[trikkonceptz]

Well Ben, following in your foots steps ... sort of ...

I have a 180 gallon Salt water aquarium, which uses 4 CF split lights, the ones that are half blue and half white. Anyhow, when all four of those puppies were fired up they consume 520watts plus put out some decent heat ... enough to affect the overall water temperature.

One of their many draw backs is longevity. They often last only 6 months. So here again I am at a point where three of these guys have burnt out and I need to replace them again.

Well seeing this post I began digging for LED lights to see if they made them comparable to the CF's I had ... Well they do and they are rated identically to the CF's and are cheaper per unit. Power difference;

520 watts for four CF's
6 watts for 3 LED fixtures

Grant it, I need three more to complete the lighting in the tank, but 12 watts vs 520 is a no brainer.

Once I am completely set up the unanswered question is whether or not corals will grow under these new lights, many say no because the lights will not penetrate as deep as others.

I say because the lights generate virtually no heat, I can keep corals closer to the surface, with better water flow and still give them the intensity they need. Time will tell and I will include pics of how the project progresses.

BTW these bulbs are rated @ 10000K and the blues at 460nm each bulb consuming .5w in a 4 bulb arrangement.