Anyone going back to LEDs? or trying for for first time

[mirkus]

Since we seem to argue around here a lot. I've run power compacts, metal halide, and T5's with varying level's of success. Most recently, my tank had ATI Sunpower with reefbrites.

I recently converted to 100% LED for the energy savings. No, I'm totally kidding. I converted over to LEDs because I don't love the flat look of T5s. Yes I admit, they do color up SPS. Let's not forget for the longest time people said SPS couldn't color up SPS.

With that said, I thought I would give LEDs a shot (and I was getting a little bored with my tank).

 

[pisanoal]

Is this to contrast the "Anyone going back to halides?" thread? :spin1:

I've tried 100% led, but never liked how my sps looked. Probably didn't have the coverage I needed for the underside and backsides of the branches to stay colored up. I don't think I'd go back. If kessil ap700's were about 1/3 of the cost, I'd consider it.

 

[JustinM]

I’m 100% led. I like it a lot but think it could be more. As soon as the aquatic life t5 hybrid comes out, I’m grabbing it to give me what I think I want haha.

 

[mirkus]

I'm 100% led. I like it a lot but think it could be more. As soon as the aquatic life t5 hybrid comes out, I'm grabbing it to give me what I think I want haha.

that is my backup plan if the radion's don't work out. I will sell one of my radions and add the aquatic life fixture. the drawback is they are not the most attractive fixtures out there.

 

[JustinM]

that is my backup plan if the radion's don't work out. I will sell one of my radions and add the aquatic life fixture. the drawback is they are not the most attractive fixtures out there.

I think they're kind of sleek. I was thinking about a DIY but then I received an email from bulk reef and figured I would wait.

 

[bif24701]

Since we seem to argue around here a lot. I've run power compacts, metal halide, and T5's with varying level's of success. Most recently, my tank had ATI Sunpower with reefbrites.



I recently converted to 100% LED for the energy savings. No, I'm totally kidding. I converted over to LEDs because I don't love the flat look of T5s. Yes I admit, they do color up SPS. Let's not forget for the longest time people said SPS couldn't color up SPS.



With that said, I thought I would give LEDs a shot (and I was getting a little bored with my tank).

The flat look of a T5 only display is the main and biggest reason I didn't go that direction.


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[bif24701]

Is this to contrast the "Anyone going back to halides?" thread? :spin1:



I've tried 100% led, but never liked how my sps looked. Probably didn't have the coverage I needed for the underside and backsides of the branches to stay colored up. I don't think I'd go back. If kessil ap700's were about 1/3 of the cost, I'd consider it.

I love MH. However I can't handle the heat nor the huge reflectors. I put two Kessil AP700s on my 180 and I am more than pleased in every way.


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[Ssteve]

I swapped from t5's to reefbreeders v2 with two of the supplemental strips one the sides and the tank never skipped a beat. My tank is 99% sps and the colors are just as good or in some cases better, alk demand and growth and just continued to sky rocket. I'm very convinced that most people's issues with leds are coverage and hot spot related. Hang them high and match the par throughout the tank that your t5's were giving off and the corals won't care what the light source is.

 

[10Seconds]

I swapped from t5's to reefbreeders v2 with two of the supplemental strips one the sides and the tank never skipped a beat. My tank is 99% sps and the colors are just as good or in some cases better, alk demand and growth and just continued to sky rocket. I'm very convinced that most people's issues with leds are coverage and hot spot related. Hang them high and match the par throughout the tank that your t5's were giving off and the corals won't care what the light source is.

I think this is right on, but for most people this would necessitate more fixtures than the manufacturer tell us. Look at how many of the big name guys use Radions but will have 6 of them on a 6 ft tank. Most hobbyists would only have 3. Thus why LEDs keep seeming to come up short. MH and T5 make it much easier to get even PAR coverage.

 

[Ssteve]

I think this is right on, but for most people this would necessitate more fixtures than the manufacturer tell us. Look at how many of the big name guys use Radions but will have 6 of them on a 6 ft tank. Most hobbyists would only have 3. Thus why LEDs keep seeming to come up short. MH and T5 make it much easier to get even PAR coverage.

I agree. But you can work around the manufactures recommendations by either hanging them a little higher for better spread.... with the side benefit of less hot spots.... or the other solution you see becoming very popular is reefbrite xho's. Granted they aren't cheap either but a couple long strips can really bring life to corals that are getting shaded.

 

[StarF]

100% led here.. no problems.. took a while to figure out the correct spectrum, and light intensity, but after that greath color and growth.

I have used GHL Metrix 6100, then upgrade to 6200 and then this year to 6300. Good succes so far... As long i dont run the lights at 100% output, i havent had any isues.

https://imgur.com/a/Jfddt

 

[pisanoal]

100% led here.. no problems.. took a while to figure out the correct spectrum, and light intensity, but after that greath color and growth.

I have used GHL Metrix 6100, then upgrade to 6200 and then this year to 6300. Good succes so far... As long i dont run the lights at 100% output, i havent had any isues.

https://imgur.com/a/Jfddt

Great looking colors. Have any pictures from the side of the tank?

 

[mirkus]

100% led here.. no problems.. took a while to figure out the correct spectrum, and light intensity, but after that greath color and growth.

I have used GHL Metrix 6100, then upgrade to 6200 and then this year to 6300. Good succes so far... As long i dont run the lights at 100% output, i havent had any isues.

https://imgur.com/a/Jfddt

Nice, what size is your tank and how many mitras fixtures do you have? Also, please share what you did to dial in spectrum.

 

[StarF]

Great looking colors. Have any pictures from the side of the tank?

Thanks. This is a never system,and has only ben running since feburary 2017. The Corals was transfered from my older system, running for around 3 years with a Metris 6100 unit, that later was upgraded to 6200. So the older corals have ben under led light for around 4 years now.

I have ofcource added never corals aswell, from various vendors, and all have done fine. I have taken a few pictures with my phone, cant find the carger for my camara after i moved. Also i havent cleaned the display grass the last few weeks.. sorry the colors look a little washed out, but they are not

https://imgur.com/a/4QlAm

Nice, what size is your tank and how many mitras fixtures do you have? Also, please share what you did to dial in spectrum.

the system is 160cm in length, 55cm tal, and 65cm deep. so 572L / 151 G.

I have 4 Metris units over the display tank, they sit at around 25cm from the water.

At first i just gave my corals as much light as i could from my led units, but i quicky figure out, that it would give all sorts of odd isues. I guess the spectrum thing, was something i figured out by trial and error, and a lot of reading on the internet. With the ghl units, i can say that a burt of all channels at 100% for a hour or so, and then around 14/15.000 kelvin for the rest of the day gives me the best results. I am running around 14500 as i recall. Also i try to lower the greens to around 15-20% max, and the red to 20-25% and i am running the warm white a little higher then the other white lights.. blue/uv channels are at 100%... Each fixture are diffrent here, depening on how the leds are combined.

 

[pisanoal]

Thanks. This is a never system,and has only ben running since feburary 2017. The Corals was transfered from my older system, running for around 3 years with a Metris 6100 unit, that later was upgraded to 6200. So the older corals have ben under led light for around 4 years now.

I have ofcource added never corals aswell, from various vendors, and all have done fine. I have taken a few pictures with my phone, cant find the carger for my camara after i moved. Also i havent cleaned the display grass the last few weeks.. sorry the colors look a little washed out, but they are not

https://imgur.com/a/4QlAm



the system is 160cm in length, 55cm tal, and 65cm deep. so 572L / 151 G.

I have 4 Metris units over the display tank, they sit at around 25cm from the water.

At first i just gave my corals as much light as i could from my led units, but i quicky figure out, that it would give all sorts of odd isues. I guess the spectrum thing, was something i figured out by trial and error, and a lot of reading on the internet. With the ghl units, i can say that a burt of all channels at 100% for a hour or so, and then around 14/15.000 kelvin for the rest of the day gives me the best results. I am running around 14500 as i recall. Also i try to lower the greens to around 15-20% max, and the red to 20-25% and i am running the warm white a little higher then the other white lights.. blue/uv channels are at 100%... Each fixture are diffrent here, depening on how the leds are combined.

Very nice, thanks for the write up. I'd love to do a setup similar to yours but haven't had success.

Really impressive though, hard to argue with led results like that.

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[RobSpeed13]

I was 100% LEDs over my last tank with NanoBoxReef. For my latest tank i went with a Hydra 26HD with T5's. i thought of the aquatic life hybrid but its to bulky(wide) imo. so instead i retrofited.

 

[mike810]

I used 100% leds on my last tank, I will probably never go back to it. The tank always seemed very dim and I could never get nice colors. I also rather not have an infinite adjustability on something so important as lighting. I rather a plug and play system that will grow SPS right out of the box.