LED or VHO

[reefcam]

Just wondering what you would do if you had a choice of LED or VHO for supplementing your actinic? The cost is coming down and maybe with LED, you don't need to cover the same length as your VHO bulbs.

 

I'm currently running 6 x 6' (160W each) Super Actinic VHO and do replace them every year. If I can get the same result with less LED strips, heck, why not. They wil pay off right???

[Michael7979]

Call me old-school:

I don't think anything can beat VHO's when it come to actinics!

[reefcam]

was looking at this product, but with all blue LEDs

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=XX08200&child=XX08200&utm_source=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=XX08200

[moovinfast]

Are you just running VHOs? And what led strips are you looking into? The people over at Nano-Reef have been using the flexible waterproof led strips for actinics, but with other lighting you can't really notice them. If you're running MHs and want to use leds as actinics you're probably going to need 3w Royal Blue Cree leds and space them about evey 2-3 inches.

 

Edit:

Posted before I saw your response. I would think with only being 1w leds they might be hard to notice if you're MHs, but the reviews seem to look good. You could probably build one for less as blue 1w LEDs go for about $1 each or less on ebay and you can get a power supply for cheap.

[reefcam]

I have 3 x 400W MH (10000K). The tank is 30" deep. Is that 3W for each bulb?

[moovinfast]

It goes by length and width. Like on my tank 20x20 I have 5 rows x 8 (3w leds). But this is my only lighting for the tank. You might be able to get away with less if just using for actinics but the lighting might not be uniform. If you ever head up this was you can check out my light to see if you like leds.

[reef165]

How about something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLUE-LED-AQUARIUM-MOON-LIGHT-BAR-LIGHTING-4-FIXTURE-/220594887147?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335c7ad9eb

[Rick]

I think it's even more important to get full coverage with LED lights because they are more directional.

[reefcam]

Thansk movinfast. May take you up on the offer.

 

I like to replace my VHO for mainly the heat it produces. 6 x 160W does produce some heat and with the MH on, my tank can go up by 6 degrees. I do have fans in the hood to move the hot air out and a chiller to keep it cool and the sump is kept in a 65 degrees room. So anything to reduce heat will be great.. and some electricity if possible.

[moovinfast]

How about something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLUE-LED-AQUARIUM-MOON-LIGHT-BAR-LIGHTING-4-FIXTURE-/220594887147?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335c7ad9eb

 

I think they would be similar to the first ones. And in the pic you can see how direct the lighting is.

[reefcam]

I think they would be similar to the first ones. And in the pic you can see how direct the lighting is.

 

Which ones do you have?

[drock59]

You might want to take a look at this:

 

That looks really nice to me and I would recommend the LED supplements.

 

All info on how to build one can be found here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1761942&page=14

 

 

I just finished building a 12 bulb array for my refugium and I am quite happy.

[moovinfast]

Which ones do you have?

My tank is lit with all 3w cree leds. I have 49 leds lighting it. 5 rows of 8 and 1 row of 7. My tank is only 15" deep so I'm not using optics but Im thinking about adding some. I have 13 blue and 36 white. So the blues are spaced about every 6 inches throughout the tank. I seem to get good coverage, but if I add optics Ill get more par out of them but I might lose some coverage from the blues.