useful life of LED

[Backreefing]

I wondered about spectrum on metal halide bulbs I hear people write 6500k ( natural daylight) grows corals faster . But isn’t the blue part of the spectrum that drives the zooplankton in the corals tissue. So one would think 20000k would grow them faster.
I just purchased 14000k bulbs so I’m splitting the difference .
Personally I like the blue look .

 

[Backreefing]

Sounds like the same concerns I encountered when I ran my Metal Halide lamps from 18 to 24 months while changing them only after a 10% loss in Par. And yet my corals grow just fine. First with Metal Halide and now with Led. Although don't tell the led users MH grew them faster, I just got tired of the big bulky pendants on top of my tank.

Btw the lights look just fine .

 

[jda]

Other than a spike around 450, there is as much, or more, blue in a 6500k bulb than in a 20k Radium. Most 6500k T5s are the same way too. Our eyes are not good at judging these things. There are many, many different types of zoox and most of them have large ranges.

 

[oreo54]

Other than a spike around 450, there is as much, or more, blue in a 6500k bulb than in a 20k Radium. Most 6500k T5s are the same way too. Our eyes are not good at judging these things. There are many, many different types of zoox and most of them have large ranges.

Which "blue"...

 

[jda]

Right? Check out 10k compared to 20k ...even in the blue and IR part of this. This is the only SE bulb that I will run glass on since I do not like that much UVB, but it is easy to filter out.

People who think that blue is the only spectrum needed should be trying to find the last remaining 10k XM bulbs on the planet... this is a joke to those who do not know that all spectrum matter.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

God I miss my xm bulbs... best blue and reds in acros that I have had. I am sad things went in another direction.

 

[EMeyer]

Lifespan is fixture/enviroment dependent....
The diodes themselves can push >50000 hours (11 years 12hrs per day) w/ less than 20% loss but the measurement is err impractical..

Really interesting graph, I hadnt seen one extended that far on the x axis. While I get your point that data from manufacturers may not be the most reliable, I look at this graph and wonder again why there is ever such a thing as an LED without a fan. Any LED is going to run cooler with a fan, right? And this graph, if it is to be believed, says that will make years of difference in usable life. To me, this graph says that an LED without a fan is planned obsolescence.