Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides

[jminick2]

So a few posts back That Jp guy (the smart rude one who knocks on peoples tanks for having LEDs) He comments that's LEDs create weird growth patterns which I don't disagree.

My question is why AND If you use LEDs to supplement MH will you continue to see these strange growth patterns?

 

[firebirdude]

The coloration in that picture is terrible. lol And while you can always argue that it's tough to tell color due to a bad camera, etc.... the foxface is quite vibrant.

 

[fewponds]

Yep, the coloration is terrible, it is 3 months now on T5, after years on leds so I am wating for the effects (but the light is not enought for the colrful effects...)

 

[kenpau]

Yep, the coloration is terrible, it is 3 months now on T5, after years on leds so I am wating for the effects (but the light is not enought for the colrful effects...)

The coloration in that picture is terrible. lol And while you can always argue that it's tough to tell color due to a bad camera, etc.... the foxface is quite vibrant.

This just shows how difficult it can be to get a DIY unit right, and why a lot of people fail, seems you were halfway there because you had the growth but were probably lacking lighting closer to the 20K spectrum for colour.
Companies like Giesemann, ATI, Ecotech and AI must invest massive amounts of time and money researching the correct diodes to use for optimum growth and colour; it's not as easy as just throwing a DIY unit together.

 

[firebirdude]

Companies like Giesemann, ATI, Ecotech and AI must invest massive amounts of time and money researching the correct diodes to use for optimum growth and colour; it's not as easy as just throwing a DIY unit together.

lol Nearly all of those companies released units that were very similar years ago. And they've all had revisions since then. A unit being DIY doesn't automatically mean failure just because it's DIY, as you are inferring.

 

[kenpau]

lol Nearly all of those companies released units that were very similar years ago. And they've all had revisions since then. A unit being DIY doesn't automatically mean failure just because it's DIY, as you are inferring.

Is that what I said? Automatic failure? I said that's why a lot of people fail, not all people, it's definitely possible to create a DIY LED unit that will provide good growth and colour, what I'm saying is that it's not as easy as throwing a few diodes on a circuit board, there is an element of research that needs to go into it to get the right spectrums etc.
You're right a lot of the early LED fixtures from major companies weren't good enough, but again that's not what I said, I said that they must invest a lot of time and money into research to try and select the correct diodes and spectrums for their lights, not that their fixtures were perfect from the word go.

 

[sirreal63]

For most of them, that time and research was in seeing what the DIY crowd was doing, then copying that. The DIY crowd is usually ahead of the so called R&D of light mfg's. If you have followed the advancements made in the DIY sector, you would also have seen the mfg's adopt it in their next gen lights. It has happened numerous times.

 

[rich850]

What are you running these days?

What are you running these days?

For most of them, that time and research was in seeing what the DIY crowd was doing, then copying that. The DIY crowd is usually ahead of the so called R&D of light mfg's. If you have followed the advancements made in the DIY sector, you would also have seen the mfg's adopt it in their next gen lights. It has happened numerous times.

What are you using for lighting these days? It's been a while man.

 

[sirreal63]

Still the LumenMax Large with a 250 watt Radium, a pair of 24" VHO Superactintics and some EcoXotic LEDs for supplements. I have spent the past year working on building our future farm and the tank has really taken a hit. Priorities change, even when they are short term. I will have a lot of rebuilding to do once I set it up at the farm.

I trust things have been well for you?

 

[rich850]

Well I bought the hydra 52s and miss my running halides and t5s on my tanks

 

[rich850]

Are you still running the modded vertex skimmer?

 

[sirreal63]

I will keep my halide ballast and reflector collection as long as I can get bulbs. Yes, I am still running the Vertex, it has done a great job for me. I need to pull it out and give it a good cleaning, but it will have to wait. I still believe it was one of the body designs ever made, probably why it has been copied so much.

 

[rich850]

You might as well I got rid of my halide reflectors and lumatek ballasts unfortunately. I'm glad to hear the skimmer is still working out. I'm going to end up going back to the ati sun power soon. I would prefer to go back to some 14k Phoenix double ended but Im pretty sure I'm going to do the sunpower.

 

[kenpau]

For most of them, that time and research was in seeing what the DIY crowd was doing, then copying that. The DIY crowd is usually ahead of the so called R&D of light mfg's. If you have followed the advancements made in the DIY sector, you would also have seen the mfg's adopt it in their next gen lights. It has happened numerous times.

I'm not sure what you're saying here....Ecotech, Giesemann, Aqua Illuminations don't have engineers and technicians measuring PAR and colour spectrums on their lights to optimise output? They just copy what Steve from Chicago threw together in his basement do they?

 

[falconut]

It's been close to 2-1/2 years since I switched from (2) magnetic 250W MHs over to (2) Ocean Revive S026 LEDs and I still couldn't be happier I made the switch. I'm running them around 65%/50% and corals have been growing like weeds and look great, minimal algae, no bulb changes and no heat. I still have my MH fixtures, just encase. But doubt I'll be switching back.

 

[sirreal63]

I'm not sure what you're saying here....Ecotech, Giesemann, Aqua Illuminations don't have engineers and technicians measuring PAR and colour spectrums on their lights to optimise output? They just copy what Steve from Chicago threw together in his basement do they?

If you had been around a while, you would already know this. the DIY crowd was the first to start using Royal Blue, shortly after the mfg's started adding them, the DIY crowd started adding reds, greens, violets, etc. and then they showed up in mfg. units. There is no doubt who has been leading the way in development, and it isn't the companies who make fixtures, it is the people in the reefing community. Do some of these companies have R&D, of course they do, but it seems to be more on the software side.

 

[KafudaFish]

And warm white being replaced by cool white.

 

[kenpau]

If you had been around a while, you would already know this. the DIY crowd was the first to start using Royal Blue, shortly after the mfg's started adding them, the DIY crowd started adding reds, greens, violets, etc. and then they showed up in mfg. units. There is no doubt who has been leading the way in development, and it isn't the companies who make fixtures, it is the people in the reefing community. Do some of these companies have R&D, of course they do, but it seems to be more on the software side.

A company such as Giesemann may have been working towards implementing Royal blue for a while before anyone implemented it in a DIY fixture. When a major company creates a fixture for sale obviously it has to go through various testing stages and improvements, this takes time. Anyone could have heard about this latest development and implemented it into their own DIY setup before it was released by a major company.
I can't believe that qualified technicians and designers for major companies are trawling through reef forums looking for ideas from home DIY hobbyists.

 

[sirreal63]

Consider that even though you cannot believe it, that does not keep it from being reality. The majority of these early mfg's did not have much for R&D, AI is a prime example. Not knocking the light, or the company, but if you go back and look at when the DIY crowd was innovating and how long it was before the mfg's caught up, the story is very telling. Fortunately with a little time invested on your part, that story can be read right here on RC.

 

[Breadman03]

I can't believe that qualified technicians and designers for major companies are trawling through reef forums looking for ideas from home DIY hobbyists.

I bet there is a healthy amount of overlap. A company must provide a marketable product, and must stay in touch with market demands in order to remain profitable. As such, it's logical that these companies study the market to determine current and future demand.