long term led par levels discussion

[Armydogracing]

So first I would like to say I am a die hard t5 user but I miss the shimmer of my mh so I added leds to my fixture and have been running it this way for a couple years now so I guess I like both.

Anyways we are having a discussion on our local club group on Facebook about longevity of leds and how time effects any lights par levels. Some think leds never loose par... which I’m almost 100% positive that they do like any light will over time but they may loose it at a slower rate.

I personally went to leds when the sol blues came out but didn’t like the look and eventually went back to T5s/leds for shimmer. Let alone I kept having to put more money into the leds for pucks and power supplies.

So I would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this and if you have some par readings from when you got them setup to now that would be great.

I’m really curious mainly to hear from the long time users of the same led fixture over time.

Thanks in advance

 

[Armydogracing]

Anyone?

 

[Mark Gray]

So first I would like to say I am a die hard t5 user but I miss the shimmer of my mh so I added leds to my fixture and have been running it this way for a couple years now so I guess I like both.

Anyways we are having a discussion on our local club group on Facebook about longevity of leds and how time effects any lights par levels. Some think leds never loose par... which I’m almost 100% positive that they do like any light will over time but they may loose it at a slower rate.

I personally went to leds when the sol blues came out but didn’t like the look and eventually went back to T5s/leds for shimmer. Let alone I kept having to put more money into the leds for pucks and power supplies.

So I would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this and if you have some par readings from when you got them setup to now that would be great.

I’m really curious mainly to hear from the long time users of the same led fixture over time.

Thanks in advance

Bak I guess 20 years ago I used MH, then I went to T12 I think driven with Icecap blasts , then I went to T5's driven with Icecap ballasts. Then due to some family heath issues I got rid of everything. A little over a year ago I went on vacation a mistake maybe lol, I went scuba diving in Thailand. Well I decided to start again. I right now have a 55 with some SPS a few leathers and some zoos. I love the LEDs I liv Georgia nad it's hot here the LED's stay cool, may growth is good. I am stating a new build soon my tank is on order. Won't ever go back

 

[Armydogracing]

Bak I guess 20 years ago I used MH, then I went to T12 I think driven with Icecap blasts , then I went to T5's driven with Icecap ballasts. Then due to some family heath issues I got rid of everything. A little over a year ago I went on vacation a mistake maybe lol, I went scuba diving in Thailand. Well I decided to start again. I right now have a 55 with some SPS a few leathers and some zoos. I love the LEDs I liv Georgia nad it's hot here the LED's stay cool, may growth is good. I am stating a new build soon my tank is on order. Won't ever go back

Thanks for sharing that’s not exactly what I’m looking for though.... wanting some par levels from when they first were purchased to now... like long term par reading instead of what lighting you like

 

[Armydogracing]

Like how much the par levels have gone down since purchased preferably more then a year or 2 of use

 

[Mark Gray]

Thanks for sharing that’s not exactly what I’m looking for though.... wanting some par levels from when they first were purchased to now... like long term par reading instead of what lighting you like

Understand mine are a year they are about exactly the same

 

[Armydogracing]

Understand mine are a year they are about exactly the same

Do you have a par meter?

Do you have actual results with pictures showing they are the exact same?

I kinda find that a bit hard to believe they haven’t fluctuated at all

 

[Mark Gray]

Well what I had I borrowed I will see if I can get it tomorrow and report back with numbers I set it at about 600 at the water surfice it's not a water proof par meter and it was not mine so I didn't want to put it in a bag and submerge it. I guess I need to buy one.

 

[Armydogracing]

Hmm not sure that would be very accurate if it’s not made for aquariums. Is it a lux meter?

 

[Armydogracing]

Well what I had I borrowed I will see if I can get it tomorrow and report back with numbers I set it at about 600 at the water surfice it's not a water proof par meter and it was not mine so I didn't want to put it in a bag and submerge it. I guess I need to buy one.

They aren’t really a necessity but they do come in handy when placing Corals, new lights, or need to replace bulbs

 

[Mark Gray]

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-System-M...TF8&qid=1514594617&sr=8-2&keywords=par+meters

Its one like this

 

[Armydogracing]

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-System-M...TF8&qid=1514594617&sr=8-2&keywords=par+meters

Its one like this

That’s a pretty good price I think the ones on brs are only a little more. Kinda crazy it’s not waterproof

 

[Mark Gray]

They aren’t really a necessity but they do come in handy when placing Corals, new lights, or need to replace bulbs

Yeah I need on I may try the Neptune Apex one

 

[Armydogracing]

Yeah I need on I may try the Neptune Apex one

I currently have a apogee but have been considering getting the apex one to leave in the Tank to get constant readings

 

[Mark Gray]

I currently have a apogee but have been considering getting the apex one to leave in the Tank to get constant readings

I have looked at it I have a lot of money in my new build I guess anther 300 or so is not much lol

 

[Armydogracing]

I have looked at it I have a lot of money in my new build I guess anther 300 or so is not much lol

Haha that’s one way to put it lol. I went through and added mine up today. Guess I didn’t realize how much I have put into it lol

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

@reeferfoxx , have you run across and LED color degradation studies ?
Or know whom to ask?

 

[reeferfoxx]

@reeferfoxx , have you run across and LED color degradation studies ?
Or know whom to ask?

No I haven't. But i've been using the same black box led fixture for 3 years now. Though, I do toy with swapping diodes from time to time. What I can say is I've run most of the same diodes in that 3 years with some spectrum subtractions and additions. However, I've run the same configuration for the last year. I typically only measure par in one spot of the tank to see if any changes have been made. So far, the par in that one spot hasn't changed at all. Not sure if that helps?

 

[Armydogracing]

No I haven't. But i've been using the same black box led fixture for 3 years now. Though, I do toy with swapping diodes from time to time. What I can say is I've run most of the same diodes in that 3 years with some spectrum subtractions and additions. However, I've run the same configuration for the last year. I typically only measure par in one spot of the tank to see if any changes have been made. So far, the par in that one spot hasn't changed at all. Not sure if that helps?

Thanks for the reply kinda crazy if it’s the same.

I wonder if bulkreefsupply.com has ever ran longevity testing on leds or anyone for that matter with some graphed numbers of levels

 

[reeferfoxx]

Thanks for the reply kinda crazy if it’s the same.

I wonder if bulkreefsupply.com has ever ran longevity testing on leds or anyone for that matter with some graphed numbers of levels

From what i've gathered most LEDs are rated for 50,000 hours. That would be more than 5 years of constant light. I think in 5 years I'd like to know if my par changes but whats to come in another 5 years? lol With so much research going on in different spectrums, what I'm running now may not be as good. I will say i'm itching to swap out some chips for a wider array of spectrum. But I most likely will keep par levels where I have them.