Jeff, I think the higher end LEDs have come far enough to go with them. They have a high initial cost but I think the pros outweigh the cons by a lot and over time will have a lower overall cost of ownership. On a 48"x24"x24" tank the official recommendation would probably be to get 4 AquaIllumination modules but you could proabably do it with two of them mounted parallel to the tank or three of them mounted perpendicular.
Each module runs at about 75Ws so power consumption is minimal, and there shouldn't be any heat issues. The modules have three colors that are independantly controlled so you can get just about any color you want and you can control the intensity. Although no one has run them for this long they say the LEDs should last 7-13 years.
I picked Sanjay Joshi up at the airport for our meeting and was able to talk to him while navigating Friday rush hour traffic from the airport to downtown. I asked him if he was starting out new what lighting would he get and without hesitation he said the time for LEDs is here. He said he is already running MHs and would not go through the expense to swap them out but if he could just do it over he would go with LEDs.
Each module runs at about 75Ws so power consumption is minimal, and there shouldn't be any heat issues. The modules have three colors that are independantly controlled so you can get just about any color you want and you can control the intensity. Although no one has run them for this long they say the LEDs should last 7-13 years.
I picked Sanjay Joshi up at the airport for our meeting and was able to talk to him while navigating Friday rush hour traffic from the airport to downtown. I asked him if he was starting out new what lighting would he get and without hesitation he said the time for LEDs is here. He said he is already running MHs and would not go through the expense to swap them out but if he could just do it over he would go with LEDs.
