led's that powerfull????

CalmSeasQuest · Mar 10, 2011

Billgax said:
Blue penetrates deeper into the water column... has less to do with power than it has to do with light's various spectral behavior in the water column (attenuation, for instance). ... just sayin'...

Yup - As shown in the test, both LEDs were running at the same power and utilized the same optics. The only difference was the spectral output.

ctsps · Mar 10, 2011

Great advice,if i go with a screen to diffuse the light,what's the general plan of attack to attain acclimation to the light.Also i have cut my photo period way down,thanks to all

ctsps · Mar 10, 2011

Heres where im at,i raised the fixtures to 14in off the water and lowered the photo period,i think that after all is said and done im going to be able to leave them at this height.I think if i ever lower them im going to torch everything,im ok with that and upgrading from 250w halides the difference is awesome.Just trying to figure out a long term plan and at 14in above the water the spread is good ann the light at the bottom of the tank is still powerfull,over time i will just slowly up the photo period,any comments or opinions would be appreciated,thanks mike

kingfisherfleshy · Mar 10, 2011

This is almost too much, those sps close to the top look like they are suffering.

RonMidtownStomp · Mar 10, 2011

I figured I'd start at 36" not 14".

ctsps · Mar 11, 2011

wow 3 feet,i dont have that far on top of my tank,ultimatly how high should the final resting point be,luke told me 8-10in when i bought them,thats not even a consideration now if i want to keep things alive,thanks

raymond · Mar 11, 2011

i had no idea that they were that powerful, im glad i read this before hooking mine up id probbaly killed some of my corals

RonMidtownStomp · Mar 11, 2011

The corals will adapt to more light. I measured PAR in a bucket of water once in direct sun and it peaked the meter >2k. You just need to adapt them to more if they're not used to it. One good option would be to turn the bulbs on say, 6 at a time, if they're not dimmable.

Billgax · Mar 12, 2011

Peak solar irradiance in air and in bright, cloudless summer conditions is about 2,000 micro-Einsteins (or micromoles)/meter squared per second. Getting consistent values this high in an aquarium would be akin to 6" below a 1,000 watt 5,000K halide bulb (in air). Not many corals can/should take this kind of torture. A multi-bulb t-5 HO (54w) can barely reach half that (in air)... for reference.
Measurements of >2,000 uM in water are highly suspect... might check the meter. White bucket? 4-pi sensor or 2-pi?

ctsps · Mar 12, 2011

looks like 14in above the water and 20in above the top level coral,and reduced photoperiod is doing the trick.i would like to know what everyone mounts there fixture for hieght above the water,thanks