LED lights

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I am busy checking out where and what lighting to buy for my tank when it arrives.

I have found a site that sells AquaRay lighting for Marine tanks. These are apparently LED lights that are more effective than MH lights.

I have no idea which lighting is the best, but what are your expert opinions on LED lighting for a reef tank?
 
hi kevin , would you please provide us with the link to this site inorder
to summarise and conclude :) thanx
 
it also depends on the Kelvin Rating as the higher light spectrum
is benificial for corals
 
hi Kevin, the aquarays are very good, i've seen them work, they are very expensive initially but the running costs and life span make them very worthwhile, but don't go too deep with your tank size, the LEDs don't penetrate as deep as Mh lights.
If the cost of the LEDs is too much to swallow, try T5's.
 
wee-man is right, LED's have a longer life span and give of very very little heat, id suggest the use of LED for moonlights instead of normal sustaining
 
i will DIY my own moon lights but i need to source my LED's and a particular type,
will post a thread when i get my electronics together :)
 
So wow,
3 grand for single strip, 4.5 g for a double, all useless info there. I need like, how long is each unit? And for a 1.5 meter tank, how many units do I need. And that work out to R600 per LED on single unit, R450 on double. (Bliksem...)
Also no mention of Lumen output or kelvin radius. Nor display angle.
In my eyes, useless site information.
 
OK found some more info
On a UK site mention cover of 1 foot by 2 foot.
That means if your tank is 60cm wide, you need one for every 30 cm in lenght. So a 1.5 meter tank gives me 5 units. Multiplied by 4.5g for the doubles and that is R22 500 there is no way that I will ever get the minister of finances approval for this.

Also with a 10 year lifespan, that is R2500 per year. Replacing 6 T5 54watt units per year will be less than that.

Only possible savings will be on electricity and on heat.

but high power leds runs at 3W. gives me 5 units double units (10 leds) * 5 leds per strip, 50 leds will be 150watts
Compared to 324 watts for 6 * T5 54w

150 vs 324. Not a huge difference.

I still can not see the savings. And still can not justify it to the minister of finance.
 
Check
Tmc Aquabeam/aquaray Lights - Reef Park... The friendliest forum on the net!!!

This is a UK site
Single 109.99 pound = R1,542.36
Double 179.99 pound = R2,523.95

For them it might be viable
But for us, ZA, at R3000 and R4500, no way
Also check Kevin's second reply

Youch, something cheaper here than SA - that makes a change, ruins the possible savings at that price.

I will be doing some serious research into producing my own within the next year, so i'll bear the cost v saving in mind.
 
The LEDs that can do the job are Edixeon 1w high power leds.
120 degree angle, 110lumen, 5000 to 10000 K
They are very bright, and please do not look into them, you will be blind for the next minute or two.

Problem is that they cost about R50 EACH. Then the power supply can handle 6 at 280 mA (they are rated at 350mA - but you do not run LEDS or your car flat out)
Then to cover the tank, I do not know how many you need, how many power supplies you will have in the back. Can use a PC power supply, but not sure how many LEDs it can power. Then also these LEDs do give of a lot of heat. Nice heatsinks are a must at least 4cm square block per led, and depending on the number of LEDs, you might still need PC fans to cool the heatsinks. And each LED need a resistor, cheapy about R2, nice in aluminium anodized are R20.

What I do not know, is what the PAR will be at 60cm down in the water. So after doing this project, your sand might end up in darkness. So this project was a waste of time and money. (At least you can have a few beers while doing your DIY)

Now the question
Who wants to try to build this.
 
Bottom line.LED's is the future to lighting a marine tank. Check out some of the internatiol forums that are running LED's on their tanks, and most are SPS tanks.
Eventually the prices will come down as they are still new on the market IMO.
 
yes mek is right,LED's are the future of lighting due to their life span, wattage comsumption ect,but its gonna take some time for it to drop its price,for now we could DIY it and improve on the concept, all i need is to find a supplier for LED blue and white to try something out, hey scubaninja you mentioned DIY your own moonlights, is this concept in conjunction to LED's and if so where would you source them from?
 
yes mek is right,LED's are the future of lighting due to their life span, wattage comsumption ect,but its gonna take some time for it to drop its price,for now we could DIY it and improve on the concept, all i need is to find a supplier for LED blue and white to try something out, hey scubaninja you mentioned DIY your own moonlights, is this concept in conjunction to LED's and if so where would you source them from?
ya its with LEDs, its really easy, just got to control the input voltage a bit, possibly current depending on your power source, and away you go. Any component shop would be ok, i think the one i went to(hectic while back) was called A1 something or other, got no idea bud. Just get hold of any electronics shop and you should get some, or get pointed in the right direction;)
 
thanx scuba ninja, i have managed to get resistors to controll the voltage range but the probs is the LED's, ive also been told about A1 Radio in CBD in BP Centre but its a hectic place, all i need is the LED's and i will start building it;) already have some ideas that should it work then i will post the thread... scubaninja did A1 Radio give you a price per a LED?
 
as i said it was a hecticly long time ago. There is another shop(possibly better) down the road, dont know its name either. you'd have to go look. why dont you phone A1 radio and ask them their prices? what do you mean by hectic? if they have the goods then its all good.
 
i mean hectic in the sense of getting through the traffic in the CBD, have you driven there lately, i have located their website and attained an email address and also googled and found a tele number, ive sent them an email and will be calling them in awhile:) will let you know what comes off it ;)
 
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