Acros (and other SPS) lit by LED only. What do you use?!!?

Wazzel said:
Two year progress
May-14
left-L.jpg

May-15
DSC_0591-L.jpg

May-16
image-L.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I definitely see a Kessil and Ecotech trend here, something that I've already seemed to notice and this serves to confirm. I'm also pretty impressed though looking at those Aquaillumination models. It's just good info to see what out there is actually working successfully "in the field", and to see which brands seem to be getting it right. Awesome replies everyone good info thanks so much!!
 
Reef Frog said:
It seems some LED owners have overcome the shading issue by using multiple strip or canister fixtures at different angles so all parts of the coral colonies are receiving some light.
Click to expand...

That is essentially what I did. I'm using a line source light, a pair of photon 32, along with a number of point source Kessils (both 360s for broad coverage and 160s as target lights). Ended up spending more than anticipated, but they look great and perform very well. Also, FWIW, any colony that grows large will go pale at the base regardless of the lights used.
 
Wazzel how many gallons and what are the deminsion on that tank? Looks good!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
I had good success with 2 Kessil 160s on an 18g with montis, stylos and birds nest, and a green frogskin acro. Even with 2 on a small tank there was still some shadows. I upgraded to a 40g breeder and added a kessil 360 and got more acros. I noticed the greens all looked pretty good, but none of the other colors on the acros looked all that great. and there was still serious shadowing.

I ditched them for a MH+T5 fixture. I am not against LEDs,but it seems from my experience and others, that using LEDs for acros makes it much harder to get good coloration compared to traditional lighting. I am not saying its impossible, just tougher. If I were doing a softy or LPS tank, I would revisit Kessil's in a heartbeat. My frogspawn never looked better under kessils.
 
But But..

"Its impossible to grow corals under LED's", and the shadowing will kill the corals that are growing". I see that sentiment echoed time and time again on these boards, and yet right here is solid evidence corals grow just fine under LED's.

My own tank, lit by 2 300w mars aqua's, while mostly LPS(I do have a couple "sticks"), grow just fine, and no different then when I had them under T5's.

In my opinion MH's are way old school(I used to use them some 20 years ago), contribute way to much heat to the tank, and are super costly to run. No idea why anyone wouldn't switch. I do think that with LED's, there are way to many variables(ramping, intensity percentages, etc) for some people to get them to work right. If they were just on or off like MH or T5's, more people would have success with them.
 
homer1475 said:
But But..

"Its impossible to grow corals under LED's", and the shadowing will kill the corals that are growing". I see that sentiment echoed time and time again on these boards, and yet right here is solid evidence corals grow just fine under LED's.

My own tank, lit by 2 300w mars aqua's, while mostly LPS(I do have a couple "sticks"), grow just fine, and no different then when I had them under T5's.

In my opinion MH's are way old school(I used to use them some 20 years ago), contribute way to much heat to the tank, and are super costly to run. No idea why anyone wouldn't switch. I do think that with LED's, there are way to many variables(ramping, intensity percentages, etc) for some people to get them to work right. If they were just on or off like MH or T5's, more people would have success with them.
Click to expand...
If you go with the manufacturers recommended number of units you will have issues with shading. Depending on your tank it could take up to 2x's the units to get good coverage.
 
Not that I have any evidence to support the success YET, but I am in the process of building a Lumia 5.2 based fixture for my 180g. I have 6 lumia clusters, which are each fairly similar in nature to a Kessil 360WE. I have them spaced at 10" apart. My plan is to also add 4 80w T5s, two front, two rear, with 2xAquablue+ and 2 Blue+ bulbs.....This should provide a great deal of light, and have a very nice shimmer as well.....

If T5 didnt look so damn dead/dull, I would just go with them.....
 
drummerboyevil said:
ABS bulbs tend to make things look realllllly dull. Full T5 can look great if you use more like a 1:1 ratio of B+ and Coral+ and throw in a purple+.
Click to expand...
It's not the color...I loved the color of my old t5 tank....I had 6 bulbs 2xAB, 1 sun, 3 B+...

The problem was the lack of any shimmer. It drove me nuts. I eventually went with xm20ks and 2x vho super actinic supplements.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
Horace said:
It's not the color...I loved the color of my old t5 tank....I had 6 bulbs 2xAB, 1 sun, 3 B+...

The problem was the lack of any shimmer. It drove me nuts. I eventually went with xm20ks and 2x vho super actinic supplements.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...



Ah okay, misunderstood you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
ESP32 - AQma WiFi LED Control - 8 x LED Channels, 3 x SSR. FOR FREE!
Replies
2
Views
923
danielch2008
D
D
How to light a 3ft Bookshelf tank
Replies
3
Views
2K
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
zuzecawi
Does anybody still use downdraft skimmers?
Replies
2
Views
2K
capecodder
C
C
Help me choose my lights
Replies
2
Views
2K
Pokerman11
Pokerman11
C
Back to the hobby after 7 years
Replies
11
Views
4K
ReefStache
ReefStache
Back
Top