LED questions and general Reef

[asylumdown]

I've been running Gen 1 radions since i set up this tank in mid 2012. I can second the statement that the diodes themselves might last all that time, but I promise you not even the "best" built lights from high-end companies have any hope of making it that long. I've got 8 radions. I've had to replace major parts - from the power supplies to the entire head unit on 7 of them. Yesterday my 8th that is still 100% original just starting blinking on and off when it hits max power (I think it's over-heating).

Ecotech was awesome and sent me 5 new head units out of warranty when a bunch of diodes burnt out, but unlike metal halides, replacing any component of the head unit of an LED fixture usually means replacing the entire thing, not just a 40 dollar bulb. Once they're out of warranty, they're also much harder to get parts for because the world will have moved on, and any used parts you get that work with the units you already have will be coming from units that are just as old as yours and likely to be susceptible to the same problems as yours.

I wouldn't light a big tank with Radions, or any modular LED system again. It cost more than my first car to buy my lights, and three years later I'm running out of options that don't involve spending another 7 grand if I want to keep the lighting over my tank both LED and consistent. They work fine for a smaller tank where you only have one or two units to worry about, but for a bigger system I'd probably either go back to halides or try out a T5 unit that covers the whole tank with a single unit.

Moral of the story - on a big tank, the cost 'savings' of running LEDs in terms of electricity absolutely DO NOT over-come the replacement costs of the units as they start to fail once your warranty expires. And I promise you they'll fail.

[mike31154]

Yikes, that Radion story does not sound good! Sorry to hear.

My DIY build using generic 10 watt multi chip LEDs has now been running 3 years. I cooked one dimmer, but that's because I knowingly ran it at over it's rated load. Once I split the load, no problem. I was a doofus for running it that way. Anyhow, all good since that episode, no LED burnouts, no power supply burn outs and I have spare LEDs, dimmers & power supplies. I can order more on line any time. The 10 watt LEDs are cheaper now than they've ever been, around $2 each, depending on colour.

[Madreefer]

My LED products:
4 x AI Sol Blues
2 x AI Hydra
2 x AI Hydra 52
4 x Ecoexotic Panorama Pro
1 x Zetlight
I jumped on the LED bandwagon right away so I've had LEDs for a while. I like trying new stuff and with no kids I don't catch chit from my wife for buying stuff for my tank.

Only problems I have come across is a motherboard that crapped out on one of the Sols and a AI Controllor that died. That's not too bad. Call me lucky but I've had good luck with reliability.
I'm not pro LED and if I had a good source in town with a selection of T5 bulbs I'd much rather go that route. IMO T5 gives the best coloration

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Moral of the story - on a big tank, the cost 'savings' of running LEDs in terms of electricity absolutely DO NOT over-come the replacement costs of the units as they start to fail once your warranty expires. And I promise you they'll fail.

I did some math a few weeks back on my lighting, and found that power may have actually cost me more to run LED. While the total wattage was slightly less, with the period ramping up and down, and moonlighting on all night, total power consumption was likely higher. My math isn't good enough to calculate the cost over the curve of the ramp periods, but lighting was on significantly longer with LED, offsetting any savings I might have seen had they just replaced the 7 hour photoperiod of the MH. That, coupled with costs in replacing units and/or parts, LED was not a savings of any sort after all said and done.
Now, as you stated, for a smaller tank that can get away with a single unit vs a T5 or MH fixture, it may be the way to go. Other reasons may also contribute (heat management, life is not complete without lightning, etc), LED might be the right light, but cost of running and the "they last 10 years" sales pitch are not the right points to make the decision with.