48" LED SPS reef

[redfishsc]

Definitely agreed with you on the SPS coloration under LED's. My tank is a MH and LED combo. I use 8 Cree XRE's as actinic supplements over a 25g, run alongside a Phoenix 250DE.

They almost overwhelm the Phoenix. Corals look SCHWING! I only recently started accumulating much of the colorful SPS, but what I have (like the Bali tricolor) is coloring up very, very nicely.

 

[bolo7735]

Very nice. I would like to know the PAR readings you get off the bottom.

 

[jciotti]

PAR is the only number that matters to me when it comes to lighting so PAR is really the only number that matters other than water params

Think about it like this, without PAR numbers you have no idea if the setup is a good setup or a crap setup, so PAR numbers are nesscessary if you want to know if you have Crap lighting or Good quality lighting and to me it is the only number that matters

a 1w led has less par than a 3w led so therefore 1w leds are crap compared to 3w leds, a 150w mh has less PAR than a 250w mh thus a 250w MH is better than a 150w MH

granted you have to take tank size into account but don't say PAR numbers don't matter because they are truley the only number that does matter in this hobbie other than calc/alk and mag

I think this is an extremely old way of looking at things. Much like lbs of rock per gallon or watts of light per gallon. If you read my posts before hand you are not comparing apples to apples or even measuring the same thing with LED lighting compared to MH lighting.

A simple analogy for most to understand is you are comparing liters of displacement in a motor to a turbo. Liters and PSI or boost can't be measured or compared easily. That is why you have huge debate and a divide in the automotive tuning hobby. Muscle vs. Rice for the lack of better words.

Both get power in the end result but both do it in different ways.

Displacement(MH) Turbo(LED) Power(Growth)

I think if people keep thinking in this fashion the hobby will get stuck in a rut once again.

I'm aiming for good coloration and happy healthy corals, I don't need them to grow at a break neck speed as I'm not trying to outgrow my tank in a year.

So when I grow this tank out with only 300 PAR is PAR still going to be the only thing you care about?

 

[jciotti]

Very nice. I would like to know the PAR readings you get off the bottom.

130 PAR would be the average on the bottom with obviously spots in the shade being lower and some spots being as high as 160 PAR.

Again I don't really want to dwell on how much PAR. I think efficiency, usability and quality of the light produced are what makes a great lighting system.

Thank you for the compliment!

@ Beeker- Just because a Mercedes Benz doesn't have as much HP as a Lambo doesn't mean that it isn't just as good of a car. It's only opinion and both will drive you across the country, frankly I'd rather do it in a Mercedes Benz.

 

[jciotti]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, once I'm back in town from Reefstock 2010 I will take some more close ups of the corals and see if any progress has been made.

 

[Mossrope]

great tank with nice purple glow from the lighting..
just wondering if making lights more purplish will enhance coraline growth further.
do share some other specifications like filtration power and stuff.

 

[twiggyb]

How tall is your tank? I have a 24" tall 65 and I was thinking about getting 2 17.5 fixtures for it. Does it look as bright as an MH system does? I just don't want a dim looking tank, I'm pretty confident in my corals doing ok under this lighting as long as you go by the guidelines it tells you for coral placement in the tank.

 

[jciotti]

great tank with nice purple glow from the lighting..
just wondering if making lights more purplish will enhance coraline growth further.
do share some other specifications like filtration power and stuff.

I didn't spend a whole lot of time getting the white balance spot on. I'd say the purple glow is a bit more blue in real life.

 

[jciotti]

The system runs on a total of 251 watts of electricity while the heater is off and it really doesn't kick on in California. That is less electricity then one of most peoples halides alone.

48"x18"x18" starfire glass tank center overflow
2x Ecoxotic Panorama LED fixtures
4x Ecoxotic Stunner strips
17g sump
ASM G1 skimmer (for now)
Quiet One 4000 return pump (might switch to an Ehiem)
2x Hydor Koralia #3

I do twice weekly water changes of 5-6 gallons. I don't dose any Ca or Alk as I find a tank this size even with huge growth typically can be maintained with water changes alone.

I dose K once a week and run carbon and SeaChems Purigen 24/7. I change the carbon weekly with water changes and replace/recharge Purigen when needed.

I feed the fish daily with Cyclop-eeze and Nori for the tangs (not in the picture)

 

[jciotti]

Fish:
4x captive raised Hippo Tangs from Sustainable Aquatics
4x captive raised yellow Tangs from Sustaibable Aquatics
pair of tank bred Red Head Gobies from ORA
pair of tank bred Shark Nose Gobies from ORA
3x captive raised Yellow Line Chromis from Sustainable Aquatics
3x captive raised Blue Eyed Cardinals from ORA

Some of the tangs will come out and go into another aquarium once they are bigger then a silver dollar.

CUC:
25x Astrea
1x Sand Star
1x Tiger Cucumber
5x Nassarius
5x Nerite
5x Scarlet Hermit

I will list the corals later but everything is auqacultured or received from established aquariums.

 

[jciotti]

How tall is your tank? I have a 24" tall 65 and I was thinking about getting 2 17.5 fixtures for it. Does it look as bright as an MH system does? I just don't want a dim looking tank, I'm pretty confident in my corals doing ok under this lighting as long as you go by the guidelines it tells you for coral placement in the tank.

It looks every bit as bright as any MH system I've seen. I think the guidelines that are setup are really there to give you an almost guarantee of what you can keep. I'm seeing that you can keep much more with good water parameters and clear water.

I've done a lot of research on LED lighting and I think they are far underrated even by the manufactures that make them. 1w LEDs might not be as bright as 3w LEDs but their efficiencies are far greater for the amount of light they produce watt for watt.

I believe LED lighting is and was supposed to be used for an alternative to huge power consuming halide and T5 fixtures. If you put a 250watt MH over a 60g cube or 250watts of LED *** is the point? You might save on bulb replacement but nothing else. I will stick with the lower wattage LEDs over the higher wattage. I'm attempting to be as efficient and sustainable as possible in this hobby, I rarely see it done.

 

[dancewithethan]

I do twice weekly water changes of 5-6 gallons. I don't dose any Ca or Alk as I find a tank this size even with huge growth typically can be maintained with water changes alone.

Do you test your water for Ca, Alk and Meg, How can you be sure beside the growth?

Thx

 

[sfsuphysics]

Especially in CA where energy is so high - could really see some long term savings if they are replacing 500 watts of MH and the chiller needed to keep the tank cool.

Hey some of us in CA rely on the heat from the lights to keep our tanks warm!

 

[sfsuphysics]

I do twice weekly water changes of 5-6 gallons. I don't dose any Ca or Alk as I find a tank this size even with huge growth typically can be maintained with water changes alone.

I would double check the Ca & Alk levels of your freshly made up salt water, because unless it has values that exceed what you want in the tank, from a mathematical (and chemistry) standpoint water changes won't be enough to keep levels maintained regardless of frequency. Basically Ca & Alk get depleted from your tank water, you replace with new stuff, the net result of Ca & Alk in your tank is a weighted average of depleted water + new water, which will always be less than the values of the new water.

So basically, just make sure your Ca & Alk are high going in

 

[twiggyb]

How many stunners would you reccomend for more blue lighting for coral colors to pop out?

 

[tqpolo]

I think these are pretty weak compares to the cheaper Maxspect. I have one Panorama as supplement to my 34g's T5 and they barely reach the bottom when it's on by itself.

 

[jciotti]

I would double check the Ca & Alk levels of your freshly made up salt water, because unless it has values that exceed what you want in the tank, from a mathematical (and chemistry) standpoint water changes won't be enough to keep levels maintained regardless of frequency. Basically Ca & Alk get depleted from your tank water, you replace with new stuff, the net result of Ca & Alk in your tank is a weighted average of depleted water + new water, which will always be less than the values of the new water.

So basically, just make sure your Ca & Alk are high going in

I keep a close eye on the Ca and Alk levels and the mix up water is higher then natural seawater levels. If it gets to the point that supplementation is needed I will put a dosing pump on.

Thanks for the look out.

 

[jciotti]

I think these are pretty weak compares to the cheaper Maxspect. I have one Panorama as supplement to my 34g's T5 and they barely reach the bottom when it's on by itself.

Again we are not even talking about the same product. You know how many Maxspect fixtures you would need to properly light an aquarium with good spread? It would be more wattage then a comparable halide fixture.

I also think you may have lost focus of what the Panorama module was intended to do. I wouldn't see why an LED light with no lenses would be intense on the bottom. Do you know what angel of spread is on an LED natively with no optics? Why would you even expect it to do that unless you had no idea what the product did? Put a 45-80 degree lens on those LEDs and watch what happens to how far it will penetrate into your aquarium.

Not to mention I've used a Maxspect fixture and the thing was cheaply made and if anything went wrong with it you would have some serious issues getting it fixed or finding replacement parts.

The Ecoxotic fixtures have individual drivers on each LED module and that is one feature I really like. Something happens I'm not 100% out of light.

These lights aren't for you if you like headaches and technical issues or tinkering with your lights ever couple of months. The fixtures I have will continue to work with no issues far off into the future.

Again I don't want to turn this into an all out LED who is who thread. I've tried EVERY fixture currently on the market and some that aren't and went with this one because it is my tank and that is what I wanted. If someone wants to buy a Maxspect super Chinese deluxe AI knockoff fixture then be my guest and put it over your tank.

My goal was to create a sustainable and economical aquarium that would be easy to maintain and still fun. I want to enjoy the hobby and time looking at my tank not throw money and time down the drain because someone else thinks they know what I want.

This thread is to document my experience with this particular setup and to show people you can keep an aquarium without spending an exorbitant amount of money on initial setup and up keep.

 

[jciotti]

How many stunners would you reccomend for more blue lighting for coral colors to pop out?

For me on the existing fixture I wanted to tweak the color just a bit so the 4 worked for me and I use them as a moon light as well.

If you wanted to supplement your lighting and really get things to pop I would use a single all blue Panorama module every 24-36". It would be less expensive then multiple Stunner strips and be way more intense.

I've got a couple shots of corals under just actinic Panorama module but they are mostly LPS shots. I will share them later.

 

[twiggyb]

I'd like to get 2 panorama and 2 blue stunners for moonlight but Im getting out of my budget. I guess I can add on later.