Still using AI Sol modules.

[Brittleyak]

I've still got my hands on four modules of AquaIlluminations Sol Blues. I forget how long previous owner had them exactly but I've been secondhand owner for 4 about years and running them on a 14 hr photoperiod. I love these lights and am surprised that I have not upgraded yet. I noticed the cooling fans on a couple modules aren't going anymore so i thought to replace them and found that AI is selling replacement pucks as well. They also stated that the led bulbs have a 50k hr life and im thinking theyre nearing this. Is this a record for equipment loyalty? lol how much longer do you think i can get away with keeping them?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Fans can be tricky to replace on older leds as frequently the insides of the fixtures get rusty making removal more difficult. But if your corals are doing OK, I'd be a whole lot less worried about the life of the led pucks.

BTW, I've had 2 different brands of leds that have run 4 years or more. One was a pair of EverGrow IT2080's that were over a 180g tank for 5 tears before the case started to rust badly. But they now make their cases out of aluminum and powder coat them rather than paint them.

 

[dantimdad]

For lights that has one of the longer ones.

I have a hagen 201 powerhead that I finally cracked a couple years ago. Was the FIRST power head I ever bought. 1992 IIRC.



I think @PaulB has us all beat with some of the equipment he uses.

 

[Zohar78]

They also stated that the led bulbs have a 50k hr life and im thinking theyre nearing this. lol how much longer do you think i can get away with keeping them?

Led life is measure a little different than floourescent/halide bulb. if i recall my training in industrial lighting right, with flourescent/halide bulbs, the life is equal to when 50% or more of the bulbs have burnt out. since leds themselves tend to not burn out as fast, the manufactures had to come up with a new way of measuring lifespan. The lifetime of a LED module is defined as the time it takes until its light output, or lumen maintenance, reaches 70% of the initial output. becaus of that change in measuring, this has led to quite a few customer service issues. there is quite a few other parts in a light beside the actual led that have a way higher chance to break (ex: the driver) before the leds themselves do.
im still new to the reefing world, so there is still alot i dont know about lighting with corals and leads to the next question: i wonder if ever year or 2 with the leds if you should use a par meter and recheck par, and increase intesity to match. 30% lumens drops is pretty big. but then again 10 hours a day is only like 3650 hours of 50k. so probably not a big difference from year to year. but from initial use to 3 years. could be quite a difference.
personally i think i would: try to replace fans, get a hold of par meter and check to see if your are getting the intesity you want, and double check the led pucks for any individual out diodes. heat is one of biggest killers of leds.

 

[theatrus]

Led life is measure a little different than floourescent/halide bulb. if i recall my training in industrial lighting right, with flourescent/halide bulbs, the life is equal to when 50% or more of the bulbs have burnt out. since leds themselves tend to not burn out as fast, the manufactures had to come up with a new way of measuring lifespan. The lifetime of a LED module is defined as the time it takes until its light output, or lumen maintenance, reaches 70% of the initial output. becaus of that change in measuring, this has led to quite a few customer service issues. there is quite a few other parts in a light beside the actual led that have a way higher chance to break (ex: the driver) before the leds themselves do.
im still new to the reefing world, so there is still alot i dont know about lighting with corals and leads to the next question: i wonder if ever year or 2 with the leds if you should use a par meter and recheck par, and increase intesity to match. 30% lumens drops is pretty big. but then again 10 hours a day is only like 3650 hours of 50k. so probably not a big difference from year to year. but from initial use to 3 years. could be quite a difference.
personally i think i would: try to replace fans, get a hold of par meter and check to see if your are getting the intesity you want, and double check the led pucks for any individual out diodes. heat is one of biggest killers of leds.

Yup. Usually the LED is fine, and any degradation is actually environmental (moist, salt, heat) and electrical (an electrolytic capacitor has a lifetime an order of magnitude lower than an LED). The curve is exponential, so 50k hours of total runtime is a good estimate.

Some reading:
https://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/XLamp_lumen_maintenance.pdf
https://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/LM80_Results.pdf
https://www.lumileds.com/technology/luxeon-technology/lumen-maintenance-and-reliability
https://www.lumileds.com/uploads/images/technology/lumen-maintenance/lumen-maint-2.png

 

[Brittleyak]

Sorry for late reply.
I have not checked the par since getting the lights dialed in. Will certainly do that. From a visual inspection of the housing nothing seems to be corroding and the aluminum looks powder coated so I think it’s all good there!
Thanks all! I just ordered the fans and all the individual diodes are still functioning.
If the diodes have degraded I already have the blues at 80%. I’m hoping there’s still room to turn them up accordingly! Will update once I’ve borrowed a par meter

 

[hart24601]

Wow that is awesome. I know this topic pops up from time to time if we can really expect long life from our fixtures or if it's just marketing or optimistic data sheets. At least for those AI lights it's nice to hear some real examples!