Shopfitting Leds Strips

[DarrenUnwin]

Having just spent the summer battling with the temperature in the tank I decided to follow up on a previous thread on LEDS as they are supposed to only kick out a quarter of the normal heat from T5s.

As I was searching the net I came across these shopfitting LEDS strips and would like someone's expert opinion as to whether they could be adapted for use in a marine setup.

http/www.excled.com/products.asp?partno=HILED-650-24

Many thanks

Daz

 

[AK77]

Hi Daz,

I'm no expert but I'll try to answer with the best of my limited knowledge. It all depends on your aquarium setup. If its a FO or FOWLR then there will be no problem with using any type of light source from LED's to Metal Halides, as nothing in the tank will require high powered lighting in order to survive.

If you intend keeping corals then these would most likely not be suitable, mainly due to their colour rating. The only time I'd use these on a reef setup, would be in the sump for macro algaes.

Do you have any pictures of your tank and set up?

 

[idlefingers]

With the [high] cost of those LED thingies, could you not install fans to cool the T5s instead?

 

[AK77]

I agree they are damn expensive. It would be a much better investment to use some fans or something if need be to cool the tank.

Are you using a condensation tray or a lid on top of the tank, just out of interest?

 

[DarrenUnwin]

Hi AK77,

I have a 2-part glass lid which I leave open on one side and have a 4 PC fan setup which keeps the temp in check but I was also looking at the cost element as I understand once you have got over the initial setup cost, the running costs are considerably cheaper and you dont have to replace the leds as you would have to change T5 bulbs.

Everytime I change the 4 T5's I have it costs around £60 and according to the replacement schedule every 6 -12 months you can see with the running costs and maintenance they could prove worth while in the long run. Its just I'm not sure on the translation of wattage from T5's to LEDS.

Will get an up to date picture for the next post, its a while since I took one - (note this one has some tangs in which I dont have any more)

Fishtank pic

Many thanks for the advice, much appreciated

Daz

 

[AK77]

Hi Daz,

The best method for cooling the tank (aside from a chiller) is through evapouration, so the larger the area available to contact the air uninhibited the more effective the cooling. I removed the condensation cover I was using months ago and never had a problem with the heat really. The temps got up to about 84F, but simply shutting off the lights and directing a standard 12" fan help significantly. Bearing in mind my tank shares a room with 2 PC's, two monitors and an Xbox, a lot of heat is generated in the room. I'd suggest trying to remove all covers from the top of the tank and see how you get on with that in future.

The strip LED's may work out more economical in the long run but, I'd be wary about using them on your tank as you have corals. The bulbs we use have various colour ratings which help the development of marine life. As the LED's are more than likely pure white, I'm wondering if this would #1 affect the corals detrimentally, #2 encourage unwanted algaes?

 

[Musho3210]

leds actually can create the perfect spectrum since modern day led marine lighting you can choose and change your spectrum at any time you want, from 6.500k to 20.000k. But that fixture doesnt seem like modern technology lol, it seems like a bunch of christmas lights strung together on a steel bar.... If you want to go into LED technology look into solaris, but i wouldnt go led yet, its too early of a technology and too expensive, wait until it advances a bit more and goes cheaper.

 

[andywg]

Hi Daz,

The best method for cooling the tank (aside from a chiller) is through evapouration, so the larger the area available to contact the air uninhibited the more effective the cooling. I removed the condensation cover I was using months ago and never had a problem with the heat really. The temps got up to about 84F, but simply shutting off the lights and directing a standard 12" fan help significantly.

Umm, that's only true if you don't mind all that evaporated water in your house. Many a large reef has been torn down after it nearly collapsed an internal wall.

The strip LED's may work out more economical in the long run but, I'd be wary about using them on your tank as you have corals. The bulbs we use have various colour ratings which help the development of marine life. As the LED's are more than likely pure white, I'm wondering if this would #1 affect the corals detrimentally, #2 encourage unwanted algaes?

It all depends on the LEDs. If you look at the newer batches, the Super Bright White LEDs with an array running at 72W will outperform a 250W MH and have almost no effect on heat. Because you have a load of different bulbs you can hand taylor the spectrum to exactly the right colours. If you search through on here and on Reef Central you will see some people who did LED set ups and got huge amounts of usable light from them.

leds actually can create the perfect spectrum since modern day led marine lighting you can choose and change your spectrum at any time you want, from 6.500k to 20.000k. But that fixture doesnt seem like modern technology lol, it seems like a bunch of christmas lights strung together on a steel bar.... If you want to go into LED technology look into solaris, but i wouldnt go led yet, its too early of a technology and too expensive, wait until it advances a bit more and goes cheaper.

However, how much would, say T5 and cooling cost over an 11 year life compared to one LED fixture?

 

[Musho3210]

read the bottom part of my post, i believe it said too expensive.

 

[pengy666]

Yep damn expensive look at these!!

Its definatly the future

LED lighting!!

Cheapest is the

-24" Fixture total output: 150 Watts
- Dimensions: 24"L x 8.7"W x 3.65"H.
for around

$1300 CDN

but go upto nearly $4000 CDN for the

- 72" Fixture total output: 600 Watts
- Dimensions: 71.5"L x 8.7"W x 3.65"H.


But these may work??

but I doubt it??

6500K T8 LED tube lights??

Interesting Is it not?

 

[Musho3210]

currently solaris is monopolizing the aquatic LED industry, right now theres this new company that will soon compete with solaris, lights will be the same cost, efficency will be about 7x better. Forget what the company is called though....

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Has there been any actual comparision of cost over the course of a couple of years between LEDS, T5 and MH units? I would be interested if the LED units do actually work out cheaper over time. It they work out cheaper over a period of say 5 years then I might go for these instead of MH. If it will take longer then that though then I will just go for MH as the technology is bound to change a lot over 5 years (I'm not sure I actually have anything electric in my house that is over 5 years old).

 

[Musho3210]

LED technology is too new to know how long it actually works well. But apparantely there is no difference in watt usage for the same amount of light as an MH so you wont be saving money of electricity, but you dont have to replace LEDs until a long time, but still, even that MH would turn out cheaper.

 

[pengy666]

I imagine power consumption of LED lights are cheaper to run than MH even though the wattage output is the same!

LED lights have been around for a very long time and their technology is proven to outlast any normal coil type filament bulbs the only reason you only see them in usage as today is due to a breakthrough in technology meaning they could produce more substantial and useful colours than red,green and amber!

 

[andywg]

Has there been any actual comparision of cost over the course of a couple of years between LEDS, T5 and MH units? I would be interested if the LED units do actually work out cheaper over time. It they work out cheaper over a period of say 5 years then I might go for these instead of MH. If it will take longer then that though then I will just go for MH as the technology is bound to change a lot over 5 years (I'm not sure I actually have anything electric in my house that is over 5 years old).

Well, Littleimp looked at it in This post though didn't go into it too much:

£2000 for the 6ft version ain't that bad in price when you think about it.

Assuming 50000 hr led life as stated at 10hrs a day = 13+ years service


Standard arcadia twin 250w mh unit £800
13yrs supply of bulbs changed at recommended yearly intervlas = 12yrs x £110 = £1320
13yrs supply of 2 x 54" actincs at recommended yearly intervlas = 12yrs x £35 = £420

Total cost £2540 + massive electricity savings

= in excess of £3500

Now those prices are a bit high on replacement, but halve it to a £1,200 ish saving on equipment alone before remembering you are running 72W instead of 250W+actinics.

I imagine power consumption of LED lights are cheaper to run than MH even though the wattage output is the same!

Due to the type of light, you get more Photosynthetically available radiation from less watts, a power saving there and then. A very good report on LED vs MH is here:

http/www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2