# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  Poll on Preferred Lighting. PL vs T8 vs T5 vs MH vs LED

## dkk08

As titled, would like to find out your preferred lighting choice

PL vs T8 vs T5 vs MH vs LED

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## diazman

PL for me.  :Smile:

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## khseah79

I think LED will soon take over from T5 n MH as cost gets lower and also LED produce far less heat than any of the other lights

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## smk

I'm using LED for my 4 footer. 
Heat transfered to heatsink, water temp below 29 degC without fan.


mk

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## dkk08

Hi smk, may I know which brand of LED set you're using? 

And yes LED will likely take over the rest as LED becomes cheaper and there're wider choices of LED sets available in the market.

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## eviltrain

i voted for LED. really very low in heat emission. most of my plants are moss so there's not much problem.

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## smk

Hi, 

I'm using 3 sets of AQUA Lumen.



mk

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## limz_777

t5 , waiting for cree leds fixture to be better priced

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## dkk08

Wow bro smk, how much did your 3 set of Aqua Lumen cost and any reviews on it? Cost wise? Performance wise? Any thing you would like to see better or change?

I'm seriously considering changing all my T5s to LEDs too

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## dkk08

Hey Limz, how much would you pay for a Cree LED fixture? I know a Cree Par38 is already about $150-$180...

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## limz_777

> Hey Limz, how much would you pay for a Cree LED fixture? I know a Cree Par38 is already about $150-$180...



my bad ,i meant those 3 watt cree leds , quite subjective on the pricing , i feel its on the high side for those off the shelf 


@smk 

i think aqua lumen is using 3w leds as well
is it cheaper to hook up 3 sets ? whats the dimension of your tank , length and height ?

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## smk

Hi, 

Other US or Japanese brand LED light set price is about 3 x to 4x of what i paid for. And the rest, IMO is more for Marine, I feel that they are over powered for the type of plant i have (maybe i will have other algae problem .. hahah).
i tank size is 4ft x 1.5ft x H1.5ft.


mk

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## neverwalkalone

> my bad ,i meant those 3 watt cree leds , quite subjective on the pricing , i feel its on the high side for those off the shelf


Limz: what price point are you thinking of? I think the capabilities/pricing has improved tremendously from the few years that these lights have been used. IMO, it's almost like buying computers - there's a "sweet spot" for price, and capabilities have gone up for the same prices..

You may want to take a look at my DIY if you haven't already- I started looking/designing with the CREE XR-Es, then XP-Es and Gs came along when I was ready to order, and now the XM-Ls are 'standard'... at roughly the same or slightly higher prices - but much brighter (Lm/W)

I think at the end of the day, the choice goes back to how much effort and time (and $s) you'll want to spend on tweaking this to make it work. All technologies have pros-and -cons. Me, I've settled for LEDs cos it's low(er) power and little/no heat.

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## limz_777

think you mistook my point , off the shelf ready made led lighting brands like maxspect , eco tech , to light up a 3 ft tank can be quite costly

if its diy i gladly pay for the parts  :Grin:

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## Neondagger

> Hi, 
> 
> I'm using 3 sets of AQUA Lumen.
> 
> 
> 
> mk


Hey bro I also feel like changing to led light. You use 3 1ft aqua lumen led lights. Meaning you need to use 3 socket plug? How you connect them. Sorry for asking so much question.

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## ralliart12

> Limz: what price point are you thinking of? I think the capabilities/pricing has improved tremendously from the few years that these lights have been used. IMO, it's almost like buying computers - there's a "sweet spot" for price, and capabilities have gone up for the same prices..
> 
> You may want to take a look at my DIY if you haven't already- I started looking/designing with the CREE XR-Es, then XP-Es and Gs came along when I was ready to order, and now the XM-Ls are 'standard'... at roughly the same or slightly higher prices - but much brighter (Lm/W)
> 
> I think at the end of the day, the choice goes back to how much effort and time (and $s) you'll want to spend on tweaking this to make it work. All technologies have pros-and -cons. Me, I've settled for LEDs cos it's low(er) power and little/no heat.


Got this new toy recently:







Specifically, _XM-L_ diodes from Cree.

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## ralliart12

> ...I started looking/designing with the CREE XR-Es, then XP-Es and Gs came along when I was ready to order, and now the XM-Ls are 'standard'... at roughly the same or slightly higher prices - but much brighter (Lm/W)...


Not only are they capable of being much brighter, to generate the same lumens, XM-L bulbs require lesser power, which translate into lesser heat, which translate into longer LED lifespan. For example: to generate 

an Q4-binned Warm White XR-E generates 170-ish lumens at 700mA of wattage (power)
an R3-binned Neutral White XP-G generates 228 lumens at 700mA of wattage (power)
an T5-binned Neutral White XM-L generates 260 lumens at 700mA of wattage (power)

In other words, if you only need around 100+ lumens per diode, you can roughly approximate how much cooler & lesser electricity required, if you use an XM-L diode.

@neverwalkalone, do you remember me? I once approached you to DIY an LED set for me. In the end, I went to go through the learning process by myself. It proves to be, "challenging". But I think I roughly got it.

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## felix_fx2

> I think LED will soon take over from T5 n MH as cost gets lower and also LED produce far less heat than any of the other lights


Seah. I totally agree with this thinking.
The question is when will led reach T5 prices &amp; will the bulbs be easy to replace like t5 tubes/Mh bulbs?

Just some food for thought.

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## ralliart12

> ...will the bulbs be easy to replace like t5 tubes/Mh bulbs?...


Already possible:

Solderless CREE XP-G Cool White LED

BJB Solderless LED Connector

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## felix_fx2

> Already possible:
> 
> Solderless CREE XP-G Cool White LED
> 
> BJB Solderless LED Connector


not implemented in off the shelf sets... the 1st link (no offence) is just cree star with a soldered connector..
the 2nd on however, is what i am mentioning... but replacements parts for LFS sold sets (off the shelf sets) which or less burden on pocket will take some time.

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## jjchew

Prefer LED .
bougth the Beanwork LED at $55 ..

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## Andy Woo

> Prefer LED .
> bougth the Beanwork LED at $55 ..


Bro , how big is your tank ?

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## pinkish1c3

Does LEDs work on planted tanks or just reef tanks alone?

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## Marlinsons

I am using led light for my 4 ft planted tank. Plants are pearling and even red lotus are very red. Things are looking fine. 

Check out the forum below.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...a-planted-tank

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## Jalal

I voted for T5, LED has a long way to go before it can compete with T5.

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## Marlinsons

> I voted for T5, LED has a long way to go before it can compete with T5.


Jalal, you will be surprised with how far the LED technology has come to now. The best in the market now can cover up to 150lumens/W. But still at a very high price. Mine is already achieving at 117Lumens/W. Very strong lights with very good performance now.... You need to find the correct solution out there. Cheers.

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## Jalal

> Jalal, you will be surprised with how far the LED technology has come to now. The best in the market now can cover up to 150lumens/W. But still at a very high price. Mine is already achieving at 117Lumens/W. Very strong lights with very good performance now.... You need to find the correct solution out there. Cheers.


Thanks for the info Marlinsons, I'm aware that LED is able to achieve the equal or better performance than T5, but the price is really expensive for these kits like you mentioned. I know a few local reef shops that use LED fixtures now instead of MH or T5 because of the reduced heat and extra options you can get, but these fixtures are still out of budget for a lot of hobbyists. When LED is cheaper, I will definitely be switching all my tanks over to it, I like the shimmer effect and slimmer look, but right now the price is just to much for me and I'm sure a lot of hobbyists too.

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## dc88

There are already LED light tube available with integrated driver in standard T5 or PL configuration that allow direct plug in
to your current T5 or PL fixture.
Just google T5 LED or 2G11 LED.

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## dc88

Direct PLL replacement :
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/led-2g11-tube.html

Also have T5 version:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?...oduct_en&fsb=y

Looks liked reasonable priced : ranging from US$18~$35 per piece, and no need to change your existing light fixture or ballast, direct replace the fluorescent tubes.

btw I wonder if this still save electricity if using LED on the fluorescent ballast ? May be not the full amount as compare to using LED transformer ? But it does save the setup cost if you already have existing fluorescent lighting fixture setup.

Any interest to start a MO on this ?

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## sammajor

I would prefer T5 over PL and LED. So far no problem with my plants using T5.

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## astro

I prefer T5 for the brightness & it's cheap to replace

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## AQMS

When i first started, i use PL then i switch to T5 now i am using LED.
I like the LED the most because of low wattage, less heat and long lasting.

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## Regis

Vote for LED. Using them for months and plants growing like crazy...

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## kohanson

> Vote for LED. Using them for months and plants growing like crazy...


Sorry to bring up an old post. Can you share which brand and model of LED you are using and your tank height? I was previously using Beamswork 600 LED but the light was not very bright and the tank look dull until I switch to Aquazonic T5 2x39w. Both were able to grow my java ferns, anubias, java moss.

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## Atham

I recently also replaced my Green Element 3w 24 (10k and 6.5K) LED (2 strips of 72w) to a 4 x 39w T5 Plant Pro and Typical Pro. Both LED and T5 grows plant well. The LED was very bright, but I prefer T5 Pro colour spectrum on personal preference. Tank is 50cm height.

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## milk_vanilla

T5, 13 inches from surface, happy pearling  :Wink:

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## Shadow

I did some google on the lumen maintenance and found something disturbing, see picture below. Although LED last longer but the lumen drop much faster after 15,000 hrs used all the way to 70% at the end of its life. Fluorescent on the other hand, drop to 85% before it start drop drastically or burn out. 

So if we set 85% as the cut off point where we need to change tube, then LED life isn't much better than fluorescent light. LED lumen drop to 85% at 30,000hrs. Much shorter life than my initial understanding 50,000hrs  :Opps:

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## Urban Aquaria

Good points.... though just referencing from the other thread, its worth noting based on 8 hours of photoperiod a day for 365 days (2,920 hours), i suppose the selling point of LED lights is that they can still get 98-99% output in the first year, and their LEDs will still maintain around 95% output for the first 5 years (ie 15,000 hours), whereas fluorescent lights would already have dropped to 90% within the first year so i guess the difference in intensity is more apparent (which explains the noticeable difference in brightness whenever someone changes a T5 light tube after just a year of usage).  :Smile:

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## Shadow

I approach it from the other angle. 

Let say I take the worst number which is fluorescent able to maintain 85% for 20,000hrs. Let say 4x39W T5 set, each tube generate 2000 lumen, 85% of it would be 1700 lumen. That mean each tube lose 300 lumen total from 4 tubes is 1200 lumen lost. So instead of replacing all 4 tubes, I add one additional tube which is 1700-2000 lumen, that would cover the 1200 total lumen lost and I can maximize the fluorescent usage.

The sad thing is I just replace my 3ft with floodlight LED  :Exasperated:  luckily flood light is not as expensive as designer LED light  :Grin:

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## milk_vanilla

When you added new bulb to resurrect the lost lumen from existing bulbs, meaning you add new fixture? And must have thought for additional electricity / energy cost that you might end up with. It might equivalent with buying new bulb , i would imagine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Shadow

that is true, might end up the same once add in running cost.. feel better a bit  :Laughing:

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## Urban Aquaria

Yeah, though one thing that T5 lights definitely have an advantage of is ease of changing their light tubes, can be done easily within seconds. 

With current fixed LED lightset designs, when time comes to refresh the LEDs (ie. around the 10+ year mark), have to remove the old LEDs and re-solder in the new LEDs, not as easy for the majority of users. I guess most LED users would either just buy another brand new lightset, or maybe go for LED lightsets that use modular pad/strip designs.

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## Jimmy

10+ year... newer technology should be available already.  :Grin:

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## TOP LED

Obviously LED is getting more market share because of her much lower cost and eco-friendly advantage. However Tube light will last longer than other original items.

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## Ke77eth

T8 makes your tank look so pinkish

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