What are the cons to using an led fixture???

[SaraB]

I have only found that the heater needs to run more, thats it I cant find anything else to complain about LED's

This is one that is overlooked by many. If your current lights keep the temp in your tank warmer over your photoperiod of lets say 5-10 hours, now with LED's it will not warm your tank up so you could now potentially be running your heater on and off for that same 5-10 hours and depending how large the watts are on your heaters ... this can now eat up a portion of your savings you thought you would have

This is one of my concerns as I have my tanks in the basement and I have to heat to keep them at 76 degrees until my MH lights kick on for 6 hours and then they don't run during that time. I have two 300W heaters, so this can eat up a whole lot of savings I was hoping for in electrical cost. Something to think about is all.

 

[shred5]

A few things .. Comparing leds to fluorescents or halides can be very tough. There are so many types of leds and allot of these studies do not say which they are. Some leds can last 20 years like the ones used in alarm clocks. The ones used in reef fixtures and industrial applications are also overdriven and the life expectancy will drop.

I laugh at the replacement comment. Allot of led fixtures have no way to replace the leds unless you want to take apart a fixture and solder. By the time they do burn out there will be newer and better leds.


One disadvantage with leds is spectrum. Most led fixtures come with a certain color and can not be changed. T-5 you do not like the color you can buy a different bulb. Basically if you do not like the color of light your led fixture puts out you are screwed.

Led fixtures produce the color light by mixing different color leds. this also makes it harder to produce a certain temperature light and can reduce cri.

Be careful with what fixture you buy leds are not equal at all. Just because its led does not mean it will produce more light that halide or fluorescent. I have a feeling we will see allot of Chinese fixtures coming out with inferior leds.

Also a bad or poorly designed fixture even if they use a good led can produce less light or reduce the life of the led.

A well designed led fixture with good leds will produce should produce more light than halides and even t-5 with less energy and last allot longer.

Dave Polzin

 

[VelasCorals]

Here's the responce that I received from Ecoxotic and the same information that lead me to buy an LED fixture in the first place. If I can go 5+ years without changing bulbs then the fixture will pay for itself.



Dear Mr. Velasco,
Thank you for contacting Ecoxotic and showing interest in our Panorama LED fixtures.
We currently use CREE LED chips which are rated by the manufacturer at 50,000hrs/70%. This means at 50,000 hours, the LED will be a 70% of its original light output.
The main cause of LED degradation is heat - therefore LED systems which are exposed to thermal heat levels above what the manufacturer states will degrade extremely quickly (and as you have read, it can actually be faster than a MH.) Ecoxotic integrates a thermal switch in all of our LED products, therefore if the temperature of the LED exceeds the manufacturers rating at 50k hours, it will shut off and "blink" - indicating to the hobbyist that more ventilation is required.
You will have no problem with the LED output on the Panorama Fixture over 5+ years - the fixture does have a thermal switch and the LED's will last way beyond the 5 yr time frame with no noticeable degradation in PAR or spectrum.
Hopefully this clears things up for you, please feel free to ask any more questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Ecoxotic Team

 

[Reef Pets]

This is one that is overlooked by many. If your current lights keep the temp in your tank warmer over your photoperiod of lets say 5-10 hours, now with LED's it will not warm your tank up so you could now potentially be running your heater on and off for that same 5-10 hours and depending how large the watts are on your heaters ... this can now eat up a portion of your savings you thought you would have

This is one of my concerns as I have my tanks in the basement and I have to heat to keep them at 76 degrees until my MH lights kick on for 6 hours and then they don't run during that time. I have two 300W heaters, so this can eat up a whole lot of savings I was hoping for in electrical cost. Something to think about is all.

Very true! If you are running a 400 watt heater and it now has to run all day and half the night to keep the water warm then your savings of LED lighting is completely gone. Running a 400w heater for 12 hours is no different than running a 400w metal halide when it comes to the cost of electric. Several times a week someone creates a post about the concerns of LED's, thats because they are not tried and proven over a long period of time. I also do not believe the bulbs will last even close to 50,000 hours over a saltwater aquarium, maybe in perfect low humidity and dry applications but not over saltwater.

 

[benny z]

the mix of colors thing to achieve the spectrum is a good one... i've tried many led products and they are all slightly different color. whereas w/ florescent and mh bulbs we get a full spectrum of color, leds are one certain nm of wavelength, and that's it.

i noticed immediately w/ my new led cube that the "blue" lights in the oem hood are "blue". my reefbrite bar is more purple by comparison. the mix of both working together in concert, though, seems to be very nice along w/ the white.

 

[maddog2002]

If Use heater, 100% heat goes to tank. But if MH only part of heat will go to tank through radiation. They are not the same.

 

[DBarsotti]

I am using a blue reefbrite for supplemental lighting along with my MH/T5 fixture and LOVE IT

 

[ksc]

Here's the responce that I received from Ecoxotic and the same information that lead me to buy an LED fixture in the first place. If I can go 5+ years without changing bulbs then the fixture will pay for itself.



Dear Mr. Velasco,
Thank you for contacting Ecoxotic and showing interest in our Panorama LED fixtures.
We currently use CREE LED chips which are rated by the manufacturer at 50,000hrs/70%. This means at 50,000 hours, the LED will be a 70% of its original light output.
The main cause of LED degradation is heat - therefore LED systems which are exposed to thermal heat levels above what the manufacturer states will degrade extremely quickly (and as you have read, it can actually be faster than a MH.) Ecoxotic integrates a thermal switch in all of our LED products, therefore if the temperature of the LED exceeds the manufacturers rating at 50k hours, it will shut off and "blink" - indicating to the hobbyist that more ventilation is required.
You will have no problem with the LED output on the Panorama Fixture over 5+ years - the fixture does have a thermal switch and the LED's will last way beyond the 5 yr time frame with no noticeable degradation in PAR or spectrum.
Hopefully this clears things up for you, please feel free to ask any more questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Ecoxotic Team

LOL! Coming from a guy that sells an Led fixture with no fan and states on his website,"

It’s a simple idea: get rid of the heat and get rid of the cooling fans and other unsightly components sitting around your tank. All that’s left is a sleek fixture, floating beautifully above your tank.
If I were you i'd stick a temperature probe in that fixture and see how hot it gets. Also take a par reading now and then in a year so you can get your $$ back under their warranty.Read more: Panorama LED Fixtures - Panorama LED Lighting - Products​

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

The question is do these Panorama fixtures overheat for the average user. If the thermal switch is not activated in most user situations and no ventilation is required then I say they are being responsible manufacturers for educating the consumer about potential problems that relate directly to lifespan and heat. I'm sure that incorporating a thermal switch lost them profits but made their product better. Not the act of crook but more of a responsible vendor. just my 2 cents on that


Anyone have these fixtures overheat regularly?

 

[VelasCorals]

LOL! Coming from a guy that sells an Led fixture with no fan and states on his website,"

It’s a simple idea: get rid of the heat and get rid of the cooling fans and other unsightly components sitting around your tank. All that’s left is a sleek fixture, floating beautifully above your tank.
If I were you i'd stick a temperature probe in that fixture and see how hot it gets. Also take a par reading now and then in a year so you can get your $$ back under their warranty.Read more: Panorama LED Fixtures - Panorama LED Lighting - Products​

The fixture isn't hot at all. I just touched the fixture and it's warm but not hot at all. It could be the design but there are no fans needed for this fixture.

The question is do these Panorama fixtures overheat for the average user. If the thermal switch is not activated in most user situations and no ventilation is required then I say they are being responsible manufacturers for educating the consumer about potential problems that relate directly to lifespan and heat. I'm sure that incorporating a thermal switch lost them profits but made their product better. Not the act of crook but more of a responsible vendor. just my 2 cents on that


Anyone have these fixtures overheat regularly?

I haven't seen anyone posting about that. It also sounds like if it's overheating then there is a problem with the fixture or the ambient temp surrounding the fixture is too hot (in direct sunlight etc)

 

[Reef Pets]

If Use heater, 100% heat goes to tank. But if MH only part of heat will go to tank through radiation. They are not the same.

Not the same type of heat source but both raise the temperature of the water.

 

[reef_lover24881]

thanks for all the input:smile:

 

[extremehobbyist]

i love my leds growth has taken off and i only have had them for two weeks its crazy and i love to look at my tank with just the blues on it look like colors from cosmic bowling

 

[ScottyMcReefer]

nice adam nice..."cosmic bowling" lol gotta love that analogy.

 

[extremehobbyist]

lol or a rave with body paint and a black light whatever floats your boat

 

[macawmagic]

only con i saw with my new led light was that it burned all my acros because I didn't acclimate it enough...

 

[extremehobbyist]

i started with my lenses off to avoid that

 

[ksc]

Scroll down to the "Leds are not everlasting gobstoppers" graph. The Dept of Energy shows how these leds degrade consistently with MH and Fl lighting. I think 2 years will be quite a stretch, especially with these low end uncooled fixtures....http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/greenbuild2010_richman_ledtech.pdf

 

[VelasCorals]

Scroll down to the "Leds are not everlasting gobstoppers" graph. The Dept of Energy shows how these leds degrade consistently with MH and Fl lighting. I think 2 years will be quite a stretch, especially with these low end uncooled fixtures....http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/greenbuild2010_richman_ledtech.pdf

The graph still shows that the manufacturers that they tested have an average usable lifespan of 30,000-40,000 hours before decrease in lumens of more than 20%. I also don't think Ecoxotic or AI are low end at all. They use CREE LEDs which are some of the best LEDS on the market right now. It seems like you are basing all your arguments on all the lowest data and not actually looking at the entire population where the data was collected. Even if you average those poor performing LEDs with the all the other numbers you are still looking at a 30K-40K/hr lifetime before more than a 70-80% decrease in light out, still great performance and long lasting usable lifespan (see the second graph listed).

30,000 hours of usable life span with 85% lumen output seems great to me. Am I missing something? That’s 8+ years before the light output decreases more that 15%. I’ll take that any day.

On another note, I really wish I knew someone with a PAR meter so I could make reading every month and post everything. I could easily punch it into Excel and make some easy to read graphs. Anyone around the Northern VA area have one?

 

[extremehobbyist]

i wish i had par meter to so could check my leds