A Reef in the Sky...scaper

[Acrotrdco]

just curious, why did you opt for the red spectrum? also does this mean you are running now moonlights?

I was trying to mimic the T5HO look with a KZ Fuji Purple (or ATI purple) bulb in it, so I've to add a little tint of red, and it turned out pretty good!

A lot of friends who saw my tank said it looks just like T5HO, and would be fooled if they didn't already know it's lit by LED.

It sounds like you're very happy with the coloration that you are receiving from this light combination. I am looking into getting a coloration scheme very similar.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your LED lighting scheme?

Are the pictures taken of the tank reflective of the actual coloration seen or are there modifications in the pictures?

The only thing I would really change, is to find a 420nm bulb and fill in the gap. Right now I've 405nm, 445nm, 460nm and 480nm, so 420nm is the only gap in my blue spectrum.

As for the photo, I've always tried to made sure they look exactly likes how I see them in the tank, I've even disabled the "Vivid mode" in my Nikon camera, it'll look even more natural now.

 

[canesfan44]

great pics. Now, I'm thinking about adding some red to my MaxSpect. I will be adding 3 Cree blues, so I'll probably add some red to it also. Thanks.

 

[Nanighan]

What is that acro on your last pic above? Pearlberry or aqua delight?
Beautiful pics btw.

 

[Acrotrdco]

great pics. Now, I'm thinking about adding some red to my MaxSpect. I will be adding 3 Cree blues, so I'll probably add some red to it also. Thanks.

Cool, that's a good idea

What is that acro on your last pic above? Pearlberry or aqua delight?
Beautiful pics btw.

It's an A. Lorpies, not sure its common name tho.

 

[Acrotrdco]

Oops double post

 

[olee]

great job man, nice forum of hong kong

 

[AlainD]

Hi, do you see a difference with your eyes between the semi led blue and the cree royal blue ?

 

[Acrotrdco]

great job man, nice forum of hong kong

Thanks!

Hi, do you see a difference with your eyes between the semi led blue and the cree royal blue ?

No, there's no visible difference with my eyes between Semi Royal blue (445nm) and Cree XP-E Royal blue (460nm).

I used Cree XP-E because they're brighter compared to Semi and is the ideal wavelength I needed (covering 450-470nm).

The difference from the Cree XP-E blue (480nm), however, is very visible, especially the cyan color.

 

[Mandragen]

Maybe I missed this in the thread, but is there anyway we can get a diagram of exactly what bulb, with color, make, wavelength, that you have in each slot of your fixtures. Like you I have 2 of them and want to see about switching them out at some point. Today I am riding over to see the boys at Fins and will discuss it with them, also picking up one of the little 60w units for my frag tank.

 

[Acrotrdco]

Maybe I missed this in the thread, but is there anyway we can get a diagram of exactly what bulb, with color, make, wavelength, that you have in each slot of your fixtures. Like you I have 2 of them and want to see about switching them out at some point. Today I am riding over to see the boys at Fins and will discuss it with them, also picking up one of the little 60w units for my frag tank.

See page 4:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1929512&page=4

 

[Mandragen]

ahh I knew I must have misted it, thanks so much. Now how far off was this custom set up from the original factory set up?

 

[stina]

Great build thread... I must admit, you are working in small space here, and yet, you are very creative!
Your thread inspired me to upgrade my tank.. thank you

keep up the good work!
regards
Vedran

 

[lolgranny]

Excellent info / VERYYYY nice tank / ... and your photo tanking skills are insane.

I sent you a PM have a bunch a questions and figured it would be easier!

Keep up the awesome work buddy

 

[Acrotrdco]

ahh I knew I must have misted it, thanks so much. Now how far off was this custom set up from the original factory set up?

No problem

Well I've replaced a few Semi Royal blue with Cree XP-E blue/royal blue, and replaced 2 white with blue and 2 white with red, that's about it.

Great build thread... I must admit, you are working in small space here, and yet, you are very creative!
Your thread inspired me to upgrade my tank.. thank you

keep up the good work!
regards
Vedran

Excellent info / VERYYYY nice tank / ... and your photo tanking skills are insane.

I sent you a PM have a bunch a questions and figured it would be easier!

Keep up the awesome work buddy

Thanks guys - I've added a few more pieces over the last 2 weeks, gonna take some more photos tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[Mandragen]

No problem

Well I've replaced a few Semi Royal blue with Cree XP-E blue/royal blue, and replaced 2 white with blue and 2 white with red, that's about it.

Ok so you went with a more blue look? I think that the factory look is a bit blue in the first place. I would think that you would have replaces some blue with red and white, interesting. Thanks for the information.

 

[Acrotrdco]

Ok so you went with a more blue look? I think that the factory look is a bit blue in the first place. I would think that you would have replaces some blue with red and white, interesting. Thanks for the information.

Well yes and no, due to my photoperiod.

When I've only the 3w's turned on, the blue:white ratio is 3:2, and looks almost exactly like it's lit by a T5HO, blue/purple-ish.

When the 15w's are all turned on (to simulate the 10am-3pm peak hours), the blue:white ratio is 2:3, and it looks a lot whiter.

 

[Mandragen]

I gotcha, but what about when it is dusk/dawn is that anymore blue? Right now I can only run my 30w for 30 min or my colors fade out a bit, but you have the 15w right?

 

[urbaneks]

Im pretty new to reef central and don't post much but really enjoyed your thread. Great work on the tank.

 

[Acrotrdco]

I gotcha, but what about when it is dusk/dawn is that anymore blue? Right now I can only run my 30w for 30 min or my colors fade out a bit, but you have the 15w right?

Yes I've 4x 15w on each fixture instead of 2x 30w.

The color of my SPS, especially those with bright purple (such as A.Nana) improves a lot when I'm giving them 5 hours a day with all groups turned on.

Im pretty new to reef central and don't post much but really enjoyed your thread. Great work on the tank.

Thanks! :lmao:

 

[thefuz]

Wow - excellent build thread and great skill with the D90. Can't wait until I can get my reef running and I can try out my micro 70-180!

As I'm setting up my tank, I'm obsessing about lighting right now. It looks like you're able to swap out LEDs at will with your unit. Is this due to your relationship with the vendor or is this a custom unit (forgive me if you've answered this already)? Your units look really slim which is great! How is heat? I have a bit of a challenge with canopy space on my 58 gallon oceanic - I'll need to redo it if I want to have any available space between the lighting and the water surface.

I live in the states and the latest and greatest we have are the Aqua Illumination SOL units. You may not know the answer to this, but perhaps others might - do the SOL units offer the capability to customize the LEDs beyond just the blue and whites?

On a separate subject; what are you using for lighting control?