[mike31154]

Great post. Thanks for doing all the research and presenting it in a condensed format here.

I'm still on the fence with regard to LEDs at the moment. I think patience is the key. While I have the electrical training/background to diy myself a nice fixture, I'm really not all that keen on soldering an array of Crees together and then having to get the iron out again when one of them fails.

More screw in bulbs are appearing in stores every day and they're starting to come with higher power LEDs and dimming capability. No extra drivers, optics, heat sinks etc. required, they're self contained. Still a little pricey and you have to hunt around for something close to the colour temperature we require in our hobby, but I'm sure that will improve soon as well. There are a few forum threads on the subject of folks using PAR38 (parabolic form factor spotlights) with 7 to 12 LEDs in each to light their reefs. I think each bulb of the 12 LED variety is close to $100 still, so not inexpensive, but a lot easier to change out than a soldered up Cree array on a monster heat sink with a half dozen drivers.

I've also been keeping an eye on the small MR16 and GUI based LEDs designed to replace the halogen spotlights that have been used in that form factor for a long time. The MR16s are starting to appear in high power versions and I really like the two pin design that allows easy insertion and removal. I also like the fact that they are designed for DC voltage and one of the things I've been considering is splurging on an array of solar panels to run the lights straight from a DC source. LEDs are DC voltage devices after all and no matter how efficient AC to DC converters/drivers are, it would be so much more efficient and simple to run the LEDs off a DC source from the get go.

I've never been that excited about some of the other features of the high end fixtures like lightning, cloudy day simulation, wireless control et al. As long as the LEDs are dimmable to create a dawn/dusk effect and perhaps a moon phase option, I'd be content with that.