As much as I love my t5's, my mom hates the added cost of them. I'm looking to trade it for some LEDs preferably radions. 48" ati 8x54w sunpower(non dimmable). Bulbs have 8 hours a day on them for the past 2 months. I didn't see another forum for this particular transaction. I'm in 07747. I will include cash depending on the trade.
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3 Month Old ATI Sunpower
- Thread starter Empire
- Start date
Empire -
My 2 Cents. When I had LED's I tried a few different kinds. I found that they were perfect for some corals and horrible for others. I found T5's were one of the good all around with the best being metal halides. After trying a few different LED configurations and types and even supplementing the LED's with T5's I found myself RIGHT BACK where I started as far as power usage. Not only that but it was sloppier in terms of maintenance.
From what I know of your implementation - You will only save a few dollars by switching to LED's. Dollars that you can recoup elsewhere 10 fold. I performed a technology AUDIT on my tank and the actual results were fairly staggering. If power is your issue ---
1. Look at your return pump. If you are not using a energy efficient pump such as a Waterblaster or Eheim then you have a device that is running 24/7 and GPH vs WATT's are not that great. I switched my return pump to a DC pump and only use the flow that I need lowering my over all power consumption.
2. I built a manifold that is capable of powering every reactor under my tank with no additional pumps needed.
3. I got my heater on a controller and it ONLY turns on if the temps Dip below 75 deg and then it stays on and warms up to 79 before turning off.
4. If you are changing your return pump for one with more GPH per Watt then you might be able to remove any power hungry Pumps inside of the tank. I turn off 2 of my Tunze 6095 pumps at night for almost 12 hours while my fish sleep. My fish don't need ot be pasted to the side of the tank while they try to sleep. It also allows some particulates to SETTLE where they can be filtered out by my overflow or eaten by bugs or skimmer instead of being blown around to holy hell.
You might only need to run those T5's for a few hours per/day instead of 10/12 hours. My MAIN lights (6) only run for about 6/7 hours.. the ATI Blue + lights (2) run for
longer which is less power.
I feel that you can save energy other ways.. and far outweigh what you can save switching to LED's...
With that said.... I would try and go with the new Radion Pro's and nothing less.
My 2 Cents. When I had LED's I tried a few different kinds. I found that they were perfect for some corals and horrible for others. I found T5's were one of the good all around with the best being metal halides. After trying a few different LED configurations and types and even supplementing the LED's with T5's I found myself RIGHT BACK where I started as far as power usage. Not only that but it was sloppier in terms of maintenance.
From what I know of your implementation - You will only save a few dollars by switching to LED's. Dollars that you can recoup elsewhere 10 fold. I performed a technology AUDIT on my tank and the actual results were fairly staggering. If power is your issue ---
1. Look at your return pump. If you are not using a energy efficient pump such as a Waterblaster or Eheim then you have a device that is running 24/7 and GPH vs WATT's are not that great. I switched my return pump to a DC pump and only use the flow that I need lowering my over all power consumption.
2. I built a manifold that is capable of powering every reactor under my tank with no additional pumps needed.
3. I got my heater on a controller and it ONLY turns on if the temps Dip below 75 deg and then it stays on and warms up to 79 before turning off.
4. If you are changing your return pump for one with more GPH per Watt then you might be able to remove any power hungry Pumps inside of the tank. I turn off 2 of my Tunze 6095 pumps at night for almost 12 hours while my fish sleep. My fish don't need ot be pasted to the side of the tank while they try to sleep. It also allows some particulates to SETTLE where they can be filtered out by my overflow or eaten by bugs or skimmer instead of being blown around to holy hell.
You might only need to run those T5's for a few hours per/day instead of 10/12 hours. My MAIN lights (6) only run for about 6/7 hours.. the ATI Blue + lights (2) run for
longer which is less power.
I feel that you can save energy other ways.. and far outweigh what you can save switching to LED's...
With that said.... I would try and go with the new Radion Pro's and nothing less.
?????? You had to have left out the minimum yearly bulb changes in your calculations. Forget about electric consumption, the bulbs alone make LEDs the light of choice as far as cost.
+1. Lol