Chillers vs. Led lighting

[Fewjativ]

Ok... I am new to this community and new to reefing... I am doing a tremendous amount of research both online and reading before I even make my first purchase of anything. I am currently reading "The Reef Aquarium Vol. 3 , The Art, Science, and Technology" which is considered to be the "HOLY GRAIL" to some. As I'm doing research and going to LFS's, the set-up I figured I'd go with would be L.E.D. lighting for a few simple facts that I have learned...​

1. - Better lighting and they last forever...​

2. - The initial cost is high but in the end I save money on the cost of electricity output and maintenance costs overall.

3. - Almost no heat output into the tank

*4. - Because of #3 , I wont need a chiller for the tank which inturn saves me more money on equipment to buy and electricity output of said equipment

Now I have had a few convo's with other reefers and I was told I would need to purchase a chiller anyway for stability and various other reasons. Now I wanna do this right and if I absolutely must buy an item then I most definetly will.

I guess the question I throw out to you reefers is.. is my understanding of L.E.D.'s and no need for a chiller correct or am I wrong and do I need to purchase one anyway?

Any and all help, comments is greatly appreciated...

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Chiller is a must even if you use LED. I am a LED maker and I can asure you that you will need a chiller if your tank is not placed in a cool spot. In NY, there are stretch of hot days that will bleach or kill your corals even without any lights. Your pump, skimmer and such will add heat to the system. The most important thing is that not evey live stock you put in there is resilient to heat even if you are quite careful in selecting them.

 

[rookie07]

A chiller is not needed, but u do need some way to cool the water if the temp gets to high. Fans are a great alternative, but the exta air blowing on the water will cause the evaporation rate to increase, creating a need for more freah water top offs.

I have AI LED's and no fan or chiller, but i have a fan that blows air over towards the top of the tanks which helps keep them cool.

I love the LED's.....but they do not last forever, most claim to last 6-10 years before you need to change the bulbs.

Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[kalapnath]

i just finished hooking up my chiller i have leds and even with the ac on the lowest the temp will go is 83, As rookie says it's not needed but it will make you sleep better at night knowing that your tank is running at the required temp.
I've tried the fans and in the end i got a chiller,your tank might not run at the same temp as mines because of different equipment in your tank.
Hope that help's in making your decision...........................

 

[pecan2phat]

It's not necessarily the heat by product or lack of from LEDs but more so what your tank levels off to in terms of temperature. All pumps internal and external will produce heat within the water column. Some as much as +6 degrees. So if without any lighting and your ambient room temperature is 76-78 degrees, your tank temp will probably hit 83 degrees and this is without any type of lighting turned on.
LEDs will decrease the amount of heat that you will be trying to battle, not eliminate it unless you keep your ambient room temperature climate controlled to a constant 72-73 degrees.

 

[Fewjativ]

Thanx to all.... so I guess I will be purchasing a chiller... lol now comes the next question... which is a great chiller for a great price?? I hear the JBJ arctica is one of the tops...

@ rookie.. I know they dont last forever.. just exagerating.. lol I heard 7 - 10 yrs b4 replacing bulbs.

Now another question to those who do run L.E.D.'s they say its too young of a market and to stick with MH... wut do u guys thing that are running L.E.D.'s? was it worth it? would you do it again or would u do something else or go another route??

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Thanx to all.... so I guess I will be purchasing a chiller... lol now comes the next question... which is a great chiller for a great price?? I hear the JBJ arctica is one of the tops...

@ rookie.. I know they dont last forever.. just exagerating.. lol I heard 7 - 10 yrs b4 replacing bulbs.

Now another question to those who do run L.E.D.'s they say its too young of a market and to stick with MH... wut do u guys thing that are running L.E.D.'s? was it worth it? would you do it again or would u do something else or go another route??

I would say YES, it's worth it especially when it is a new system.

Old system switching may be a yes/no scenario because the established corals, especially the SPS may change color too quickly-need careful light acclimation. However, when you are starting new, the corals only need to adjust to your LED once instead of twice(like in a switching scenario) to MH/T5 and one more time to LED. The same goes for someone switching from Mh to T5 or vice versa, some corals color may change even bleach out during the switch.

 

[reefer4eva]

I have a 28 jbj nanotuner hqi with power compacts and a jbj chiller and my water paremeters have never been better the water temp is always at 75.only reason for the chiller besides it being a nano tank and the light setup i have is ....i had a 90 gallon reef without a chiller with led's and i still needed the air conditioner on most of the day due to hot temperatures outside and i had more evaporation that way than i do now.also my watet parameters in the 90 gallon was always screwed up.best investment i ever had buying a chiller