Question for LED owners
- Thread starter ca2or
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broskie
Active Member
Sorry If I am throwing this topic off path, but there seems to be a lot of LED users that would have some good info for me hopefully. I have a 24"X24"X24" tank and just recently purchased an AquaBeauty 70W LED (It was new on a close out for $50)The LED is fully programmable for percentage on the blue and whites for every hour. I mainly like keeping LPS and may start getting into some easy to care for SPS. So a couple of questions.
How high should I have the LED above the tank?
Whats a good starting schedule for running the blues and whites?
I tried the wing it thing when I had it over my 20g long and that killed a few of my corals. So I am not wanting to wing it anymore. Sorry once again if this is off topic. But thanks to those that help.
How high should I have the LED above the tank?
Whats a good starting schedule for running the blues and whites?
I tried the wing it thing when I had it over my 20g long and that killed a few of my corals. So I am not wanting to wing it anymore. Sorry once again if this is off topic. But thanks to those that help.
ReefLEDLights
Valuable Member
I've been using DIY LEDs just after PFO came out with their fixture.
Here is a Pic of our mixed display tank with par values and some pics of a local customers SPS 100% LED Tank. Our SPS Tank crashed due to blue ridge coral. CAUTION BLUE RIDGE CORAL IS NOT GOOD. It took over everything we are in the process of bleaching a 24"x 20" piece and redoing our SPS Tank with the latest generation of LEDs
Our 570Mixed
As a LED Vendor my opinions are a bit biased but here is what were learned over the years.
-LEDs Do Grow SPS corals in fact we grew birdsnest frags using only 450nm Royal Blue...In fact we saw better growth under our LEDs than a 400 watt Radium MH...Should Be A Good Thesis Project for those with the time to document and measure.
-LEDs are brighter than advertised...They do bleach corals much quicker than a MH upgrade. Acclimation is key....
-Excessive PAR Values do not kill corals as long as they are acclimated. In fact PAR Values over a 400 watt MH cause SPS corals to develop desirable reflective pigments.
-Never judge a fixture by watts. One of our 118 watt fixtures produces over twice the PAR of the (Name With Held) but very popular 174 watt Domestic Fixture. Some 120 watt Imports are for better terms disposable due to their reliability.
-Full Spectrum is???... Its best to replicate the spectrum corals receive. Red is blocked really quick. Maybe we should advertise LED Fixtures as Shallow Reef Spectrum or Deep Reef Spectrum. A quality fixture or DIY Kit will allow you to choose via the controller.
-MH Lights still rock but they are bloody expensive to operate. A LED fixture needs to emulate the spectrum of a MH/T5 Combo...Many fall short. In fact with some Black Box Imports you have no idea of the spectrum as they present an artiest rendition of the expected spectrum. Not to mention the heat...I recently heard a story of a SWAT team raiding a house based on its heat signature and electrical consumption...It was not "Tomatos" growing in the basement but corals...
-LEDs are improving at a rate similar to memory chips but slightly slower due to demand. The 3 Watt LED in the Import is dated and about 1/3 as bright compared to the Cree XT-E driven at the same current.
-LED Bins Matter....
Just my 2 cents which is .75 after taxes and bank fees...Feel free to contact us with any LED Questions.
Bill
Here is a Pic of our mixed display tank with par values and some pics of a local customers SPS 100% LED Tank. Our SPS Tank crashed due to blue ridge coral. CAUTION BLUE RIDGE CORAL IS NOT GOOD. It took over everything we are in the process of bleaching a 24"x 20" piece and redoing our SPS Tank with the latest generation of LEDs
Our 570Mixed
As a LED Vendor my opinions are a bit biased but here is what were learned over the years.
-LEDs Do Grow SPS corals in fact we grew birdsnest frags using only 450nm Royal Blue...In fact we saw better growth under our LEDs than a 400 watt Radium MH...Should Be A Good Thesis Project for those with the time to document and measure.
-LEDs are brighter than advertised...They do bleach corals much quicker than a MH upgrade. Acclimation is key....
-Excessive PAR Values do not kill corals as long as they are acclimated. In fact PAR Values over a 400 watt MH cause SPS corals to develop desirable reflective pigments.
-Never judge a fixture by watts. One of our 118 watt fixtures produces over twice the PAR of the (Name With Held) but very popular 174 watt Domestic Fixture. Some 120 watt Imports are for better terms disposable due to their reliability.
-Full Spectrum is???... Its best to replicate the spectrum corals receive. Red is blocked really quick. Maybe we should advertise LED Fixtures as Shallow Reef Spectrum or Deep Reef Spectrum. A quality fixture or DIY Kit will allow you to choose via the controller.
-MH Lights still rock but they are bloody expensive to operate. A LED fixture needs to emulate the spectrum of a MH/T5 Combo...Many fall short. In fact with some Black Box Imports you have no idea of the spectrum as they present an artiest rendition of the expected spectrum. Not to mention the heat...I recently heard a story of a SWAT team raiding a house based on its heat signature and electrical consumption...It was not "Tomatos" growing in the basement but corals...
-LEDs are improving at a rate similar to memory chips but slightly slower due to demand. The 3 Watt LED in the Import is dated and about 1/3 as bright compared to the Cree XT-E driven at the same current.
-LED Bins Matter....
Just my 2 cents which is .75 after taxes and bank fees...Feel free to contact us with any LED Questions.
Bill
Emac909
Active Member
I went from MH to LEDs.
So I'm currently running 5 gen1 radions over my 300 gallon
I do run my radions at a 100% for 6 hours a day. Here my lighting schedule
I'm getting great coloring and growth from my sps. Yes MHs are probably way better but. I'm running 5 gen 1 radions with a manufacturing date of 1/2012 or older. Just the money I'm saving not replacing bulbs is worth it to me.
I edited this on from my build thread
Here's a few growth pics from that last few months
Red planet
4/19/15
6/4/15
9/30/15
ASD rainbow milli
4/19/15
9/30/15
GC blue stag
4/19/15
9/30/15
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Mr. Brooks
Active Member
Emac, what are the dimensions of your tank? Can we get some pics of corals from the side?
Emac909
Active Member
I've alway ran them at a 100% I'm not a believer in the the whole acclimation theory in sps, lps and softies easy. There's no way are every day led man made light can be more powerful then the sun witch these corals r accustomed to for millions of years.
They look like crap tho but here u go. I've got nothing to hide
Red planet in April
I don't have any growth shots from the side tho. And all the pics r form an iPhone 6
Mr. Brooks
Active Member
LED's play some funny tricks on iPhones. Your red planet and rainbow millie still look awesome from the side.
Emac909
Active Member
Thanks. I usually have to turn the blues down and take under like 65k from them to look decent or the blues look fluorescent
ReefLEDLights
Valuable Member
Emac909
Given their Cree LEDs and Optics, Radions are a good choice for a MH Replacement.
Comparing their PAR to MH each is roughly equivalent to a 175 to 250 watt MH depending on settings.
Bill
Given their Cree LEDs and Optics, Radions are a good choice for a MH Replacement.
Comparing their PAR to MH each is roughly equivalent to a 175 to 250 watt MH depending on settings.
Bill
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Emac909
Active Member
Yep
That's why I went with radions. There graphs show that a radion at 100% is the same output (maybe a little less) as a 250w radium bulb.
Emac909
Active Member
Completely agree with u. People tell me ATS don't work all the time. But it works on my 300. I have 2 itech200 skimmers in my sump that have been off for months cause the ATS keep my no3 levels undetectable and the po4 at 0.02. So yea they work for me.
