quest for lps color - validate led choice?

[benny z]

i've been using a jbj nano cube w/ the "pro" led hood which comes with way too many generic chinese white "14k" bulbs and really 4 really bad blues. when i first got it i added a short reefbrite bar to help compensate for the yellow whites and minimal blues. stuff has grown, but the color really bites. rainbow acans aren't rainbows.

so i'm on a quest to fix this mess.

does this sound like a reasonable mix of leds to replace the factory led guts with? i'm specifically looking for a better spectrum to hopefully show/bring back rainbow lps colors that are just lost in the current mix.

Non-Dimmable Driver:
6 Hyber Violet UV
Dimmer Driver 1:
12 XT-E Royal Blue
3 XP-E Blue
Dimmable Driver 2:
8 XT-E Premium Cool White
2 XT-E Warm White

i was contemplating using red leds v/s the warm whites, but have come to the understanding that the warm whites offer the same red peak as the red leds, and may further enhance the spectrum. does a ratio of 8 cool whites to 2 warm whites sound ideal, also keeping in mind that these are on a dimmer to blend with the blues.

any advice/help/forsight/hindsight/comments/interjections/rejections appreciated.

cheers!
ben

 

[glb]

Steve's LEDs makes a nice retrofit setup that is easy to install and fits under the existing hood. I'm getting ready to buy some myself!

 

[benny z]

i'm actually getting the retrofit kit from bill at reefledlights.com:

Bio Cube 29 Nano Kit - Reef LED Lights

but i'm switching two of the cool whites to warm whites, and then adding the 6 uv leds on an additional driver.

i've not seen the retrofit unit you've referenced. do you have a link?

thanks!
ben

 

[TJ's Reef]

Couple ?'s back to you...... Do you have room for 31 emitters on existing/new heatsink? Are the 6 Violets going to be used as dawn/dusk or moonlighting?

I think that your probably going to be a little on the white side or to much yellow/green which will wash out the greens, oranges and blues of the corals. I might suggest replacing 3 of the whites with 2 violet and a red for the 2nd channel and replacing 2 of the violets with royal blues for dawn/dusk channel. Also what overall dimensions are the tank itself ?

Cheers, Todd

 

[benny z]

thanks todd.

here's the heat sink i'll be using. it does have room for this number of leds:

the tank is 18x18x20.

with regards to the color combination - thanks again. this is where i am struggling the most, as it's the primary reason for any change at all. what i have now works - it's just not pleasing. the uv leds i've been told can't be swapped with the other cree leds on the same drivers. they require an independant driver. i will probably use them for some dawn/dusk type effect, more so to have some color for viewing before the other lights come on. with the limitation of having them on their own driver, do your other suggestions remain true? as a side note, i doubt i'll be turning the driver controlling the whites up very much, as the fish i'm keeping in this tank also prefer a more dim light.

cheers!
ben

 

[1.0reef]

IMO use NW instead of CW.

 

[benny z]

thanks...but what is nw? i'm assuming cw is "cool white"?

thanks,
ben

 

[GHill762]

neutral white, better color rendition and your tank won't look anemic.

 

[benny z]

You don't think the warm whites will aid blended with the cool whites?

 

[ReefLEDLights]

IMO use NW instead of CW.

Can you specify which brand and bin of NW.

I've experimented with them over my tank and found the look a bit too much on the yellow side.

Adding a couple of Cree XT-E Warm Whites to 7.5K Cool Whites to a dominant 450nm Royal Blue Mix gave me a look very close to the Fiji Purple T5

I like the <450nm spike the NW offers but have yet to find the right recipe as the bins can vary greatly with Cree CW, NW and WW LEDs

Bill

 

[benny z]

...gave me a look very close to the Fiji Purple T5

this is exactly what i hope to achieve. over my high end lps frag tank i used a very high off the water t5 combination of 3 blue+ and 1 figi purple, with royal blue led supplementation. it was dim, and very 20k-ish. the figi purple i believe is what really highlighted the unique lps colors - the same colors that disappear under the leds currently over this nano.

 

[benny z]

i received my new leds from bill last week. following are some photos of the retrofit kit, installation, and before/after pictures. my rainbow acans show colors they were definitely not showing before the switch and i'm very pleased with the look. i have the acans tucked mostly into a shaded overhang - we will see if they keep the current colors or morph over the next few months.

 

[TJ's Reef]

Nice retro-fit kit Benny, tank and corals looks real good under the new setup.

Cheers, Todd

 

[benny z]

Thanks sir!

One thing I would like to note is that nuisance algae was growing pretty quickly under the previous OEM LEDs in the hood. I had read Bill mention that cheap Chinese LEDs often have terrible spectrum control and could fuel nuisance algae.

Since switching to Bill's precision-BIN-picked LEDs, the nuisance algae is now all but gone with no other changes. Anecdotally based on this, I would agree with Bill that being picky about LED choice with regard to spectrum does lend to cleaner overall tank.

And one more picture, just to document the current acan colors, this time with a tripod:

 

[PaulKreider]

Acans are looking great!