Opinions on reef lighting

Power Supply AC80-265V 13W
Output Voltage 46V
Frequency 47-63Hz
LED Qty 225pcs (112 Blue LEDs + 113 White LEDs)
Color Blue and White
Blue LED Lumen 5.55 Lux x 112 LEDs (621.5lux in total)
White LED Lumen 6.93 Lux x 113 LEDs (784lux in total)
Blue LED Wavelength 450nm
LEDs Diameter 5mm
Working Temperature -10 - 50 degree Celsius
Working Humidity Less than 95%
Power Cord Length 25 inch
Light Panel Size 12" L x 12" W x 1-1/2" H
Lighting Coverage 0.66 Ft - 6.6 Ft
Recommended Height 1Ft - 5Ft
Recommended Coverage One panel per 10.8 square feet
Specific Distance and Lighting Coverage:
Distance to Plants Lighting Coverage
20inch 8-3/5 square feet
40inch 10-4/5 square feet
60inch 13 square feet
80inch 16 square feet




If you had your choice of this LED lighting or a T5 system which would you choose?

I would choose metal halide. 250-400 watt radium 20k on electronic ballast. My absolute fav. But t5 are ok with good bulbs

So the led set isn't good?

not to say that they are not good its just doesnt say what the PAR ratings would be nor the wavelength of the whites and with so many LEDs on the market ,with many falling short of there claims, it is hard, without the brand name, to say if we can give an opinion on our own visual experience or product research.i have been looking at and testing LEDs for a little while now and i can still say that the best tanks i have and have seen are on halides.i presume that you already know this and are dying to try out a new LED system as am I the blue coloring cant be beaten nor can the over all power and bulb savings back to the subject i personaly would see if they have a little more information and customer feed back from where ever you plan on purchasing your light from.although there is always that fine line between affordability and functionality as far as making a big purchase.if i saw a price tag and a little more info i could certainly give you a more black and white opinion.

I agree with MVP and Badx.The metal halides look like little suns .I like the "ripple"effects as well.If I had a choice of leds or a T5 system I would go with the T5 system.I have seen good coral growth with them.I had a bad experience with leds.

Its all about spectrum to me. None of the LEDs have yet to have a complete spectrum. Even the high end ones are missing something. They will grow some corals but not all. T5 and halides are much more versitle. When LEDs do comeout in a bulletproof combo, they will cost a fortune

i like halides and they are the time and tested method for a long time, but one cant beat the cost of T5s. i really would like LEDs to be coral growing machines, but i havent seen it happen yet for anywhere near the cost of the other two options...

2" depth - 1537 Par
12" depth - 423 Par
24" depth - 182 Par

14000k



My tank is 20" deep

after the sand bed there will be under 20 inches of depth for the light to penetrate so it sounds like a possible winner.does it have more than just white,blue,and royal blue LEDS?what brand is it?if the price is right then it sounds like it might be worth it.

What is thr spectral analysis? I would br more interested in that than just par values

thats why i was hoping for a link as there would be more information and if not a link then a general take on what is inside...i have seen some setups that use only two types of LEDs in the setup that work but grow coral so slow and some not at all.addition of UV and control over each set of LEDs is a good addition to have as well.its funny as now that you mention it very few of the LEDs out there on the shelves will have all the information available without doing some real digging

I agree with the above posts. If you are trying to grow coral then the LED's probably aren't the best bet. as MVP aquatics said, hands down the best setup is radium 20k's on an HQI ballast. T5 will work as well. once LED's can grow coral consistently well, they will be the way to go. They just aren't at that point yet, even if the manufacturers want you to think they are.

I currently run an all LED system. I can vouch for the slower growth of corals under LED only. Halides are still the best bet. I've run t-5 on systems too and they work fine. Get as many bulbs as you can. I ran 4-bulb setups over smallish tanks and they worked great for all but light hungry corals. 6 bulbs over a 40-50 gal system will probably grow Acro and be too bright for Acans. Need to plan for shade.

If you don't care about shimmer lines, the t5 will run cooler and you have a bit more options with designing a canopy or light fixture. Depending on the tank, t5's might be lower power bill too.

Anyway, I'm running EcoRay and Ecoxotic Panorama fixtures over a mix of SPS, LPS, and a few softies with plenty of health, but slow growth (except my Acropora which are exploding for some reason).

i am in the process of aquiring a PAR meter as well as another brand of LED so i will be able to do some nice comparisons with several differnt lights.i already know the kesel is high up there but i have no clue on many of the others.so many pros and cons that even when i find out the information that i want to know i will still be pesuaded, in certain cicumstances, to rock the halides as well as the LEDs.....cause thats whe way i roll

Curious to see what you find with that PAR meter. I had one that could only be used in air (for growing orchids).

I don't have halide equipment anymore, so I can't run any with my LEDs. But, I might try running some t5 in spectra I think I'm missing along with my LEDs.

I might have sounded a bit "down" on my LEDs in my last post. They work nice and corals live under them, but I just don't get great growth. Some corals color up really nice and some color down. I read it here earlier -- something about the spectral characteristics of LEDs that missing (but the halides have). I have some corals that seem to thrive under LEDs too. I guess they're just oddballs.

I hear the newer LED fixtures are getting closer to appropriate spectral output. They are actually coming down in price in some cases.

I'm always spending wayyy too much $$ on my box of water. Still, someday I'll have upgraded light.