current usa truelumen led strips

[harleymike]

What benefit is led. Other than no more bulb replacement every 6 or 7 months.
If anyone has switched too led from t5 what did you like, or not like about the led's

 

[theyangman]

1. Lower power consumption = Hydro bill savings (not in my case as my condo is all inclusive but a big draw for home owners)

2. Lower heat transfer than T5HO. They aren't as bad as MH, but they still get pretty darn hot and I wouldn't wanna bump into one by accident. Either way keeps  your tank cooler which can help especially in the heat of the summer depending on where you live and where your tank is located in your house.

3. LED offers multi spectrum in one fixture. Especially in DIY units, you can fine tune the amount of color a lot better than with just simple bulbs.

4. LEDS fixtures are slimmer, and take up less space under your canopy (if you have one) and if you are hanging it, they often look really nice too. ie: maxspects look sllllllick hanging over a tank.

5. The par value is better on T5HO than with LED's but as technology progresses I bet LED will eventually surpass T5HO. LED's often also have poorer spread than T5HO's imo as well. When they aren't done properly it is almost like little laser beams being shot into the tank. You need to get the proper lenses to spread the light out more evenly and get the spread you want.

6. LED's offer shimmer which is pretty neat to watch. I love having a ton of shimmer in my tank. Which you can only get from LED or MH.

 

[theyangman]

Some of the nicest tanks have a blend of lighting. I don't think anyone type of lighting alone is perfect. If I recall Darryl has MH, and the reefbrite XHO's on his tank maybe even T5's (I can't recall that well)

Keep the t5's and supplement with something else. OR figure out what you are after and supplement from there. If you want more blues then just add blue. To sell one type of fixture for a marginal upgrade to the same type of fixture or even too regress to a lower fixture seems counter intuitive....

 

[harleymike]

Thanks for all the help. Not an easy decision. Lots too consider. My bulbs will need replacing in nov. at the latest. So I will have too decide by then.
The current usa tuelumen are less expensive than the reefbrite. I can get two strips that are both dimmable for the price of one none dimmable reefbrite.
If I go that route.

 

[harleymike]

ok heres a thaought.
My tank is 48 x30 x 22.
So run two hydra leds side by side in the middle and then a aquticlife 2 bulb t5 in front and another 2 bulb in the back.
So front too back would be t5ho,led,t5ho.
That would be best of both worlds.

 

[theyangman]

That is similar to what I have. I run hybrid T5HO and LED combo

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

how are yu gonna mount the hydra in the centre of the aquaticlife ?    yur idea is just what ATI has oon there 2000 dollar one.  for yu. to ad jsut strips. yu can mount them on the outside frame of yur aquaticlife fixture like i did with mine on my old 24 inch  tank

 

[Duke]

if you go all out and get 2 hydras, i wouldnt bother with T5 for anything,, go straight led..  if you want to supplement your current T5 setup with LEDS, dimmable shouldnt matter, most people would go with straight royal blue led strips and run them at 100% intensity. the ones you posted in the first post i dont think you will be happy with. they are 500$ for 2 48" strips.. they are only 30w each so probably are just 1w LEDS..  you could ebay similar brightness strips as those for less than 20$, another option is a full DIY strip accent lighting. for way less than 200$ you could get a 36 or 48 kit and with another 30-40$ in supplies you can have the satisfaction of saving money and doing it yourself.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

why not go get parkskys if his tank is empty and he still has his al sols  borrow them for a week or so then yu know what yu will get and then get the hydras later and they will be more tto yur satisfaction then the al sold

 

[harleymike]

hmmmm decisions. Probably straight led is making sense. Thanks for all the help.
(Y)

 

[harleymike]

What is the diff. between the ones parksy has and the hydras.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

the hydras will have the uv. 

 

[harleymike]

the hydras will have the uv. 

thanks. Im going with the hydra. Im done pissing around and searching. I will by two and the controller. Hopefully in the next couple months.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

http://www.modularled.ca/complete-fixtures/

 

[Duke]

What is the diff. between the ones parksy has and the hydras.

full spectrum is the difference, along with slightly newer diodes(cree) and more control-ability. I believe those lights are sold already.
personally i think led is best when the leds are spaced evenly over a big area, im not a huge fan of the clusters of light myself, if i had a budget of 1000$ and wanted to light your tank with LEDs i would go with the reef breeder led photons. theres alot of people running these lights and they are talked about highly on reefcentral, and with 2 of them your tank would be lit so evenly and perfect.

http://www.reefbreeders.com/photon48.html

heres a video of some guy with the small one over a huge tank.

ReefBreeders LED PHOTON32 fixture over my 180 Gallon SPS Reef Tank

 

[harleymike]

hmm very nice. Thanks Duke. Those look good.
Ya budget is around thousand.
I"ll research those.
There 47 inches long, I wonder if one would do. MY sps is all at the back and middle. With softies at front.
I am liking these.

 

[unibob]

hmm very nice. Thanks Duke. Those look good.
Ya budget is around thousand.
I\"ll research those.
There 47 inches long, I wonder if one would do. MY sps is all at the back and middle. With softies at front.
I am liking these.

If you put that over your tank right now it would bake your corals with those readings on par meter. So yes it would do your sps quite well once acclimated to the light.

 

[theyangman]

coral baking!

 

[harleymike]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2256795&highlight=reefbreeders+leds

here is a bunch of reading on these led's

 

[harleymike]

so reefbreeders says  i need two of those fixtures. I think one would work myself.
Might order one, and try it. And order anther one if needed. They have a 2 year warranty and are more powerful than the hydra. Hydra only has 1 year warranty.
Definitely going led one way or the other.