LED lighting questions

[cmdmd]

Thank you for reading the post.

I will get a "free" 180 Gal tank soon. It is in good condition.

After relocating it (it has been in a garage for a year), I will inspect it and turn it into a glorious reef tank.

It used to have CF lights, a lot, enough to sustain acros and other high-lighting critters. Now that the ballasts are done and the lights are shot, it will be time for revamping the gear.

I will want to use LED lighting. What kind of lifespan can I expect from those? Do those have all the wavelengths for the nice Fluorescence that we all like?
Temperature impact?

Also, what is recommended for a depth of 20-22". There will be plenty of rock to make many areas of different lighting (Ironically, as I had it set up before)


Be well and thank you.

[Mark Bianco]

Most led manufactures rate their leds with MTBF in hours (Mean time between failures) the better leds most have a rating of 50,000 hours = 5000 days at 10 hours a day or 13.69 years. Will they last that long I doubt it, but you should with a quality fixture see 5 years. A sub quality fixture uses sub par drivers and in most cases do not have adequate cooling. One the major factors for led failure is inadequate cooling. When I use to run Metal Halide lighting during the summer months the chiller would kick in a couple of times every day, since switching to leds it has not turned on in 2 years. When it comes to wavelengths or spectrum that's a crap shoot everyone see colors differently to be honest IMO a quality led fixture with white and blue will be all that most coral needs. However I use white, blue, and royal blue in my leds and also just for ascetics I added two t5's one coral + and one blue+

Hope that helps

Mark

[cmdmd]

Damn, 5 years?? If I bought $1600 of LED lights, they'd be trash after that?
50,000 hours is something I have read before, I had calculated 6 hours of light every day, which yields a lot more than the 5. But, then again, I don't think they have been out long enough to have a long term track record.

Right?

I Mean, In theory at least

[evolutionZ]

Even if they can last 10 years. Most likely you'll replace your led fixture in 2-3 years max. Led technology changes very rapidly.

[cmdmd]

Actually, makes me rethink the whole I-want-the-aquarium idea.. LOL.
No, I wouldn't change the fixture in 2-3 years, after spending 1400-1600. That's silly.
The fact that technology changes wouldn't mean that I would replace it...at all.

If they are capable of lasting 10 years, that is exactly the time those bad boys would spend on top of the aquarium

800 in lights per year? That's the definition of insanity. I really wouldn't want a tank that badly.

[nickdo]

In theory, Led lifespan is 50000hr, but i don't think their driver ICs and electronic circuits will last that long.

Actually, there are some cases that one of Led chip failure in a fixture within first year.

[Rancherlee]

My DIY fixture is just about 3 years old and not a single diode has gone bad or dimmed yet. There HAS been a slight color shift on the white but nothing that looks bad. You have to add In the cost of bulbs for other setup, even If you only changed T5s once a year your looking at ~200$ a year just to relamp 2 6bulb fixtures

[Ron Reefman]

I have had 6 led fixtures (4 different models) over 4 tanks for a year now. They run 24/7 with the moonlights and ramp power up and down 20 times a day. After 1 year I haven't had a single issue.

You spent $1600 of leds for a 180g tank? Yikes! I spent $1400 for all 4 tanks (1 is a 180g sps reef) and 3 of them have built-in controllers and 3 are basic dimmer fixtures.

[evolutionZ]

i would suggest Reefbreeders, cheap and best bang for buck, wont lose out to any of the high end (infact better spectrum IMO) leds that may cost you alot more.

[cmdmd]

Hi Ron, It was hypothetical. I have not purchased any fixtures yet. I still need to choose a good sump, pumps, etc. This project is still on the drawing board.

[Mark Bianco]

I have to agree 800.00 per year would be outrageous to say the least. For the sake of argument lets make a few assumptions. First say you went with three upper end fixtures at 500.00 that 1500.00. Now that fixture lasts 5 years this equates to 300.00 per year still somewhat high when compared to say 3 - 250 watt metal halide fixtures good ones will set you back about 1000.00 so we are down to 200.00 for the initial cost based on a 5 year replacement. Now we need to factor in the cost of yearly bulb replacement for metal halides bulbs 180.00 we are up to 380.00. per year. But we are not done yet the 3 led fixtures will draw about a total of 240 watts whereas the metal halides will draw about 750 watts. If we take the national average of 0.18 per kilowatt hour and assume the lights are on for 10 hours a day the additional cost of running the metal halides-and add the yearly cost so far in actuality you would spend 872.75 per year on metal halides versus 457.68 for leds. This does not include the cost if you would need to add a chiller, that will be dependent on many factors as well. These figures will be about the same if you go with high end T5's as well except just a little lower wattage cost as a 8 bulb 80 watt fixture draws a total of 640 watts.

So what light you decide is all up to you just look into all associated costs.

Reefing is not cheap and reefing is not easy..

Mark

[Ron Reefman]

I have 4 tanks, 180g reef, 70g anemone tank, 55g QT and a 24g frag tank. I had 3 with MH and t5, the 55g was t5 only. There was 1500 watts of MH and 400 watts of t5. Last December I switched all 4 tanks to leds for a total cost of just under $1400. (6 fixtures, 3 different models). My summer electric bills have been between $35 and $45 per month less than last summer. My 2 chillers run way less and my house A/C runs less (I'm in SW Florida so it runs a lot). I also don't have to buy $300+ in replacement bulbs (t5's every 9-12 months and MH every 18-24 months). That's an easy $600 to $700 savings every year and therefore a 2 year payback on the leds. I wouldn't go back for anything. Plus I have the leds do sunrise and sunset for 16 hours a day and the tank goes from very blue at dawn to very white at midday and back to very blue at dusk. I love that the tank can have so many looks!