Or you can do as I do:
LOL. That is funny since I was going to offer this up to him and figured that no one else would be allowed to do this in a home. The wife never found it funny and like you.. I did not even bother painting it.
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Or you can do as I do:
Application is important and some LEDs are "better" than others. I agree.Yes, the spectrum is can be achieved by LED's. The same coverage can be achieved. The same growth can be achieved. Light is light, regardless of what it comes from. Now are some LED's worse than t5? Yes, cheap laser beams have horrible spread. Are some LED's better than t5? Potentially, if used correctly. People who say they wish they had t5's so their coral could do better either don't run their LED correctly (height, spread, etc.), fall into logical fallacies and cognitive shortcuts since people are very easy to trick into believing what they want to see, don't understand that when you switch a light source corals are not going to be happy, and so on and so on. It doesn't cost thousands to set up LED's, and you also save by not buying bulbs constantly.
If you can provide me studied evidence that LED causes issues in chlrophyl and photopigment production, and is worse as you describe, then sure. But having used many LED's, sell coral for a job, and dealt with hundreds of tanks running many different lighting setups, having gone to university library indexes to look up what wavelengths and colors are best for different things we keep, I will stick to my evidence
6 bulbs is what I would use over a 40 breeder.Wouldn't the 36 x 4 be fine on a 40B? I ask because I plan on building out a 40B next and I still have my original ATI T5 36x4 from 2008 or 2010.
In that situation I had to place a canopy over that fixture.LOL. That is funny since I was going to offer this up to him and figured that no one else would be allowed to do this in a home. The wife never found it funny and like you.. I did not even bother painting it.
6 bulbs is what I would use over a 40 breeder.
We could even use an 8 bulb fixture over that tank.
Everything comes down to application and the goal you have for your system.So, if I was to ask this differently. Should I re-use the ATI 4 bulb fixture that I have or go to 2 x AI Prime 16 HD's with the future potential of 3.
I cannot see myself buying another T5 fixture to add 2 bulbs since the heat the 4 bulbs threw was already pretty immense and my office isn't that big.
While I ask this for myself, I think others could fall in this category. Especially for a smaller tank like the OP is talking about. Even the 4 bulb setup is about 156 watts of power that is always on. Vs. the AI's (or other LED) that you likely run at 70 (of 55w) or so percent based on you immediate need. However, if you run into heat issues you could in theory lower that intensity instead of having to cut the power off completely - as with T5's. Yes, you could pop out some bulbs as I have had to do this with the 4 fixture... but it's not optimal.
The 6 bulb would scale up to 234w and 8 bulb 312w. That is a lot of heat to dissipate and could be the difference between needing a chiller or not depending on the volume of air in a room.
Lol ok ppl who are arguing for the sake of leds. Have you ever grown coral under a t5 lamp?
D
So, if I was to ask this differently. Should I re-use the ATI 4 bulb fixture that I have or go to 2 x AI Prime 16 HD's with the future potential of 3.
I cannot see myself buying another T5 fixture to add 2 bulbs since the heat the 4 bulbs threw was already pretty immense and my office isn't that big.
While I ask this for myself, I think others could fall in this category. Especially for a smaller tank like the OP is talking about. Even the 4 bulb setup is about 156 watts of power that is always on. Vs. the AI's (or other LED) that you likely run at 70 (of 55w) or so percent based on you immediate need. However, if you run into heat issues you could in theory lower that intensity instead of having to cut the power off completely - as with T5's. Yes, you could pop out some bulbs as I have had to do this with the 4 fixture... but it's not optimal.
The 6 bulb would scale up to 234w and 8 bulb 312w. That is a lot of heat to dissipate and could be the difference between needing a chiller or not depending on the volume of air in a room.
In other words... 4 bulb works... 6 bulbs better.I think it's a fair question on both sides. T5 was fool proof for the most part - timer on or off. LED's seem to good if the spectrum is setup properly and folks don't play with it. Set it and forget it by following someone has has been successful. However, ultimately not as good as T5s.
Maybe the newer strips will get even closer to that old approach.
Now, I ran with the T5 setup for 2 years before I tore the tank down due to pets and algae (you name it I had it.. ) due to real LR and some bad husbandry skills. Of course, also lack of experience being the first tank and only RC as a source of data. But, coral wise mostly softies with a few lps (hammer, frog, trump). It was a tall 36G Bow though, so what A. grandis' pointed 4 may not have been enough for full coverage.
I then took the inhabitants and restructured to a dual 15G setup side-by-side piped together. Same fixture over that with clams and other inhabitants. A major hurricane hit before I hit the year mark on that tank. No power for three weeks... so nothing survived.
Maybe it is trying to sell LED's, but BRS has done a lot of videos showing that the technology is starting to get close to a T5 as well. So, the question again goes back to the application you are planning to use it in.
As the op mentioned, he does not want to hang a T5 fixture from his ceiling or rig up something. The LED light with a tank bracket (maybe 2 lights for coverage and to lessen the disco effect) may provide similar growth (ignore par/etc) with only a percentage of growth difference. Plus, he did not need to figure out how to hang the light or deal with the extra heat issues.
Plus, the LED light might support scheduling without having to worry about buying two timers. It might have a moon light, although I don't know how people feel about these, or a ramp-up / down schedule to simulate certain things. Again, this may be seen as a negative since I heard that some studies showed that full sun light PAR was actually burning corals and it stunts growth...
Anyway, with the T5's we just turned up the actinic 30-60 minutes before the sunlight (bulbs) came on and then left the actinic on for 30-60 minutes after the sunlight went off. At least that's how I was taught to use them back in the day.
Yeah that's one of the reasons I didn't want to go T5s initially the heat. The room where the tank is always get hot with 2 computers and and another computer just 10 feet away, really don't want it to get any hotter than it already does....So, if I was to ask this differently. Should I re-use the ATI 4 bulb fixture that I have or go to 2 x AI Prime 16 HD's with the future potential of 3.
I cannot see myself buying another T5 fixture to add 2 bulbs since the heat the 4 bulbs threw was already pretty immense and my office isn't that big.
While I ask this for myself, I think others could fall in this category. Especially for a smaller tank like the OP is talking about. Even the 4 bulb setup is about 156 watts of power that is always on. Vs. the AI's (or other LED) that you likely run at 70 (of 55w) or so percent based on you immediate need. However, if you run into heat issues you could in theory lower that intensity instead of having to cut the power off completely - as with T5's. Yes, you could pop out some bulbs as I have had to do this with the 4 fixture... but it's not optimal.
The 6 bulb would scale up to 234w and 8 bulb 312w. That is a lot of heat to dissipate and could be the difference between needing a chiller or not depending on the volume of air in a room.
The LEDs still produce lots of heat (maybe the same amount of heat) but it directs the heat up through the heatsink instead of down towards tank. So theoretically the room will still be absorbing the heat. So if you run two kessil it's like running two Ryzen 7 in the room. That might not be exactly correct, but I think it's close enough to accurate.Yeah that's one of the reasons I didn't want to go T5s initially the heat. The room where the tank is always get hot with 2 computers and and another computer just 10 feet away, really don't want it to get any hotter than it already does....
Yeah I was thinking the Reefbreeders Photon v2+ but not 100% sure yet....still weighing pros and cons of all the others suggested....actually don't even think anyone recommend the Photon here....hmmmThe LEDs still produce lots of heat (maybe the same amount of heat) but it directs the heat up through the heatsink instead of down towards tank. So theoretically the room will still be absorbing the heat. So if you run two kessil it's like running two Ryzen 7 in the room. That might not be exactly correct, but I think it's close enough to accurate.
Given your heat issues in the room with 3 computers, Id probably lean towards LED for your setup. I'd probably look towards the lesser expensive name brand units that people have success with, or used higher end. Pretty much all the options mentioned in this thread will serve you well enough for a few years or longer.
I think people generally like the reefbreeder photons. I'm no LED expert but they seem to be a very popular affordable option.Yeah I was thinking the Reefbreeders Photon v2+ but not 100% sure yet....still weighing pros and cons of all the others suggested....actually don't even think anyone recommend the Photon here....hmmm
oh yeah I forgot to ask the picture you posted yesterday....why so blue? Is that the way you set it?
Oh yeah I think I have read about the Kessil logic seems to be a pretty cool feature so you dont set the light to the wrong spectrumI think people generally like the reefbreeder photons. I'm no LED expert but they seem to be a very popular affordable option.
The Kessil lights are one of the the only, maybe the only, LED light where they designed and make their own diodes and specifically for reef application. Whatever color spectrum you set it at, it will deliver the necessary (and same) light for the coral, so changing the spectrum on the unit is mostly aesthetic only. They call it kessil logic. I have these pure blue just to enhance the appearance of the hammers. No other biological reason etc.
Err.. it's really geared to keeping the same power as you shift the look ( color temp).Oh yeah I think I have read about the Kessil logic seems to be a pretty cool feature so you dont set the light to the wrong spectrum
oh I see....i guess I misunderstoodErr.. it's really geared to keeping the same power as you shift the look ( color temp).
You didn't misunderstand. It's not about power, it's about spectrum.oh I see....i guess I misunderstood
Application is important and some LEDs are "better" than others. I agree.
To isolate chlrophyl and photopigments in general coral health is he same as to measure PAR to prove one light is better than the other.
okay yeah thats what I remember reading lolYou didn't misunderstand. It's not about power, it's about spectrum.
Here is a quote from Kessil
"Kessil Logic locks in the ideal spectrum for coral and plant growth, meaning your tank will thrive regardless of the colors you choose."