Led's over my Nano

[pickupman66]

So, I have an LED fixture over my 5.5 gallon nano. it is an 18x 3 watt CREE system that is brand new , but unheard of and no longer manufactured. it is mounted approx 6 inches above the water and water is 12 inches deep. It has 8 blues and 10 whites with I believe 60 ° optics on them.Due to the un-changeable programming of the light, it ramps up the lights over a 4 hour time span and then they are all on for 6 hours and then a 4 hour ramp down. I cannot change this. what I can control is the overall brightness of them. right now and for the last two weeks I have had the blues at about 25% and the whites at about 10%.

now that the background is laid out, I guess I am asking how high do I need to run these lights? I have Zoas and a frogspawn in the tank and they just dont seem anywhere close as happy

in my system at home, i cannot color tune the LED's. it is a 180 tank with 126x 3 watt CREE/Bridgeluxe that I run at 90% on 1/2 of it and 100% on non dimmable side. I also have 120 watts of T-5.

 

[frankdontsurf]

Can you upgrade the bulbs? You'd be better off with 60% Blue 40% Whites (as in more Blue bulbs vs White bulbs), but that doesn't mean what you have doesn't work. Intensity is irrelevant. Find the balance between NOT bleaching your animals and something you like to look at.

How long as the Zoa and Frog been in there? How long under these lights? Have your lights affected pH? Given those factors, I'd give them a few days to adjust.. I'm sure your lights are bright enough.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

18 3 watt hopefully Cree XT-E is lot of light for a 5.5 gal Nano. You could be over doing it. What are the PAR readings?

How are the optics attached? If they are Cree LEDs the Cool White is full spectrum except for 475nm Blue and 630-660nm Red. By tweaking the optics and Intensity you should be able to achieve the look you like.

Bill

 

[pickupman66]

I can adjust the blue and white mix independently via their intensity, but cannot swap the LED themselves. the Optics are loose and I have another complete set of optics at home in a baggie. its a simple operation to swap them out. the issue I have is that I cant tell if the ones in it are 60° or 80°. they are just a simple plastic cone reflector.

I dont know PAR readings currently. I am working to get our club par meter sent to me so I can test it. I may just have to wait until then.

I dont think they are the XT-E. From reading, they are XP-G
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