175 gal Tank build

Matt
You can't win on this one, its like which salt is best! I've never owned a BMW but I have had lots of Fords :>) I have also owned lots of types of Aquarium lights over my years. Started out with flourescents, then vho's then mh and back to cf's then t5's now led, I think I have used em all at one point and by far my favorite is led. My leds are 3 watt so I can't say about the 1 watt. I will say tho, folks should not knock them if they have not tried them, opinions should come from experience. There is enough guess work in this hobby now.

I did a lot of research before I jumped into led and I'm glad I chose them, look at my tank pics, after six months they speak for themselves. Don't let anybody tell you anything about leds that don't have them. its like comparing a BMW with a Ford if you aint never owned a BMW. So come on guys, if your gonna give someone advise on something give it from experience. Guess this belongs in the "Things that piss you off" section.

DonnieP wrote: So come on guys, if your gonna give a newbie advise on something give it from experience. Guess this belongs in the "Things that piss you off" section.

It goes the other way too. I don't think anyone has had these evolution lights long enough to recommend them to anyone either. You're right Donnie. No one knows for sure until they try them out. It's like trying to tell people what clothes to wear. You can get from point A to B in a BMW or a Ford, it's what works and makes you happy is what counts. It's the same as the deep or shallow sand bed debate as well. I've seen your leds at work and I have to admit you have me wanting to get some. I haven't seen the evolution led units in action yet so I would like to see some results before I jump on the bandwagon. I have seen the color and it is very impressive. I did do some research on them after I saw Matt's unit. There's not a lot of information out there about the units yet except from the guy selling them. So the best thing for a newbie to do is to research for themself and decide. That's what these forums are all about, you just have to expect there is no set answer for much of anything in this hobby.
Here's about all I could find about the Evo leds except for from the sellers of these units;

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1929526&highlight=evolution+led

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1930742&highlight=evolution+led

Lol. It's no biggy. I have no idea what the 1 watt LEDs will do yet either. I know the PAR ratings that this exact unit is getting is on "par" (pun intended) as a 250w MH. 2000 at the surface and 290 at 20" water depth. The numbers drop towards the edges... possibly more than MH's. Not sure.

I'm definitely going to post a lot of growth pictures of each specific coral in my tank. I love looking at those threads online. :-)

And here's the thread on DFWMAS that made me decide to go for it.
http://dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=74171

Guys. Guys. Guys. I knew that would get you LED lovers wound up. My point is this, I would not convince someone to buy something they don't need to spend the extra $$ on based on electric bill savings that are not really there. Furthermore, if you are worried about the electric bill you should find another hobby.

Trust me, I have plenty of experience as lights have evolved over the years as well. I am an electrical engineer that understands all about the different lights and their power consumption. I don't like them because you are stuck with what you buy unless you sell and purchase another unit. If you want more blue then you have to buy another unit instead of another bulb. I like options myself. Maybe one day I will buy a LED unit. However, I will buy MH for my new tank and trust me - $$ is not an obstacle.

And if you really want to save money - you can always have fiber optic light cans installed over your tank. No impact on your electric bill since it uses the sunlight as it's source of energy. Of course, it's going to cost you some major $$.

How many of you own a hybrid? You should go out and buy one now because you will save $$. I say that in good humor guys so don't go crazy on me!!

BigBlue wrote:
And if you really want to save money - you can always have fiber optic light cans installed over your tank. No impact on your electric bill since it uses the sunlight as it's source of energy. Of course, it's going to cost you some major $$.

Yeah, what ever happened to solatubes? Those where going to be the new biggest thing in reef lighting but I don't hear much about them anymore.

The growth I'm am getting is looking just like my mh growth so I think the LEDs was a waste of money but that's just my 2 pennies

I am an electrical engineer that understands all about the different lights and their power consumption. I don't like them because you are stuck with what you buy unless you sell and purchase another unit.

Electrical engineer or not, I can replace every single bulb in my unit with another diode! Thats like saying if you get a flat you go buy another car, thats "redonculous".
Again I say miss information. I can replace every component of my leds from diodes, driver, fans, current regulator, all can be replaced and I might add the 3 watt diodes are pretty cheap. On the other hand, if memory serves me, Metal Halide bulbs should be replaced every eight months to keep peak spectrum. Leds have an expexted life span of ten years with only 30% depletion.

As far as price, I did'nt decide on led for the price, it was the no heat issue and no bulb replacement that sold me plus the intense light from led grows the hell out of sps, anyone who has seen my tank will attest to that. Another advantage to led is thay can be used inside a hood sitting right on the Aquarium without adding heat to the tank. In a setup like this 175 with the low hood led would be a perfect choice. There is no way you could put mh's in that low hood, they would cook anything in there. Only other lights to use with that hood would be t5's and those bulbs have to be replaced every six months, plus they get hot too.

Now that is the kind of information that should be used to sell LED's. Again, not electric bill savings! I get tired of hearing that garbage to be honest. I don't like sellsmen that push hybrids either.

Miss informed? I dont think so.... Unfortunately, not everyone is as handy as you or I are Donnie. Most people these days can't change their flat tire that you spoke of. They might just buy another car if they have a flat. Lol Read the forums and you will see how many people have bought LED's and went back to their old systems because they simply would not know to grab a screwdriver and a soldering iron. Others are supplementing with T5's and MH's.

Hey! The debating is good! Now everyone has some extra information to make a good informed decision on one of the most expensive items in the hobby - and most important.

I'm not heated up at all on the LED issue. The only thing I'm married to is my wife. :-)

I see my tank and I love it. I love my colors, I love the suspended light look, and I already have SPS growth. I also see gabe's colors, and growth. And almost everyone else on the boards. They're amazing. You can really tell a difference when a tank has MHs instead of other bulbs. With donnie and I both having LEDs we will be able to see if they produce those wow tanks too. So far, so good.

And I must say... I don't mind replacing LED parts either. I used to be a computer tech so it doesn't scare me. Although it would be a good idea for me to have a backup light plan before opening it up. Lol

Its all in good clean debating Matt. I hope my post didn't come across as an attack on anyone that has LED's. That would be like me attacking Daniel because he drives a Chevy. Poor guy! Geez! No offense to you Chevy owners out there! Lol

And don't worry. All my friends gave me a bunch of garbage when I went with those "energy sucking" MH's. Lol

ford
-found
-on
-road
-dead

gabe help me out here ..your a chevy man!!! anything beats a chop stick truck!

Bankruptcy!! Nuf said! Lol

BigBlue wrote:Its all in good clean debating Matt. I hope my post didn't come across as an attack on anyone that has LED's. That would be like me attacking Daniel because he drives a Chevy. Poor guy! Geez! No offense to you Chevy owners out there! Lol l

Screw the lighting debate! Now you've pissed me off!!!! lol

I really should behave before I make someone mad at me. Someone that doesn't know me well might think I am serious about all this.

If I remember right mr letourneau went bankrupt many times and where did you got to college!

Trust me! That school will never go bankrupt. RG himself might have but not the university. After two degrees, I will be making sure they don't go bankrupt for the rest of my life!!

Well same thing with chevy union screws them over!

BigBlue wrote:I really should behave before I make someone mad at me. Someone that doesn't know me well might think I am serious about all this.

Don't get Daniel too wound up or he'll get banned again.

Now that was funny right there! Good one Ritter! Good one! Our meeting is going to be a blast!

Ritter who's side u on?

I can help Billy and gabes gf didn't like me

Hey now, don't knock Ford, give credit where credit is due, Ford was the only American auto maker that didn't go belly up and have all of us bail them out!!!!! I love my Ford, been paid for for three years and still runs like a new one(knock on wood). :>)

Cheapest
Heap
Ever
Visioned
Yet

And Still

Damned
Old
Dirty
Gas
Eater

Hey don't start in on my dodge!!!


I hate my dodge enough all by myself thank you! <---Pirate!

Donnie ur fight is LEDs ... This is between me and Billy !! Chevy paid the loan back !

TO: rml3864
Sorry we did all this to your 175g build thread! Maybe we can get Jose to delete all this crap and give you back your thread. You will find on hear that we like to give each other a hard time but we should'nt have done it at your expense, please excuse our ignorance.