Q: LED buffs

[corkyGramma]

I'm looking into getting an led system.....but as they are popular so is the price....
I was wondering if anyone has gotten a really good deal somewhere and if it was possible to use leds not marketed for saltwater aquariums-are they the same thing?
Thanks everyone for your input.

[txg8gxp]

There isn't really any "good deals" because of the cost of the emitters themselves. Yes, they are just standard emitters...not aquarium one's. The best for the money on the market right now are the 3w cree xp series. If your looking for a good led light for a "low" cost, diy is the only way to go.

[StevenSeas]

agreed ^^^ although, the initial cost is high, the return is also and saves you much down the line. This is one of the reasons that such systems are so expensive is because manufactures are trying to hit the price point of what people will pay due to the fact that their customers wont be coming back to them over the next 7-10 years for new ballasts or bulbs or anything like that.

there are 2 theories on how build a diy LED system one uses the 3w LEDs like crees or luxeon or seuol emitters the other uses 1w versions and just crams as many as possible on the heatsink. I personly like the 3w idea as its less work and usual same cost area.

[hobogato]

one of the vendors coming to L*MAR lights his display tank with LEDs, would be a good person for you to talk with yvonne...

[txg8gxp]

Cool.... "SPS made simple" and LED's.

[corkyGramma]

Thanks everyone I will check it out.