Do LED's REALLY work or not for SPS...

[Felixc395]

As far as light choices go there are many now a days. I'm examining possibilities and so far my winner is the ATI sunpower for a 75 gallon SPS tank. Yet however I'd love to have LED's because of the shimmer and low heat output. They are most definitely not on the cheap side right now, but if they're really that great then why not. So I'd like to hear some advice and some convincing arguments here. I've heard many many reviews about LED's both good and bad! Hopefully I can figure out this mess soon and start my new tank up. So what do you guys think? How do LED's measure up in terms of intensity and colors for keeping some awesome SPS pieces?

Thanks everyone! (pictures and info greatly appreciated!)

 

[OKchris]

The great lighting debate is not finished...and I'm not sure it ever will be. There are Positives and Negatives of each kind (T5s vs MHs vs LEDs).
You can find several tanks who have converted over to LED lights with before and after shots of the coral and growth. Maybe it will help you decide. I would simply advise to check some of the LED fixtures' owner thread and read what they are saying.
IMO: You won't go wrong with the ATI Sunpower. If you really like the way LEDs light up a tank why not try an LED spotlight or two, or even get an LED strip to accent your tank with a little shimmer.



Search is your friend....

Ex:
One user's LED experience (pic before and after LEDs)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1940932



LED vs T5s for SPS
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1920501



LED color Aesthetics:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1885076



Maxspect LED Owners
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1817995



Also might want to check the Lightning, Filtration, & Other Equipment Forum, for more on LED Lighting although it may not be specific to SPS coral
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=212

 

[jonnybravo22]

i'll give my experience. I use the AI LEDs (gen2, SOL version). I'm a little new to SPS so my experience should be taken with a grain of salt.

I think the answer is yes, they can work well for SPS, but it's a process that has to be tweaked to your individual system, and I think a PAR meter is a necessary companion, at least to get initially set up. In my experience, i was quite disappointed at first with the performance of my sps corals under LEDs. The corals all faded in color after coming home from the LFS. Over time they had lost a lot of color and were mostly pale. Then I got a PAR meter and I soon realized that even at settings less than 100%, i was providing 3-4x the PAR that they got in the LFS. After cutting that back on the lighting intensity, I have seen a lot of color come back, but not all. I am hopefully, though, that the color will continue to come back, and based on what i've seen so far i think it's possible to have good success with LEDS.

I will also add that i have no reservations about recommending LEDs for light sensitive gigantea anemones, as my same LED setup brought a blue gig back from being considerably bleached, to looking like a star. Note the day by day improvement in the thread linked below.

My SPS LED tank: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1905303

MY Blue Gigantea under LEDs: http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809346

You should also check out this general thread on other people's LED SPS tanks, lots of good looking tanks here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1852268

 

[n0rk]

In a word, yes, LEDs can and do keep SPS (and any other photosynthetic organism for what it's worth). The trick is finding a well-designed fixture that gives you all of the innate benefits at a reasonable price and doesn't sacrifice aesthetics. From a personal perspective, tricolour mixes or better in a fixture seem to yield better on both sides of the equation (Vertex Illumina, AquaIllumination, Illumagic, et al), not only does the spectrum feel more "complete" to look at, but these seem to hold colours better than just a RB/CW mix. Watt-for-watt, a well designed fixture should be exceeding a Sunpower... but both are good choices

Pick a fixture that's not going to kill the bank or you'll have irks if it doesn't stack up to your expectations. In the US market you're kinda limited, and given that Sunpower was your choice over the Powermodule, I'd say DIY would be the most appropriate route if you have the capability.

For reference, I personally use 3 different types of LED fixtures (2 commercial and one DIY) and for the relative prices I'm stoked with what they do. I also use a Powermodule on my main display now so there's no bias

 

[allsps40]

Short and simple answer. Yes LEDs do work for sps, quite well in fact.

 

[scrapz]

I love my ATI unit, you can't go wrong with it.

From my lurking it seems.

LEDs:
grow SPS fine, in fact they grow pretty quick.

coral color doesn't seem as deep as with MH. Paler than t5 colors (nutrient dependent)

Price isn't consumer friendly at the moment.

Unless you are building a DIY fixture, replacement can get pretty costly.


Pricing and performance will definitely get better get better as time passes, look at what the t5 vs MH debate years ago. Are LEDS there yet? No, but pretty damn close. I'll switch over in another 2 years when the tech is better.

Would LOVE to try Leds + t5. t5 color with LED shimmer, OMG <3!

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Yes again. Heres mine with updates growth shots.

My LED build

 

[Felixc395]

LED's plus T5's would be awesome! if the fixture is 13.5'' wide and the tank is 18 is there any way to put some LED's that will add shimmer?

Thanks everyone for the advice, it's great to here that I have multiple options!

 

[tmgrash]

LED is every bit as good as all the rest, Here are a few shots I took with my camera phone today of corals strickly grown under led.

 

[jonnybravo22]

I love my ATI unit, you can't go wrong with it.

Are LEDS there yet? No, but pretty damn close. I'll switch over in another 2 years when the tech is better.

what exactly is that supposed to mean? lots of people parrot this, but i think it is useless at best, and depending on your meaning is also very inaccurate, and I would like to know precisely what you mean by "there yet".

are you saying they are too expensive for you / mass market? is that what "there yet" means? Price?

if "there yet" means ability to support photosynthetic life such that they thrive, LEDs are clearly "there". look at all of the great LED tanks on this forum as evidence of that (some of which have been up for several years).

 

[SWINGRRRR]

what exactly is that supposed to mean? lots of people parrot this, but i think it is useless at best, and depending on your meaning is also very inaccurate, and I would like to know precisely what you mean by "there yet".

are you saying they are too expensive for you / mass market? is that what "there yet" means? Price?

if "there yet" means ability to support photosynthetic life such that they thrive, LEDs are clearly "there". look at all of the great LED tanks on this forum as evidence of that (some of which have been up for several years).

X2. After using them, Id say there are "there."
By saying to expensive is subjective. It may be for you, but not for others. T5's may be to expensive for me after you figure in energy cost and bulb replacements every year. Its all depends on how any certain reefer wants to spend the money.

 

[scrapz]

what exactly is that supposed to mean? lots of people parrot this, but i think it is useless at best, and depending on your meaning is also very inaccurate, and I would like to know precisely what you mean by "there yet".

are you saying they are too expensive for you / mass market? is that what "there yet" means? Price?

if "there yet" means ability to support photosynthetic life such that they thrive, LEDs are clearly "there". look at all of the great LED tanks on this forum as evidence of that (some of which have been up for several years).

Mainly the color is not there for me yet. I see all these testaments from led owners saying they have colorful sps. Yet it's hard to find a picture of SPS kept under LED up to my liking. This could be photography related or nutrient related who knows.

Looking for T5? ATI is king. Looking for the "best" MH combo? Galaxy/Radium 250K. The products have been out long and tested. LEDS are newer tech for the reefing community. There is alot more room for advancement by simply adjusting the resistance & extending life while increasing output. Modifying the optics & optic placement for best spread & mixture of colors. IMO, there are still some spectrums I'm missing when I look at LEDS.

not knocking leds, just not for me ATM.

 

[scrapz]

crap double

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Mainly the color is not there for me yet. I see all these testaments from led owners saying they have colorful sps. Yet it's hard to find a picture of SPS kept under LED up to my liking. This could be photography related or nutrient related who knows.

Looking for T5? ATI is king. Looking for the "best" MH combo? Galaxy/Radium 250K. The products have been out long and tested. LEDS are newer tech for the reefing community. There is alot more room for advancement by simply adjusting the resistance & extending life while increasing output. Modifying the optics & optic placement for best spread & mixture of colors. IMO, there are still some spectrums I'm missing when I look at LEDS.

not knocking leds, just not for me ATM.

I had a Pearlberry that was ho-hum for a year. After 3 months of LED's it exploded with color.

And yes, it is very hard to get good pics with LEDs. It was for me anyway. Everything looks washed out with white in the pics, but no in real life.

 

[tmgrash]

So lets see your corals under your MH. You can go post after post where people post pics of washed out, browned out, ugly corals grown under MH and T5 and they get raving reviews. Someone post nice looking corals taken with a camera phone with no photoshop or editing under LED lights and you always get a handful of people who say "color just isnt there". I say show me your corals where the color is there, no photo editing.

 

[jonnybravo22]

So lets see your corals under your MH. You can go post after post where people post pics of washed out, browned out, ugly corals grown under MH and T5 and they get raving reviews. Someone post nice looking corals taken with a camera phone with no photoshop or editing under LED lights and you always get a handful of people who say "color just isnt there". I say show me your corals where the color is there, no photo editing.

I'm with you on the following: there are amazing colors on corals in LED tanks (some great colored corals have been posted in this thread). dont know what more someone could be looking for to say "color isnt there". i suggest people check out the thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1852268; not everybody's corals look great -- but that's not a judgment on the light is it? think about how many MH tanks have coral problems or corals in various states of "vividness". if you see a handful of GREAT looking tanks with corals that have been under LEDs for a while, just don't see how you can say the technology isnt there / "color isnt there". but that's me. i encourage everyone to do what they think is best for them.

 

[Pallobi]

i have minimal sps experience as i have been keeping them under t5's and i have kept them for only 6 months... i have however looked through many forums many of times and have seen ALOT of tanks with led lights and i am very much considering them once i move to my next tank which will be 5 or 6' and quite shallow, perhaps 18 to 20" tops... i am very impressed with the results others have gotten with led's... i would say, with a more non personal experience, but a good amount of reseach, that they do a darn good job... and from what i understand, they last a very very long time, and no bulb replacement, is a HUGE bonus... jmo

 

[Frick]

So lets see your corals under your MH. You can go post after post where people post pics of washed out, browned out, ugly corals grown under MH and T5 and they get raving reviews. Someone post nice looking corals taken with a camera phone with no photoshop or editing under LED lights and you always get a handful of people who say "color just isnt there". I say show me your corals where the color is there, no photo editing.

LOL What? Are you trying to say you will get BETTER color out of LEDS than halides.

Here under 20K 400 Radium;

Don't get me wrong I do think LEDs are the future of aquarium lighting, there are some disadvantages though. That thick polycarb lens over the diode itself and the extra thick plastic lens that are put over those are basically filters. Not to mention ALL THE LED COMPONENTS USED IN AQUARIUM FIXTURE TODAY ARE MADE FOR HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES. NOT AQUARIUMS!!!!!

Don't you think halides went through the same trials when florescents where king? To make a perfect aquarium led replace that lens with quartz or starfire glass(impossible to manufacture) and gear a higher Kalvin wafer for the diode(not done before and cost lots of $).

My answer to the OP; LEDs obviously "work". But my preference is with the color I receive from my halides. It is only a matter of time before I make the permanent switch myself. LEDs are just not for me yet.

 

[tmgrash]

LOL What? Are you trying to say you will get BETTER color out of LED.

LOL, what? Where did you read that? They can and do get EQUAL color out of sps.

My point is that if someone posted pics of their sps grown under LED and announced them as grown under MH there would be a myriad of posts saying how great they looked, no matter how they actually looked. Now if they did opposite that there would be post after post of people claiming proof that LED doesnt get good color.

As far as the lense comment I am not sure what you meant by that? Fact, LED with proper lenses toast MH in terms of par.

While your pics are nice, they certainly are no better than many led sps I have seen, and I think it proves my point. Personally its much to blue for me.

 

[Frick]

Fact, yes a 50watt ecoxotic cannon does toast a 150 coralife lamp with no reflector for PAR. But NO way if your comparing apples to apples. I get in to the 600s for par at the bottom of my 40 gallon. What LED would do that? The panaramas don't I Know this.

Has anyone Compared the actual wavelengths of a LED to a reef halide lamp? I was referring to the lens filtering nanometers out not PAR. Like UV.