LED Lighting Fixtures

[rafal07013]

Wingo - I am attaching a few ideas for fixture comparison - I also think it would be nice to include MH or T5 in PAR testing so each person would have a point of reference. I doubt a lot of people know what is PAR of MH at 15 inches or 20 inches - same for T5s.

Here are my suggestions as far as comparsion points:

Comparison/Review Points

a) PAR:
LED vs MH vs T5

- Intensity vs spread

b) Cooling solutions:

- Controllability of fan speeds? (no need for the same speed of fans for moonlights and daylights)
- Automatic shot down in case overheating?

c) Drivers used

d) Controllability/User preferences:

- Sunrise and sunset simulation options
- Moonlight settings (28 day moon cycle)
- Seasons simulations
- Overcast day simulation
- PAR programming in order to eliminate risk of burning or overexposing corals to change in light intensity.
- Color Temperature – option to control hue temperature from 12k to 24k

e) craftsmanship/appearance

 

[azazel]

Rafal - Don't forget about wireless control interface

 

[regal]

Wingo - I am attaching a few ideas for fixture comparison - I also think it would be nice to include MH or T5 in PAR testing so each person would have a point of reference. I doubt a lot of people know what is PAR of MH at 15 inches or 20 inches - same for T5s.

Here are my suggestions as far as comparsion points:

Comparison/Review Points

a) PAR:
LED vs MH vs T5

- Intensity vs spread

b) Cooling solutions:

- Controllability of fan speeds? (no need for the same speed of fans for moonlights and daylights)
- Automatic shot down in case overheating?

c) Drivers used

d) Controllability/User preferences:

- Sunrise and sunset simulation options
- Moonlight settings (28 day moon cycle)
- Seasons simulations
- Overcast day simulation
- PAR programming in order to eliminate risk of burning or overexposing corals to change in light intensity.
- Color Temperature ? option to control hue temperature from 12k to 24k

e) craftsmanship/appearance

To make it more objective, you should have a few "judges" to score the different category. I volunteer to be one of them. :birthday: Did I mention I had considered pulling the trigger to go LED. :shhh:

 

[johnsonlee42]

Has anyone on this thread had experience with the Aqua Illumination setups? I have heard good things but don't really have insight into how this system compares to the ones that have been brought up. I am in the market to figure out what system would work for me, but there are a lot of options -_-

 

[alrha]

i'd be interested to know how deep they penetrate. I currently have 3x400W MH on a 60" tank that is 30" deep (24" wide). I would love to switch to LEDs but have yet to find a fixture providing sufficient light to compare with 1200W of MH in 60" length.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Good, I will invite AquaIllumination to join the Wingo Guide to LED Fixtures. LOL

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

With lights like yours, I wonder why ConEd still needs to hike up their price.
J/K

i'd be interested to know how deep they penetrate. I currently have 3x400W MH on a 60" tank that is 30" deep (24" wide). I would love to switch to LEDs but have yet to find a fixture providing sufficient light to compare with 1200W of MH in 60" length.

 

[Andrea_AUST]

i'd be interested to know how deep they penetrate. I currently have 3x400W MH on a 60" tank that is 30" deep (24" wide). I would love to switch to LEDs but have yet to find a fixture providing sufficient light to compare with 1200W of MH in 60" length.

Hi Albert

The KR92 is the LED fixture that seems to have the deepest penetration required by SPS. At 30.5" the PAR of the KR92 still reaches over 200 (this may be dependant on water clarity). We in AU tested a small KR92-24 (rated at 70W) against a 400W MH and whilst it did not have equal spread of PAR, it was not that far behind the big gun in the central parts of the system.

It really does depend on what you want to grow where in your tank.

I would think if you waited until the 60" KR92 (some time in 2010 I think) were available and ran 2 of these front / back over your tank, you would get more than enough PAR and the correct colour spectrum to keep even the most demanding SPS near the bottom in your deep tank.

You could of course go with 4 x 30" units @ 120W each for the same results. Either way, they are beasts when it comes to delivering intense light to the bottom and you would certainly save an enormous amount of money in power ........not to mention globe replacements etc etc.

We are seeing stunning results from these lights over all manner of sized tanks here in Australia. The units are built beautifully - so far I have seen nothing that comes close to them either in quality, aesthetic sleek (ie they don't look like a donkey's backside) or - and most importantly, performance wise.

 

[Andrea_AUST]

Rafal - Don't forget about wireless control interface

When I watch a car race and see the winner standing up on the podium with his trophy, it doesn't matter one iota whether his car had power windows, a CD stacker or a stereo system with 10 speakers! :tongue1:

It's about delivering results that gets the job done.

PAR / PUR and the right balance of spectrum is what measures should be applied here. The rest is just gimmick and toys playing wanna-be-hig powered LEDs. :splitspin

 

[pecan2phat]

If what you’re looking for is deep penetration for 30" tall tanks, go with a defunct PFO fixture that utilizes 41 degree optics on 3.5 watt LEDs or Aqua Illumination which utilizes 45 degree optics on 3 watt LEDs. But be prepared to run double the fixture because of the narrow light spread if your tank is 24" or more from front to back. Aqua Illuminations are probably more application friendly since they are modular and you can hang them perpendicular to the length of the tank but you would still need to use almost twice as many modules since they are only about 6" when placed this way and of course they are still in production and have support for their product.
If you want even light spread and your tanks is limited to 24” in height and depth then try the Pacific Sun fixtures, they give off a very even light spread with no optics and run cooler using 1 watt LEDs.
I would only consider these fixtures as of now because only these fixtures have true controllability features. I run a 2nd gen & 4th gen PFO light and also the Pac Sun light, so I have some insight on these fixtures.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Same problem for me, I am running 3x400W MH over my 180.

The biggest problem with the PacSun's (besides not having the money for LED fixtures at the moment!) is that they can only be "hung/suspended" and can not be "bridged together" and supported on "feet".

Alfred

i'd be interested to know how deep they penetrate. I currently have 3x400W MH on a 60" tank that is 30" deep (24" wide). I would love to switch to LEDs but have yet to find a fixture providing sufficient light to compare with 1200W of MH in 60" length.

 

[moliken]

does anyone actually have any results for long term survival of reef critters under led's?????????

 

[pecan2phat]

Same problem for me, I am running 3x400W MH over my 180.

The biggest problem with the PacSun's (besides not having the money for LED fixtures at the moment!) is that they can only be "hung/suspended" and can not be "bridged together" and supported on "feet".

Alfred

Are you using a canopy?

 

[alrha]

Same problem for me, I am running 3x400W MH over my 180.

The biggest problem with the PacSun's (besides not having the money for LED fixtures at the moment!) is that they can only be "hung/suspended" and can not be "bridged together" and supported on "feet".

Alfred

i too prefer a fixture that does not need to be hung. i just rest it above my canopy.

 

[rafal07013]

wait for new stuff from Pacific Sun in 2010. I do know that as you call bridged together units that can supported on "feet" are planned and will be added to the sale portfolio in 2010.

Same problem for me, I am running 3x400W MH over my 180.

The biggest problem with the PacSun's (besides not having the money for LED fixtures at the moment!) is that they can only be "hung/suspended" and can not be "bridged together" and supported on "feet".

Alfred

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

No, my fixture is 6' long with 3 bulbs and I just sit it un top of a piece of wood at each end of my tank. I had glass cut to replace the silly plexiglass sheets that melted/burned within an hour of turning the lights on, other than that, no modifications.

Still pretty expensive, with the cost of LED's going down significantly (I actually have had to price LED's for a client that is having an LED light davice built) I am wondering if it may be worth waiting until they come out with a better "solution" and after the prices drop. Right now there is not much competition, but there are at least four other major vendors that will be producing LED reef lighting and I imagine that the competition will force the price down a bit...

I figure that the price should at the very least be comparable to the equivalent MH fixture within a year or so.

Thoughts?

Alfred

Are you using a canopy?

 

[pecan2phat]

In the pic below, I had assembled (or cali reef did for me) a light rack using aluminum 90 degree track to hang mini luminarcs behind an inwall tank. The spacing for the mini luminarc and the Pac Sun fixtures coincidently were about the same so I was able to just drop these fixtures in place without having to figure out a new light rack. But if you take the concept and apply it without the "box" like assembly (this was done for structure rigidness because of sliding the rack & the height of the mini lumenarcs), and secure it within your canopy, it would work fine. You can also make a lower profile box like assembly and use eyehooks and chains to suspend it within the top of your canopy (if it is enclosed) so that you can control and adjust the height of the lamps.
The second pic is just of my current 180g with a 6ft Solaris. I modified the ends of the canopy by cutting out openings to rest the fixture on and covered up the ends with wood heating grates from Home Depot. Prior to the Solaris, I had a wood rack with T5s that just rested on the the ends of the canopy that had wood strips to act as stops.

120g light rack:

180g canopy:

 

[alrha]

nice

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Warren, that looks great

 

[masterswimmer]

W, I love it. Looks awesome.

R