Anyone with experience using LED Lighting? (1 Viewer)

[hiepxster]

Hi,
I am fairly new and I had a question about LED lighting as I've recently read some information on it, but I haven't found much in the way of useful information that I can use to base any sound purchasing decisions off of. I currently have an aquapod 24 with stock lighting and I wanted to upgrade to something that wouldn't produce too much heat and wouldn't require me spending too much in the way of maintenance (i.e. bulb replacements every 8-12 months). I've found discussions throwing out LEDs as a possible solution. The idea of decent output, low heat, and 50,000+ hrs of use are very appealing but I've found little in the way of reviews or solid information. The most I can find is a few DIY hoods people have thrown together and a few suggestions as to the brightest (and most expensive) LEDs out there. I've run across this LED on ebay but I don't really know if it'd be reliable or even work well. Should I just stick to MHs?

 

[Guest]

There is alot of new products hitting the market in the way of LED lighting. There have been some great break throughs in using LED in aquariums and plant growth. I think we are just at the beginnig of what will one day be a suitable replacement, but the good products that will 'replace' MHs are still quite expensive. IMHO most of the LED lights being offered on e-bay are pretty much junk. With a little more time, I think we will see better quality and lower pricing as it makes it into the mainstream market.

 

[hiepxster]

Well while it is true that half of things on ebay tend to not be great quality products, I didn't want to write it off as total trash or junk simply based on that. I mean, from what I've read, people have gone different ways with the DIY LED thing and its varied from using fewer, more expensive and brighter LEDs (i.e. luxeon stars) to using more of the cheaper, lower wattage LEDs. I simply figured someone may have taken the initiative to try to get into the market with something that may fall in between as a decent alternative.

 

[Guest]

I think you are right on track to believe that someone will break into the market with a good alternative. Luxeon and Bridgelux are some of the highest quality and along with it, so is the price. The unit you referenced on ebay I recall was 18 watts and claims to be able to produce the equivilent of 200 watts of HID. It's difficult to make a direct comparison, since the output is measured differently, but you would need approximately 45 watts of LED to compare to 200 watts of HID. I'm still hopeful that in the next year or so we will see an acceptable alternative at a more appealing price level.

 

[hiepxster]

Thanks for the replies and I appreciate the input. I guess i'll stick to MH or T5's for now as I've run across some inexpensive ones on aquatraders. Hopefully the quality is better than it use to be.

 

[Guest]

No problem! Good luck on your lighting set up and just keep your ears open as the LED market transitions into a viable project at a reasonable price point. There's been leaps and bounds in this area just in the past year to year and half.