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10-19-2009, 10:38 AM
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#1 (permalink) |
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Planted Tank Guru
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chester Springs PA
Posts: 344
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LED lighting Forum discussion thread
ok, this is an awesome thread on LED lighting
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587273 |
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10-19-2009, 02:00 PM
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#3 (permalink) |
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Planted Tank Guru
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chester Springs PA
Posts: 344
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So I have ordered the parts for a 10g build. So the questions are how many lumens should High tech 10g tanks have? Given that watts mean nothing with LEDs. So I got 5 of the 100 lumen 6.7K and 5 of the 100 lumen 450nM LEDs as a first start. I will setup a bench rig and will document it. Other than looks will the 450nM LEDs be of any use in a planted tank, the reef people seem to think they are important. And should I put the build in the DIY forum or the Journal forum?
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10-19-2009, 02:22 PM
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#4 (permalink) |
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Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,736
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DIY Forum for your journal would be appropriate
 I have no experience with LED, so I have no advice to give  I would think that the lumens needed for reef would be less for planted tank LED, but like I said, I have no experience with the LED.This will be something to watch for sure!
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10-19-2009, 02:28 PM
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#5 (permalink) |
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Planted Tank Guru
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chester Springs PA
Posts: 344
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Additional comment about Costs, here in the Philly area Eclectic cost are about $0.17 a KWH, a 250w MH would be about $0.51 a day for a 12 hour day. So given that LEDs are at worst 10x more efficient that would be $0.051 a day. Which is $186.15 for 365 days vs $18.62 or a savings of $167.53 plus the LED’s should be good for at least 3-4 Years. So low TCO and less environmental Impact, I say they would be MUCH cheaper over a 3-4 year life. Just for tracking purposes what is a 250W MH setup worth? How much are the bulbs and how often do you change them?
I think we need to work up a TCO model for people to understand the advantages of LEDs not to say the low impact nature of LEDs. TCO=Total Cost of Ownership |
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10-19-2009, 06:02 PM
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#7 (permalink) |
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Planted Tank Guru
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chester Springs PA
Posts: 344
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I did see those; however, I was not sure how many LEDs or what pattern I needed plus if wanted to mix blue LEDs in every so often. So until I get a design nailed down I am going to stick with just parts. That being said once I understand the lighting requirements I will then redo the design using the most efficient build techniques including LED assemblies like this.
One of the things we as a group need to work on is setting a standard for how much LED light is the correct amount for a planted tank. This is the “Way of the future way of the future way of the future… “ so let try and set a standard so others can follow… |
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10-19-2009, 06:21 PM
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#8 (permalink) |
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Planted Tank Guru
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chester Springs PA
Posts: 344
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The other thing to think about is what would you do if your lighting source was configurable/reconfigurable from a position stand point. Like have areas of high light, areas of low light, and variable control like a dimmer. You could have plants with different light requirements in the same tank next to each other. Some lights could be spots some could be floods. Ever wanted to highlight the center piece plant next to a Java Fern? Now that would be possible… I think this is a revolution not only in technology but in the way people could do lighting design for a tank. Much like a lighting designer lights a Broadway play floods, highlights, and accent lights. Just think of all of the possibilities!!!
Ok calm down, breathe deeply…. Mmmmmmmmmmm I just have to figure out how to get a computer worked into this… you can never have too many computers, especially now that you can get micro controllers for less than $15 |
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