Modern technology often sucks in terms of its durability. I still have some of my 20+ year old T-8 fluors running fine. I also have the Most of my power compacts from the long gone AH Supply working. I do not use them much as they are more light than my current tanks need.
I also retrofitted some of my old T-12 fixtures where I replaced the really old fluors with T-5s/ They also run well.
The more digital anything is, the more likely it is that, when it fails, it is due to the digital components rather than the mechanical ones.
I have a few Nicrew LEDS. Their basic models are cheaper than the current tank lighting using fluors cost. I do not like them all that much but the plants do OK with them. I will never buy the more expensive lighting as I see no reason to do so. I do not have a problem with my tank lights going full on and full off. So, I am not willing to pay for the sunrise and sunset feature.
I always had the cheapest Fluor I could get over my pleco tanks as the lights are only used when I have to work in the tank doing weekly maint. or when I had to collect fry.
I can also tell folks two factoids about my lighting. The first is our electrical supplier is ConEd.
How Con Edison rates compare
Con Edison's rates are often significantly higher than the national average.
Rates can vary within New York depending on the area and the utility, but Con Edison's rates have been high compared to many other utilities in surrounding areas.
Our current bills run between $500 and $600/month. Over the years when energy prices were higher we would occasionally get a monthly bill over $1,000. Ours is not a big house and we are lucky in this respect.
The second is over the years I have had a light fall into the tank. This happens during weekly maint. I always grab it pretty fast and it only every partly submerges. I have never gotten a shock nor lost any fish and the light always continues to work fine. From what I under stand just getting an LED fixture wet can cause it to break. I only have 3 of them. They are on my planted 5.5, 15 and 29 gal. Q-tank I keep running with some blue Neocaradina shrimp and assassin snails in it. I am very careful with those LEDs as I normally remove the glass tops on tanks to work in them.
Finally, I am a huge believer in two principles which are pretty similar:
- The
KISS theory-
Keep
It
Simple,
Stupid.
and
“
Occam's razor, or the principle of parsimony, tells us that the simplest, most elegant explanation is
usually the one closest to the truth.”
(Some things do require a more complex approach.)
So, my approach to tank lighting tries to follow the above.
Oh yes, having owned a sound company in the 70s, I also become a big believer in
Murphy's Law:
"If something can go wrong, it will" is known as Murphy's Law, named after Captain Edward A. Murphy Jr., an engineer who worked on a 1949 Air Force project called Project MX981. While the exact origin is debated, Murphy is credited with observing the phenomenon that anything that can go wrong will.
The above is more true the more complex any system might be.
