Lighting, what are you using today?

[alton]

Okay let’s get on a “lighter” subject and get away from the coral ban. Since more and more reefers are going to LED, what is the average of LED versus the World?
Please post on here what you are using and no debates which is better please
Metal Halide-LED-T5HO
Chris you are not allowed to post because I found out Monday you dropped your MH for LED! TRADER!
Just joking, you can post
Lighting on my Tanks
300g MH 3x250w radium lamps-CoralVue Ballast and 6 x Ecoxotic Blue LED for Sunrise/Sunset
40g T5HO 4xATI Lamps – Retro-Fit – Workhorse Ballast
65g T5HO 4xATI Lamps-Coralife 4 lamp Fixture

[350gt]

3 ai vega led units

2 bulb retro t5ho (ATi true actinic/ATi blue plus), workhorse 3 ballast, tek reflectors.

1 ai nano for fuge

I had the t5s running with my 3 ai sol led units, and recently turned them back on.. Helps alot with the disco effect and IMO the ATi true actinic bulb looks awesome.....

[jcnkt_ellis]

150g - 2x 250w MH w/ 2x 48" ecoxotic led stunners
8g - Aquaray Minitile 500 (4 cool white & 1 fiji blue) + 4 diy leds for more color (2 royal blue & 2 430nm violet)
(if it counts) 75g fresh - 2 bulb T5HO fixture

[Big_Pun]

Vertex SR260!! sorry Alton i needed to see for my self..... i have not picked a side yet and my MH are on holding pattern and not for sale!!
Radion gen one on emilys 27g cube

[1seahorse]

tank 1
1 x Radion G1
1 12" strip LED 14K on fuge

tank w2
2 x IM 8 watt LED 14k
1 10" strip LED 10K on fuge

tank 3
T8 Full Spectrum for FW planted
LED moon light

tank 4
10K LED 12" strip TrueLumen

[hobogato]

250 gallon - mixed reef
sunlight (solar tubes) - 208W T5 (2 @ ati blue plus and 2@ ati aquablue special on wh ballasts) - LED supplement strips (red, green and blue) and moonlight

29 gallon - acans
LED (24 @ 3W mix of royal blue, bright blue, uv, 10K and 12K) - led strips (blue) for moonlight

28 gallon - seahorses and softies
PC (1 dual blue and 1 daylight) and LED supplement strips (blue) and moonlight

[Reefnub]

65g reef- 2 a/I sol. Blues

125 fresh- 200w evalution led

House- 20w led bulbs lol


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[Zack]

DIY 24x3w full spectrum LED fixture on my 20l and 40 breeder

AI nano on my 12 gallon nano-cube

[koa25]

92g Corner 2x250 watt MH 20k radium bulbs in luminarc elite reflectors with aquastyle supplement strip lights with royal blue and UV leds and moonlights.

[rrasco]

105 REEF - DIY LED (72x3w).

150 FOWLR - CFL, soon to be DIY LED after I build the mounts, fixture is built (24x1w).

20 FRAG - DIY LED (10x3w).

125 FW - Cheapo fluorescent (one day will be converted to LED, probably when the bulbs go)

[RayAllen]

40g breeder- Still running A Current 36" 6 bulb T5 fixture (ATI bulbs) Great results from this.

Plan to switch to LED one of these days.............

[alton]

Amazing how many LED's

[Joseph]

Good thread:
I’ve been running AI’s since 09. Upgraded to Gen II Sol’s last year and got the new controller this year.
I’m running 8 modules at 75watts about 6 in above the water, 40% white, 60% blue, 70% royal for 10hours. How’s everybody else’s settings?

[koa25]

Wow, that is some serious dough stacked on that tank ha ha. Looks nice man.

[Big_Pun]

i run my whites at 55% blue and royal blue at 75% and 78%, slowly bringing up whites as i just added the lights 2 weeks ago, tank is at peak for 8 hours ramps up and down

[1seahorse]

I'm would have to break my kid's piggy bank for that massive Vega setup. " Daddy needs new lights for money tree honey" lol

[Big_Pun]

40g breeder- Still running A Current 36" 6 bulb T5 fixture (ATI bulbs) Great results from this.

Plan to switch to LED one of these days.............
you forgot your fixture is powered by workhorse ballast, i think that makes a big diff in that fixture. one of my better fixtures i owned, i even swapped out the current ballast in my fixture for workhorse

[Flyride95]

Im running - 90gal - 2x 120w LEDs full spectrum.
kids 10gal- par38 LED

A must add that I moved up from a 6bulb t5 nova extreme pro set up. Not only do I now have AMAZING colors but my corals are loving it as well. There growth has more than doubled.

[OrionN]

I am in the process of setting up a 340 g tank72X36X28. I will use 3X Radion G2 and 2XRadion G1 (I am trying to upgrade G1 to Pro but so far no luck yet). I also will have some light tube over the tank and the fish room. Right now I have a 65 g Tank with 2X250 W MH, a 29 g tank with 150 W MH, a 30 inch cube with 400W MH, a 30 inch cube with 250 W MH and a 29 g cube with 150 W MH. About 6 fry tanks 300+ babies with several CF screw on bulbs. (Rod's Onyx and SnowOnyx) Largest are about 1 inch

[FireWater]

120 gallon with a 4'x2'x2' footprint.

I run 2 AI Vegas.

[Paul28]

120g 3x175w MH LumenBrite III reflectors
4xt5 55w with reflectors

Total 745w no more 250w all 3 are 175 now :)

[Scutterborn]

I've got 8 Maxpect mazarra LED modules on the 185 and the stock JBJ LED hood running 25 3w LEDs in conjunction with the dawn/dusk LEDs and moon lights.


-Ben-

[Zack]

I run my 24 3w led fixture @

55% Royal Blue/UV
55% White/ Red/ Cyan/ Actinic Purple

I run my ai nano @

30% White
25% Blue
25% Royal blue

[Reefnub]

I run my 2 AIs at 100% 8 hrs all colors with sps 6" or less under the water and lights 12" ow. Why is are people not running their percentages up?


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[FireWater]

Life expectancy of units and it may not be needed.

[Zack]

I run my 2 AIs at 100% 8 hrs all colors with sps 6" or less under the water and lights 12" ow. Why is are people not running their percentages up?


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Because LEDs dim ever so slightly over time. It's better to run them at 80% max and each year increase to match the par levels from the previous year, where as at 100% your lights will only get dimmer

[Big_Pun]

Life expectancy of units and it may not be needed.
should look up specs of your units and make sure, i know vertex underives a lil to help with that

[Reefnub]

I'm not worried about life cuz I don't plan on keeping the lights 5 years or more. But I understand diff depth tanks and height of unit plays a big part of percentage. I just think the higher the better lol


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[FireWater]

To a point Nub. I've just been happy with mine at the levels I have them at. Whites in the 50's blues in the 70 and 80's

[alton]

The same testing company that say LEDs will last 50,ooo hours on average also says they will drop 3% a year

[Andresm]

Running t5 and mh 150w Currently, but hopefully by the weekend i have my 3 Ai Vega hooked up and going. Excited to go the Leds route. so i will have 3 Ai Vega on a 6ft, 125g tank and eventually going for a 4th vega.

[350gt]

C'mon thought you said no debating!!...

[rrasco]

I actually run my percentages low because they become death rays if I don't.

[MadReefer]

i run 8 - T5 VHO's ... no not the fat bulb t-12's. there's new t5's out that run 86watts instead of 54 on the 4' bulbs. run them half at 10 hours (420/460's) and 4 hours on the 10k/14k's

[electricrcplane]

125 48" x 24" x 25" 3 AI Vegas

[RayAllen]

you forgot your fixture is powered by workhorse ballast, i think that makes a big diff in that fixture. one of my better fixtures i owned, i even swapped out the current ballast in my fixture for workhorse

Good to know, I had forgotten you told me that before.

[1seahorse]

Re: max % on LED

I don't want to have to put sunscreen on or sunglasses to enjoy my tank since its in a common area room. lol. All that bright light is just like staring into the bulbs of a tanning bed at dawn and dusk. LOL, I have white background and super white powder sand.

[alton]

C'mon thought you said no debating!!...

Okay not debating anything and if it sounded like it I apoligize. It is just that everyone hears 50k hours and think there LED’s will last forever. That 50K hours is based upon a testing facility saying that at or around 50K hours of use the LED’s lighting levels will be down on an average to 70% of when they were new. All of this is based on like 10 years of service at 5,000 hours of use each year so 10 years divided by 30% and you get the 3% per year. For metal halide pulse start lamps using pulse start or electronic ballast it is 24,000 hours. The beauty of LED is the fact you can dim them and you do not have to start at 100% running the first year, so your LED’s could very well run 10 years plus? Oh yea and anyone thinking about buying a ATI T5HO fixture with dimming ballast would have the same benefit on extending the life of the T5HO lamps. Just remember to check your light levels every year with a meter and adjust accordingly. And remember one of your pucks may go out after a couple of years so make sure you buy a fixture that the little pucks are easy to replace.

Oh yea and at the rate we are switching to LED, by next year we may be at 90% of the members here using them?

[reefreak]

I'm running a single AI SOL blue on my 24"x18"x21" tank and plan to add some t5's.

[Troy Valentine]

Okay not debating anything and if it sounded like it I apoligize. It is just that everyone hears 50k hours and think there LED’s will last forever. That 50K hours is based upon a testing facility saying that at or around 50K hours of use the LED’s lighting levels will be down on an average to 70% of when they were new. All of this is based on like 10 years of service at 5,000 hours of use each year so 10 years divided by 30% and you get the 3% per year. For metal halide pulse start lamps using pulse start or electronic ballast it is 24,000 hours. The beauty of LED is the fact you can dim them and you do not have to start at 100% running the first year, so your LED’s could very well run 10 years plus? Oh yea and anyone thinking about buying a ATI T5HO fixture with dimming ballast would have the same benefit on extending the life of the T5HO lamps. Just remember to check your light levels every year with a meter and adjust accordingly. And remember one of your pucks may go out after a couple of years so make sure you buy a fixture that the little pucks are easy to replace.

Oh yea and at the rate we are switching to LED, by next year we may be at 90% of the members here using them?

Totally agree Alton...

I currently have 3- 175 MH Luminarc Minis w/Reefbrite XHOs mounted to the reflectors. However I am slowly starting to transition to all LEDs. I will still keep my MH setups just in case things don't work out with the LEDs.

I do not believe that an LED fixture will last 50k hrs. Nothing lasts that long inches away from saltwater, I would feel lucky if I got 6yrs out of them. Like you stated I would also go DIY or with a simple fixture I can repair myself. I think LEDs are the future but after years in this hobby I have become too much of a realist when it comes to the hype of newer products. To be honest it kind of annoys me when people say that LEDs will last 50k hours, its like when protein skimmers would put unrealistic ratings on their skimming potential. I always assume 50% of what they reccommend in real world applications

[rrasco]

To be fair, I think the 50,000 hours for LEDs was a number that came up regarding LEDs a long time before they were tailored for the aquarium hobby and people have just run with it as a baseline. Too many factors to determine how long they will last. I don't really expect them to last that long, but if they do, great. It's kind of like saying a Honda will go for 300,000 miles. Yes, it can, but that all depends on your usage and maintenance. I plan to build newer, more efficient, and fuller spectrum units in that time frame.

[grouch]

Over my 70:
1 55 x 3w dusk to dawn LED, 3 moon, 2 uv, remainder 50/50 blue white, + 2 (1wx50 LED 455n blue LED chips) DIY MakersLED Heatsink Kit on the sides . All are Bridgelux LED.

[Sherita]

Heres what I have:

72g reef 2 x 175w MH + 2 x 110w VHO
140g predator 6 x 72w T5HO
65g shallow 2 x 250w MH + 2 x 110w VHO
50g shallow 8 x 54w T5HO
30g small world 2 x ecoxotic panorama + 3 x ecoxotic blue stunner (this tank will soon be T5HO, LEDs are being evicted)