T5HO vs LED

[jCoffin]

I feel like I'm getting back in the game at a period of transitioning. The last time I had a reef aquarium lighting (besides MH) was shifting from T8 to T5. I have a pretty good grasp on the color temperatures and how they affect various life in an aquarium, penetrate the water, etc. but I'm not sure if I'm understanding why LED has become such a staple to the aquarist. I have heard of fully programmable sun-moon cycle systems that mock from sunrise to sunrise, which is an awesome concept and the closest to "the real thing" I think can exist... But if a T5HO system ain't broke... why fix it?
I'm writing this hoping to open a door to a ton of responses... Personal preferences, efficiency reasons, life of the light, all reasons so you can better help me understand why you have or have not chosen to make the switch.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I still run Halides myself. But am on the look out for LEDs.
The reason, Much, Much less heat, and the wattage used over the same area is much much less. Figuring that a 65w LED unit is equivilant to a 250w Halide. Cost savings right there, depending on where you live, is worth having them.

 

[jCoffin]

I still run Halides myself. But am on the look out for LEDs.
The reason, Much, Much less heat, and the wattage used over the same area is much much less. Figuring that a 65w LED unit is equivilant to a 250w Halide. Cost savings right there, depending on where you live, is worth having them.

That does make a lot of sense. I guess I'll wait until I cook my quad t5 but do research in the meantime. Hopefully then the systems would have come down in price. I'm working with a 20t nano so a halide would probably turn my fish inverts and coral into sea jerky. Thanks Reefing Madness!

 

[totion]

I ran 3 65 watt power compacts on my 29 gallon but recently switched to leds. I'm excited to not have to replace bulbs, and the heat is also a big factor. My tank ran at 80 degrees or more all summer with an ac in the room at 70 degrees. Since making the switch my tank stays at 76 degrees. I also wanted to get into sps which my PCs couldn't really support. Sorry it's not t5ho, but that's is my reason for going led.

 

[totion]

My leds are a custom built Diy that cost about 240. 28 3 watt phillips luxeons with two meanwell drives controlled by my reefkeeper lite with an alc module.

 

[jCoffin]

It's pretty much the cousin to t5s IMHO. I know the life of LEDs are unmatchable but do they ever loose their color temp or will they illuminate true until the fixture dies? And I noticed at the local shop that has all LEDs on their tanks they aren't one color but an arrangement of blue red and mostly white... Is it the mix that gives you the overall color temp or do the LEDs change to create different mixes?

 

[jCoffin]

Hmm I followed half of your rig explanation only because of the lack of knowledge on LEDs. I understand they need a driver but how is everything else fitting together to create the system?

 

[Reefing Madness]

LEDs don't have a spectrum shift when they get older like Halides and T5 do.

Heres a look at a DIY LED set up.
42 Cree XTE Controller DIY kit

 

[totion]

A friend built mine but it looks simple enough. I have 14 leds on each driver. The drivers are plugged into a power strip, but they are dimmable so they are also wired to the 0 to 10v dimmer ports on my alc (advanced light controller). The alc is a module on my reefkeeper aquarium controller. (sorry if you already knew what all that was just being a little thorough lol)

As for mix of leds, mine has 10 royal blue, 2 deep red, 2 cyan, 2 warm white, 2 cool white, 4 neutral white, 3 true violet, 3 hyper violet. It gives my tank a nice purple tint when both strings are at the same power percentage.

I'm slowly acclimating my corals to the leds, starting at 20 percent and upping it by 10 percent every week. Judging by how bright these are I don't think I'll be running them above 50 or 60 percent.

I start with the blues (which also includes 3 violets and one green) ramping up from 0 to 20 percent over an hour long period. My whites/colors come on two hours after the blues start ramping up and do the same for an hour. Then my whites/colors ramp down and finally the blues ramp down. I really like the fade on fade off, but the meanwell drivers don't really turn the leds on until 10 percent power, so it's not a complete fade on from darkness. There is an initial explosion (for lack of a better word) of light when they hit 10 percent power.

The royal blue leds make my actinic PCs look white. It's crazy. And the color pop under just blues blew my mind.

 

[totion]

T5ho bulbs cover a much broader spectrum, which is why I went with the different colored leds. Each led produces a more precise and narrow color wavelength.

 

[jCoffin]

T5ho bulbs cover a much broader spectrum, which is why I went with the different colored leds. Each led produces a more precise and narrow color wavelength.

Thanks totion! I didn't know that. A lot of good info I get why one would want LEDs. I just ordered a timed t5ho fixture but once the tank is mature enough I'll be shopping for a rig. I had a lamp blow in my 2 strip and found a steal. It being so close to the holidays it was easier to sneak on the PayPal card lol.

 

[jCoffin]

LEDs don't have a spectrum shift when they get older like Halides and T5 do.

Heres a look at a DIY LED set up.
42 Cree XTE Controller DIY kit

Thanks reefing madness! Do you know of any resources on LED patterns and color bands used to create them?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Wow, now thats easily Googled, looking for DIY LED Builds, you will see all kinds of different set ups and their arrangements.
https://www.google.com/search?q=diy...&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=606&dpr=1#imgdii=_

 

[jCoffin]

Wow, now thats easily Googled, looking for DIY LED Builds, you will see all kinds of different set ups and their arrangements.
https://www.google.com/search?q=diy...&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=606&dpr=1#imgdii=_

Thanks for the info! I've been doing some reading and I think I'm going to try building one. Doesn't seem to be much off track from what I do at work lol. When I do I'll post some pics up