Is shading BS?

[hart24601]

Not just leds, back long ago shading was an issue with only MH too, plus back then most the sps you got were colonies by today’s standards which magnified the issues.

When you have nice clean sand or glass there imo is enough reflection on smaller colonies to prevent issues, but with large colonies shading is an issue but with every light source if they get large enough - same with flow. We just don’t have many people that have that large of colonies.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Not just leds, back long ago shading was an issue with only MH too, plus back then most the sps you got were colonies by today’s standards which magnified the issues.

When you have nice clean sand or glass there imo is enough reflection on smaller colonies to prevent issues, but with large colonies shading is an issue but with every light source if they get large enough - same with flow. We just don’t have many people that have that large of colonies.

Very good point.
It really depends on the fixture. A small pendant or or large reflector. Doesn’t matter the emitter , mh or led, it’s the design.

I have one MH pedant that will set stuff in fire it’s so focused , and one that is dead smooth.

Both cost the same amount back in the day.

 

[BoomCorals]

Very good point.
It really depends on the fixture. A small pendant or or large reflector. Doesn’t matter the emitter , mh or led, it’s the design.

I have one MH pedant that will set stuff in fire it’s so focused , and one that is dead smooth.

Both cost the same amount back in the day.

Yea I think that’s the biggest thing too. The reflector.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yea I think that’s the biggest thing too. The reflector.

Increases the size of the source in relation to the object.

 

[madweazl]

 

[MartinWaite]

Try a Focustronic light the LED light rotates through 48degrees in increments of 4 degrees each hour this would reduce any shading and the lights are very good.
http://www.focustronic.net/

 

[Scorpius]

Shading is not BS. Run more led units are add something that bathes the tank in light like T5's

 

[madweazl]

Shading is not BS. Run more led units are add something that bathes the tank in light like T5's

If there is no issue, why would you change anything?

 

[leepink23]

Good question, I have started noticing shading on my sps as they have gotten larger, they are still growing nicely but the bases definitely are shading, hoping the diffusers for radions help with it.

 

[ycnibrc]

Most big colonies die off more because of less flow than less light

 

[Scorpius]

If there is no issue, why would you change anything?

Shading is an issue. I added T5's to deal with my shadowing.

 

[madweazl]

Most big colonies die off more because of less flow than less light

I tend to think this is the larger issue because if it were the shading (solely), the size of the coral wouldn't matter (absence of light is absence of light regardless of size).

Shading is an issue. I added T5's to deal with my shadowing.

What was your issue with shading? Were you simply attempting to reduce shadows or did you attribute die off in shaded areas directly to the lighting?

 

[jda]

Get/borrow a used MH reflector and shine your kessil up into it and turn the power up 5% to handle the drop. This has terrible aesthetic, but you will be amazed at how many different parts of your coral get hit. If we put a LumenMax Elite, for example, over a Kessil tank, there are lines of demarcation on every coral that look different instantly - like somebody drew on them with a marker where the light-line was.

If this thread is still active the next time that I got to one of the local shops, I will take some photos of a 180G lit with 3 kessils. They have mostly MBP&S that are in the 12 to 16 inch range and every single one of them is dead on the bottom. They really love to sell the Kessils and their typical line is that the death is perfectly normal.

Don't underestimate that larger colonies make light even less available in the middle than smaller ones. Personally, I think that you will have a different opinion of this when you have 6 to 8 inch colonies with hundreds of branches.

 

[tsav87]

If you haven't seen, in person, a mature tank lit with MH and T5 (or even VHO!) you have no idea what you are missing from LEDs. Just saying.

P.S., in other words, it's like trying to compare apples and oranges, but you've never seen an apple.

 

[Scorpius]

What was your issue with shading? Were you simply attempting to reduce shadows or did you attribute die off in shaded areas directly to the lighting?

Die off in shaded areas over time and loss of color in the shaded areas.

 

[BoomCorals]

If you haven't seen, in person, a mature tank lit with MH and T5 (or even VHO!) you have no idea what you are missing from LEDs. Just saying.

P.S., in other words, it's like trying to compare apples and oranges, but you've never seen an apple.

Good analogy. I have to remember that one lol.

 

[madweazl]

If you haven't seen, in person, a mature tank lit with MH and T5 (or even VHO!) you have no idea what you are missing from LEDs. Just saying.

P.S., in other words, it's like trying to compare apples and oranges, but you've never seen an apple.

I'm not sure what that has to do with shade being the sole contributing factor to the die off of corals in effected areas but, OK. The post has nothing to do with what lights you like better, what corals like better, or what colors or growth patterns come from different sources. For what it's worth, I setup my first reef in '96 - lit with VHO - that was in constant operation until '09. I've seen a tank or two

Edit: The original post was a question, not a statement.

 

[tsav87]

I'm not sure what that has to do with shade being the sole contributing factor to the die off of corals in effected areas but, OK. The post has nothing to do with what lights you like better, what corals like better, or what colors or growth patterns come from different sources. For what it's worth, I setup my first reef in '96 - lit with VHO - that was in constant operation until '09. I've seen a tank or two

Edit: The original post was a question, not a statement.

I understand. But I don't think that it is possible to put your finger on ONE contributing factor. I think it has to be a multitude of factors, including lighting, flow, and water chemistry. But as someone mentioned earlier, the photo you posted earlier shows low PE in the shaded area. For whatever reason it is doing it, we know that the flow and water chemistry at that location is the same as the rest of the coral, only difference being the lack of light. I would suspect that as the coral gets larger, that area of low PE may die off due to lack of contribution of energy to the coral as a whole. The growth may stop there so that the coral can invest the energy in other areas the meat the trifecta of light, flow, and water chemistry. Just a thought, I'm only a hobbiest.

 

[madweazl]

I understand. But I don't think that it is possible to put your finger on ONE contributing factor. I think it has to be a multitude of factors, including lighting, flow, and water chemistry. But as someone mentioned earlier, the photo you posted earlier shows low PE in the shaded area. For whatever reason it is doing it, we know that the flow and water chemistry at that location is the same as the rest of the coral, only difference being the lack of light. I would suspect that as the coral gets larger, that area of low PE may die off due to lack of contribution of energy to the coral as a whole. The growth may stop there so that the coral can invest the energy in other areas the meat the trifecta of light, flow, and water chemistry. Just a thought, I'm only a hobbiest.

Flow would be a bit different in that area as it is blocked from the pump (due to aquascaping) on the opposite side of the tank; I would think it to be rather inconsequential overall though (two MP40wES running speed step 10 of 12 on a 75g).

 

[alton]

One of my LFS uses Kessil and although there SPS grew very fast into colonies they looked funny with no polyps on the bottom side of the branches.