# Wanting To Go Led



## Ægir

I was chatting with the owner of the reef store here in town, and he gave me some information about the "Aqua Ray Solid State Lighting" made by TMC aquariums. He sold the one he had in the store, so expect a hands on review in the next few weeks. After doing some reading, I thought i would share with you guys, and hopefully get some feedback?

They make 4 lighting modules, the 500, 600 ultra, 1000hd and 1500xg. The smaller 3 are using Cree XR-E LEDS, which most DIYers are using, and the big boy is using the XP-G model.

And several controllers with neat features like sunrise and sunset fading, basic timer etc... but the higher end models replicate lightning with a "storm mode which can be used in conjunction with water changes to encourage breeding in certain species." and can control more than one light bar... The biggest can handle 8 400/500s or 4 1000/1500s. These can be used with a normal timer if you only want ON/OFF

The cost is hard to find because they were just released in the US... From what i can tell you will be looking at 320-440$ for a single light and controller setup... possibly less?

Storm mode:





Their website (UK) with lots more info:
TMC Aquariums

For those members who PMed me asking which route I would go that isnt DIY, This is it! Its using quality LEDs, is less obtrusive than the PAR 38 and doesnt require a hood to hide the bulbs and sockets. If you dont want to spend the time to make your own using Cree LEDs, this is a great option.

Par numbers and reviews (more links at bottom!)
Here

Input? Any more info you can find?


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## hyphen

these were actually my first choice in leds.


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## Ægir

hyphen said:


> these were actually my first choice in leds.


Well thanks for sharing all the info with us Hyphen!


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## hyphen

sorry, not that much info to share since i've never actually used LEDs lol. i have done significant research though. the only other viable option, it seems, that has been tried and tested with awesome results are the aquaillumination fixtures. the 24" AI Sols are said to penetrate up to 36", and have all the doo-dads that most mh and t5 setups come with. they utilize 2w cree modules, heatsinks, fans, moisture protection, and are fully dimmable from 0-100%. i think they also have preset features to mimic sunrise and sunsets as well as manual settings you can choose.

a lfs about 45 mins from my place uses these on all of their reef setups, including their 200g display. but, i'm not sure if most people are ready to spend $1000+ for a 24" fixture. i'm also skeptical about the claimed 10 year lifespan of the leds. i guess we'll find out in a few years how well they all really hold up.

for large tanks i still don't think it's worth it to go all out LED just yet. there are cheaper units out there but i'm not willing to risk a few hundred dollars on something that's a gamble. i've read some bad experiences that people have had with new products that resulted in a lot of lost corals or unacceptable performance, solaris comes to mind.


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## Ægir

We are on the same page! Unless you did a time consuming DIY project, lighting a longer tank is expensive...

Some other members with smaller tanks PMed me, so i thought i would share these... I will take some pics when he gets one in at the store.

For anybody with planted tanks, they make 2 "grow" bulbs as well


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## CLUSTER ONE

par 30-38 bulbs seem liek the thing now for smaller tanks. Ive seen some tanks like 200g with about a dozen of them. They are reasonably priced too as yyou could probably get 12 for 1000$ which is pretty reasonable to light a large tank. Yesterday I was on another forum and saw some par readings for a tank like this and they were huge. some parts of the tank near the lights had over 1000 par!Reefledlights also sells drivers and 6 LED strips farily cheap for any body who wants to diy or even add abit of actinic lights in addition to some other main light.

One of the things im still not sure of with leds is how long they actually last.Some say 50000 hours = 11 years though ive heard of cheap leds dimming way before that. Id bea happy if they could last even 5 years which is about what i hear some par 38 bulbs do. Im thinking of lighting my next tank with leds though im not sure if I want 2x par 30, 2x par 38 or a diy kit.

Another thing im not sure how much I like is the spotlighting effect led bulbs and leds often do unless you have a full tank array. Hard to know what bulb arrangement too. I was thinkign of doing a 20k spotlight(s) though im not sure if that would be too blue as the only other option is 12k. People are starting to add in red leds and i think green to get a nice mix of colours so hopefully in a few years there will be more complete info on leds and the prices will go down. I hope somethign can be done with the LED patent legal issues too so more people can make good fixtures that don't cost 500$ plus


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## Ægir

CLUSTER ONE said:


> par 30-38 bulbs seem liek the thing now for smaller tanks. Ive seen some tanks like 200g with about a dozen of them. They are reasonably priced too as yyou could probably get 12 for 1000$ which is pretty reasonable to light a large tank. Yesterday I was on another forum and saw some par readings for a tank like this and they were huge. some parts of the tank near the lights had over 1000 par!Reefledlights also sells drivers and 6 LED strips farily cheap for any body who wants to diy or even add abit of actinic lights in addition to some other main light.
> 
> One of the things im still not sure of with leds is how long they actually last.Some say 50000 hours = 11 years though ive heard of cheap leds dimming way before that. Id bea happy if they could last even 5 years which is about what i hear some par 38 bulbs do. Im thinking of lighting my next tank with leds though im not sure if I want 2x par 30, 2x par 38 or a diy kit.
> 
> Another thing im not sure how much I like is the spotlighting effect led bulbs and leds often do unless you have a full tank array. Hard to know what bulb arrangement too. I was thinkign of doing a 20k spotlight(s) though im not sure if that would be too blue as the only other option is 12k. People are starting to add in red leds and i think green to get a nice mix of colours so hopefully in a few years there will be more complete info on leds and the prices will go down. I hope somethign can be done with the LED patent legal issues too so more people can make good fixtures that don't cost 500$ plus


They are making the optics on the PAR38s easier to change... they will be one big lens instead of the smaller ones for each LED. So it should be harder to void any warranty... unlike changing the small lenses which seemed to piss them off.


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## CLUSTER ONE

I don't think it really pissed them off but they dont want peopel prying the lenses off with a screw driver and wrecking the led then wanting it replaced. So how will they make one led? Like one big convex lens?


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## Ægir

CLUSTER ONE said:


> I don't think it really pissed them off but they dont want peopel prying the lenses off with a screw driver and wrecking the led then wanting it replaced. So how will they make one led? Like one big convex lens?


Thats the thing, if you didnt like the optics you ordered and wanted to change them (they sold replacements) they wouldnt warranty anything that happened... Its just to protect them from ignorant people, Like mcdonalds putting HOT on the coffee cups.

Its not one big LED, its just a single lens that goes over the entire end covering the 5 LEDs. Instead of 5 small ones, its way quicker to swap and get the light spread you want. Thats what he said... and it sounds like an improvement to me

The one thing thats hard is hiding the Par38s... if you dont want a big canopy or lots of sockets and a light rail, its hard to keep clean with 12, 15 or 20 of them on a big tank. Over a smaller tank, a hanging pendant or something looks great


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## CLUSTER ONE

I agree they look great on a small tank though on a big tank they look abit odd and to hide them you would need a tall canopy. Im all for one lens as long as it looks good still and not like some addition or afterthought. If it looks bad I'd rather pay to have the correct individual lens put in from the start as now all you have to do is firgure the corect lens right off the bat and buy one with it.


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## hyphen

I forgot to mention that the evolution LED fixtures from reefkoi are getting good reviews. local socal reefers have been using them with good results. not sure how long they've been running them though. but one guy considers them to be the best lights he's ever owned. i mentioned them in my other thread as a consideration. there's also a youtube video of him doing par readings and comparing them to 250w MHs in a dark room over his frag tanks.


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## WhiteLineRacer

Hi chaps.

Ive been using the 1000hd's for just over a year. They are great, I love em. The controller is very easy to use, giving gradual light fading between the blue and the white LED's. On min setting only 2 white LED's are left on (5 turn off completely) and all 3 blue LED's are on. So at night its petty low blue light. But even at 10% you still get the ripple effect, refractions of light making patterns on the rocks.
At 100% they are well bright, mine sit pretty high over my 260ltr tank but still have no trouble penetrating the water. You also get a lovely light pattern reflected onto the ceiling









pic.


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## Ægir

Awesome man, thanks for the pics!

The owner of my SW build decided to go with the Aquaillumination SOL fixture... 72" with 5 "modules". Pretty excited to play around with it, and you can expect some pictures once it arrives.


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