Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
One of the best reads on this was October 2011 Coral Magazine.
There are millions of ways to do one thing.. Some people slowly acclimate to light. And some can just throw them straight into high light. I know a guy that does all the "don't do's".. And has never had an issue in 5 years.. No water changes. No ro top off water. Water temp acclimation only.. Corals go straight to top if the tank.. And the only fish he has ever list was either by bigger fish hungry. Or jumps out of the tank.. This entire hobby is a gamble from what I'm learning..
I want to chime in on this topic with a different perspective then most would have. I am an electrician, I install lights, leds, drivers etc. all the time. I also go the wholesalers to put together lighting packages for different jobs. I know the cost of these fixtures and I cant justify paying upwards of 900$ (CND) for a Radion Pro fixture. Regardless of the LED brand, Driver brand, dimming vs no dimming the cost of parts in these fixtures is a fraction of the price you pay for these things.
Now I understand you pay for the development and the fancy cases etc but really? Its not worth it IMO, I would rather buy the chinese ebay fixtures and save the money, if I have to double them up im still further ahead. I just purchased 3 fixtures for tank for 500$. One AI SOL would cost me $399.99 I would need 3, one Radion (basic model) would cost $660 and again I need 3.
So lets work it out.
3 "No Names"--$500
3 AI Sol-------$1199.97
3 Radions-----$1980
Now even if I need to replace a full unit, or change out the drivers or a few LED's im still looking at less cost for the same effect. Maybe my corals wont grow as fast or become as bright but im a firm believer in the fact that this hobby should affordable for everyone. Not just the people who can dump $2000+ into lights without a flinch.
Just my 2 cents but until the cost comes down I think if someone finds a fixture in the price range that works for them, go for it they will all do the same thing, provide light for corals, just at different rates.
I cannot get into all the technical jargon on this as I am a plumber not an electrician or engineer. I just simply wanted to point out that although I do agree the price is too high for some of the popular LED lights, you can get them cheaper if you look. You mention $1200 for three AI units. I just purchased four for my frag tank with a controller for $1300. Not a great difference but basically almost one unit price cheaper for one more added unit. And I initially wanted the same AI units as my DT on the frag tank to reduce light shock when transferring, I had planned on the Chinese units instead. Due to the fact it required a dedicated plug for both the blues and whites, that made for eight electrical outlets as opposed to four. Having already done much electrical changes to my house simply for my DT, I wasn't willing to pay the electrician again for the frag room work I would need just because all those extra light cords. Lol like I said I'm a plumber (need a sink added or a CDA line installed no prob) but I don't mix well with electricity, so I hire the people who went to school for it . So by that logic I saved myself money buying dimmable yet overpriced units. Also I agree the dimmable is not a necessity as you can get creative as Greg and others have mentioned to help with light acclimation, I LOVE the dimming feature and because of it I have my lights on 24 hours a day. Just my humble opinion. Great discussion and points made all.
For those who really need to understand the reef lighting, here is the link that is more detailed and complete. After reading it, you can make your own conclusion for yourself what is good for your tank. For those who need more explanation on some of its content, please do throw some questions on this thread and someone will surely glad to explain it more clearly.
Aquarium Lighting, Light Information; Reef & Planted, PAR, Watt, Kelvin.
You are absolutely correct. What I am trying to emphasize is you pay for the simplicity of stuff you get and not necessarily the optimum worth.If the LED driver is only manufactured to output 120 watts then it doesn't matter if the LEDs are 2, 3 or 5 watts. The driver will only use and output around 120 watts. Different drivers will use more or less electricity due to design efficiency and the quality of it's internal parts, but the driver doesn't care about the full output ability of the LEDs.
Now, the LEDs that are rated as 3 watts but run at 2 watts (or anything under 3 through use of a dimmer) will run cooler and last longer than they would if they were run at their full rated ability, unless the cooling system is very efficient. That's been my understanding at least.
Just over simplifying things. You don't need a calculus to understand the basics. If you have 55 emitters with 3-watt emitter each doesn't it supposed to be a total of 165 watts?
The LED driver plays an important rule specially when you are dimming your lights. LED strips has no driver just ballast resistor and takes the full voltage from your power supply. That explains why there is no heat. With a 120vac power for your LED lights it is a different story. It can be switching or conventional type. Switching is more complicated than conventional and that dictates the price.