How the heck can anyone be happy with leds?

[ReefLEDLights]

I'm not sure I understand this part. What do you mean by T5 Actinic is still more viable than MH - what are you comparing? MH bulbs produce a much broader spectrum than T5 actinic bulbs, also there are ballasts that can dim any T5 bulb. I have used all three lighting sources and currently use T5 on my main tank and LED on my two smaller tanks but would use MH + T5 on my cube tank if I could find a fixture with the coverage and looks that I like.

I've never had good results dimming the ICE CAP 660... Perhaps there are better ballasts today than can dim down to less than 1% and be easily controlled to simulate natural moon phases...

Sanjay a few years back did a spectral analysis of most MH bulbs... I used this information to mix different Cree and Semi LEDs to Replicate a MH Bulb without the heat and kept the shimmer.

When I say T5 is more viable than MH, I'm referring to the practicable application of a light source without the added cost of a chiller and on top of that the added cost of summer air conditioning...

We can argue all day on "a much broader spectrum" produced by a single MH vs 6 or 8 T5... I would like to say there are quality full spectrum LED Fixtures that can be programmed to simulate almost any MH or MH T5 Combo with a very high probability replicating the looks and growth...

Bill

 

[bif24701]

LED grow lights grow the **** out of some cheato!!!


So if LEDs can work so well at growing complex algae and plants why can it not grow corals!?

 

[ReefLEDLights]

LED grow lights grow the **** out of some cheato!!!


So if LEDs can work so well at growing complex algae and plants why can it not grow corals!?

660nm Cree XT-E Photo Red Heck Yes

But most coral are deeper than a kiddie pool.

Here is a pis of the spectrum most coral receive

Bill

 

[GoVols]

I think that if done in the right way that all these combos can due the job. The proof is in the pudding on all of these tanks.

One post said what's a chiller (In a funny way that you don't need one anymore).

Well, In 2008 my family went on vacation and while we were gone our ac had gone out. When we got home our house was at 95 degrees and my entire reef was a total loss. It was so heartbreaking that I did not get back in the hobby until 2010 when my wife really wanted me to start up another reef.

So now, I see a chiller as an insurance policy.

This past summer the ac went out again and our home was at 92 degrees before the ac was fixed that evening. My chiller was purring away and doing it's job. So my insurance policy paid for it self in one day. "Life happens" and besides the money involved in this crazy hobby I'm not going repeat what happened to our reef in 2008 if I can. I put in too much time and sweat to let a broken central air unit ruin years of hard work and if you happen to be home it sure beats floating bags of ice until things have been resolved.

Regards, GoVols

 

[bif24701]

660nm Cree XT-E Photo Red Heck Yes

But most coral are deeper than a kiddie pool.

Here is a pis of the spectrum most coral receive

Bill

My point is that an LED fixture can be made to grow plants well then it certainly can be done with corals. LED do not actually emit red light, naturally they are blue. Phosphorus or other things are added on top of the actual component that creates the light to make the other colors.

 

[bif24701]

I think that if done in the right way that all these combos can due the job. The proof is in the pudding on all of these tanks.

One post said what's a chiller (In a funny way that you don't need one anymore).

Well, In 2008 my family went on vacation and while we were gone our ac had gone out. When we got home our house was at 95 degrees and my entire reef was a total lose. It was so heartbreaking that I did not get back in the hobby until 2010 when my wife really wanted me to start up another reef.

So now, I see a chiller as an insurance policy.

This past summer the ac went out again and our home was at 92 degrees before the ac was fixed that evening. My chiller was purring away and doing it's job. So my insurance policy paid for it self in one day. "Life happens" and besides the money involved in this crazy hobby I'm not going repeat what happened to our reef in 2008 if I can. I put in too much time and sweat to let a broken central air unit ruin years of hard work and if you happen to be home it sure beats floating bags of ice until things have been resolved.

Regards, GoVols

Wow, I never though of that. Considering how hot it gets in Florida that's a great idea. If I see a chiller on CL I just might have to swoop it up. I could easily rig and program for it to switch on only when truly needed.

 

[GoVols]

My point is that an LED fixture can be made to grow plants well then it certainly can be done with corals. LED do not actually emit red light, naturally they are blue. Phosphorus or other things are added on top of the actual component that creates the light to make the other colors.

Are you running the Ap700's?

 

[bif24701]

Are you running the Ap700's?

Sure am

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I was at another forum when somebody whack me for suggesting a white/colored channels. He even confidently said that all blue (single specific spectrum) will grow coral, so a hint of white is not required at all. Did anybody really tested all blue lighting and managed to grow corals (lps/sps) with excellent colors?

 

[GoVols]

Sure am

If they fit your tanks dimensions, then those 700's are hard to beat.

 

[GoVols]

Did anybody really tested all blue lighting and managed to grow corals (lps/sps) with excellent colors?

Great question!

@saltyfilmfolks
Do you have some incite or thoughts on the above question?

Thanks, Freddie

 

[bif24701]

If they fit your tanks dimensions, then those 700's are hard to beat.

Fit perfectly, I love them. I've got a 72" 180, with two 700's and 2 60" T5 ATI Blue +. So far I've gotten extremely good results from it. Montis are growing tremendously and my acros have encrusted and sprouted new branches. As I'm sure you are aware they have the best spread of any LED so no hot spots I have to worry about scorching anything.

 

[NanaReefer]

I'm very happy with my LEDs! My corals are too!

 

[Lasse]

Deep water corals can be growth by only blue light for sure – but whom want to look at an all blue tank? I think that you want to see other reflection colours than blue also. The white LED´s has IMO one large backslash (the same as metal halides but not the modern T5 three phosphorus bulbs). White phosphorus covered LED and most metal halides create too much light around 500 – 600 nm. This wavelengths will dominate in our eyes/brain and we will not see the beautiful fluorescent colours of our corals. The modern T5 (and some t8) bulbs that’s known to promote our look of fluorescent corals do not give an even level of wavelengths in the 400-700 nm range – instead they have some major spectral peaks in the blue, green and red region

White LED´s is primarily a blue LED covered with a phosphorus layer in order to create other wavelengths. White light is per definition a mix of all wavelengths. However – your eyes/brain can be trick you to see a combination of red-green-blue as a white light (The RGB method – see the T5/T8 bulbs above)

There is LED lights that use this method – as the Pacific Sun – and it works well.

I grow my corals below a Pacific sun fixture with no phosphorus covered LED´s but I do not use only blue wavelengths – I have a some red, amber and greens LED´s working in order to trick my brain to see a white light. But for sure – more than 85 % of my light is from 470 nm and down to 380.

Must people is afraid of red LED´s but I run my red LED´s in a higher intensity compared to most people without problems (at least no problems that I´m aware of). I´m a little more careful with the green wavelengths but there is some indications that they are important also. The green wavelengths is the wavelengths that penetrate best in water of normal depth – and for sure in our aquariums.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Marius Swart]

I did not read all the posts , also new to leds , im getting better growth under my zetlight than I had on 6xati t5 , I found that on a system with say 14 leds shimmer a lot , but with 28 I have basically no shimmer . See a lot of people fighting over lights , but since I made the move , ill never go back

 

[Donovan Joannes]

Deep water corals can be growth by only blue light for sure – but whom want to look at an all blue tank? I think that you want to see other reflection colours than blue also. The white LED´s has IMO one large backslash (the same as metal halides but not the modern T5 three phosphorus bulbs). White phosphorus covered LED and most metal halides create too much light around 500 – 600 nm. This wavelengths will dominate in our eyes/brain and we will not see the beautiful fluorescent colours of our corals. The modern T5 (and some t8) bulbs that’s known to promote our look of fluorescent corals do not give an even level of wavelengths in the 400-700 nm range – instead they have some major spectral peaks in the blue, green and red region

White LED´s is primarily a blue LED covered with a phosphorus layer in order to create other wavelengths. White light is per definition a mix of all wavelengths. However – your eyes/brain can be trick you to see a combination of red-green-blue as a white light (The RGB method – see the T5/T8 bulbs above)

There is LED lights that use this method – as the Pacific Sun – and it works well.

I grow my corals below a Pacific sun fixture with no phosphorus covered LED´s but I do not use only blue wavelengths – I have a some red, amber and greens LED´s working in order to trick my brain to see a white light. But for sure – more than 85 % of my light is from 470 nm and down to 380.

Must people is afraid of red LED´s but I run my red LED´s in a higher intensity compared to most people without problems (at least no problems that I´m aware of). I´m a little more careful with the green wavelengths but there is some indications that they are important also. The green wavelengths is the wavelengths that penetrate best in water of normal depth – and for sure in our aquariums.

Sincerely Lasse

Thanks for the reply. I know solely blue light will grow coral to some extent, but does it works on coloration as well?. Will coral lose their color overtime or morph to one specific color?. I myself runs red/green with some other colour LEDs as well, 5 hours at 85% with very minimal algae growth, mostly gone in a day or two being eaten by fishes or CUC.

 

[gpwdr]

I ask this because of one simple factor when compared with a MH: the shimmer.

The fact that the light comes from tens of sources distributed over a wide area creates a light pattern that looks almost epileptic fit inducing. This also happens with more recent fixtures that manage to reduce discoball effect.

I had an old maxspect fixture that had 2 x 30watts led chips and its shimmer was comparable to a MH (with some good will).

All later fixtures from maxspect abandoned these higher power chips. I still have a 160w Razor and that's the main reason I'm not happy with it and I will not pull the trigger on their newest model, the Ethereal.

The thing that surprises me is that I hardly hear anyone complaining about the epileptic fit inducing look of almost all of current led fixtures, with the exception of Kessils, which are only common in the US.

The only reason that keeps me from going back to MH is their lack of possibility of ramping up/down.

I agree with you 100%. I wish the LED manufacturers' would produce some full spectrum lighting with some intensity to them. Corals grow and look best under sunlight.

 

[GoVols]

Thanks for the reply. I know solely blue light will grow coral to some extent, but does it works on coloration as well?. Will coral lose their color overtime or morph to one specific color?. I myself runs red/green with some other colour LEDs as well, 5 hours at 85% with very minimal algae growth, mostly gone in a day or two being eaten by fishes or CUC.

Back when the radium 20k blue MH bulb came out. I could still grow all the corals and they were healthy but the older 14k radium's would blow my 20k's away in growth rate.
Back then, I didn't care about the growth rate because I loved the radium 20k look.

Lol,
That bulb changed my life. It was so "magical" to me back then.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

Back when the radium 20k blue MH bulb came out. I could still grow all the corals and they were healthy but the older 14k radium's would blow my 20k's away in growth rate.
Back then, I didn't care about the growth rate because I loved the radium 20k look.

Lol,
That bulb changed my life. It was so "magical" to me back then.

I never land an eye on MH lighting (except planted japanese aquarium which mostly green aquatic plants) but I believe blue radium 20k still have other spectrums in it. I am curious about all blue LED (example all 450nm royal blue) on reef tank. Can't imagine looking at reef tank on extended moonlight period LOL.

 

[GoVols]

I never land an eye on MH lighting (except planted japanese aquarium which mostly green aquatic plants) but I believe blue radium 20k still have other spectrums in it. I am curious about all blue LED (example all 450nm royal blue) on reef tank. Can't imagine looking at reef tank on extended moonlight period LOL.

Yes,
I'd have say the 20k radium's have more spectrums and with led's we are running reefs even bluer than that bulb, today.
I'm sorry if I took your question of 450 Royal Blues side ways in my post to yours.

It's a great question and tagging along.

~ Freddie