Questions abt LED and T5 lighting

[Gobyluver]

Hi LED DIY Gurus..

I would like know more since it seems many reefers are trying out LED lightings for their reefs.

The question is what difference does it makes for an 80W LED lights compare to 80W T5 lights in terms of current usage?

Will I be paying the same amt of bills?

Its known that LED is worth to buy due to many reasons such as lesser heat produce from the lights and it has longer lifespan compared to other types of lights.

Hope u guys can shed some light for me..

Thx a million...

[Soul]

I think u got a slight misconception bout LEDs, doesnt mean ur T5 total 80w means u need 80w worth of LEDs. High intensity 3w LEDs(In some cases 30w per LED)are able to produce higher brightness thus needing lesser wattage to give the same brightness as 80w worth of T5. I just upgraded from using 250w MH plus 3 x 39w T5s (total = 367w) to a 230w maxspect LED set, let me just say that the LED set is almost twice as bright with all colors on(exact par comparison u can google the diff brands of LED lightings). And yes the chiller isnt working so hard anymore. Therefore i save on electricity bill for both the chiller working less and lesser total wattage on lightings.

Also an improtant factor in determining how high wattage an LED set u need is wat type of corals u r keeping, if its SPS then u'll need the sets that have 30w LEDs mixed with the 3w LEDs in most cases.

Its often the case of the start up costs for LED lightings which in the long run u'll earn the money back so to speak. And oh, u'll love the rippling effect from the LEDs. Hope this helps ....

P/S : If u check on the older threads u should be able to find sufficient info bout LEDs,

I'm no expert hehe just giving humble experiences.

[tropic]

Soul, I see that you have tank depth about 2.5ft. Do the led penetrate enough to the sandbed floor and will that need to be taken into account if getting an led?

[Soul]

Yes the LED penetrates to the bottom of tank no problem at all, my unit also sits about 20cm above water surface. How u play with the 4 diff grps of LEDs also important. My timers are set as follows :-

9am - 2335pm > All 3w blues and violets

9.30 - 1800pm > All 3w whites

11am - 1730pm > 2x 30w whites

11.30am - 1630pm > Another 2x 30w whites (All turned on basically during this duration)

[sherman]

The question is what difference does it makes for an 80W LED lights compare to 80W T5 lights in terms of current usage?

To run 80 w T5 tube you need at least an 80 w input of electricity(Assuming your eballast is 100% efficiency)

To get a light intensities of a 80 w T5 tube you need around 35 to 50 watt of total led array.(Depend on the type led you choose

and the led output)

Will I be paying the same amt of bills?

So your bill can varies depend on your led type .But it should be less then what you pay when using T5 tube

[sherman]

Please take note that those led rated at higher wattage then 10 watt have lower light output and higher lost

then an array of a few led that add up to the wattage.

[sherman]

Soul, I see that you have tank depth about 2.5ft. Do the led penetrate enough to the sandbed floor and will that need to be taken into account if getting an led?

No led to date can pentrate more then 20 cm through liquid without lost of more then 70% of its actual output

[lcf425]

No led to date can pentrate more then 20 cm through liquid without lost of more then 70% of its actual output

Wow that's very little does this apply for led only or all other lights ?

[Thexder]

No led to date can pentrate more then 20 cm through liquid without lost of more then 70% of its actual output

I think using the lens helps?

[Soul]

Heres some pics :

Pic 1 with all grps on

Pic 2 with 3w whites & blue/violets

Pic 3 Blues/Violets

[sherman]

I think using the lens helps?

Lens of different angle will help to focus the led light beam from 120 Degree spread to

the angle of the lens use.

The smaller the angle the deeper the light beam will penetrate but at the same time the area of coverage

also become smaller.