LED Lighting Compendium

[monkeyfish]

I sent a request for info on the trulumen pro fixtures to current-usa. I'll post their response if i get one.

[JoeGREEEN]

SUBSCRIBED

I smell a SticKy on this
Awesome!

[ucantimagine]

So to bottom line this, if we can: Is LED made specifically for aquariam lighting better than, equal to or not as good as a comparable T5 HO light?

[galabar]

Originally Posted by samamorgan

Not all spectrums are created equal!
Analyzing photosynthetically active radiation (PUR)

One of the reasons LEDs can be so much more efficient than T5, compact flourescent, and even metal halide is spectrum output. The chlorophyll pigment is green in color, which means that it reflects the green spectrum of light to our eyes so we see it as green. This means that it absorbs all other spectrums of visible light. Check out this graph:
Attachment 40237
As you can see, plants absorb visible light very well between ~400-500nm and ~650-700nm. The absorbtion rate drops off significantly in the green and yellow spectrums.

LEDs put out very specific spectrums of light, which are defined by the manufacturer. LED manufacturers can fine tune emmiters to put out exactly the spectrum specified by the client. Since PAR meters measure light between 400-700nm, an LED array putting out less par than a broad spectrum flourescent fixture may actually be putting out more photosynthetically usable radiation (PUR).

Why is this concept important?
Say two LED emmiters read around 100 PAR on a meter. The first LED spikes highest in the 550nm range. The second LED spikes highest in the 450nm range. So while both emmiters have the same PAR value, emmiter two would actually grow plants very well because it is in a range that can be absorbed by the plant, while emmiter one would probably keep plants limping along, if they could even survive.

Would it be possible to roughly estimate this by using green and yellow filters? If you were to get some photographic filters that block the green and yellow light that aren't all that useful, you might get a better idea of the PUR values of these LEDs.

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by monkeyfish

I sent a request for info on the trulumen pro fixtures to current-usa. I'll post their response if i get one.

Sweet! I've got an email sent their way about a week ago with no response yet. The more people that chime in the better.

List of who I contanced on the mass email sent out 1/08/2012:

• AquaticLife -responded, information added
• Current USA
• EcoTech - responded, useless information
• Ecoxotic
• Elos
• Hydra Aquatics
• Ista
• JBJ
• Kessil - responded, information added.
• Marineland
• Maxspect - responded, information added
• Orphek
• Tropical Marine Center - responded, information added
• UP Aqua

The fact that its been over a week now and i havent gotten so much as a wink from most of these manufacturers is kinda disheartening. I would think that the prospect of free advertising and the potential for a broader customer base would be extremely appealing. For those who did respond so far, most responded within the first two days. Good customer service for the win!

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by galabar

Would it be possible to roughly estimate this by using green and yellow filters? If you were to get some photographic filters that block the green and yellow light that aren't all that useful, you might get a better idea of the PUR values of these LEDs.

That's an interesting idea. I honestly don't know if that would work or not, but it sounds reasonable. My thought is: if it was really that simple, wouldnt the manufacturers already have done this to their sensors?

[samamorgan]

Here is the response i got from Kessil:

Hello Sam,

Thank you for presenting us with this opportunity.

We currently do not have official PAR measurements. There are people who have done so and I can include a link. What we have found is that the value even between units that perform the same differs greatly. We also see that different meters have different results and some do not measure UV or near UV. This is one of the reasons we spend over 1 year of independent testing on reef tanks, and we allowed our local stores in the SF bay area to test first hand as well.

I hope this link helps and feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I get a lot of feedback that Post #10 & #114 are very helpful to end users. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2040877&page=5

Best Regards,

David Lowry
Sales Manager

Oddly enough, i found post #71 to be more relevant.

[WingoAgency]

Par data of couple Edge Saviors

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by WingoAgency

Par data of couple Edge Saviors

Im now noticing that you don't have a website for information on your products. Could you put up some kind of site I can link to for consumer direction? The par values don't help anyone if they can't access the product.

[madness]

Originally Posted by ucantimagine

So to bottom line this, if we can: Is LED made specifically for aquariam lighting better than, equal to or not as good as a comparable T5 HO light?

From what I have read the answer is probably 'better.'

One benefit of LEDs is that they can mix different spectrum LEDs in one fixture to target specific spectrums of light whereas in flourescent lighting they have to coat the bulb with a specific phosphor to get a certain wavelength light out of the bulb and I think that there is a limit to how many different phosphors that they can efficiently use.

That doesn't even address secondary features like energy savings, dimming features, light penetration, increased life span, ability to create 'shimmer', etc.

[galabar]

Originally Posted by galabar

Would it be possible to roughly estimate this by using green and yellow filters? If you were to get some photographic filters that block the green and yellow light that aren't all that useful, you might get a better idea of the PUR values of these LEDs.

Originally Posted by samamorgan

That's an interesting idea. I honestly don't know if that would work or not, but it sounds reasonable. My thought is: if it was really that simple, wouldnt the manufacturers already have done this to their sensors?

Does anyone have a PAR meter and a few photographic filters? Maybe put a green filter over the PAR meter probe and see what they get with various light sources?

[WingoAgency]

Originally Posted by samamorgan

Im now noticing that you don't have a website for information on your products. Could you put up some kind of site I can link to for consumer direction? The par values don't help anyone if they can't access the product.

LOL, true!


We are building a new site so please excuse our appearance. And not all links are functioning yet.
http://www.wingoled.com/sample-page/

Contact info are available in the site adn we are happy to answer any inquires or support questions and we can direct you to dealers nearest you or internet sellers.

[Ibn]

Custom LED fixture built by a buddy. Fan cooled by 2 10mm fans. Forgot the details of the bulbs and driver.





PAR readings from what's currently run (12 bulbs out of 18; first channel whites 100% output; 2nd channel 4 blues, 2 whites 25% output; 3rd channel all blues off). 7" above the waterline or 16" to substrate depth in the front.


PAR readings taken with Apogee unit.

[galabar]

Originally Posted by Ibn

Custom LED fixture built by a buddy. Fan cooled by 2 10mm fans. Forgot the details of the bulbs and driver.



PAR readings from what's currently run (12 bulbs out of 18; first channel whites 100% output; 2nd channel 4 blues, 2 whites 25% output; 3rd channel all blues off). 7" above the waterline or 16" to substrate depth in the front.


PAR readings taken with

Nice, he needs to market those.

[Algae Beater]

i have 5 Vertex Illumilux strips. they use 6 x 3 watt cree Xp-E diodes per linear foot, i have had nothing short of phenominal colour and growth from these lines. I also have an ecotec fixture on one of my SW tanks and some 12 x 1 watt par38s of a few of my nano setups.