable, better to consult the guys on here who are actually using the LEDs for lighting a reef and are having success.
I had some 100w chips (20 of 5w xpg)that were putting out 13000lumens, pretty bright! They don't have par / pur ratings though.
I think you're "experts'" advice is questionable, better to consult the guys on here who are actually using the LEDs for lighting a reef and are having success.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
BTW, look what Cree is doing lately...When are we gonna see these babies in our fixtures?
Cree XLamp® XM-L Color LEDs | Mouser
Cree XLamp® XM-L Color LEDs | Mouser
oyf709
Aquarium Advice FINatic
If you local LED expert said 1W can get deeper than 3W then he really shouldn't call them "expert"
1w LED can never reach 1W in the sense of if you run it at max current, those LED will burn out lke very quickly. Same thing for 3W but 3W can run with a bit higher current and reach higher Wattage.
The distance that different light can travel depends on
1) The optic they using, the smaller the number the farther the light can reach.
2) When optic are the same, it depend on the light output of the single light source. IE: when 1W can reach about 0.6W~0.8W, 3w LED can reach 1.5W~2.8W depend on current running thru them. That alone has higher single point of output.
As far as for the PAR meter, I just purchased my PAR meter, I don't like to use the factory reading as I found most of the time they are somewhat misleading. I am only using them before as I had no other details. Now as I have my own PAR meter, I cna provide more accurate stats and that should help me provide better service to my client. I am even thinking getting a spectrometer. Those cost 7k~9K brand new, so I am waiting for one of my buddy to hook me up with some tech lab where they have used spectrometer. With those 2 equipments, I think I can better understand more about LEDs
1w LED can never reach 1W in the sense of if you run it at max current, those LED will burn out lke very quickly. Same thing for 3W but 3W can run with a bit higher current and reach higher Wattage.
The distance that different light can travel depends on
1) The optic they using, the smaller the number the farther the light can reach.
2) When optic are the same, it depend on the light output of the single light source. IE: when 1W can reach about 0.6W~0.8W, 3w LED can reach 1.5W~2.8W depend on current running thru them. That alone has higher single point of output.
As far as for the PAR meter, I just purchased my PAR meter, I don't like to use the factory reading as I found most of the time they are somewhat misleading. I am only using them before as I had no other details. Now as I have my own PAR meter, I cna provide more accurate stats and that should help me provide better service to my client. I am even thinking getting a spectrometer. Those cost 7k~9K brand new, so I am waiting for one of my buddy to hook me up with some tech lab where they have used spectrometer. With those 2 equipments, I think I can better understand more about LEDs
