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T5 to LED

that 60cm tank height means you'll need to invest in the sort of emittors used in the Kessil etc lights - significant investment I suspect ... what don't you like about the T5's?

I've one tank with Kessil A160 Tuna Sun, another with a HOT5 (with very efficient reflectors), any plant limitations are mine not the lighting :D
I needed a new light system for the Kessil tank as every T5 luminaire I've ever placed on that tank has failed (just after the warranty expiration :banghead: ) - most local shops have embraced LED technology so I reluctantly bought LED, chose Kessil after examining the various options ... a year later & I'm very pleased with Kessil, some days I think about switching out my T5 system BUT it's a lot of $$ to replace something that looks & works just fine ;)

(it's not a dimmable unit which is the one consideration that has me tempted to go LED on this tank ... I like the aesthetics of the LED but also very much like the color rendering of the T5's ... I picked up a Current USA satellite freshwater LED + Pro which is very bright on a 30cm tank height but rather underpowered on the 55cm tall tank)
 
Yea I was worried about the height of the tank with the LEDs. The main reason for the swap apart from the running costs is that my current setup leaves a dark gap at the edges of the aquarium so I have had to place 2 LED strip lights there that I had before. I also prefer the look of the LEDs with the shimmer you get on the water.

I was looking at these:
http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/be...anted-aquarium-led-light-unit-6500k-721-p.asp


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My Oak 4x2x2
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/My-Oak-4x2x2.39418/
 
Take the "replaces twin T5" with a very very large pinch of salt.

A standard 54" T5 HO tube is about 5000lumens, thus 2 T5 tubes will give you about 10000lumens, about 2 1/2 times brighter than the above LED unit. :(

Also it quotes 96 x 0.5W LEDs which is as good as near 54W for power consumption of a single T5 tube. So no power saving either. :(

Sorry what was the advantage of these LEDs ???? ;)
 
Sorry what was the advantage of these LEDs ???? ;)
aren't LEDs supposed to have much narrower dispersion so most of the watts are directed into the water and not all around the tube?

I like the aesthetics of the LED but also very much like the color rendering of the T5'

Alto - can you elaborate? What aesthetics does an LED have over T5 and what color rendering are you referring to?

I've always used leds but am quite curious about T5s..
 
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aren't LEDs supposed to have much narrower dispersion so most of the watts are directed into the water and not all around the tube?
That's what reflectors are for, to point the T5 light down into the tank.
 
That's what reflectors are for, to point the T5 light down into the tank.
sure but the amount of light lost is not trivial. I think T5s have their strenghts but efficiency really just isn't one of them when compared against leds imo.
 
efficiency really just isn't one of them when compared against leds imo.
Incorrect. Most T5 HO tubes produce much more light than most hobby LED fixtures for the same power. T5's are about 80lumens per Watt light, economy/hobby LEDs you would be lucky if you saw half that. There are some higher efficiency smaller LED fixtures, that may be higher lumens per Watt, but then the total light output is smaller.

Where LED's are good is, it makes it possible to cover the whole of the tank surface with an acceptable light level at an acceptable price.

However going to proper LED fixtures, Aqualantis, Kessil, TMC, that use 3 Watt and above LED's you are looking at possibly over 100lumens per Watt and serious lumen outputs.
 
I never said that wasn't the case. The point is that even if 2-3 times more lumens were produced they are radiating to the sides and upwards. Thats where the inefficiency lies. Even with reflectors a lot of energy is wasted.
 
Even with reflectors a lot of energy is wasted.
Can't see how that can be. All the light from the T5 tubes is reflected downwards, nearly doubling the light level compared to no reflector.
reflector2.png
 
All the light is reflected? I think I hear the sound of a high school physics teacher turning in his grave..

Anyway who cares I guess.. it's not like we're growing a roomful of pot.

sorry for jacking yer thread..
 
The design of many T5 luminaires & most (cheap) reflectors used means that significant light refracts before it ever enters the water ... there's a reason why Giesemann & similar level manufacturers charge $$$ rather than $ for even their T5 systems

So you wouldn't recommend switching to LED then?
not the version that ian_m linked

The Beamsworks won't "work" ;) either
96 x 0.5w 6500k (Daylight) LED's

You need to look at Kessil (maybe EcoTech), Orphek, Aqua Illumination etc (possibly TMC but I'd enquire about PAR/PUR at 60 cm water depth)
 
Why do you say they won't "work"? Those ones you mentioned are some serious money!
Yes (on the $$$)

Tank will look "lit" but PAR at substrate will be rather low ... Current USA has kindly reported some PAR values at 12" (water column - be wary of PAR etc reported through AIR!) - the #'s reported will vary somewhat depending on LED manufacture but show the differences between 0.1, 0.2 & 1.2 watt emittors

Depending on your present T5 system (HO ballast, high energy/intensity phosphors (in the lamps), reflectors (material & shape)) you may note increased growth with 0.5watt LED's ... or you may need to invest in the sort that Kessil etc are manufacturing (cluster technology)
 
Most of the current lighting philosophy involves flooding the tank with par but i think it's high time someone developed something more flexible like a rack of narrow beams that can be trained on plants that need more light. Such a system would allow high and low light demanding plants to be grown in the same tank and I'm sure it will take aquascaping to a whole different level.
Imagine being able to grow hcs next to anubias or having an intensely red bunch of macandras in the middle of a field of buces.

If I was a light manufacturer I would design a multi component system of T5s and cluster leds that allow me control general par at the substrate but be able to identify hotspots around tank where i could double or triple the par just for those spots or even just to create shimmer. Best of all worlds then...
 
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It's a step in the right direction but they seem to be more concerned with developing the app which is a big mistake imo. I don't think they use lenses so the hotspots are still way too wide. They should just add flashlight style reflectors and lenses (maybe like those overhead adjustable reading lights you find on airplanes) and let users manually focus the lights themselves. I think that would be cheaper and more popular.
 
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