What made you switch to LED ?

Young Frankenstein · Jun 9, 2012

What is the main reason you switched to LED

Reef Breeders · Jun 9, 2012

Mostly electricity cost, ui (power company) just kept sending these fliers: "Did you know that you use 250% more power than your neighbors?" Not anymore, LOL

Rockadile · Jun 9, 2012

For me it was a little of everything

M@! · Jun 9, 2012

I didn't want to deal with changing bulbs.

Quinn123 · Jun 9, 2012

Thinking about switching to LED, due to high cost on electrical bill and heat.

Dashiki · Jun 9, 2012

I have run the numbers and for most people i cant see that it is a huge cost savings. If you replace a 250w halide with a 125w led you save 50% on the operation of the light. But upfront costs are higher. The leds are not full spectrum even the rgb ones so you have to supplement which adds more cost.

For my real world analysis the savings of switching from my 3x250 with 4-96w pc's would be around 35-40 a month. But upfront cost of 3 radion and some t5 supplements would be around 2500$. Assuming no further andvancements to make these new leds obsolete if you divide the cost over five years then the radions are 450$ per year plus operating costs (radions after not even a year already have upgrades available not factored into this cost)

I know i am not taking into account the heat factor. Lucky for me its not a huge problem for my situation.

While i love the glow of leds for most people who claim the monthly bill as the reason the math does not work if you depreciate the cost over the five years.

Im not saying leds are not good. I love them, but the reason to switch for most people should not be the electric bill.
I have owned leds and when i upgraded tanks i sold them and went with halide because the initial cost of halides was lower for me.

Rockadile · Jun 9, 2012

I get what your saying Dash but at $100 bulb each year for MH. the LED pays for themself pretty quickly imo.

Reef Breeders · Jun 9, 2012

Dashiki said:
I have run the numbers and for most people i cant see that it is a huge cost savings. If you replace a 250w halide with a 125w led you save 50% on the operation of the light. But upfront costs are higher. The leds are not full spectrum even the rgb ones so you have to supplement which adds more cost.

For my real world analysis the savings of switching from my 3x250 with 4-96w pc's would be around 35-40 a month. But upfront cost of 3 radion and some t5 supplements would be around 2500$. Assuming no further andvancements to make these new leds obsolete if you divide the cost over five years then the radions are 450$ per year plus operating costs (radions after not even a year already have upgrades available not factored into this cost)

I know i am not taking into account the heat factor. Lucky for me its not a huge problem for my situation.

While i love the glow of leds for most people who claim the monthly bill as the reason the math does not work if you depreciate the cost over the five years.

Im not saying leds are not good. I love them, but the reason to switch for most people should not be the electric bill.
I have owned leds and when i upgraded tanks i sold them and went with halide because the initial cost of halides was lower for me.

I disagree, RGB LEDs do what metal halide and t5 do, and then some. Look at any comparison graph, and the spectrums can be matched 100%.

Jake1 · Jun 9, 2012

I jest wanted led. Since I added them I have seen so much growth in my coral

SDguy · Jun 9, 2012

anemonekeeper said:
I disagree, RGB LEDs do what metal halide and t5 do, and then some. Look at any comparison graph, and the spectrums can be matched 100%.

Are there more recent/other analysis than this one? Feature Article: Spectral Distributions of LEDs: AI-Sol, Radion, Orphek, EcoRay, Mvava — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

Steelerfan747 · Jun 9, 2012

I have been wanting to switch due ti the flexibility it gives as far as being able to dim and provide a more natural sunrise/sunset and still have the shimmer that t-5's can't provide. I also love the fact that you don't need to worry about replacing bulbs every year

revhtree · Jun 9, 2012

Honestly for me it was the ability to DIM and adjust the lighting spectrum.

myzislow · Jun 9, 2012

Nothing yet

Ace25 · Jun 9, 2012

Dashiki said:
I have run the numbers and for most people i cant see that it is a huge cost savings. If you replace a 250w halide with a 125w led you save 50% on the operation of the light. But upfront costs are higher. The leds are not full spectrum even the rgb ones so you have to supplement which adds more cost.

For my real world analysis the savings of switching from my 3x250 with 4-96w pc's would be around 35-40 a month. But upfront cost of 3 radion and some t5 supplements would be around 2500$. Assuming no further andvancements to make these new leds obsolete if you divide the cost over five years then the radions are 450$ per year plus operating costs (radions after not even a year already have upgrades available not factored into this cost)

I know i am not taking into account the heat factor. Lucky for me its not a huge problem for my situation.

While i love the glow of leds for most people who claim the monthly bill as the reason the math does not work if you depreciate the cost over the five years.

Im not saying leds are not good. I love them, but the reason to switch for most people should not be the electric bill.
I have owned leds and when i upgraded tanks i sold them and went with halide because the initial cost of halides was lower for me.

Electricity costs where you live are a huge factor. I was paying 50cents a K/w here in California. My power bill was over $500 most months. I replaced 500w of lighting with 100w of LEDs on just one of my tanks and I get more output from the LEDs. My power bill went from $500 down to $80 after switching out all my display lights (multiple tanks). To top that off, I paid over $700 for my MH/T5 lighting, I paid under $400 for my LED light, so it was almost 1/2 the cost for LEDs vs my old lighting.

So, do the math in my case, $420 a month is savings on electricity, $400 light fixture vs $350 every year to replace bulbs.. takes just a couple months to recoup ALL my costs, in just 12 months I put thousands of dollars back into my pocket, and that was after paying for the LED light. I understand my power bill is much higher than most other places, so YMMV on how long it takes to recoup, but I can't see anyone taking more than 18 months.

pgr11 · Jun 9, 2012

Like stated above the elec cost in cali is high so that was a major concern when I started my big tank. I also did not want to deal with heat transfer and have to run a chiller costing more in elec. I loved the look that the led's gave so it was a no brainer for me. I had the money to buy up front so I got what I wanted.

Young Frankenstein · Jun 9, 2012

If you save on electricity and have the same result, great because you are saving $$$ and also help nature

milkman · Jun 9, 2012

Heat, adjustability of the spectrum, electric cost, bulb cost and changing them, and lastly being one of the cool kids!

I really hated changing out T5 bulbs in my 8 bulb fixture ($120 a pop).

Dashiki · Jun 9, 2012

I had ai's on my 100gal. Turned my red acans orange unril t5 supplement.

I watched a radion do the same thing in a lfs dt. I wanted radions the money is not a factor for me but do not have a canopy and want all in one solution.

I am lucky in our area elec. Is .12$ per kw making monthly savings minimal.

Im not an expert but to my eye they are missing something eventhough they are "full spectrum"

Im interested to see the new ati t5/led

I have looked inro the sfiligoi genisis but not hands on so im not comfortable laying out the 3500+ on those.

AZDesertRat · Jun 9, 2012

Power cost was the main reason with the programming flexibility of the AI Sol Blues a close second.
Power savings were HUGE! I went from 800 watts, 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO actinics plus inefficiencies in the ballasts, down to a peak of 148 watts as indicated on a Kill A watt meter. At 10 hrs a day the cost savings on the lights alone was over $35 a month, then factor in I no longer needed a 1/4HP chiller and I don't even run the fans in the canopy or over the sump anymore! Then there is the savings on the home AC unit as I am not producing the heat I was before and to top it all off my evaporation went way down so I realize a savings on RO/DI costs.

It totals between $50 and $75 a month depending on the season and the power rates. I sold the old lights for $200, no longer have to do annual bulb replacements at over $170 for the 2 MH and 2 VHO bulbs, and sold the chiller for another $200. Needless to say the AI Sols and controller were not cheap, especially since I bought when they first came out so I have close to $1100 invested but in the year of use they are almost paid for already and I will soon be money ahead.