Originally Posted by naesco (Post 621668)

It is a brand new tank but he will be adding SPS a bit later on when the tank matures.
I do not have a light meter but the two units had complete coverage over the whole of the tank. In order to achieve this the pendants hang 12inches above the water line. As he likes the fluorescence the LED provides, he chose blue.
I can't comment on the technical aspects or compare this lighting to other LED lighting from a technical point of view but his tank looks great.
He chose the blue because he likes to observe them fluoresce.

A three foot tank would require one pendant at a $600.00 cost which is comparable to a MH system without the added heat and high maintenace cost.
IMO, one unit would leave the edges dimmer on a 4 foot tank.

If a reefer is starting up a new tank I could not in good conscience recommend MH.

For a reefer who has MH they may decide to wait a little longer to replace their lighting. The price of LEDs will go down a bit, there will be more selection and improvements will be made.

Originally Posted by Delphinus (Post 621714)

Wayne his tank is 4' tall ? Wow.

When you get a chance please post some pictures, I'd love to see those. I did see those Cannons when they first came out and thought that might be a good way to get into LED's but unfortunately even at $600 versus money already spent for the existing halides it will still be a while before I pull the trigger on the switch over but I'd still love to see them in action besides just the usual promotional stuff out there. Thanks!

Originally Posted by parkinsn (Post 620834)

Have you seen the Sfiligoi Genisis? They are using other colors in the same diode. The colors can be seen on the thread below. Now it doesnt look like you can run all the colors at the same time, however with a custom/modular light im sure you can.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1849626

As for cost saving to the owner, I had 6 54w T5HO's and 2 250w SE MH's replaceing bulbs twice a year is roughly $500 or more in 1 year. I assume that most people will keep their light for 3 years. A $2200 LED Vertex replacement for the light above, over 3 years will be paid off with approx. $1500 in lamps in 3 years + the energy saved. Not to mention that ballasts will start to fail in 3 or more years.

I have seen many tanks running LED on RC and other sites that are now pushing 3+ years with good SPS growth. No, they are not 5 years in like you say. I feel that there are enough case studys out there if you look for them to prove that LED is a viable solution. It still remains to see what fixtures will stick around as there is new ones every month. But there are a few names out there that have lasted a few years already.

Originally Posted by RuGlu6 (Post 621785)

I dont see many people replacing MH bulbs twice a year, i see many people replacing MH bulbs every 16-18 month.

Originally Posted by RuGlu6 (Post 621785)

I dont see many people replacing MH bulbs twice a year, i see many people replacing MH bulbs every 16-18 month.

Originally Posted by sphelps (Post 621807)

This really is irrelevant, like I said earlier you can beet this argument to death as everyone has a different example of how much they spend on bulbs and energy and how much they would invest in a new fixture, also have to consider if they are replacing a fixture or setting up 100% as used fixtures can pull in some cash to speed up the return but regardless completely dependent on each person.

Originally Posted by abcha0s@conceptaquatics (Post 621831)

Least we forget that it's worth paying more for a superior solution. It is not necessary to recover costs or break even. Better is simply better.

- Brad