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Can someone give me some info regarding LED lighting on a BB tank? IS there any benefit of having them except for costing less to run? Wanting to buy new lights for my new bigger tank but not sure on whether to stick with the ol T5/T8's or splash out on new bank of LEDs
TIA
Con expensive
Con build quality (brand dependent)
Con spectrum ( most LEDs use cool whites most lumens/watt these don't bring out reds oranges or any warmer colors all that well)
Pro power consumption
Pro point source light so you get a nice shimmer effect
Pro long life ( if built correctly)
For a bare bottom display tank it would take a long time for a reasonable led unit to be cheaper then a t5 ( assuming you run your t5s till they burn out)
For a planted tank where you change your tubes every 6 months you could pay it off with power savings and bulb costs but it will still take the better part of half a decade.
Thanks Illusn that is exactly what I wanted to hear.
if you go DIY you can remove all the cons except cost, if you DIY for a planted tank or coral reef there are really no cons as replacemnt bulbs will send you broke REALLY fast.
I built a nice full spectrum 30w unit for dads bare bottom discus tank, no expense spared build cost $398 bout 4 months of work @15 hours a week, replaceing an 80w (2x40w) t8.
heres the maths
Power savings 50w (diff between 2 lights) x10 hrs/day x 365 days =182.5kw/year x$0.27 = $49.28
bulbs = 2x $30/2 (replacing every 2 years) = $30
total savings/year =$79.28
cost of light to build $398, pay off time = 398/64.28 = 5years 7days
Same light over a planted tank where bulbs are replaced every 6 months =$169.28 savings/year
payoff time 2 years 4 months 16 days
The new technology is great but you got to pick when and where your going to use it.
Woodsie - I recently bought some 6,500K LED tiles made by Tropical Marine Centre (their AquaRay range). They're brilliant. I throwing bags of plant growth away every couple of weeks. Mind you I have CO2, ferts etc that are also helping, but a notable change when I swapped Metal Halide lighting for LED.
I think you may live in North Lakes, if you want to have a look at my set PM me or SMS 0477 346 529
Cheers,
Dwayne
Recent photo of my current setup.