Watch those leds

[seangee]

Recently I commented on an algae problem suggesting to check the lights. This was prompted by an issue I had a few years ago with some (very expensive) leds that were producing too much red light.

This prompted me to flip the lid of my flex 15 as its been looking increasingly dim and the plants were not doing especially well. Its a low light tank and I used to run it at about 40% but its been at 100% lately. There has also been some algae which is not usual in this tank. About 50% of the leds were out. I tried the remote and that did not work (never use it anyway). So I ordered a replacement unit and replaced it today. Well I am back to 30% output and visually the tank is twice as bright as before when it was on 100%. (No point in photos because the battery in the SLR is dead and the phone will just compensate).

Its disappointing that the so called premium product has not fared nearly as well as the super cheap strip in my budget 20G, and the reviews on Amazon suggest I am not alone in thinking this. I also checked the lights in my main tank (aqua one lights and several years older than the flex). There are a few leds out but overall the colour and brightness look right so I'll keep an eye on it as the plants are doing well and there is no algae.

So just in case you believe the hype that leds never need replacing - its not true.

 

[StevenF]

LEDs need a very stable voltage and current and tempeaaturesto work if either is too high they will fail. Sometimes a voltage spike in the grid supply can get through filters in the power supply causing a failure. Also water can cause corrosion of wiring leading to a failure. If you keep the voltage, current, temperature, keep the humidity out of the lamp they will last a very long time. Justbecuase you paid a premium for the light doesn't mean the designer or factory idd a good job. and For aquariums humidity can be very high between the light and water and if any condensation curries in the light wiring will corrode the lights can fail. This is a common problem in many aquarium LEDsLED lights.

 

[davros]

There is an overall tendency to exceed LED specifications by product manufacturers because they will tolerate it for a short time and it save them money. And some LED makers fib a bit

 

[GaryE]

I jumped on the LED bandwagon early. I have a fishroom, with quite a few lights, and the savings after switching were major. I used bulbs at the start (I said early...) and got good plant growth with them in pendant fixtures. But, none lasted anywhere near as long as the boxes said they would. 25,000 hours? Nope. Not even close.
I have bartered a bit, and got a few early LED strip lights that had been lightly used. I've been adding and subtracting for quite a few years now. Most older ones have failed by now. The more modern bluetooth ones are still solid, although they often need to be reset as they randomly stay on. It takes a second to fix.
They're expensive to buy, but save a ton of money in usage. They fail in time. Another issue is they have been radically improved with time. If you look at an older one, the light is weak and simple compared to newer ones. So upgrades also offer that.

 

[seangee]

I jumped on the LED bandwagon early. I have a fishroom, with quite a few lights, and the savings after switching were major. I used bulbs at the start (I said early...) and got good plant growth with them in pendant fixtures. But, none lasted anywhere near as long as the boxes said they would. 25,000 hours? Nope. Not even close.
I have bartered a bit, and got a few early LED strip lights that had been lightly used. I've been adding and subtracting for quite a few years now. Most older ones have failed by now. The more modern bluetooth ones are still solid, although they often need to be reset as they randomly stay on. It takes a second to fix.
They're expensive to buy, but save a ton of money in usage. They fail in time. Another issue is they have been radically improved with time. If you look at an older one, the light is weak and simple compared to newer ones. So upgrades also offer that.

Agreed. Wasn't whinging (well not too much ) but it is about a decade since LEDs went mainstream and we have a generation of fishkeepers who have either forgotten, or never knew, the joy and expense of having to change tubes every year. Recently there seems to have been a spate of my tank's been fine for years and suddenly I am plagued by [xxx] algae posts. Coincidence???

It certainly was not something I had considered as a maintenance item. Yes they do live in a harsh environment, but thankfully the cost has come down and the quality keeps improving. Even the budget lights are fairly decent. One thing I will be doing when I replace them is go for white LEDs (all my tanks are low tech). The fancy RGB ones that allow infinite colour spectrum adjustments are all very well, but once individual diodes start failing there is a greater potential for throwing it off balance

 

[Deleted member 149562]

My aquariums have RGB MCR LED lights

Infinite colours, infinite ability to go bright or dim (always useful when trying not to scare the doo-dahs out of the fish first thing in the morning...I have black - as in colour - blackout curtains in the lounge where the aquariums are, so the ability to start almost dark and slowly increase the brightness is very useful, especially when combined with the remote controlled "sunrise/sunset" colouration effects)

My 98cm long one in the 53 cost under 30 quid, the 58cm long one in the 29 cost under 20 quid.

I have used these lights (courtesy of eBay) for many years and so far......touches wood.....no failures as yet.

I admit to being a bit of a frugal so'n'so and it seems ridiculous (to me) to go spend hundreds on lighting when the cheap and cheerful have never let me down.....and when the time comes to replace them, they are not going to break the bank.

I have never had an algae issue. I am unsure why exactly but maybe its cos the lights are not in the center of the hood (as per the usual lighting carriers/fixtures). My 53's light is sat on top of the glass lengthwise brace, angled 45 degrees towards the front....so nothing gets that full on blast of light. The 29's light is attached to the rear of the hood with cable ties, again 45 degrees towards the front. I find this gives the fish more shaded areas than a directly overhead light, also means the lights stay on whilst doing maintenance and no-one tries to escape if the topless aquarium is unattended (light still there and on, fish fooled into thinking the hood is closed). My planty bulbs grow like hyper Triffids, so they are not affected adversely by my unusual positioning or dimming routine either.

 

[davros]

They are legislating many of the florescent tubes out so people that want to stick with what they have may want to stock up.

 

[Playsander]

Flourescent tubes are a obsolete idea. As are incandescent and halogen lights. I have replaced every single lamp in my house for led ones including my fish tank light. LED technology is the future. I am an electrical engineer so I kind of know what I am saying here.

 

[davros]

The leap from tungsten to tubes was huge in efficiency. The move from that to LEDS is much much less and one has to factor in capital cost. Given the under "spec-ing" of components in your standard LED product and the actual MTBF/replacement cost I know I'm not saving so far. I won't be engaging in a bun fight over accreditation.

 

[seangee]

Well my suspicions appear to be confirmed. The Anubias in the Flex got chucked out as there was a lot of BBA on them and the plants had got too big for the tank. When I went to try to rescue them the wood they were attached to was so rotten I just chucked it out and started some mini coin anubias on a newer piece of wood which is doing well and probably better suited to a nano tank.

But 2 1/2 weeks ago I replaced the light in my community tank. I just got an inexpensive Hygger. It is RGB and I spent minimal time setting it up to more or less replicate the timing and intensity I had before. I never tried to tweak the spectrum from default. Prior to changing the light (it was starting to flicker and I could visibly see the colour changing as I watched) I had quite a bit of BBA on the Anubias. I never did anything about this as it wasn't unsighlty (and not entirely unexpected on plants left to their own devices for over 5 years). The lower leaves on the hygrophila also appeared to be an unatturally bright green. It looked almost like BGA but wasn't. I resigned myself to the fact that at some point I would probably have to rip it all out and replant new ones.

Well in just over 2 weeks the BBA has noticeably decreased on the anubias. The green slime on the hygrophila has completely gone and the plants look brand new. I have not done anything else in this tank! Its always had a weekly 80% w/c and that will continue - so any change has been entirely down to the new lights. Fortunately all my plants are in the low tech / easy category and they have been totally unphased by the change.

 

[AquaBarb]

@seangee how long have you been running lights output as low as 30/40%?

Do you lower your blue light?

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello all. I like LEDs. Especially in the tanks that have Java Fern and Dwarf Water Lettuce. I went with four florescents for my other tanks. The T5s, 6500K bulbs in the shop light strip work very well on my narrower 55 gallon tanks and on the shorter and wider 60 gallon. The shop lights are very inexpensive and the bulbs last more than a year, before needing replacement. As long as you keep to those aquatic plants that require low to medium light and there are more than enough kinds to fill a large tank, you can't go wrong.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[seangee]

@seangee how long have you been running lights output as low as 30/40%?

Do you lower your blue light?

Pretty much forever
No I don't touch the light balance. I don't use the so called moonlight feature either

 

[AquaBarb]

Pretty much forever
No I don't touch the light balance. I don't use the so called moonlight feature either

Your light just hooked upto a dimmer then? Dont control it through a setting switch on lead or anything.

 

[seangee]

The other 3 all have nicrew dimmer / timers. This one did too but the hygger light came with its own inline switch / controller. I bit the bullet on that and figured out how it works. Not as flexible or intuitive as the nicrew but it does the job.