Thoughts About LED Lighting

[Lbrewer34]

I'm looking at finally upgrading my lighting system from pc's to an led system. I have a 36" wide tank and was looking at this Orphek that came out recently. Any thoughts?
http://orphek.com/led/2012/02/orphek-nilus/
Thanks,

Lee

 

[Chichas01]

Pretty pricey. You should probably compare in person to the Radion.

 

[mojoreef]

Its tough really for me to make a call as I find it really really hard to spend 900 bucks for for 60 leds. But if I ignore that and just look at it for what it is, its a nice unit. The charting and so on is a cool feature but one that is really just their for show. If you look at the wattage your getting 60 lights at 3 watts each so a total of 180 watt unit, so when comparing it to a MH it dosnt really match up for intensity, but in saying that the amount of photons in the photosynthesis zone are at least equal to a 400watt MH. The color spread is a little better by added a few more colors for the different coral pigments to pick up on,BUT the one thing that bugs me is that I could not find anywhere where they talked about or showed what make the leds or drivers are, so that would leave me to assume they are less the what they should be (Cree or better) or they would be touting them??

A lot of money


Mike

 

[Lbrewer34]

I agree about the cost,, this is actually one of the least expensive units I could find that would work with a 36' long tank. I like the Raidon, but it looks like I would have to buy two to account for the 36" length: Ecotech Radion XR30W : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids. They also have an evo 200 for cheaper, and that can be dimmed, but it looks like it isn't driver controlled. Evo200 Dimmable LED Fixture : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids. I also looked at others, like aqua illumination, but there were way out of my price rage. Thought about MH, but I lost a ton of corals last summer due to heat, and I really don't have room for a chiller. Any other options I could be looking at out there?
Thanks

 

[tat2z_21]

Build one for cheaper. And as far as LEDs go. Alot of people on here have a lot of different IDEA's on what a perfect LED is. So this is where it becomes the persons choice. Lots of Choices out there and with a little research you can find what you need. There are a lot of people on here that would love to help you out with the build.

 

[Lbrewer34]

I would love to build one, but time is my biggest factor. I actually took a 36" pc and drilled a row of led's i got from radio shack. Works ok but I learned just how narrow the led's are. The only part that intimidates me is the controller aspect. Guess I was looking for something quick and easy as far as lighting goes, but something that will last, and offers a decent amount of control as far as intensity.
Thanks for the comments!

 

[iroll253]

You could always keep it cheaper and get a used 36'' t5 fixture and some new bulbs. But its preference and of course you would have replace the bulbs every year. Could be a temporary cheaper solution though.

 

[Lbrewer34]

I was looking at that too, but figured I should put the money I would spend toward that lighting system I won't have to replace. I was looking at one of the sponsor's pages here, Reef LED Lights, it looks like that type of system wouldn't be too bad to build.

 

[tat2z_21]

It is not hard at all, prep work is the biggest thing in this. Planning and placing. I would love to help you out. Let me know

 

[Skimmy]

Evo200 Dimmable LED Fixture : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids
heres one for a 36" tank that is a bit cheaper, and they tell you the make of the leds

 

[Lbrewer34]

skimmy,
Saw the Evo 200, the only thing I i didn't like was that I wouldn't be able to program the lights, but it definitely is in my top 5 systems because of price and lighting. I think reefkoi had some of these at the frag swap last year and they looked fantastic.

tat,
I'm really leaning to a diy kit, looking at the one from reef led lights it looks like i can customize it pretty easily and would be able to upgrade the lights later on down the line. any advice on where to look for a heat sink?

 

[tat2z_21]

As far as heatsinks you can get them on either

10.000" - HeatsinkUSA, LLC Store

Heatsinks - Rapid LED

or here
Heatsinks « Shop « « ReefLEDLights | LED Aquarium Lighting ReefLEDLights | LED Aquarium Lighting

or here
aluminum heat sink extrusion profiles

Lots of different ones. I really like the anodized aluminum ones from Rapid. It comes with a slide for plexi as a splash shield.

 

[Katchupoy]

Lbrewer,

Use my build as your guide.
Maybe it will give you more understanding and idea. The controller can come in later. If you have any questions (the easy ones) just post it here... We will see what we can do.

 

[Lbrewer34]

Fantastic DIY post, did you run the led's the entire length of your tank? I'm not sure if I should build a 36" setup, which is the length of my tank or go shorter and hang it form the ceiling.

 

[Katchupoy]

Yes the entire length but spaced out on the edge and at the middle because support brace. I then create a hood with open top and just rested in on top... not really nice but you can get creative. Hanging from ceiling is also cool so you have the full open top effect of your tank. you can actually use even narrower optics so you can even raise it up way up... there is this one build in RC that he installed his on the ceiling using 6 degree optics.

 

[Lbrewer34]

My current hood has about 8" of clearance, I would like to integrate a system like you did, but do you think the lights would be too hot to directly attach to the hood?

 

[Katchupoy]

I think you can do it on 8" but might need to look for a wider optics. maybe 90 degrees or something. then use a narrower on the perimiter (ie. front and back).

Does your hood have a ven or fan or something? you might need to remove the top? or open something up? maybe a pic will work?

 

[tat2z_21]

I cut a circular hole and a fan guard over all three heatsinks. No need for a fan blowing into the hood. Just need to allow the fans over the heatsink to be able to pull cool air.

 

[Lbrewer34]

That is a good idea, I've been looking at heatsinks but incorporating the system into my current hood would save money and keep the tank looking good.
Thanks

 

[Lbrewer34]

I was looking at the commercial light system from orphek again and you can program a lighting schedule so the lights come on at specific intensities at specific times. So I could start the white lights at 9am @ 30% intensity, increase the intensity hourly to 100%, then decrease it in the evening, which I am guessing simulates sunrise/sunset. If I do a DYI build, is this a functionality I can incorporate? Is it the driver that does this type of program?
Thanks