lduncan Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Last month Advanced Aquarist magazine had an article by Dana Riddle reviewing a new LED lighting system promoted to replace metal halides. This obviously could have huge benifits, from massive power savings, less waste heat input to the water, possibly reducing the need for chillers. Or even advance control of dynamic lighting intensity, different light intensity regions in the tank, long "bulb" life, and small spectral shift over time. Possibly most interesting, the ability to set colour temperature dynamically. Looks like it could be a real alternative to halides. (They produce glitter lines too) It also mentions photoinhibition (which I mentioned in the "Is there such a thing as too much light?" thread) http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 i read about that , however they say it is still 5 years away untill led will match any metal halide. the test done to compare the solaris was done in a way to favour the led and the bulbs used where crap. as we can see from my lux readings it makes a big differance which bulbs you use. some info on RC http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=870268c0a11b71f2b9672c1fc68f4c14&threadid=876845&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbiechris Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 I have a contact here in NZ who has this technology. Slightly different configeration to the one in the articale though. It is quite expensive at the moment but has the advantage of no heat and great out put. I have a tank that is 1000mm x 500mm x 500mm and they recomend that I only need one unit to light it sufficently. the unit is only 533mm long and has 3 lighing pods. It is water proof and I'm sure it can be mounted under the water as well. If you want any more info give me a pm ps they are quite expensive Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Might be ok for low light corals, going by the info the lumen/watt is very low. They will be great in the future as you can do moonlight function on them as well as dusk/dawn etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted September 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Sure the lunen/watt isn't there yet, but there are other factors to consider too: Rated Life: • 10,000 to 20,000 hours for halides. • 50,000 hours for LEDs Lumen maintenance: • Typical halides lose 66 to 70% of lumen output at 40% rated life. • LEDs looking at 70% loss at end of rate lifetime. Spectral shifts. Ability to dial in colour temperature without changing "bulbs", on LED based lighting. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Sure they are great benefits, but what the point if they are not bright enough. Also big price tag which no one will pay for especially in NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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