Lights failed Juwel , replacements

[Andrew Perkins]

Hi , My lights have failed this evening I assume they are finished they come on a 2-3 seconds then turn off, checked the plug / fuse and switch it seem to be a problem with the unit itself, I don't think I'll bother trying diy, I have had the tank for a good 9-10 years so not done to bad.

I need some replacements and I am looking at the Helialux LED lighting unit at a cost of £130 -140 are these light good / reliable replacements for my T5 lights ? I've noticed they have a controller as well, they have changed it since I last considered changing the lights to a Smart controller at a eye watering £145, I can still find the old controller for £75-80 , do these controllers do the exact same thing but for one done manually and the other by wifi/ phone pc etc ? And do I even need the controller ? I assume the lighting will come on at 100% which I think would be way to bright for my low tech planted tank.

And how long can my plants go without any lighting ?

 

[Andrew Perkins]

I've had another look for some more lights and it seems juwel have brought out new LED helialux lights to go with the new smart controller which comes to around £335 . The new helialux 32w seem to have red / green / blue / white leds the older helialux 28w were blue / white , I assume the newer model has a better light spectrum with different leds providing better light for my plants?

Have I got any other lighting options ? I have a Juwel trigon 190 low tech - no Co2 . I've had a look at the multilux 2 x 14w will these be a near exact change to my T5 2 x 28w .

 

[Simon Cole]

Another option would be the iQuatics Aqualumi Universal T5 (quad or twin).
In terms of spectrum, most LEDs have a phosphor spray coating that modifies the light spectrum from blue to red, white and green. Tweaking this probably doesn't help the plants much, but boy does it look awesome.
You plants can last for about 5 days without light, although you'll get some strange growth.
The odd thing I find about aquarium LED lighting is that the manufacturer's rarely report on the output (lumens) or the chips and drivers used.

 

[Andrew Perkins]

Thanks. I am leaning back towards T5 setup , I've read on some german website that the Helianlux led light isn't as wide as T5 lighting so my tank being a corner tank will be even darker at the front and back, and other various problems which might not be related to the light ? algae problems.

I am bit on the fence with the multilux vs t5 though , saving electric is always a good thing. I found the lumens for the 2x14w LED in multilux day and nature lights comes to 3220 lumens , the T5 2x28w day / nature comes to 3400 , so changing to the MUltilux I be downgrading my lighting ?

 

[Protopigeon]

I had a similar issue to yours with my Juwel Rio T5's - they would come on for a second then go off. In the end I just had to replace one of the bulbs and that sorted the problem out. However, since then I've replaced them with the Juwel Full Spectrum LEDs, which I really like but they are expensive.

 

[Andrew Perkins]

Have you noticed a big difference between the T5 lights and the Juwel full spectrum Protopigeon? is it brighter ? plants grow better ?

 

[Protopigeon]

the LEDs are super bright. Much brighter than the T5's, so I'm runnning them at about 90% power. Plants are going very well yes. had some algae issues a bit, but that might be down to the moonlight too. Still playing with it TBH.

 

[ian_m]

Flickering and non starting of Juwel T5 units is a failed tube in the pair. Take it to local fish shop and get them to swap tubes one at be a time with a replacement to work out which has failed.

 

[Andrew Perkins]

Thanks I think I will try some bulbs first, if I move the light unit the lights do flicker back on then off again .

Its very expensive the Helialux spectrum maybe something I'll look into when its price comes down or find one on ebay.

 

[Simon Cole]

You did a great bit of research on the light output Andrew. Bear in mind that a good reflector on a T5 unit is also likely to double the light output. The reflectors I use are also iQuatics, and they rock.

 

[alandamore]

Fixed mine by cleaning the connectors. I found this thread by Googling "juwel lights come on for 1 second" (I have a Rio 125, T5 80cm light unit, many many years old). Took out each light in turn (no joy), swapped them over (then nothing came on at all). Decided to buy the "Multilux LED" T5 replacement (at 8 hours a day, would currently cost £22/year less to run than the florescents BUT some of that heat goes into the tank and room so not a total waste, and some reviews suggested they are "too bright" - I wouldn't find that an issue though) but it's £127 (!). I noticed the existing tube's connector pins looked very dull, so used fine sandpaper on them, and the sockets as well, and now everything is back working. So appears it was just a dirty/corroded connection. Something to try, might save you >£100 for 10 mins effort?