LED's claim must be false?

[Speg]

Has anyone noticed that their moonlights start to slowly dim after a while? I just don't see how these bulbs last for 10 years or even close to that. I have moonlights that didn't even stay as bright for a single year of having them, and I have moonlights that have lasted for 7 years but are REALLY dull in color.

Am I missing the point of LEDs or does anyone else think that this claim is false? Is it just the ballast?

 

[dougers31]

I really think it depends on the led bulbs and fixture. I have a sunpod MH fixture with leds and they are junk to put it simply, very dim and really don't do anything. Now if its a real led fixture that was designed to be the main light source then I'm sure you would have better results... I myself am going t5

 

[LILBUDDHA]

I would suspect they would not last . Due to a lack of heatsink and no cooling . Please keep in mind the touted 30,000 to 50,000 are there if the cooling and passive heat sink are addressed . So with that in mind when it comes to LED moonlight longevity forget about it .

 

[jascymcl]

try t-5 with no heat dissapating tech and they wont last long either.

 

[MimicOcto8]

I think LEDs last a far longer than any other light source for the aquarium. I also agree with Doug there. it depends on the brand.

 

[AquaWorldPSC]

Depends on quality of bulbs and drivers used.

 

[nikesb]

its also just a moonlight, dont expect any high quality leds in the moonlights

 

[aalvarado87]

Not sure if anyone caught it but on mythbusters they tested different types of light bulbs they then put them on a timer showing them turn on and of every so many minutes to simulate years of use after the test only the led bulb was still ighting

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

Not sure if anyone caught it but on mythbusters they tested different types of light bulbs they then put them on a timer showing them turn on and of every so many minutes to simulate years of use after the test only the led bulb was still ighting

Just because you can burn out a light bulb or a metal halide by turning it on and off and not an LED doesn't mean that the LED will continue to produce light in the correct spectrum 7-9 years from now. The LED is actually better off because the operating temperature will never get very high if you cycle it. Metal Halide startup mechanism I believe involves a state change for the light producing chemical, right? Much more rapid temperature change and much higher operating temperature.

More to the point, though, the component cost for the moonlights was probably $.05/each whereas we're talking $6/each for 3W Crees. They have a bit more $ to play with in their fab budget.

 

[aalvarado87]

Just because you can burn out a light bulb or a metal halide by turning it on and off and not an LED doesn't mean that the LED will continue to produce light in the correct spectrum 7-9 years from now. The LED is actually better off because the operating temperature will never get very high if you cycle it. Metal Halide startup mechanism I believe involves a state change for the light producing chemical, right? Much more rapid temperature change and much higher operating temperature.

More to the point, though, the component cost for the moonlights was probably $.05/each whereas we're talking $6/each for 3W Crees. They have a bit more $ to play with in their fab budget.

Did I say anywhere that they ran the test and the leds would put out the correct spectrum for years to come no I didn't i was just making a statement that they last a long time.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

That doesn't mean they last a long time, only that they cam turn on and off a lot.

 

[reefhead]

i had a professor about a yr ago that was an egineer for german led manufactur. he himself said that they do not last as long as the claims of 10-20 yrs. he said some can last that long but they will be significantly weaker and the majority will "burn out" way before the 10yrs. i found it pretty interesting considering he was a quality control manager for this company.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

I was an engineer for Intel for 7 yrs. It comes down to operating temperature and fabrication control. There's no reason that I know of that they can't last a long time. They just need to spend the $ to make good devices.

 

[acrotrdco]

Well from my experience, I'm using 2 LED fixtures now, one is over 11 months old, the other is only 1 month old, when I measure the PAR reading between the two, I didn't record any major discrepancy at all.

You can read more about the PAR measurement I've done here - the left fixture is 11 months old, the right fixture is pretty much brand new.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/me...ro-edge-rimless-ppg-starphire.html#post617821

 

[raymond]

when it come to the lighting sorce of an aquarium, i really believe that you get what you pay for. as far as led lights lasting 30,000+ hours im gonna wait til i see a tank that has had lights going for that long and the corals are still going strong before i believe it

 

[fsu1dolfan]

I really think it depends on the led bulbs and fixture. I have a sunpod MH fixture with leds and they are junk to put it simply, very dim and really don't do anything. Now if its a real led fixture that was designed to be the main light source then I'm sure you would have better results... I myself am going t5

I agree it depends what you are going for. The Sunpod leds are dim because it is just suppose to be a dim moonlight not actinic supplemation. For the i have a set of Cree XR-E royal blue LEDs....this adds the actinic pop while adding a good light source. Of course this all depends on two things PAR or looks? For me i have had no problems with mine.

 

[nixer]

when it come to the lighting sorce of an aquarium, i really believe that you get what you pay for. as far as led lights lasting 30,000+ hours im gonna wait til i see a tank that has had lights going for that long and the corals are still going strong before i believe it

buy one and plug it in 24/7 you can tell us in around 3.5 years

those moonlights are junk anyway. get a real fixture and try it

 

[boehm742]

IMO moonlights and high quality LEDS are a completely different and should not be compared to one another. The cheap moonlight LEDS we see in the hobby are exactly that, cheap.

 

[Troylee]

plain and simple you get what you pay for!!!!! no and's ifs or buts about it!!! i will let you know in 10yrs lol... my fixture is almost ready to rock!!!!

 

[boehm742]

my fixture is almost ready to rock!!!!

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