scotty
Member
Again not my original thought, but I am the master of research, and I love when people do the work for me and all I gotta do is find it, read it, and share it!! Another good piece from Chicago Fish and Coral Company.
http://www.chicagofishandcoral.com/blog/2010/11/leds/
LED's
29th Nov 2010 | Posted in: Lighting 0
You may have seen a number of LED light fixtures popping up in our store recently. We’re excited about this new technology and the many new avenues it opens for lighting every type of tank: freshwater and marine, fish only and reef.
Are LEDs really bright enough to use on an aquarium?
Absolutely; the technology has come a long way in recent years. An LED (or Light Emitting Diode) is a semiconductor whose surface radiates light when subjected to electricity. They can emit practically any color imaginable, including white, depending in part on the material used to make them. At first LEDs were good for little more than use as indicators, but in recent years their efficiency has increased to the point of being usable for brighter applications such as traffic lights and now even as replacement for conventional lights. It is these super bright LEDs that are used in aquarium lighting.
Why LEDs?
The simplest answer to that question is their amazingly low cost to run. While new LED fixtures do cost more than competing products (though not as much as they used to), they can often pay for themselves in short order due to lower electricity usage and much longer bulb life. Say we take two theoretical 210 gallon aquariums, one lit by 3 x 250W Metal Halides and the other by 4 x 50W Ecoxotic Cannon LEDs. The Cannon setup will cost roughly twice that of the Metal Halide setup ($2200 vs $1080). The Metal Halide aquarium will cost about $320/year in electricity with the Cannons costing less than $100/year. In addition, running Metal Halides will likely require the use of a chiller, not to mention regular bulb replacements (once a year vs. once every 10 years). The cost of a chiller can easily run in the $600-$900 range (plus another $153/year in electricity), bringing the Metal Halide initial cost to $1980. After the first year, the Metal Halide aquarium has now cost $2453 and the Cannon aquarium $2300. You would have earned yourself $153 by choosing LEDs! After two years, this difference could be up to $1000!
We did a similar comparison with LEDs vs a 6x80W T5 setup, with the LEDs paying for themselves sometime after the 4th year. So unless you plan on selling your aquarium in less than 5 years, LEDs are the way to go.
Pros/Cons (other than electricity)
Arguably the best aspect of LEDs is that they emit light primarily in one direction. There is no worry about reflectors and re-strike (light reflected back to the bulb), or other inefficiencies of that sort. Because of this, they can provide equal light output with far less power usage than other technologies. Less power also means less heat. Combine these two and you get fixtures that can be small and sleek and put out tons of light.
A benefit of LEDs that T5 users can appreciate is color customizability. Not many commercial fixtures offer this ability, but anyone constructing their own fixture can choose colors to suit their preferences. The locations of the LEDs can also be mapped out so that light is more intense over areas where corals will be, so no light is ‘wasted’ on sand beds or other empty areas.
A minor benefit, but one that draws many people to LEDs, is the shimmer or ‘glitter lines’. They’re the ripples of light on the sand and rock that really make it look like you’re in the ocean. LEDs and metal halides have this while fluorescents just do not. This is because, like metal halides (and the sun), LEDs are considered a ‘point source’ where light is emitted from a relatively small area.
The biggest downside to LEDs is actually their small size. Any single LED emits light in a relatively small area. This is especially true when secondary lenses are used to increase penetration through the water. The result is that LEDs must usually be placed very close together in order to get good coverage. If not, then you get ‘spot lighting’ where definable circles of light are noticeable (this is especially visible when multiple colors are used).
And because so many LEDs are needed for a single fixture, the price rises significantly, though this has come down in the last year and continues to do so. Years ago, the first LED fixtures would have cost many thousands of dollars for a 120 gallon tank, but now current solutions may only cost only a hair over $1000. While this is still pricey upfront compared to other technologies, remember our lighting comparisons: you could be ahead in as little as 1-4 years after considering electricity and bulb replacement.
Are LEDs right for me?
New setups can probably benefit the most from LEDs, since you won’t have already plunked down money for an existing fixture. That being said, aging fixtures, expensive replacement bulbs, and excess heat can all make good arguments for making the switch to LEDs.
And even if you’re not ready to make the full switch yet, they can also help as supplemental light. A strip of white or even blue LEDs along side of a state-of-the-art T5 setup can add the shimmer and a little extra pop of color.
Only the very large tanks (350+ gallon) may not yet be able to cash in on LEDs, given their current price structure. There are possibilities here, but are best decided on a case by case basis.
LEDs we carry
Our best selling fixture to date is the Ecoxotic Stunner. This 6 watt strip comes in white, blue, white/blue, and violet. Reflectors are available for even greater light output. Believe it or not, but just six of these units can successfully illuminate a 150 gallon tank in a fish only setup (and you’d only need one transformer to power them all).
The big brother of the Stunner is the Panorama. This is available in individual modules, as well as 3-module, 4-module, and 6-module units. Each module consists of 12 single watt LEDs in white/blue or all blue configurations. Two Panorama modules will easily grow corals in an 18” cube aquarium.
You can read a more extensive write-up of the Cannon here, so just a summary: it’s a 50W single die available in white or blue (and Ecoxotic has 100W and elliptical Cannon models coming). These are very bright with a large spread, and just 4 can light a 210 gallon tank, given enough height.
From Naxandra, we have the Ecoray 60, a 60W fixture with white/blue LEDs. Currently this is the only fixture we carry with lenses to improve their penetration on deeper tanks. As such, the spread of these lights is narrower, and they should be fairly closely spaced. Four Ecorays over a 120 gallon tank will grow even the most light-hungry of coral, while four could be used over a 210 if you don’t mind a little spotlighting in the upper levels of the tank.
We hope this gives you a basic primer on LEDs. If you have any additional questions about LEDs or your particular lighting situation, please comment below or ask us in the store.
Cheers
Eric
http://www.chicagofishandcoral.com/blog/2010/11/leds/
LED's
29th Nov 2010 | Posted in: Lighting 0
You may have seen a number of LED light fixtures popping up in our store recently. We’re excited about this new technology and the many new avenues it opens for lighting every type of tank: freshwater and marine, fish only and reef.
Are LEDs really bright enough to use on an aquarium?
Absolutely; the technology has come a long way in recent years. An LED (or Light Emitting Diode) is a semiconductor whose surface radiates light when subjected to electricity. They can emit practically any color imaginable, including white, depending in part on the material used to make them. At first LEDs were good for little more than use as indicators, but in recent years their efficiency has increased to the point of being usable for brighter applications such as traffic lights and now even as replacement for conventional lights. It is these super bright LEDs that are used in aquarium lighting.
Why LEDs?
The simplest answer to that question is their amazingly low cost to run. While new LED fixtures do cost more than competing products (though not as much as they used to), they can often pay for themselves in short order due to lower electricity usage and much longer bulb life. Say we take two theoretical 210 gallon aquariums, one lit by 3 x 250W Metal Halides and the other by 4 x 50W Ecoxotic Cannon LEDs. The Cannon setup will cost roughly twice that of the Metal Halide setup ($2200 vs $1080). The Metal Halide aquarium will cost about $320/year in electricity with the Cannons costing less than $100/year. In addition, running Metal Halides will likely require the use of a chiller, not to mention regular bulb replacements (once a year vs. once every 10 years). The cost of a chiller can easily run in the $600-$900 range (plus another $153/year in electricity), bringing the Metal Halide initial cost to $1980. After the first year, the Metal Halide aquarium has now cost $2453 and the Cannon aquarium $2300. You would have earned yourself $153 by choosing LEDs! After two years, this difference could be up to $1000!
We did a similar comparison with LEDs vs a 6x80W T5 setup, with the LEDs paying for themselves sometime after the 4th year. So unless you plan on selling your aquarium in less than 5 years, LEDs are the way to go.
Pros/Cons (other than electricity)
Arguably the best aspect of LEDs is that they emit light primarily in one direction. There is no worry about reflectors and re-strike (light reflected back to the bulb), or other inefficiencies of that sort. Because of this, they can provide equal light output with far less power usage than other technologies. Less power also means less heat. Combine these two and you get fixtures that can be small and sleek and put out tons of light.
A benefit of LEDs that T5 users can appreciate is color customizability. Not many commercial fixtures offer this ability, but anyone constructing their own fixture can choose colors to suit their preferences. The locations of the LEDs can also be mapped out so that light is more intense over areas where corals will be, so no light is ‘wasted’ on sand beds or other empty areas.
A minor benefit, but one that draws many people to LEDs, is the shimmer or ‘glitter lines’. They’re the ripples of light on the sand and rock that really make it look like you’re in the ocean. LEDs and metal halides have this while fluorescents just do not. This is because, like metal halides (and the sun), LEDs are considered a ‘point source’ where light is emitted from a relatively small area.
The biggest downside to LEDs is actually their small size. Any single LED emits light in a relatively small area. This is especially true when secondary lenses are used to increase penetration through the water. The result is that LEDs must usually be placed very close together in order to get good coverage. If not, then you get ‘spot lighting’ where definable circles of light are noticeable (this is especially visible when multiple colors are used).
And because so many LEDs are needed for a single fixture, the price rises significantly, though this has come down in the last year and continues to do so. Years ago, the first LED fixtures would have cost many thousands of dollars for a 120 gallon tank, but now current solutions may only cost only a hair over $1000. While this is still pricey upfront compared to other technologies, remember our lighting comparisons: you could be ahead in as little as 1-4 years after considering electricity and bulb replacement.
Are LEDs right for me?
New setups can probably benefit the most from LEDs, since you won’t have already plunked down money for an existing fixture. That being said, aging fixtures, expensive replacement bulbs, and excess heat can all make good arguments for making the switch to LEDs.
And even if you’re not ready to make the full switch yet, they can also help as supplemental light. A strip of white or even blue LEDs along side of a state-of-the-art T5 setup can add the shimmer and a little extra pop of color.
Only the very large tanks (350+ gallon) may not yet be able to cash in on LEDs, given their current price structure. There are possibilities here, but are best decided on a case by case basis.
LEDs we carry
Our best selling fixture to date is the Ecoxotic Stunner. This 6 watt strip comes in white, blue, white/blue, and violet. Reflectors are available for even greater light output. Believe it or not, but just six of these units can successfully illuminate a 150 gallon tank in a fish only setup (and you’d only need one transformer to power them all).
The big brother of the Stunner is the Panorama. This is available in individual modules, as well as 3-module, 4-module, and 6-module units. Each module consists of 12 single watt LEDs in white/blue or all blue configurations. Two Panorama modules will easily grow corals in an 18” cube aquarium.
You can read a more extensive write-up of the Cannon here, so just a summary: it’s a 50W single die available in white or blue (and Ecoxotic has 100W and elliptical Cannon models coming). These are very bright with a large spread, and just 4 can light a 210 gallon tank, given enough height.
From Naxandra, we have the Ecoray 60, a 60W fixture with white/blue LEDs. Currently this is the only fixture we carry with lenses to improve their penetration on deeper tanks. As such, the spread of these lights is narrower, and they should be fairly closely spaced. Four Ecorays over a 120 gallon tank will grow even the most light-hungry of coral, while four could be used over a 210 if you don’t mind a little spotlighting in the upper levels of the tank.
We hope this gives you a basic primer on LEDs. If you have any additional questions about LEDs or your particular lighting situation, please comment below or ask us in the store.
Cheers
Eric
it hurt my wallet a lot but it was well worth it.. I have an aqua illumination led nano with a controller.. Love how i can control the intensity of my white, blue, royal blue leds.. And my corals pop when i have the blue and royal blue leds on..