LF LED instead of T5HO
Printed From: Utah Reefs
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Forum Name: DIY
Forum Description: Do it Yourself
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43126
Printed Date: August 01 2026 at 8:13pm
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Topic: LF LED instead of T5HO
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Subject: LF LED instead of T5HO
Date Posted: August 30 2010 at 8:16pm
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<Edit> Topic changed because the heat situation in this office requires it. I now need to find a 36"x2" LED strip that makes colors pop.<Edit> Looking at what I need to make a 3x39W t5ho light for a wall aquarium. - I would like the reflector to be about 39"x3" Do they make reflectors like that? - I'm curious, why the end caps are so large? I don't have room for those. Is there another way? I determined that one WH 3 and one WH 5 will power the tubes. I'm looking at one plant glow and two actinic tubes on two different timers. Your thoughts? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Replies:
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: August 30 2010 at 8:27pm
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I would look into end caps and reflectors from Reefgeek, most T5 end caps are pretty small, and they sell high quality 99% reflective aluminum for good prices. For bulbs I would do two ATI Pure Actinic, and one ATI Daylight plus, it's a great combo that makes colors pop while showing good growth rates. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 9:39am
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Cool LED's are the future lighting of this hobby if it can compete with the T5HO market. I'm hoping to hear from those who have been researching LED's ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: pgravis
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 11:38am
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i have no personal experience but have read good things about reefbrites. they are kinda pricey (200 or so) but they have a 36 in bar. they claim same light output as a t5 bulb. might be worth checking out ------------- See my house: www.eclecticvictorian.com |
Posted By: bur01014
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 12:42pm
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Once again, where I got shutdown on your other post, I am telling you- you need to check out the Reefbrite strips....
Please check out these links....I admit some LED setups don't pop....with Reefbrites, I beg to differ-
The Reefbrite actinic LEDs are a whole lot more purple in color than you would expect from the more typical chilly-blue LED colors out there. Plus they have a Sunblaze reflector!
http://reefbuilders.com/2009/12/18/reef-brite-actinic-led-striplights-blueing-up-some-deep-reef-tanks/ - http://reefbuilders.com/2009/12/18/reef-brite-actinic-led-striplights-blueing-up-some-deep-reef-tanks/
http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/04/reefbrite-actinic-led-striplights-lighting-up-50-square-feet-of-reef/ - http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/04/reefbrite-actinic-led-striplights-lighting-up-50-square-feet-of-reef/
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1760115 - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1760115
This last link is a thread at RC...I would take some time and browse through the many posts...there are pics, mounting procedures, PAR READINGS, colors, growth estimates, testimonials, etc....I think
 Hoping Santa may bring me a 48inch strip to add to my 6 bulb fixture....
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Posted By: Will Spencer
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 2:32pm
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Chris Jung will be here on Thursday.
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 2:45pm
 Thanks for the links. I'll check it out to see how good it can get. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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bur01014 wrote:Posted By: DanhNgo
Date Posted: August 31 2010 at 10:47pm
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Mark,
I just got the Grassy LeDio LED 21 watt pendant today. Got it installed on my nano and it's awesome. It's to replace my Corllife PC 18 W. It's awesome. You should check it out when you're in the area.
Danh ------------- 200 Gal Reef 25 Gal Nano Reef |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 01 2010 at 10:25am
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I see they come in 3 types of blue, a "pearly" white and a purple. Does it make colors pop? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: DanhNgo
Date Posted: September 01 2010 at 1:23pm
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I got aqua blue. 3 white and 4 blue. Personally I think it's a little more white than blue, but it does make the color pops. On a scale of 1-10. I would say 7.
------------- 200 Gal Reef 25 Gal Nano Reef |
Posted By: Crazy Tarzan
Date Posted: September 01 2010 at 1:52pm
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Mark--you could always build a small array of 3w crees with optics that would be no wider than the tank. I'll even volunteer to help you with it if you'd like (though I am in payson). ------------- Was that in there yesterday? Casper--WY windier than ? Down to a 20, soon to double or nothing |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: September 01 2010 at 3:28pm
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someone posted a while back a light IKEA makes that might be perfect for what you are trying. They are strips that you can change the colors and best part they are only like $50. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Edgar
Date Posted: September 03 2010 at 12:05am
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What are the aquarium dimensions i might be able to help? ------------- Thanks for not going off on me! |
Posted By: Ahanix
Date Posted: September 09 2010 at 6:21pm
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I honestly loved my Cree's.
Cool White and Royal Blue are ones that you want to look for, if you go a 50/50 combination, it has a 14k mh look to it with a hint of purple. Also you can now buy Green and Red LED's that will bring out more color from your coral. I'm excited to get my t5 fixture torn apart so I can do a retro with it this fall. |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: September 09 2010 at 6:33pm
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Here is a great link all about LED's. This is one thread that furthers my belief that LED's are not where they need to be just yet. I wouldn't go adding red or green LED's to help with colors. On the last page you will find some guy that tried that and it was an epic failure.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1885076 Hope that helps! |
Posted By: Ahanix
Date Posted: September 09 2010 at 6:41pm
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Oh, I agree 100% that they are not where they should be yet, but I still would buy them over and over again due to the color that I got from them. There's nothing else like it. Plus people have had success growing everything with them, even clams.
I know that there is the whole issue of LED's not having the UV spectrum, but as a stepping stone they are amazing. I think by the time we get to where people say LED's should be, plasma will have taken over. For now its all just based on personal opinion. I love the growth and everything I am getting out of my T5's at the moment, but I would trade for LED's any time of day |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: September 09 2010 at 8:14pm
There is no need for the UV spectrum actually. That was a myth that went around for a while. MH lights use a UV filtering glass so no UV is getting through anyways. T5's put out very little UV so UV is not needed as much as people thought. What is missing is the spectrum. Grim Reefer has completely moved onto LED and has been running Warm Whites mixed with blue, royal blue and cool whites. He hopes it will add the red that has been missing with LED's. Sorry Mark that was all off topic. Continue on. |
Posted By: Ahanix
Date Posted: September 09 2010 at 8:52pm
| Oh, thats great to know, thanks for filling me in! i've been out of the loop for a little while |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 10 2010 at 8:16am
42"x4.5"x20" ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: September 11 2010 at 12:57am
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Anyone who wants to see LEDs in action is welcome to come see mine. ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 11 2010 at 5:13pm
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Thanks for the information from so many of you. Today I had a chance to really start my research. Wikipedia has this to say, "LEDs are being used increasingly commonly for aquarium lighting. Particular for reef aquariums, LED lights provide an efficient light source with less heat output to help maintain optimal aquarium temperatures. LED-based aquarium fixtures also have the advantage of being manually adjustable to produce a specific color-spectrum for ideal coloration of corals, fish, and invertebrates while optimizing photosynethically active radiation (PAR) which increases growth and sustainability of photosynthetic life such as corals, anemones, clams, and macroalgae. These fixtures can be electronically programmed in order to simulate various lighting conditions throughout the day, reflecting phases of the sun and moon for a dynamic reef experience. LED fixtures typically cost up to five times as much as similarly rated fluorescent or high-intensity discharge lighting designed for reef aquariums and are not as high output to date." I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of homework that was done for their article and looking forward to learning more. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 11 2010 at 6:51pm
Well, that's just it, isn't it. You hit it right on the head. More than any other aspect in this hobby, lighting is a matter of personal preference. The worst tank illumination I know of is 50/50, nor do I like the 14K MH look. It looks "gray" to me. Fluorescing greens and reds are awesome, but not at the expense of the rest of the spectrum and coral sustainability. I want the tank to thrive and I want all the colors of the rainbow.  If overheating, small tank size and space were not an issue, I'd already be installing colorful T5HO's. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: rwccomptech
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 2:05am
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I'm thinking of building a fixture for a class project and if i get good par i could build you one here is my set up blue 470nm=x white about 10000k=q warm white about 6500k=o aqua 570nm=a violet 420nm=v UV 405nm=u x x x a v a x x x q o q q o q a a a u a a a q o q q o q x x x a v a x x x If I have the WL map right it should be very close to full spectrum. I could even get a bigger ps and switch it to this. x x x a v a x x x a v a x x x q o q u q o q u q o q a a a u a a a u a a a q o q u q o q u q o q x x x a v a x x x a v a x x x Its hard to do a good diagram but yeah Just let me know ------------- Ron 20g 60x turnover 30" current pc fixture |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 9:35am
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What about pink? There needs to be some reddish hue or it will still look less than desirable to me. This is not simply personal preference for color, but for coral health as well. The Actinic White Fluorescent tubes, which emit a pink/purple/orange/blue light give the aquarium a quality of appearance and growth which is very important to tank health. IME, it grows coralline algae like crazy. And when Coralline Algae grows well, coral also grows well. What is a WL map? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: rwccomptech
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 11:13am
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Ok red is covered by violet, red led's dont even nav right, the the led's i'm using the 90% of the spectrum is being used.
------------- Ron 20g 60x turnover 30" current pc fixture |
Posted By: rwccomptech
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 11:16am
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BTW WL map is a wave length map that shows what colors and the intensity of the color. You find it on most of any aquatic bulbs.
------------- Ron 20g 60x turnover 30" current pc fixture |
Posted By: rwccomptech
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 11:34am
here is a WL map for the sun if you notice the intensity of every color is pretty much right about at an average of 41415 counts. HEre is your average LED Fixture running about a 14000-15000k look  This averages at about 15302 counts here is a red led  This one barley peaks at about 6000 counts here is the violet led [imghttp://www.superbrightleds.com/images/spectrals/RL5-V1015_sp.gif[/img] As you can see it covers two aera's and has an average count of about 9400 or so The LED's ive chosen are that way for a reason, but you dont have to buy it, i never said you had to. I just thought I'd be nice and offer something with a wide spectrum I just wish you would think before you ask questions or ask questions that you could answer you self. ------------- Ron 20g 60x turnover 30" current pc fixture |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 12:24pm
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ouch!! I guess we are all experts at something. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: bur01014
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 12:30pm
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this is just weird....
"ask questions that you can answer yourself".....
where am i?
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Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 12:46pm
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LOL!
This thread just went right downhill in like 4 posts. To rwc, Good luck getting your LEDs to blend properly with them scattered all around. A good high powered UV LED costs about 45 bucks for each one. It has also been proven that UV is not needed for coloration of corals. The major drawback to LEDs is that they are so limited in spectrum. Couple that with LEDs being a point source light and you have issues with the light blending properly. You will get spotlights of color all over the tank. I've seen people try to add red and other colored LEDs and they never turn out right. I hope LEDs take over aquarium lighting but until they can create an LED with a much broader spectrum, they will always fall short in my opinion. But I don't know anything about the subject of lighting. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 1:53pm
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Oh that's what I call the light spectrum. Wavelength is one word, that's why I couldn't figure it out. The biggest concern I have right now is that individual LED's emit only sufficient intensity of such a narrow band of the spectrum/WL map that it would take a lot of different colored LED's to give the light that I want not only to give proper color rendering of the coral but also provide the right wavelengths needed to thrive. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: rwccomptech
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 1:59pm
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from what ive seen the degrees of the optics should help with the blending alot, hopefully if i need to i cause just add an acrylic/ glass lens and bevel it a bit to help with the blending
------------- Ron 20g 60x turnover 30" current pc fixture |
Posted By: Crazy Tarzan
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 2:27pm
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Mark, the cree's are about the size of a quarter mounted on discs. You can group them together to help with spot lighting. Consider this--you can get Royal Blue (RB), Cool White (CW 6500k+) and Warm White (WW ~2500-4000k), and put one of each in groups of 3, and wire each color separately with a dimmable ballast. They you simply install dimming controls on one end of the fixture and fin tune the color to what you want, while picking up most of the light spectrum. I know if I run only my CW my tank looks very much like when you are in the shallows snorkeling in the ocean and the colors change noticeably from when I'm running both CW and RB together. ------------- Was that in there yesterday? Casper--WY windier than ? Down to a 20, soon to double or nothing |
Posted By: thefu
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 2:50pm
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Crazy Tarzan is right, the best set ups use two or three colors and dimming on each color then you can get the color balance you like. Also, you can read all you want online and see pics online, but in reality you have to see it in action on someones tank and play with the dimming and then make up your mind if is right for you (LEDs are notoriously hard to photograph). I have a simple setup on my sons 14g rimless nano and I have a much bigger configuration on my 210 with dimming controlled electronically via my Apex controller. I can instantly change the lighting look from my iphone while standing in front of it. I do think that you can get a much fuller spectrum with something like T5 but I really like the flexibility, power consumption, and lack of bulb replacement costs. If anyone ever wants to come over, see my tanks, and chat about LED options, just send me a PM.
Or, if you want to learn more online, just google utah aquarium led |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 15 2010 at 5:24pm
 Does anyone have any fixtures that have more than white and blue?Sorry, but if it doesn't take good pictures then it's not going to look good to ordinary people. It's gotta make the tank look colorful like this with a tad more fluorescent greens and reds:  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: thefu
Date Posted: September 15 2010 at 5:44pm
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My tank has just as much color as the above photo...at least to my eyes and those that have seen it. The reds, yellows and oranges pop like crazy on my superman and poker-star montis, red planet, and bird of paradise birdsnest. Cameras do not work like people's eyes. I do not know exactly why it is harder to photos of LED lit tanks, it just is. It is not that it can't be done, I just see less good photos of tanks I know look way better in person. If you wanted to add other colors of LEDs, you could do it easily and you could adjust the spectrum with dimming. Many new commercial fixtures are doing this. I have not yet seen any will wow me in comparison to the standard AquaIllumination or properly built DIY fixture. Again, I think T-5 with some LED for shimmer will always have the best color balance for a while, but I like the cost advantage (heat, bulbs, power) and environmental advantage at the price of a bit less spectrum that doesn't really bother me...this is even more the case the larger you go in aquarium size. Oh, and back to the thread topic. LED would be a great solution in this application even if it did not meet your personal strict needs on spectrum coverage. Most that would see the tank would consider it perfectly lit I am sure.
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Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 16 2010 at 7:07pm
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Come see my LEDs that are just the whites and blues and tell me you don't get all the colors to come out. ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |