LED Lights?
- Thread starter EmilyXLC
- Start date
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Tomoko Schum
Valuable Member
If you are not hot pink person, yes, LED's will be a nice option. The LED fixtures that I've seen in person so far do not render all the coral colors like MH lamps do, but some corals with influorescence look really amazing under an LED fixture. I see a number of people are now switching back to MH lamps or T5's in combination with LED's from just LED fixtures. I would not mind adding some LED's between my MH fixtures (Lumenbright reflectors) to get the best of the both world, but the price of LED's make it tough to jump in. I am hoping in a few years, the color spectrum issue will be improved and the price will start to come down, too. I am getting ready to install a daylight LED strip above my refugium.
Chameleon
Valuable Member
My tank runs on diy leds and while some colors like hot pink may be hard to pull out in acros...in chalices they seem to do fine. I agree wider spectrum led fixtures could only improve their performance, however my tank looks good to me with just blues, whites,and a couple uv's. Growth is not usally the problem with led fixtures...the issue is normally getting some colors out of your coral. For me I could build an led setup for about the same price as a metal halide setup with good reflectors, but the energy savings is tremendous plus I never change bulbs with a 50000 hour lifespan for leds.
OP
OP
EmilyXLC
Charisma +10
Well, we are thinking about buying some new lights (canopy), since we have a hang on the back light & the fact that it is off center is driving us crazy. We also don't want to hang anything from the ceiling right now.
Are LEDs the best choice when it comes to lowering your electric bills?
Are LEDs the best choice when it comes to lowering your electric bills?
JSB
Usually Confused
Yes, as they will use a third of the electricity and not provide excess heat. Now, on setup your size, we are talking a few dollars a month, probably.
I love my LEDs, but as Tomoko points out, the pinks don't pop. For all of the other benefits though, I am a convert.
Chameleon
Valuable Member
general rule of thumb is you only need about 1/3 as many watts from leds as compared to halides. That saves a lot on electricity. Lets say you light a 6ft tank with 3 400w metal halides =1200watts total. Well about 400 watts of LEDs would more than equal this amount of light.
.AcroKiller.
2500 Club Member
I get pink out of my acans and chalices with my leds im using 1 to 1 cool white and regular blue but soon im gonna add royal blues.
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Tomoko Schum
Valuable Member
I know that I should be thinking green and energy conscious, but the cost per killowatt hour is 8.5 to 9 cents. So running my three 250W lamps for 7 hours a day for 30 days over my 180 amounts to 13.4 dollars to 14.2 dollars per month. Cutting it to 1/3 would be certainly cheaper, but the saving is only about 9.5 dollars a month. If your tank is smaller, the saving is smaller as well.
The real saving comes from the longevity of LED lamps. However, a commercially available fixture is so expensive right now. If I buy three new Radion XR30w Pro's at $949 ea., I would break even in about 10 years.
I hope that the price of good fixtures will come down fast and the spectrum will improve as well.
The real saving comes from the longevity of LED lamps. However, a commercially available fixture is so expensive right now. If I buy three new Radion XR30w Pro's at $949 ea., I would break even in about 10 years.
I hope that the price of good fixtures will come down fast and the spectrum will improve as well.
JSB
Usually Confused
yeah, that is what I was saying. Assuming Emily does not run a chiller, her monthly savings in a couple bucks. Now in the summer she will run her air more, but in the winter she will run her heater less, so I consider that a wash.
pickupman66
5000 Club Member
Tomako, that's why I built my own. I absolutely love them and love the color in my corals. I have some real pinks blues reds and greens that show up very well. I used to have 3x250 watt halides on my 180 plus 200 watts of t5. Now I have a total of 400 watts of led. Not only that but my chiller runs much less in the summer. We could tell a difference in the electric bill. My build thread shows well the colors I get btw.
sent from my Galaxy with Tapatalk 2
sent from my Galaxy with Tapatalk 2
No, apparently at Emily's house, they turn off the heater and dress up in clownfish outfits to keep warm:
Chameleon
Valuable Member
lol...good luck in the contest emily
