Would this LED give my T5's some "shimmer"?

shlap · 01/22/2010, 11:57 AM

I've got a 90 gallon tank with a Nova Extreme Pro fixture (6 T5 blubs) and I'd like to emulate that haliade shimmer effect. I've got a $100 gift cert for amazon so I've been on the site browsing for some LED lights that might give me that single point of source shimmer. Do you guys think this light would work or would the T5 bightness drown it out?

http://www.amazon.com/150-LED-PAR-Fl...4179026&sr=1-1

It's a floodlight and according to the manufacturer site it has a 90 degree spread. Doesn't really say exactly how bright it is though. With 150 LEDs I'd think it would be pretty bight. Thanks for your input!

rbnice1 · 01/22/2010, 12:23 PM

With a 4 foot tank you should be able to get by with just 2 cree 3 watt LED lights wired to a small power supply.

shlap · 01/22/2010, 04:11 PM

Thanks rbnice1, I wanted a bulb version so I just bought a "CREE XRE 3x1 Watt LED Spot Light bulb 110 V" I'll probably need 2 of them but I figured I'd see how well 1 works first.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product

rbnice1 · 01/22/2010, 04:22 PM

Little expensive for 3 1watt led's. Let us know how it works for you. I was originally talking about something like 2 of these LINK wired up to a cheapy power supply.

stealle · 01/22/2010, 04:47 PM

Good luck getting shimmer with T5 lights. Not trying to rain on your parade. I actually hope to accomplish the same thing, but...

You can only have shimmer (in an LED/T5 combo) when that light output is greater than the output from the T5s. I found a post of a guy who is using one of the new 48" Reefbright Strips. (To find this post google "Reefbrite LED strip" without the quotes and click on the third result. Then find post number 19.)

This 48" strip holds 24 3 watt LEDs (each bulb running at 2 watts "to insure proper life and color spectrum of the LED's" according to Reefbrite). The guy seems to love the strip for its actinic color. He gets great shimmer when running the strip alone. He still has shimmer when running with two T5 bulbs, but the shimmer is gone when running all 10 bulbs.

So will you get shimmer when running six T5 bulbs? I doubt it. If you try, hope you come back here and tell your results.

I am coming to the conclusion that I will probably only be able to have shimmer during dusk and dawn, but not the duration in between as long as I use T5 lighting as my primary lighting source.

There are new LED products coming out every week, it seems. I'm still planning my next reef tank, so depending on what is available at that time, I might go with LED as my primary lighting source or I might go 50/50 - LED/T5.

rbnice1 · 01/22/2010, 05:08 PM

I'm not sure I buy that. I run 4 T-5's + my 2 MH's, and when all 4 T-5's are on I get a small shimmer from my 2 cheap moon light led's. I would think 2 or 3, 3watt led's should give you a shimmer even with 6-8 T-5's. It may not be a huge amount like a MH but you should get some.

stealle · 01/22/2010, 05:55 PM

I admit that I am not speaking from personal experience, but the guy from the other forum says he doesn't get any while running twenty-four 2 watt bulbs. I hope he is wrong. I'd love to run 2 of those strips along with 10 T5s and get shimmer.

rbnice1 · 01/22/2010, 06:01 PM

Maybe because he is running so many of them and none are using a good reflector?

The shimmer is cause by a single or multiple sing points of bright light. Maybe have 24 is to many points of light and none are intense enough to create the shimmer. Try 2 or 3 cree 3watt's with the 60degree reflector and your gunna get some shimmer.

shlap · 01/22/2010, 08:13 PM

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'll let you know how it goes (not too optimistic anymore). Unfortunately I know nothing about wiring LEDs but I'll see if I can find some good guides on Google :-)

shlap · 01/30/2010, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shlap

Thanks rbnice1, I wanted a bulb version so I just bought a "CREE XRE 3x1 Watt LED Spot Light bulb 110 V" I'll probably need 2 of them but I figured I'd see how well 1 works first.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...2CKM/warbit-20

Success! I got great shimmer with just 1 of these puppies! Covers about half the tank. One more and I'm all set

With all 6 T5s on.... (tank looks bluer on my crappy camera than it actually is)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD8tUUmLHzU

With just the 2 atinics on...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw-Pe7mWJ1U

Metal Halide shimmer for $60. Sweeeeet

01/22/2010, 11:57 AM	#1
shlap Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 233	Would this LED give my T5's some "shimmer"? I've got a 90 gallon tank with a Nova Extreme Pro fixture (6 T5 blubs) and I'd like to emulate that haliade shimmer effect. I've got a $100 gift cert for amazon so I've been on the site browsing for some LED lights that might give me that single point of source shimmer. Do you guys think this light would work or would the T5 bightness drown it out? http://www.amazon.com/150-LED-PAR-Fl...4179026&sr=1-1 It's a floodlight and according to the manufacturer site it has a 90 degree spread. Doesn't really say exactly how bright it is though. With 150 LEDs I'd think it would be pretty bight. Thanks for your input!

01/22/2010, 12:23 PM	#2
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	With a 4 foot tank you should be able to get by with just 2 cree 3 watt LED lights wired to a small power supply.

01/22/2010, 04:11 PM	#3
shlap Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 233	Thanks rbnice1, I wanted a bulb version so I just bought a "CREE XRE 3x1 Watt LED Spot Light bulb 110 V" I'll probably need 2 of them but I figured I'd see how well 1 works first. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product

01/22/2010, 04:22 PM	#4
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	Little expensive for 3 1watt led's. Let us know how it works for you. I was originally talking about something like 2 of these LINK wired up to a cheapy power supply.

01/22/2010, 04:47 PM	#5
stealle Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 501	Good luck getting shimmer with T5 lights. Not trying to rain on your parade. I actually hope to accomplish the same thing, but... You can only have shimmer (in an LED/T5 combo) when that light output is greater than the output from the T5s. I found a post of a guy who is using one of the new 48" Reefbright Strips. (To find this post google "Reefbrite LED strip" without the quotes and click on the third result. Then find post number 19.) This 48" strip holds 24 3 watt LEDs (each bulb running at 2 watts "to insure proper life and color spectrum of the LED's" according to Reefbrite). The guy seems to love the strip for its actinic color. He gets great shimmer when running the strip alone. He still has shimmer when running with two T5 bulbs, but the shimmer is gone when running all 10 bulbs. So will you get shimmer when running six T5 bulbs? I doubt it. If you try, hope you come back here and tell your results. I am coming to the conclusion that I will probably only be able to have shimmer during dusk and dawn, but not the duration in between as long as I use T5 lighting as my primary lighting source. There are new LED products coming out every week, it seems. I'm still planning my next reef tank, so depending on what is available at that time, I might go with LED as my primary lighting source or I might go 50/50 - LED/T5.

01/22/2010, 05:08 PM	#6
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	I'm not sure I buy that. I run 4 T-5's + my 2 MH's, and when all 4 T-5's are on I get a small shimmer from my 2 cheap moon light led's. I would think 2 or 3, 3watt led's should give you a shimmer even with 6-8 T-5's. It may not be a huge amount like a MH but you should get some.

01/22/2010, 05:55 PM	#7
stealle Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 501	I admit that I am not speaking from personal experience, but the guy from the other forum says he doesn't get any while running twenty-four 2 watt bulbs. I hope he is wrong. I'd love to run 2 of those strips along with 10 T5s and get shimmer.

01/22/2010, 06:01 PM	#8
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	Maybe because he is running so many of them and none are using a good reflector? The shimmer is cause by a single or multiple sing points of bright light. Maybe have 24 is to many points of light and none are intense enough to create the shimmer. Try 2 or 3 cree 3watt's with the 60degree reflector and your gunna get some shimmer.

01/22/2010, 08:13 PM	#9
shlap Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 233	Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'll let you know how it goes (not too optimistic anymore). Unfortunately I know nothing about wiring LEDs but I'll see if I can find some good guides on Google :-)