sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
My views on LED lighting, specifically the Solaris setup.
Do they work? Sure why not, I've seen a few tanks where corals look fine.
Do they work as advertised? Here's where they deception comes into play. I've heard they compared to a 15k XM bulb or something as far as comparing the lighting power vs... which is really a crappy bulb as far as output is concerned. I really dislike the fact they seem to have coined (or at least commercialized) the term PUR (photosythetic usable radiation) although Jeremy's article makes me wonder... and I really dislike their whole "you don't need a chiller claim".
I'm going to hit the chiller first. There are two ways tanks get heat up via lighting. 1) your bulb is hot, as a result it's like a little spot light heater about your tank 2) your bulbs are dumping energy into the tank that is being absorbed by water. Now much each one puts out, I think would be a hard thing to measure unless you painted a bulb black to block out the radiation, then compared it against one not black. I do surmise that a good deal of heat enters the tank through radiative ways as opposes to convective.
Also, don't go the route that you NEED a chiller if you have MH light, that is a down right lie. If you need a chiller at all, it's because the temperature where you live gets hot enough that MH lights just push you over. If you need a chiller for MH lamps you'll most likely need that chiller with the LED setup because it'll get too damn hot. So when comparing actual prices of the two setups, compare lamp vs lamp, put in the cost of wiring, the cost of building a canopy, but don't put in a chiller in those cost estimates.
Do they work? Sure why not, I've seen a few tanks where corals look fine.
Do they work as advertised? Here's where they deception comes into play. I've heard they compared to a 15k XM bulb or something as far as comparing the lighting power vs... which is really a crappy bulb as far as output is concerned. I really dislike the fact they seem to have coined (or at least commercialized) the term PUR (photosythetic usable radiation) although Jeremy's article makes me wonder... and I really dislike their whole "you don't need a chiller claim".
I'm going to hit the chiller first. There are two ways tanks get heat up via lighting. 1) your bulb is hot, as a result it's like a little spot light heater about your tank 2) your bulbs are dumping energy into the tank that is being absorbed by water. Now much each one puts out, I think would be a hard thing to measure unless you painted a bulb black to block out the radiation, then compared it against one not black. I do surmise that a good deal of heat enters the tank through radiative ways as opposes to convective.
Also, don't go the route that you NEED a chiller if you have MH light, that is a down right lie. If you need a chiller at all, it's because the temperature where you live gets hot enough that MH lights just push you over. If you need a chiller for MH lamps you'll most likely need that chiller with the LED setup because it'll get too damn hot. So when comparing actual prices of the two setups, compare lamp vs lamp, put in the cost of wiring, the cost of building a canopy, but don't put in a chiller in those cost estimates.
