Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
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dougdstecklein
New member
I have a 90 gal. tank almost full of corals(LPS,SPS,softies) and I have been running 2 AI Vegas over it for the last 3 years. I ran HO flourecents over my previous tank that was up for 4-5 years.
Things I love about the LEDs are: energy efficiency, low heat, no yearly bulb replacements, customization of colors and intensities.
Things I hate about Leds: Loss of color in my corals, disco effect, spotlight effect(corals not directly under the fixtures do not get much light)
I am considering switching back to t5s because I am tired of my corals looking so faded out. I will purchase a coral from the LFS that exhibits beautiful, vibrant colors and after 1-2 weeks of being in my tank its colors completely fade out. This is not a short term issue caused by the corals adjusting to LEDs. The vibrant colors never came back in corals I purchased years ago.
I've only read through about 80 posts in this thread so far, has anyone that's been following this thread noticed people saying certain LED fixtures are doing better as far as coral colors?
Things I love about the LEDs are: energy efficiency, low heat, no yearly bulb replacements, customization of colors and intensities.
Things I hate about Leds: Loss of color in my corals, disco effect, spotlight effect(corals not directly under the fixtures do not get much light)
I am considering switching back to t5s because I am tired of my corals looking so faded out. I will purchase a coral from the LFS that exhibits beautiful, vibrant colors and after 1-2 weeks of being in my tank its colors completely fade out. This is not a short term issue caused by the corals adjusting to LEDs. The vibrant colors never came back in corals I purchased years ago.
I've only read through about 80 posts in this thread so far, has anyone that's been following this thread noticed people saying certain LED fixtures are doing better as far as coral colors?
Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
You should checkout the aquaillumintion group on Facebook. Here is a guy running hydra52s over a 6 foot tank. But to your point you need serious coverage for led to work. They do work. Colors grown and all. One year running this lighting setup.
You should checkout the aquaillumintion group on Facebook. Here is a guy running hydra52s over a 6 foot tank. But to your point you need serious coverage for led to work. They do work. Colors grown and all. One year running this lighting setup.
DavidinGA
Active member
... Add T5's to supplement maybe?
dougdstecklein
New member
David, I can't say definitively that the led lights are causing the lack of color, so I plan on adding t5s for a few months to see if the corals color up. I already have a 4 bulb, 4 foot fixture. What bulbs should I get and how long should I let them run? I will still be running the AI Vegas as well.
DavidinGA
Active member
I run an equal number of B+ and C+ lamps myself. When I added T5's to my leds I ran the lamps for hour a day and added am hour each week until I was up to my current 8 hour on time.
andrewbram
New member
Lps do you have a status I am very iterated in your resultsHere are pictures of the 2 frags that I am doing my experiment with.
The first is the frag under the MH. The color is MUCH easier to see and photograph on this side of the tank. The second is the one under the LED's. You can see that everything looks more purple. The colors are actually much closer to the other one.
MH Frag
LED Frag
lpsouth1978
New member
I do have some data, though it is not extremely conclusive. Here is what I have so far:
Both have lost a lot of color, though the MH frag still has some purple, the green is still fairly vibrant, and still has excellent polyp extension. The LED frag has browned out completely and has very little poly extension.
The growth so far is:
MH frag -
2/20/16 - 13.5g
2/27/16 - 14.8g
3/04/16 - 15.0g
3/11/16 - 16.0g
Total Growth = 2.5g
LED frag -
2/20/16 - 11.2g
2/27/16 - 12.0g
3/04/16 - 12.1g
3/11/16 - 12.3g
Total Growth = 1.1g
The conclusion so far is that the MH frag definitely has better growth than the LED frag, however the color is not fantastic on either one. I am going to extend this experiment in the hopes that the loss of color is primarily due to the new tank and different lighting. Given a few more weeks, I hope to see color return.
karimwassef
Active member
I recommend spot delivery of Restor to both frags. I've found it substantially benefits corals in stress (like fragging or light changes).
DavidinGA
Active member
Remind me... Which led and mh systems are you running?
I need some help from you metal halide gurus. I am lighting a 60 gallon cube. 24x24x24. I am considering a 150 Phoenix 14k hqi with led supplement. The leds would be 16 luxeon royal blue and 4 violet 420 leds. The mh for visible light, growth, and color. The leds for actinic pop, par, and growth.
Would this be enough light to keep a clam at the sand bed in a 24 inch deep tank? I am thinking a 150 halide over 250 because the leds will add a lot of par and the leds plus 250 halide could bleach the coral? Is this thinking correct? Is this a good compromise of metal halide and led?
Would this be enough light to keep a clam at the sand bed in a 24 inch deep tank? I am thinking a 150 halide over 250 because the leds will add a lot of par and the leds plus 250 halide could bleach the coral? Is this thinking correct? Is this a good compromise of metal halide and led?
karimwassef
Active member
For LPS, softies and a clam... Looks ok.
For SPS, I would bump it to 400W HQI and get a decent reflector. I like the Hamilton myself.
For SPS, I would bump it to 400W HQI and get a decent reflector. I like the Hamilton myself.
andrewbram
New member
I agree let it run longer I have done a lot of reading and it looks like there will be a 20% difference in growth. Plus one must consider acclimation to led I do believe acclimation is key I think led will do it but it just takes longer to get results.
lpsouth1978
New member
I am running 2 x 250W 14k Phoenix, on HQI ballasts, over one end. The LED is in my signature. It is a custom fixture that my roommate and I built. the 2/3 of the tank, that are currently LED, consists of 304 x 3W Cree XPE and XPG diodes, except for the violets which, if I remember correctly, are Luxeon.
The colors used were (for the 2/3rds of the tank) are:
60 x Neutral White @ 1000mA @ 100%
124 x Royal Blue @ 1000mA @ 100%
36 x Blue @ 700mA @ 100%
24 x Red @ 700mA @ 25%
36 x Cyan @ 700mA @ 25%
24 x 420nm Violet @ 700mA @ 100%
Hope this helps. This is certainly not a test of any one system, just a comparison between my MH and LED systems, so it must be taken with a grain of salt.
karimwassef
Active member
Can you measure PAR over time too?
You may need to acclimate and increase feeding, if they are turning pale they are either getting more light than they are used to or they are hungry, maybe both.
The 150's will work, though not ideal. What ballast and fixture is it? It makes a difference.
Forget the Corallife. The Hamilton is a proper reflector and paired with the M81 ballast will be enough par and spread. Don't confuse wattage with par, a properly setup 150 can provide more par than a poorly setup 250. The Phoenix is a good bulb when driven with the correct M81 ballast.
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