LEDs for UVB?

Beachbabies

Beachbabies

New Member
So I've been batting this idea around for a while, i used to keep a saltwater reef tank which required UVB lights, so i got these really cool LED panel fixtures. i have since taken down the reeftank and now have $2K worth of UVB emmiting LEDs collecting dust in the garage, and was wondering if i could use them on my chams?
I spoke to a handfull of vendors at the recent Pomona show, most of which agreed that so long as my aquarium lights hit the correct spectrums, then logicaly, it would be ok. what do you guys think?
 
thanks for the link, i'm going to keep looking. my husband and i argue about this from time to time, i believe that this is primarily because he is blinded by the previously acceped ways of doing things and not normally wanting to try new things.

to answer some of the previously unanswered questions in thae thread linked, the reason for using an LED system vs floursecent tube light,
1) the LED is good for 40,000 hours, which means not having to run out to the store every 6 months to buy a new reptisun bulb,
2) not buying a new bulb every 6 months, means not throwing away a used reptisun bulb, which in our case means 7 -4 foot tubes every 6 months, 14 a year, assuming we use a 9 hour photoperiod, that keeps 140 light tubes out of a landfill.
3) LEDs are also more energy effecient than T10 light tubes that we are currently using.
4) in the long run the LEDs are cheaper, while it is a bigger start up cost, it's about $100 cheaper in just lights, then there's the saved energy that won't pop up on our electric bill.

while i understand that using a different lighting source is outside the realm of normal thinking, i kinda think that with the way our environment, as well as our world, is turning to crap, we need a little bit of outside thinking.

I'm straying off topic, the real question is, if all that needs to be hit are specific light/color spectrums, and a different light source hits those spectrums, then is it logical that said new source would be acceptable for that lighting need?
 
It's only a matter of time before they take of the reptile market, The aquarium market is finally seeing more affordable LED fixtures. It makes sense, less heat, smaller size and longer UV range...one of the sponsors, lightyourreptiles is already selling LED vivarium lights(the bottom of their page)
 
@Beachbabies: can you give me a spec sheet on your UV LEDs?

I have been doing a lot of research in this area lately as a pet project trying to develop a UV LED bulb and to be quite honest UV LEDs simply do not exist on the market and the only ones available are extremely pricy.


TO BE CLEAR:

There are "UV" labeled LEDs on the market which operate in the UV spectrum at approx 350-400nm. The UV that *WE NEED* is UVA and UVB, which operates at (peak) 295nm, but roughly spreads from 250-320nm (i think those are the numbers off the top of my head).



so, unless your UV LEDs put out light in the appropriate UVA/UVB spectrum, they will be useless for reptile UV purposes. and if they DO put out that spectrum...then where did you get em? :)

EDIT: I see chadbot linked to the thread :)
 
Idk, i was on the light your reptiles site, i din't find any info on goof info on their LEDs, the description didn't even specify that it was a UVB emitting source. i'm still looking for the paperwork on my panels, it's buried in the garage somewhere. i did find a little bit of info on my lights, but nothing really answering the questions we're asking. im also trying to get ahold of my supplier, he's really good w/ product details, he might be able to answer some questions.

http://aquarayusa.com/aquabeam-1000hd-ultra.html
 
@BeachBabies: based on the link you provided, those are not UV leds.


The Reef hobby uses blue lighting to supplement coral coloration/growth (i'm not sure on the specifics as I've never had a reef tank). This is typically called "actinic" lighting.

In that link it says those lights are available in:
AquaBeam 1000 HD Ultra is available in the following models:
Marine White (10 x 14,000K white LED's)
Reef White (7 x 14,000K white LED's and 3 x 50,000K blue LED's)

neither of which is in the UV spread; its merely a higher temp color (ie "cooler/bluer" light). Reefers used the bluer spectrum to promote their corals whereas vivarium/non-aquatic plants prefer more "reds" in their spectrum and so we use colors closer to sunlight (6500K; "daylight").

The reason for this is that the short wavelengths of the reds don't make it through the water as much and so underwater plants have adapted to the use of the bluer spectrums. However, above ground the same is not true.

Typically, reds induce flowering and blues induce vegetation in non-aquatic plants (i'm being VERY generalized here).


You can find the spectral output graph on that page here: http://aquarayusa.com/led-spectra-aquabeam.pdf

The "reef" has a tight blue spectrum as expected in 420-550nm range and the "white" has a nicer spread for terrestrial growth going from 390-750nm, including a mild amount of reds.

In either case, neither one gets near the 296nm ideal spectrum for UVB output.



I have just received a little funding and may be building a prototype UV LED fixture based on the specialized UV LEDs I've found over at s-et. however buying only a few LEDs is quite expensive; I'm considering seeking funding/backers for a first run, but I'm not quite ready for a formal proposal on that yet.
 
EvilLost said:
@BeachBabies: based on the link you provided, those are not UV leds.


The Reef hobby uses blue lighting to supplement coral coloration/growth (i'm not sure on the specifics as I've never had a reef tank). This is typically called "actinic" lighting.

In that link it says those lights are available in:
AquaBeam 1000 HD Ultra is available in the following models:
Marine White (10 x 14,000K white LED's)
Reef White (7 x 14,000K white LED's and 3 x 50,000K blue LED's)

neither of which is in the UV spread; its merely a higher temp color (ie "cooler/bluer" light). Reefers used the bluer spectrum to promote their corals whereas vivarium/non-aquatic plants prefer more "reds" in their spectrum and so we use colors closer to sunlight (6500K; "daylight").

The reason for this is that the short wavelengths of the reds don't make it through the water as much and so underwater plants have adapted to the use of the bluer spectrums. However, above ground the same is not true.

Typically, reds induce flowering and blues induce vegetation in non-aquatic plants (i'm being VERY generalized here).


You can find the spectral output graph on that page here: http://aquarayusa.com/led-spectra-aquabeam.pdf

The "reef" has a tight blue spectrum as expected in 420-550nm range and the "white" has a nicer spread for terrestrial growth going from 390-750nm, including a mild amount of reds.

In either case, neither one gets near the 296nm ideal spectrum for UVB output.



I have just received a little funding and may be building a prototype UV LED fixture based on the specialized UV LEDs I've found over at s-et. however buying only a few LEDs is quite expensive; I'm considering seeking funding/backers for a first run, but I'm not quite ready for a formal proposal on that yet.
Click to expand...


Sounds very interesting, good luck and keep us informed :cool:
 
I certainly will :)

I was initially attempting to fund a first prototype entirely by myself, but its going to run me near $1,000 or more just for the LEDs to make 1 fixture and the price breaks don't really hit until you buy 5,000 or more LEDs at a time which I'm obviously nowhere near ready to do...


but I do feel like I'm onto something desirable here so I'm not just letting it go...
 
wow, i totally didn't see that link, thanks for pointing it out! i guess those lights will just have to wait until i set the tank back up again! :rolleyes: I've been putting it off because i had hoped to be able to use these lights on the chams, but since we're not doing that, maybe i can finally set up that clam bed i've always wanted!
it's kind of weird, i thought it was just the blue lighting on my cham that was making him look so broight, but i pulled him out today to show to a client, and he almost glows, especially next to my other males. the other boys look like they're covered in hard water stains next to him.
 
Ah cant wait to see that prototype. If you get lucky and hits the market your gonna be in the $$$. Goodluck man
 
@Rowellos: i feel i have a workable design, the only problem is getting enough power at a reasonable cost....right now a single unit is $1,000++ :\
 
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