When i get a 400L tank in a month (Rio 400 or similar) im looking at upgrading the hood lights to LEDs (day and moon) but dont know anything about LED tank lighting. Is it UBER expensive..Does it show off the colours of the fish as well as the normal tubes? does it help plant growth as effectively as a normal plant and fish bulb? How much would the tubes cost for a 5 foot tank?
Led Lighting
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Rooster
Fish Herder
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search. 
degsod
Fish Addict
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search.
Sorry, I disagree, check out this thread
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=264895&hl=I have built an led system based on the info in this thread,
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
The trick to getting LED's to work well, is to build your own. There are loads of suitable LED's out there, but nobody has yet put them into a retail unit. It will cost me about £300 to add LED's to my marine tank (70l reef) once the unit is finished, and it will have the equivalent output of a 450W halide, split as 225W equiv. of white and the rest "actinic" 
Clearly you won't need anywhere near that much over a planted tank... The LED's on paper will last 30 odd years (100,000 hours quoted life at 1.4A driving current, I'm running them at 1A, probably less due to the shear output of these things..) LED's are very versatile and long-lasting if applied correctly, but the trick is to apply them correctly 
You will need either brilliant white or warm white to get full spectrum light in there, and you may then opt to use strings of red, blue and green individually dimmable, to then set to colours how you want them. You'll want them more spread-out than I do, so would likely need some lenses to widen the beam, say 40-75 degree lenses if you can find them...
All the best
Rabbut
Clearly you won't need anywhere near that much over a planted tank... The LED's on paper will last 30 odd years (100,000 hours quoted life at 1.4A driving current, I'm running them at 1A, probably less due to the shear output of these things..) LED's are very versatile and long-lasting if applied correctly, but the trick is to apply them correctly You will need either brilliant white or warm white to get full spectrum light in there, and you may then opt to use strings of red, blue and green individually dimmable, to then set to colours how you want them. You'll want them more spread-out than I do, so would likely need some lenses to widen the beam, say 40-75 degree lenses if you can find them...
All the best
Rabbut
jmkgreen
Fishaholic
The trick to getting LED's to work well, is to build your own. There are loads of suitable LED's out there, but nobody has yet put them into a retail unit. It will cost me about £300 to add LED's to my marine tank (70l reef) once the unit is finished, and it will have the equivalent output of a 450W halide, split as 225W equiv. of white and the rest "actinic"
You will need either brilliant white or warm white to get full spectrum light in there, and you may then opt to use strings of red, blue and green individually dimmable, to then set to colours how you want them. You'll want them more spread-out than I do, so would likely need some lenses to widen the beam, say 40-75 degree lenses if you can find them...
All the best
Rabbut
Which says to me that some enterprising person ought to be building and selling them on ebay. Gap in the market like that.
Those on ebay are I'm assuming complete rubbish? Buy it now for 99p!
Rooster
Fish Herder
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search.
Sorry, I disagree, check out this thread
[URL="http
I have built an led system based on the info in this thread,
...and have you successfully grown plants with the LEDs alone ?
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
Lots of people are keeping SPS corals under DIY LED units these days, and SPS keepers are about the only people that consider a 250W metal Halide with 4 T5 actinics over a 2 foot cube "essential" for their corals health, with 400W halides being better If you can keep SPS under LED's, plants should be no bother, as Corals need light with a higher PAR than plants do 
While there probibly is a gap in the market for a good LED unit, my DIY rig has cost me £300(ish) to make thus far, so you'd be looking to sell a professionally produced unit at an RRP of between £1200 and £1500 if you ever did bring a similarly speced unit to the commercial market, assuming a ~70% mark-up at each point in manufacture to point of sale, which is about the industry standard.... That price tag would be out-of-budget, even for most marine keepers
All the best
Rabbut
If you can keep SPS under LED's, plants should be no bother, as Corals need light with a higher PAR than plants do While there probibly is a gap in the market for a good LED unit, my DIY rig has cost me £300(ish) to make thus far, so you'd be looking to sell a professionally produced unit at an RRP of between £1200 and £1500 if you ever did bring a similarly speced unit to the commercial market, assuming a ~70% mark-up at each point in manufacture to point of sale, which is about the industry standard.... That price tag would be out-of-budget, even for most marine keepers
All the best
Rabbut
degsod
Fish Addict
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search.
Sorry, I disagree, check out this thread
<a href="http
I have built an led system based on the info in this thread,
...and have you successfully grown plants with the LEDs alone ?
Yes, my 3rd tank is 100% light by LED's and the plants are growing well.
Rooster
Fish Herder
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search.
Sorry, I disagree, check out this thread
<a href="http
I have built an led system based on the info in this thread,
...and have you successfully grown plants with the LEDs alone ?
Yes, my 3rd tank is 100% light by LED's and the plants are growing well.
What spec LED are you using for this project ?? Do you know the spectra they (?) produce ? Looks like time for a dabble
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
I'm using third generation Luxeon Star's, warm white for the main, with Royal Blue for the Actinics. Warm Whites kick out a full spectrum, peaking around 6,500K. 10 give the equivalent lumen output of a 150W halide. The issue with the Luxeons is that their output is fairly narrow, about 40 degrees, so you'd need to use lenses to broaden the beam and raise them a way off the surface to get good coverage, but otherwise they are good for growing stuff under 
All the best
Rabbut
All the best
Rabbut
degsod
Fish Addict
LEDs just aren't up to the job yet IMHO... there's been a couple of discussions on here already.... have a search.
Sorry, I disagree, check out this thread
<a href="http
I have built an led system based on the info in this thread,
...and have you successfully grown plants with the LEDs alone ?
Yes, my 3rd tank is 100% light by LED's and the plants are growing well.
What spec LED are you using for this project ?? Do you know the spectra they (?) produce ? Looks like time for a dabble
I am using some 3W luxeon clones from Hongkong. In my 2'6" tank I have 5 x white 3W LED's and 3 x 3W Blue, they are mounted in the hood at the back pointing towards the front thus it is reflected down into the tank.
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