LED Lighting

[Fireball]

Call or SMS Vincent from AquariumArtist. He will give you the new pricing. I think those on the web outdated already. Should be cheaper now.

LED technology have advanced a lot. People who are using MH are slowly switching to LED. Cost wise, it will slowly come down and comparable to MH at a cheaper price in the long run. Usually are those cheapo LED lamp that will not work for planted tank. You pay for what you get...

actually, my concern is after paying so much, will the LED last or not? and whether the intensity of the LED will drop

[Fireball]

so in conclusion LED is still better than PL and FL lights?

seems like it, provided if the correct type of LED is used

[Fireball]

Good LED fixtures price are still high. Will still need to wait when more people adopt LED fixtures before the price will drop.
My LED fixture for 1 ft can get a few cheapo LED fixture or 2 decent 1 ft PL/FL light fixture.

You may be right that the plant may be dying. I did not face any problem with mine when using LED.
Only problem I find with LED is when taking photo. If the LED bulb is exposed directly to the lens it will create a beam of light vertically across the whole photo.

This is how my tank with LED looks. No adjustment of color to photo done.

do you still have a picture of your LED light fixture?

[jeffteo]

actually, my concern is after paying so much, will the LED last or not? and whether the intensity of the LED will drop

LED by right is more lasting and intensity should stay the same after prolong usage. Good LED light intensity should not decrease over time.
Currently I am still trying and will not be able to say if it will last as long as it is claimed.
I just got 2 3 ft T8 tube from inled for my next project and will see if a lower watt per LED with higher total number of LED is as good.

A teaser for now...

[Fireball]

LED by right is more lasting and intensity should stay the same after prolong usage. Good LED light intensity should not decrease over time.
Currently I am still trying and will not be able to say if it will last as long as it is claimed.
I just got 2 3 ft T8 tube from inled for my next project and will see if a lower watt per LED with higher total number of LED is as good.

A teaser for now...

nice. do you have picture of your one ft tank LED light? cuz i m planning to do up a 30 cm cube

[ladygaga]

I am using one with 4 x 1 watt Philips LED, cheap one will be a 12 LED for less than $20 with unknown power of each LED. Totally cannot compare. Maybe need a 32+4 LED Aquazonic LED to be somewhere near it.
Google will provide you the links if you want PK. Here is one that I found, http://www.gardenscure.com/420/light...-watt-led.html.
Higher watt LED penetrate farther and will definitely benefit those with taller tanks.

I am a strong supporter of LED for planted tank and still experimenting the effectiveness. One thing for sure is the power consumption is lower than FL, PL or MH.
My 4 x 1W LED is driven only by a 700mA 15 V DC adapter and that is only 10.5 W?
Radiated heat into the water is much lower which will again help save on electricity from chiller kick in frequency. Just my 2 cents.

No, there's no way (or very difficult) to google out Hi-end VS cheapo LED. Even the link you provide has nothing to do with it.

Is it because of:
1) For industrial protection. Even the manufacturer never do the PK themselves, gave out real evidence. Some more, or fake evidence. If you are interested, look at this video.
2) It's simply doesn't work as per they claimed.

LED by right is more lasting and intensity should stay the same after prolong usage. Good LED light intensity should not decrease over time.
Currently I am still trying and will not be able to say if it will last as long as it is claimed.
I just got 2 3 ft T8 tube from inled for my next project and will see if a lower watt per LED with higher total number of LED is as good.

A teaser for now...

For R/G/B LED, they may last longer. For white LED, may not. That's why we have color LED first, then we have white. How to make powerful and long lasting white LED, we're still on the way to go.

It's worth to try low watt white LED (I tried, I knew it), they are really very cool----- I mean cold light, haha.

[jeffteo]

do you still have a picture of your LED light fixture?

It is in my Nano scape thread in my signature.

[jeffteo]

No, there's no way (or very difficult) to google out Hi-end VS cheapo LED. Even the link you provide has nothing to do with it.

Is it because of:
1) For industrial protection. Even the manufacturer never do the PK themselves, gave out real evidence. Some more, or fake evidence. If you are interested, look at this video.
2) It's simply doesn't work as per they claimed.



For R/G/B LED, they may last longer. For white LED, may not. That's why we have color LED first, then we have white. How to make powerful and long lasting white LED, we're still on the way to go.

It's worth to try low watt white LED (I tried, I knew it), they are really very cool----- I mean cold light, haha.

That video is HPS vs LED and not high end vs low end LED also.
Basically with low watt per LED, you can't do the same job with the same amount of LED as a higher watt LED. By the way, I am not a seller trying to promote my product so chill. Just sharing my experience here.

Whether white LED will last or not, I will update when mine die. Anyway, when we say it last longer and is more energy efficient and cheaper in the long run, we are comparing it with other type of lights against the cost of the fixture, the replacement of tube/bulb and the electricity cost. It may just be cheaper to replace the LED light fixture than replacing tubes/bulbs over the same period of time theoretically especially when compared to MH. Not to even mention electricity cost.

[BFG]

Guys, hold on for a minute.

Led might not last long as advertised and the fault may lie on heat. Led bulb do need to be cooled when they are switched on, in fact all aquarium light tubes need to be cooled to maximize their life span. Heat shorten the life span of light bulbs/tube and before that happen, it will degrade the light spectrum ( kelvin ). You'll notice this when your tank is producing more algae than plant growth. The light bulb spectrum has shifted from the factory produced rating to a lower rating due to the de-grading of the lights itself due to heat.

Not all led light bulb are the same nor are they created equal. Most of the led you see being used in public areas to lit common area are usually use for that purpose alone and therefore par reading and kelvin are really not a factor. But for us aquarium owner, these 2 factor are really important to us, especially to the livestock we are keeping. Par will determine how much the brightness is at certain level in the tank and kelvin will determine the correct temperature of light being illuminated. These 2 are the most important factor for me in determining the types of led to purchase.

Cheap led bulb always do not have this 2 factor. They might have 1 but not the other. Right now in the market, the only option is to get quality led bulb from CREE. If price is an issue, the other option is to get SEMILEDs led bulb. Todays high end led bulb are the CREE's XP-G led bulb but soon there is another new CREE led bulb coming out, the CREE's XM. Phillips will have their own led bulb, the Rebel ES. Google for their specs. Look for a suitable kelvin rating for your tank use and choose a bulb that is not less than 3w per led bulb.


Hope this helps!

[Fireball]

It is in my Nano scape thread in my signature.

ok. saw your tank already. nice

[Fireball]

Guys, hold on for a minute.

Led might not last long as advertised and the fault may lie on heat. Led bulb do need to be cooled when they are switched on, in fact all aquarium light tubes need to be cooled to maximize their life span. Heat shorten the life span of light bulbs/tube and before that happen, it will degrade the light spectrum ( kelvin ). You'll notice this when your tank is producing more algae than plant growth. The light bulb spectrum has shifted from the factory produced rating to a lower rating due to the de-grading of the lights itself due to heat.

Not all led light bulb are the same nor are they created equal. Most of the led you see being used in public areas to lit common area are usually use for that purpose alone and therefore par reading and kelvin are really not a factor. But for us aquarium owner, these 2 factor are really important to us, especially to the livestock we are keeping. Par will determine how much the brightness is at certain level in the tank and kelvin will determine the correct temperature of light being illuminated. These 2 are the most important factor for me in determining the types of led to purchase.

Cheap led bulb always do not have this 2 factor. They might have 1 but not the other. Right now in the market, the only option is to get quality led bulb from CREE. If price is an issue, the other option is to get SEMILEDs led bulb. Todays high end led bulb are the CREE's XP-G led bulb but soon there is another new CREE led bulb coming out, the CREE's XM. Phillips will have their own led bulb, the Rebel ES. Google for their specs. Look for a suitable kelvin rating for your tank use and choose a bulb that is not less than 3w per led bulb.


Hope this helps!

This is what I wanted to know. Thanks for your input. Now I will need to do some research before buying

[jeffteo]

LumenAqua Max and Nano/Mini are using 1W Philips LEDs. The higher end one are using 3W LEDs but not sure of the brand and of course at a much higher price.

Check out http://www.skyhigh-technology.com for the specs if interested.

[k3nlim]

totally agree on the heating part..

[smk]

Hi
read alot on min 3W for planted AQ, but most of these LED are for marine set (IMO) and the power is far too high for a mid-low planted set up ...

unlike tube (T5 or T , we can remove/off 1 or 2 tube to reduce ... for LED i think will end up with dark/dim spot

saw different information on Web for Lumenaqua max , some 3W/ea and in other 1w/ea.

Anyway, i got 3x max 300 in Aquarama 2011 for my 46" x 16"x H18" .... was told 2W/ea with the new set but lumen output same as the 3W spec (25W each set with 12 LED) ...
not sure if it's done with overdrive ...... :-( . wish me luck ... hahhaa
now waiting for tank and light set.


mk

[ivanthensf]

can any experienced users recommend a few brands/models that they have tried and are sure that it works?

just pass by wuhu today and saw a brand (forgot name), on the specs i remember it says it has 6500k and 10000k i think.

[tawauboy]

lifetime
LED is claimed to last up to 50000 or more hours. LED lifetime is the time taken to drop to 70% of initial light output level. conventional light sources lifetime is time taken by 50% of test samples failing.

the LED lifetime is an extrapolated value based on some initial value and some final value. methods have been proposed but i do not know if any has been adopted as a standard.

other than the LED, the electronic components making up the current drivers needs to be taken into account but they are almost never. chances are that the electronic components will quit way before the LEDs give up.

heat
does LED produce heat? yes, plenty of it. fortunately, the heat is on the opposite direction of the light (heatsinks) and LED does not emit IR. thus, LED light does not heat up the aquarium water directly.

colour
white light LED is a blue LED with yellow phosphor coating. the blue light mixes with the 'down-converted'producing a preceived white light. thus, white LED light has predominantly blue wavelengths. this is the reason that we see white LED apprearing on the lighting scene after the invention of blue LED in 1995.

better white light can be formed by mixing red, green and blue LEDs. these RGB-based white light LED offer better colour rendering capability but they have poorer light output capability, more than 30%~40% lower.

is LED light better?
depends. buying into LED lighting, chances are that you'll be tied to a system. there may not be 3rd party bulb replacements available. LED lighting is significantly more expensive and return of investment is poor. however, you'll get a light source that does not heat up the aquarium water directly.

conventional light sources (pl, mh, ...) have standardized bulbs so replacements are easy to get and cheaper than LED. however, these light sources emit IR which heats up the water.

[hellomyfriend]

lifetime
LED is claimed to last up to 50000 or more hours. LED lifetime is the time taken to drop to 70% of initial light output level. conventional light sources lifetime is time taken by 50% of test samples failing.

the LED lifetime is an extrapolated value based on some initial value and some final value. methods have been proposed but i do not know if any has been adopted as a standard.

other than the LED, the electronic components making up the current drivers needs to be taken into account but they are almost never. chances are that the electronic components will quit way before the LEDs give up.

heat
does LED produce heat? yes, plenty of it. fortunately, the heat is on the opposite direction of the light (heatsinks) and LED does not emit IR. thus, LED light does not heat up the aquarium water directly.

colour
white light LED is a blue LED with yellow phosphor coating. the blue light mixes with the 'down-converted'producing a preceived white light. thus, white LED light has predominantly blue wavelengths. this is the reason that we see white LED apprearing on the lighting scene after the invention of blue LED in 1995.

better white light can be formed by mixing red, green and blue LEDs. these RGB-based white light LED offer better colour rendering capability but they have poorer light output capability, more than 30%~40% lower.

is LED light better?
depends. buying into LED lighting, chances are that you'll be tied to a system. there may not be 3rd party bulb replacements available. LED lighting is significantly more expensive and return of investment is poor. however, you'll get a light source that does not heat up the aquarium water directly.

conventional light sources (pl, mh, ...) have standardized bulbs so replacements are easy to get and cheaper than LED. however, these light sources emit IR which heats up the water.

THANK YOU for the enlightening before i commit to buy

[bernie]

If we take 3w per LED bulb as a guide, the added up wattage to illuminate a 2ft or bigger tank maybe higher than a T5 HO? There's no advantage about lower power consumption if for example it needs more than 16 LED with 3W each vs a 2x T5 HO tube (24w x2) to light up a 2ft tank.

Not sure about the cost of replacement of LED bulbs. A T5 HO 2ft tube cost from S$8.50.

[silentmorning]

Let me share some little exp on LED lighting for bros here to have considerations whether to choose LED or not. Lets do some comparisons:

Light Output Comparison:
*For T5HO the typical Lumens/ Watt is somewhere typically ard 90lumens/W which comes out => 24W x 90 x 2 tube = 4320lumens
(http://www.specialty-lights.com/plant-grow-faq3.html)
*For 1 x LED XP-G driving @ 1000ma is 3.3 w , lumens output is 347.5 per LED, which also means 105 lumens/W . Using 12 XPG on typical setup to illuminate a 2ft tank => 12 x 347.5 = 4170 lumens, power consumption is ard 3.3*12 =39.6Watts (http://www.ledsupply.com/docs/XLampXP-G-1.pdf)

Cost (based on 8yrs time)
T5HO: Fixture Cost ard 50? chg of tube per yr is abt 8.50x2 = SGD17 per yr. 8yrs abt SGD136. Total abt SGD186
LED: Fixture + 12 CREE XPG LED is abt SGD330~350 (customised). Based on specs of rated life is abt 50,000 hrs, it can last at least 9yrs (10hrs used daily). Total Cost abt SGD330~350

From above... LED is giving slightly higher lumens output compare to T5HO, but we dun see any lower power consumption as what ppl are claiming. and for Cost wise, we dun see there is any advantage to it also as LED is almost 2 times the cost of T5. What you get using LED is the Shimmering effect like sunlight or MH.
but do note that we cannnot compare LED to T5HO in lumens output...the most accurate is by PAR as the light intensity of LED n T5HO is different.

I'm currently using a customised LED lighting (12x CREE XPG @ 1000mA) to lit my 2.5ft Planted tank (previously using 2Tubes 24W T5). Although thru calculations, T5HO lumens is higher, but in actual case, I found that LED light is much brighter than the T5HO. and I have a very nice shimmering effects compare to T5. btw My personal opinion, Plants are doing better than previous lighting as i notice plants leaves are more compact compact to previous and more bubble, even my fern also bubbling which is not case to my previous lighting...

If bros here are on a tight budget, i suggest stick to T5HO rather than the luxurious LED although i using LED also :P Just my 2cents
Have a good weekend guys

[jeffteo]

Yes. The shimmering effect and the depth of penetration that LED can achive. That's the main reason why I get LED. How can I forget this... The shimmering effect was what that got me "addicted" to using LED when I first saw the effect on a MH set up. But MH is so expensive and hot and LED is the perfect solution to replicate the same shimmering effect. For cost wise, cannot compare with FL or PL but MH. LED benefitted reef tank the most as they need the shimmering effect without the heat and now slowly planted tank too.

Just my another 2 cents...