Old led questions/ LED lifespan
- Thread starter pfcreed
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For the LEDs assuming the cooling continues to operate, use 50k hours of constant use as a guideline before they reach 70% original intensity. For a 12 hour photoperiod that’s 10 years of use.
redfishbluefish
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If they "cook" themselves, you'll need to buy a new fixture, a new PCB board, or replace the beads. This isn't as common as it was a couple years ago when they ran at 100 percent...or didn't have the cooling ability. HERE is my experience with cooked blue beads on old fixtures.
pfcreed
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Thanks the reason I was asking is because I have an old rapid led set up that I used for about a year. Now I wanna use it again but it's been sitting for about 6 years.
pfcreed
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Thanks the reason I was asking is because I have an old rapid led set up that I used for about a year. Now I wanna use it again but it's been sitting for about 6 years.
The LEDs will be fine.
Honestly, power supplies and fans die at a higher rate than the actual LEDs. Capacitors dry out. Bearings dry out and seize. Hidden corrosion. You should be just fine
.
Big E
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There is no data on spectrum loss over time for aquarium use that I know of. This is more important than par levels. I do agree failure of the electronic parts that support the diodes are what's more in question.
The UV diodes400-420 do burn out/blacken the plastic and need replacing. I don't know about other colors.
The fact of the matter is most people kept upgrading and buying newer LED units that lacked success due to poor design, spectrum limitations, ect. so there really isn't any data on much of this over actual aquariums.
Most of this is more critical with Acropora in reference to color and growth...........for a standard reef it isn't as much of a concern.
In your case, they're just old not over used so they should be fine to use again.
If you're going to focus on a dominant Acropora system I would consider adding violet diodes and making sure you cover your tank from edge to edge with light. Another option is to add some T5 to the mix which would be easier.
The UV diodes400-420 do burn out/blacken the plastic and need replacing. I don't know about other colors.
The fact of the matter is most people kept upgrading and buying newer LED units that lacked success due to poor design, spectrum limitations, ect. so there really isn't any data on much of this over actual aquariums.
Most of this is more critical with Acropora in reference to color and growth...........for a standard reef it isn't as much of a concern.
In your case, they're just old not over used so they should be fine to use again.
If you're going to focus on a dominant Acropora system I would consider adding violet diodes and making sure you cover your tank from edge to edge with light. Another option is to add some T5 to the mix which would be easier.
It will be a few more years until we get any data now that people have access to good PAR meters.
Keep in mind that a T5 or MH bulb will also burn for 50k hours, on average... but you don't want to really run them that long since the phosphors shift and degrade. Some LEDs have phosphors in them too.
I don't think that your unit degraded at all while sitting around.
Keep in mind that a T5 or MH bulb will also burn for 50k hours, on average... but you don't want to really run them that long since the phosphors shift and degrade. Some LEDs have phosphors in them too.
I don't think that your unit degraded at all while sitting around.
