Best NON- aquarium light that could grow sps???

[MoshJosh]

I feel like this has been done before, but technology is always changing so I figured why not start a thread about it.

Are there any non-aquarium lights you think are capable of growing sps effectively???

I think I know the best answer. . . T5 plant grow lights with different bulbs. But what else? Any LED flood lights? What about high powered adjustable RGB lights?

 

[dedragon]

I have asked about this before as well, most led fixtures just dont have enough punch to penetrate through water and give bad par numbers at depths we usually have in our reef tanks. This is due to optics used as well as lower powered leds. They also just dont have the correct spectrum we need for our reef tanks so even if par was high, the peak wavelengths would be off.

I have been looking into cob leds and a diy fixture with 90 degree or even 60 degree lenses but i havent tried it out yet. Something like the one listed below.

There are also these fixtures already put together but idk if anyone has tried them out, might be good to mix 1:1 20000k to blue 453nm. I also dont really expect longevity to be the best with these ones as thermals might prove to be an issue

Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 50W 445nm Actinic Blue (Metal Halide alt. Light) Flood reef saltwater salt water

Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 50W 445nm Actinic Blue (Metal Halide alt. Light) Flood For saltwater coral reef

21ledusa.com

Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 50W 20000K White (Metal Halide alternative Light) Flood reef saltwater salt water

Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 50W 20000K White (Metal Halide alternative Light) Flood For saltwater coral reef

21ledusa.com

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Think if you could get a somewhat close spectrum to what's on the market, if the light is strong enough you'll probably be ok.

Remember back in the day people were able to grow SPS with lights not meant for this.

LED makers are constantly tweaking their lights and features yearly, but it's more niceties and chasing perfection that what is needed at the core.

 

[alain Bouchard]

sun works great I have seen people use sun tube with lot of success

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

sun works great I have seen people use sun tube with lot of success

Yeah there's a pretty famous t.o.t.m that has done it, but they supplemented with other lights

Thread 'Our 400 Gallon In Wall Natural Sun-Lit Reef' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/our-400-gallon-in-wall-natural-sun-lit-reef.93875/

It's a great tank journey

 

[c-horse]

Perhaps Light Emitting Plasma (LEP) lamps used in horticulture can be used. They are supposed to be a closer to full sun spectrum then all others and last around 30,000 hr per bulb. Some people have tried them before, but I do not know what happen to their system.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

HLG quantum boards are essentially the sun.

I'd hang one of I had the right tank footprint. I've got both 240 and 480watt boards.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

HLG quantum boards are essentially the sun.

I'd hang one of I had the right tank footprint. I've got both 240 and 480watt boards.

Those are interesting!

 

[Spare time]

Perhaps Light Emitting Plasma (LEP) lamps used in horticulture can be used. They are supposed to be a closer to full sun spectrum then all others and last around 30,000 hr per bulb. Some people have tried them before, but I do not know what happen to their system.

I just read a paper on LEP and corals

Comparative performance of light emitting plasma (LEP) and light emitting diode (LED) in ex situ aquaculture of scleractinian corals

Ex situ aquaculture of scleractinian corals is considered as a sustainable solution to fulfill the growing demand of these highly priced organisms by …

www.sciencedirect.com

There are a few others too https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,22&q=corals+LEP+light&btnG=

 

[MoshJosh]

HLG quantum boards are essentially the sun.

I'd hang one of I had the right tank footprint. I've got both 240 and 480watt boards.

Remind me of these, which seem like an option, but too red?

 

[dedragon]

HLG quantum boards are essentially the sun.

I'd hang one of I had the right tank footprint. I've got both 240 and 480watt boards.

I use similar lights to these as well but these ones specifically are actually great lights. I have wondered about the samsung lm301h evo in mint color and how that might work well for corals. These sort of lights do put off a good amount of heat and light spill but this can be mitigated if inside of a hood with good circulation

 

[ZoWhat]

Best NON- aquarium light that could grow sps???​

 

[vetteguy53081]

20 years ago, maybe more I used shop light with actinic bulbs and housing lined with foil and grew corals but times have changed and lights are mentioned here ive never heard of. Metal halides, blue and white only LED technology all have faded, and we are now at the peak of LED technology with today's options.

 

[MoshJosh]

Best NON- aquarium light that could grow sps???​

But I’d have to cut 2 sky lights in my house and . . . Just seems like a hassle

 

[HomebroodExotics]

HLG quantum boards are essentially the sun.

I'd hang one of I had the right tank footprint. I've got both 240 and 480watt boards.

This is what I would say as well. I bet they could grow some corals well.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I just read a paper on LEP and corals

Comparative performance of light emitting plasma (LEP) and light emitting diode (LED) in ex situ aquaculture of scleractinian corals

Ex situ aquaculture of scleractinian corals is considered as a sustainable solution to fulfill the growing demand of these highly priced organisms by …

www.sciencedirect.com

There are a few others too https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,22&q=corals+LEP+light&btnG=

Can you summarize? Lol jk

 

[dedragon]

Remind me of these, which seem like an option, but too red?

vivosun is kind of a crappy brand for horticultural lighting. They dont really report which specific leds are being used and use much worse drivers. I would trust the HLG over the vivosun any day. Ac infinity might be better and i am actually testing one of these right now to see how it does for my plants (idk how well this would transfer over to reef)
Might be cool to try a hlg patriot and like 3+ aliexpress blue bar leds over something like a 3 foot wide tank, but might be hard to find someone to actually test this over a reef tank

 

[Spare time]

Can you summarize? Lol jk

I would but I am lazy and therefore I won't

 

[MoshJosh]

Can you summarize? Lol jk

I tried to find LEP light fixture online, and maybe I am looking in the wrong place but. . . looks like you will have to mount a bunch of "tactical" flashlights above the tank.

 

[dedragon]

I tried to find LEP light fixture online, and maybe I am looking in the wrong place but. . . looks like you will have to mount a bunch of "tactical" flashlights above the tank.

I found a couple i will link but idk how to translate them over to home reef tank lighting. Not too many available

Plasma greenhouse fixtures | Gavita – Horticulture

Plasma fixtures provide a light spectrum that is comparable to sunlight, including UVA and UVB, resulting in hard leaves and good branching.

gavita.com