what iam confuse about LED lighting

[mori30]

i think the companies that make the LED's needs to come out with a coinage word that its equal to watts,, when i enter the saltwater hobby, i was made to understand this simple formula :watts/total gal= watts per gal.

i gone to some sites that even when u buy a coral it tells u pref 4watts.

when i and buy a light i know how much watage i want or need more or less.

now with an LED,, iam LOST, i know it all really comes down to PAR but maybe then the LED corps should do some new formula, so it's not something so complicated for other people, OR maybe iam missing the whole thing, what ya think should be the new formula for LED lights?

 

[James]

so it's not something so complicated for other people

While this hobby isn't rocket science, its also not easy as just a simple formula. If you are planning on keeping corals with higher lighting needs you can easily find out what is required within 5 mins from multiple sources on the internet. I know when I am planning on getting something I speak with people who have kept it successfully and I do my own research on it. Cookie-cutter watts/gallon formulas are just starting points in my opinion (and flawed in regards to tank depths etc)... more needs to be done before you get your proverbial feet wet.

hope this helps,
James

 

[Dre]

i think the companies that make the LED's needs to come out with a coinage word that its equal to watts,, when i enter the saltwater hobby, i was made to understand this simple formula :watts/total gal= watts per gal.

i gone to some sites that even when u buy a coral it tells u pref 4watts.

when i and buy a light i know how much watage i want or need more or less.

now with an LED,, iam LOST, i know it all really comes down to PAR but maybe then the LED corps should do some new formula, so it's not something so complicated for other people, OR maybe iam missing the whole thing, what ya think should be the new formula for LED lights?

When it comes to corals there are MANY DIFFERENT factores you have to take into consideration not just one.I use the blue LED'S with MH and PC's so i don't think i'll be able to answer your question but what i can say is Water depth,Shape of tank,Kelvin,Lumens,Reflectors,Bulb Intensity,Ballast and type of bulb used will play a big part of your dicision in the future. If you think about those factors carefully your watt per gal. formula go out the window IMO.

 

[mori30]

Ur right about all the extra facts that go into deciding the type of light u will need or want. But. The older formula it's a starting point.

When I first got my 20gal. I though I might want clams. (I forgot the specific one )
I was. Told that this clam needs lots of light like around 8watts. So at the time I went and bought. A sunpod 250w MHL With 12 led's. Now the math will be

250 / 20 = 12.5w per gallon but then I was gonna hang. The light like 5in from tank pluss a glass top. Etc etc. So I guess I would had around 10wpg. More or less. I neva got the clam but I gotten all types of fish and coral. They all grew huge in it. And everything went well. Maybe I got lucky. But a u can see thatstarting formula help me out in fugureing what I needed light wise.

Now with LED. I have noooo clue why to get cause I don't have a similar or close enough formula


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[Dre]

Ur right about all the extra facts that go into deciding the type of light u will need or want. But. The older formula it's a starting point.

When I first got my 20gal. I though I might want clams. (I forgot the specific one )
I was. Told that this clam needs lots of light like around 8watts. So at the time I went and bought. A sunpod 250w MHL With 12 led's. Now the math will be

250 / 20 = 12.5w per gallon but then I was gonna hang. The light like 5in from tank pluss a glass top. Etc etc. So I guess I would had around 10wpg. More or less. I neva got the clam but I gotten all types of fish and coral. They all grew huge in it. And everything went well. Maybe I got lucky. But a u can see thatstarting formula help me out in fugureing what I needed light wise.

Now with LED. I have noooo clue why to get cause I don't have a similar or close enough formula


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

Chech with (WINGO ,Aqua Pro Builder )

 

[cali_reef]

i think the companies that make the LED's needs to come out with a coinage word that its equal to watts,, when i enter the saltwater hobby, i was made to understand this simple formula :watts/total gal= watts per gal.

i gone to some sites that even when u buy a coral it tells u pref 4watts.

when i and buy a light i know how much watage i want or need more or less.

now with an LED,, iam LOST, i know it all really comes down to PAR but maybe then the LED corps should do some new formula, so it's not something so complicated for other people, OR maybe iam missing the whole thing, what ya think should be the new formula for LED lights?

"Watts" is how much power a fixture consumes, not necessary equivalent to amount of light it produces. Using "watt" to figure out how much light you have or need is like saying "my car goes faster because it uses 8 gallons of gas an hour".

The more accurate way to measure "light" is using PAR. Not many manufacturer or vendor will give you a true PAR number for their fixture\light bulb thou, too many variables in this hobby..