Led's Vs T5's Reef Tanks

[Brilly91]

Looking to start a friendly topic on peoples opinions on leds and t5 for reef tanks.
 
After having my LEDs for a good few weeks now ive come to the conclusion i prefer them over my old 6 x 39w t5s and i have several reasons for this.
 
Running cost - My led lights run on alot less power and also save me replacing bulbs every 6-9months costing around £100 at a time!
 
Heat while running - My old t5s were often too hot to even touch the casing of, in comparison my leds are constantly blowing cool air and are cold to the touch aswell. This heat change has also dropped my tanks over all running temperature by about 1c, increasing the stability in my tank.
 
Programmability - with leds i feel i have alot more control over the style of lighting, myself preferring a blue tint i can now achieve this with ease.
 
Coral colours - My corals, especially zoas now pop alot nicer under my leds especially during moonlight mode!
 
Although theres alot of benefits, i also do find there is a few downsides to them....
 
The initial outlay was enough to pay for bulbs for a couple years.
 
*I probably have more i can add to this but im tired lol*
 

 

[Chad]

I've used both and currently run 5 AI Sol Super Blue units above my tank. I just installed the 5th one day before yesterday as a matter of fact. I am a huge fan of LED's. Several reasons.

• Control - dimming, color, lighting, cloud effects, intensity, acclimation mode, etc. I can set my lights to mimic any reef or even my own coordinates and set the lunar mode so that whatever phase the moon is outside it is the same on my tank. This is huge because so many fish and corals use the moon as a queue to spawning. I have actually had SPS spawn successfully in my tank which is nearly unheard of. 
• Heat - WAY cooler than T5. I live in Arizona...in the desert...where it gets to 117 or more in the summertime. Heat is a huge issue for me. By replacing my lights with LED's the temperature in my tank and in my study went down tremendously. 
• Cost - Though LED's seem more costly, because the original output is usually more they actually cost less in the long run. This is because they consume less energy, put off less heat, and because bulbs don't need replaced every 6 months or they change spectrum.
• Consistency - As mentioned above as T5's age they change spectrum. This can lead to all sorts of issues in a reef tank. LED's maintain spectrum throughout their life. 
• Long life - my LED's are slated to last 15 years before a puck needs replaced. That's pretty awesome and worry free. 
• Penetration - This was the main reason I HAD to go to LED's. At first I was going to try and stick with the very nice T5VHO Nova Extreme Pro lights I had when I purchased my 210 gallon tank but it was soon clear that those lights did not have the power to penetrate the 30" depth of the tank. It was like a shadow down there. With clams, acans, fungia, and many other corals that go on the sandbed there was no getting around the fact that my T5 lighting could not do the job. LED's penetrate and maintain PAR at depth excellently. 
• Focus - T5's have reflectors, LED's have lenses. These lenses can focus the light. I have 70degree and 40degree angle lenses on my lights which really makes sure the lighting gets where it is supposed to go without spillover or a widening beam. Other lenses can be purchased to focus LED's on a single coral if needed. 
• Color - LED's can provide all sorts of color options with mix and match. The Sol that I use have white, blue and royal blue which allows for excellent combinations of color that really make the corals pop. Newer lights like the Hydra 52 have UV, red, and yellow as well...the options are endless. 
• Upgradeabilty - It's easy to upgrade LED's to new technology when it comes out. This is especially true of my lights as Aqua Illuminations sells upgrade kits for them and it's all plug in play. If I want to upgrade what I have to become Hydra 52's I can do it. 

I'm a huge fan of LED's. I've been running them for three years now and love them. I now have them on my refugium and on my planted tank as well. I have nothing but good things to say about them and they have been worry free which I cannot say about my old lights.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

I have a question about lights. Actually, 2.
 
Why do corals need light? They don't have chlorophyll to photosynthesis, so why do they need a higher spectrum bulb then freshwater plants?
 
And, what is the best spectrum for corals? (May be setting up a nano reef eventually)
 
Thanks in advance

 

[Brilly91]

Alot of corals use photosynthesis but im not hugely clued up on the science as to why so cant explain too thoroughly lol

I've used both and currently run 5 AI Sol Super Blue units above my tank. I just installed the 5th one day before yesterday as a matter of fact. I am a huge fan of LED's. Several reasons.

• Control - dimming, color, lighting, cloud effects, intensity, acclimation mode, etc. I can set my lights to mimic any reef or even my own coordinates and set the lunar mode so that whatever phase the moon is outside it is the same on my tank. This is huge because so many fish and corals use the moon as a queue to spawning. I have actually had SPS spawn successfully in my tank which is nearly unheard of. 
• Heat - WAY cooler than T5. I live in Arizona...in the desert...where it gets to 117 or more in the summertime. Heat is a huge issue for me. By replacing my lights with LED's the temperature in my tank and in my study went down tremendously. 
• Cost - Though LED's seem more costly, because the original output is usually more they actually cost less in the long run. This is because they consume less energy, put off less heat, and because bulbs don't need replaced every 6 months or they change spectrum.
• Consistency - As mentioned above as T5's age they change spectrum. This can lead to all sorts of issues in a reef tank. LED's maintain spectrum throughout their life. 
• Long life - my LED's are slated to last 15 years before a puck needs replaced. That's pretty awesome and worry free. 
• Penetration - This was the main reason I HAD to go to LED's. At first I was going to try and stick with the very nice T5VHO Nova Extreme Pro lights I had when I purchased my 210 gallon tank but it was soon clear that those lights did not have the power to penetrate the 30" depth of the tank. It was like a shadow down there. With clams, acans, fungia, and many other corals that go on the sandbed there was no getting around the fact that my T5 lighting could not do the job. LED's penetrate and maintain PAR at depth excellently. 
• Focus - T5's have reflectors, LED's have lenses. These lenses can focus the light. I have 70degree and 40degree angle lenses on my lights which really makes sure the lighting gets where it is supposed to go without spillover or a widening beam. Other lenses can be purchased to focus LED's on a single coral if needed. 
• Color - LED's can provide all sorts of color options with mix and match. The Sol that I use have white, blue and royal blue which allows for excellent combinations of color that really make the corals pop. Newer lights like the Hydra 52 have UV, red, and yellow as well...the options are endless. 
• Upgradeabilty - It's easy to upgrade LED's to new technology when it comes out. This is especially true of my lights as Aqua Illuminations sells upgrade kits for them and it's all plug in play. If I want to upgrade what I have to become Hydra 52's I can do it. 

I'm a huge fan of LED's. I've been running them for three years now and love them. I now have them on my refugium and on my planted tank as well. I have nothing but good things to say about them and they have been worry free which I cannot say about my old lights.

 
Picked up on alot of things my mind was too tired to remember last night! lol
I also now have leds over my sump, infact i had them over it before i had any on my display tank.

 

[Donya]

I have a question about lights. Actually, 2.

 
Why do corals need light? They don't have chlorophyll to photosynthesis, so why do they need a higher spectrum bulb then freshwater plants?
 
And, what is the best spectrum for corals? (May be setting up a nano reef eventually)
 
Thanks in advance

 
See here and scroll down to the bit on lighting.
 
Most corals have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that photosynthesize. With most corals, they should have a bit of a brown tint to the bodies (even if some areas are neon other colors), indicating presence of the algae. When deprived of light for a long time, the algae dies and areas that should be brown will turn white or clear, eventually killing the coral if the situation isn't corrected in time. So, although the coral tissue itself isn't photosynthesizing, the algae is and it feeds the coral. Some corals still need to eat other foods in addition to this and there are also some non-photosynthetic species (much harder to keep in general since they have to be fed frequently). As for the reason for the spectrum difference, I'm not sure offhand why the particular spectrum peaks that are important for marine are as such. Not all species are equally picky about spectrum either, since I've seen a couple soft coral species photosynthesize and grow just fine under planted tank lights - although that's not to say one should aim to do that, since most corals won't tolerate those conditions.

 

[Brilly91]

 

I have a question about lights. Actually, 2.

 
Why do corals need light? They don't have chlorophyll to photosynthesis, so why do they need a higher spectrum bulb then freshwater plants?
 
And, what is the best spectrum for corals? (May be setting up a nano reef eventually)
 
Thanks in advance

 
See here and scroll down to the bit on lighting.
 
Most corals have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that photosynthesize. With most corals, they should have a bit of a brown tint to the bodies (even if some areas are neon other colors), indicating presence of the algae. When deprived of light for a long time, the algae dies and areas that should be brown will turn white or clear, eventually killing the coral if the situation isn't corrected in time. So, although the coral tissue itself isn't photosynthesizing, the algae is and it feeds the coral. Some corals still need to eat other foods in addition to this and there are also some non-photosynthetic species (much harder to keep in general since they have to be fed frequently). As for the reason for the spectrum difference, I'm not sure offhand why the particular spectrum peaks that are important for marine are as such. Not all species are equally picky about spectrum either, since I've seen a couple soft coral species photosynthesize and grow just fine under planted tank lights - although that's not to say one should aim to do that, since most corals won't tolerate those conditions.
 

 
Some soft corals really arent picking at all are they lol, ive got some xenia growing in an area with barely any light.
 
Another plus point on leds they are slimline and prettier than most t5 units!!!!