Led VS MH?

[capdippe]

I'm building a 180 gallon tank 72X24X24, and I get lost in the plethroa of LED data. I was thinking about puting 3 250W MH retro kit in over the tank, when I thought about spending more money on LED's and then saving money on engergy usage.

What are the basics on LED's?

How do I read and understand the info on LED's, such as "PAR rating" and watts?

My understanding is that LED's is that they are cheaper in the long run due to lower energy usage and bulb replacement. But I understand that LED's don't provide enough usable light to fuel the corals as MH do. Is that thinking correct?

 

[capdippe]

I was thinking 2 of these if their worth it in the long run.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=UG1111&idCartRow=22161092&isKit=0&child=UG1113

 

[Krish]

I don't know much at all about the new LED lighting, but thought I'd move your thread to the lighting forum for you to see if you will get the proper feedback there. Good luck and here's a bump back to the top for you

 

[gothunder3022]

Do a search on Dr. Sanjay Joshi and checkout his recent articles on LED lighting and how they compare to MH. I believe he also does some competative analysis of some of the newer LED fixtures. One thing he's quick to point out is how most LED fixtures, while PAR competative with MH's, can't provide near the same spread (coverage) that you get with a MH bulb. You can solve this with more LED's, but then the price really starts to go up. I don't know anything about that fixture you included the link for...but from the specs I don't think it will get the job done on your 180 (if you're thinking SPS). You need to see if the manufacturer will provide a PAR graph so you can see how much PAR it's rated for over a specific area.

 

[Frankie]

Big MH user here. Sorry to have no personal experience on the LED's other then making some DIY moon lights. From what I have seen of them on a LFS reef and what happened to people trying Solaris I'll stick to MH's. The LFS reef started to brown out and loose colors on a 110 so they went back to MH's.
Have you looked into this new idea with plasma bulbs? Seems interesting~

 

[capdippe]

Thanks for the input! I want to go with the MH due to the way the tank will shimmer, but thats not a smart way to purchase things. I don't know how to compare PAR ratings and what that relates to. I guess that would be a good start

 

[capdippe]

I found this artical from Dr. Sanjay Joshi.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature2/view?searchterm=

 

[cptbjorn]

You'll get all the shimmer you could possibly want with LEDs, you actually have to be kinda careful with the surface flow of the tank because if there is too much wave action it looks like you have a disco ball hidden in the hood. I've never had problems with corals browning under LEDs, its always been the opposite and I have to start new additions on the sandbed and dim the LEDs down for a week or two or they bleach out.

Can't speak for any of the commercial offerings though, just that I would look for a fixture that uses cree LEDs as they are currently the best choice efficiency-wise; a 3w cree can emit over twice as much light as a cheap 3w running at the same current.

 

[thatguy559]

Big MH user here. Sorry to have no personal experience on the LED's other then making some DIY moon lights. From what I have seen of them on a LFS reef and what happened to people trying Solaris I'll stick to MH's. The LFS reef started to brown out and loose colors on a 110 so they went back to MH's.
Have you looked into this new idea with plasma bulbs? Seems interesting~

solaris led fixtures dont even compare to current led systems. i have several friends who use led's over their tanks and have nothing but success. i have just one friend who is using plasma with incredible results. i just purchased plasma i unfortunately i wont see my system until the end of this month.

leds are good if you use them right they do produce a lot more light and if you place them to low to the top of the tank then you might burn out your corals and bleach them.

par is the same as far as reference led,t5,mh, plasma all give out different par values.

if you are going to choose an led fixture for your 180 i would at least d 3 fixtures especially since you want to keep sps. or you can use 2 fixtures and an limit your space for sps directly under the leds. all in all research is key i have been in your shoes not to long ago i decided to go with plasma over leds.

 

[thatguy559]

also you will get a shimmer effect with leds

 

[Skimmy]

the par #'s are impressive if im reading it right, you get about 600 par @ 24" away from the fixture it says on the orphek website.

and while proprietary and unexplained, they apparantly have led's that have an improved spectral output that they claim improves the coloration of your corals. i personally prefer more blue than they offer in the fixture,
but hell if you can afford them i think they would be great...
you could grow sps at the bottom of your tank no problem.

 

[Burke]

I have heard mixed reviews for mixed reef tanks long term. I have read that hight light corals love them, but softies and LPS not so much. I'm sticking with MH for now, they work for me. I have enough issues keeping corals alive.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I also been hearing about the wrong spectrum of the LED's I do plan to use for supplement lighting as then it will not matter but as for sole LED's on any of my systems I will pass for now as I am still not convienced just yet. T5's will work great not the best savings compaired to LEDs on the power bill but still cheaper then MH. I am a MH fan all the way.

 

[capdippe]

Thanks for chiming in all. Where can I find plasma arc dealers or info for that. I can't seem to find any on the major reef websites.

 

[thatguy559]

http://straylightoptical.com/slot/cart.jsf;jsessionid=121F31F6412D968EA04A052B50B5C27B

 

[cptbjorn]

If I'm reading this correctly those plasma lights have a color temp of 5300k, wouldn't you need some sort of actinic supplementation to get the blue look most people are used to?

 

[thatguy559]

at 100% they do you can dial them back. i have a friend who runs his at 100% and it looks like 12k

 

[cptbjorn]

Nice, sounds like a plasma arc and a string or two of royal blue LEDs with a controller to handle all the dimming would be a killer setup over a larger tank without having to drill, tap and wire up 100+ LEDs and deal with a bunch of drivers. Solves the hole that LEDs have in the warm color region too.

 

[capdippe]

Here is a web site that answerd a lot of my questions about LED's. This article makes LED's look like the way to go. Any opinions?

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html#lumens

 

[moovinfast]

Ive run PCs, T5s, MHs and LEDs. Honestly Ive gotten better growth and color using my cheap 250w 20K MH bulbs. I built a led light with 39 3w CREEs over a 20x20x15" cube. The only thing I liked better about LEDs was the ability to change the color with just a turn of the knob. I had the Whites and the Blues on separate knobs.