Doing a little 'light' research. If you have LEDs please respond.
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
~RuSh~
New member
Marineland Reef Capable LED fixture. (18-24inch)
I've had this fixture for a few years now. I originally had it on a 10g frag tank and now I have it on my 16g bowfront.
The design of this fixture is sleek. It's relatively light and is nice and thin. The dimensions are 17"x 4-5?x1/2". It has extendable legs that allow it to sit on a tank that is up to 24 inches long.
There are 21 1 watt LED's 18(10,000K) and 3(460nm actinic). The color output of this fixture is very warm. It doesn't do a very good job of accentuating corals flourescent colors. It's basically like looking at a tank with an old 60 watt light bulb from your average bedroom lamp. PAR numbers are 130 at 12 inches deep, so you will probably won't be able to grow SPS with this fixture. All that being said I have had great success growing soft corals and zoanthids. The zoas do well at all levels of the tank, up to 3 inches from the light down to the sand bed which is about 14 inches from the light. I also keep some Acanthastrea and some euphyillias but they would benefit from a stronger light source. I have a kenya tree that has basically grown back (I had cut it off at the base to get rid of it) from nothing under this light as well.
The first fixture that I bought had some problems. 4 of the LED's went out completely after about 6 months. I emailed Marineland about it and after some Q&A they sent me a new fixture free of charge. The new fixture is still up and running and going strong. The latest versions of this light have a digital timer and ability to set light phases between the 10k's and actinics so that is a nice feature.
I've had this fixture for a few years now. I originally had it on a 10g frag tank and now I have it on my 16g bowfront.
The design of this fixture is sleek. It's relatively light and is nice and thin. The dimensions are 17"x 4-5?x1/2". It has extendable legs that allow it to sit on a tank that is up to 24 inches long.
There are 21 1 watt LED's 18(10,000K) and 3(460nm actinic). The color output of this fixture is very warm. It doesn't do a very good job of accentuating corals flourescent colors. It's basically like looking at a tank with an old 60 watt light bulb from your average bedroom lamp. PAR numbers are 130 at 12 inches deep, so you will probably won't be able to grow SPS with this fixture. All that being said I have had great success growing soft corals and zoanthids. The zoas do well at all levels of the tank, up to 3 inches from the light down to the sand bed which is about 14 inches from the light. I also keep some Acanthastrea and some euphyillias but they would benefit from a stronger light source. I have a kenya tree that has basically grown back (I had cut it off at the base to get rid of it) from nothing under this light as well.
The first fixture that I bought had some problems. 4 of the LED's went out completely after about 6 months. I emailed Marineland about it and after some Q&A they sent me a new fixture free of charge. The new fixture is still up and running and going strong. The latest versions of this light have a digital timer and ability to set light phases between the 10k's and actinics so that is a nice feature.
Definitely get a PAR meter when making the switch if you don't have one. It is very easy to bleach and burn the corals under LEDs. I borrowed a buddy's after using LEDs for months and found my PAR was 400+ on the sand, it was 900+ at the water surface and around 600 1/2 way down the tank. I wondered why my coral was all pastel looking. Mystery solved.
greech
New member
I have a 40 breeder with a 4 bulb T5 (Sundial made by Current) running ATI bulbs. I added a 24" (tank is 36") DIY LED strip from Reefledlights.com with 12x3W cree royal blues with no optics. I don't recall the chips but I think they were XT-E. This worked great for several months but some of my more fleshy LPS, such as scolies and bowerbanki, on the sandbed started to lose some color. Deep reds turned pinkish and greens turned light yellowish. I have since had to reduce the photoperiod. I now only run the LEDs in the morning and last 2 hours of the evening.
The good news is that my SPS have never looked better!
The good news is that my SPS have never looked better!
tphill
New member
On my 38g, I have a Marineland Double Bright 36"-48". This light was very disapointing from the beginning, giving a yellowish light. So I bought a couple of supplimental strips, a couple moonlight strips, and added 2 10w royal blue chips. Now I really like the color. The supplimental strips are 2 Tru Lumen 10" strips with 2x 12,000K & 2x 453 blue, and the moonlights are 2 Tru Lumen Lunar lights w/3 453 blue. The 10w led chips, drivers, and heatsinks are cheap from China, but have been functioning great since September 2012. Under just the 2 10w chips, all my corals, which is mostly zoas, palys, and mushrooms really flouresce.
Prior to the leds, I had a Odyssea 4 bulb T5 fixture, with the stock bulbs. That really did nothing for the corals.
Prior to the leds, I had a Odyssea 4 bulb T5 fixture, with the stock bulbs. That really did nothing for the corals.
Neogenocide
New member
I'm running nothing but LED over my 180g DT and my frag tanks. All Cree LED's of one series or another. I find the color to be a bit lacking with the standard blue and white combos. That can easily be addressed now with some of the other colors available on the market. Growth is absolutely great, I initially moved from halides, but that was nearly 3 years ago, and I was very unsatisfied with them. So I can't really comment on that.
E Rosewater
New member
I have a DIY LED (Luxeon Blue, Royal Blue and Neutral White with some generic violets) over my tank. I love the look and the corals seem healthy. It's been about 3 months.
accordsirh22
New member
diy led with 3w LEDs, 18 blues and 18 whites. they sit about 4-5 inches above the water. color and growth has been fantastic. tank is 21" tall. have stuff ranging from just above the sandbed to just barely below the water surface.
Terrance
New member
I'm using reefbreeders value fixture. Its difficult to bleach corals with LEDs if you have dimmable features. Start off with low settings, then slowly brighten up the light each week and see how LPS respond. I think its easier to bleach corals with MH.
Corals looks great with the right LED color combination. Straight royal blues and cool whites are a bit lacking IMO. Regular blues, violets, green, and a tiny bit of deep red would definitely help improve coral colors, but there is no consistent proof of that yet. Some people have noticed a decline in colors of certain corals with straight royal blues and cool whites.
My tank is too new, so I have not had any growth yet. Coral color is fabulous though. If I had to start over and choose between MH and LED, then I'd definitely pick LED again.
Corals looks great with the right LED color combination. Straight royal blues and cool whites are a bit lacking IMO. Regular blues, violets, green, and a tiny bit of deep red would definitely help improve coral colors, but there is no consistent proof of that yet. Some people have noticed a decline in colors of certain corals with straight royal blues and cool whites.
My tank is too new, so I have not had any growth yet. Coral color is fabulous though. If I had to start over and choose between MH and LED, then I'd definitely pick LED again.
hoju74
New member
I have 2 SOL Blues over a LPS dominant 65g tank. Growth has been great, but color is lacking a little. I'm debating either adding a few Ecoxotic RGB strips, or upgrading to the SOL Vega.
I'll echo what Terrance said about it being hard to bleach with dimming features. I started low and increased 5% per week and everyone is happy.
I'll echo what Terrance said about it being hard to bleach with dimming features. I started low and increased 5% per week and everyone is happy.
doublejhunter
New member
I switched from 6x39w T5's to a Maxspect Razor 160 16K. So far my corals love it and so do I.
skidoctor
New member
I run DIY non-dimmable from rapidled. 8 cw 5w on one driver, 18 rb 3w, 6 uv 3w on two seperate drivers. RB and UV 10 hours, CW 5 hours. I switched from Odysea 4 bulb t5's. The colors are incredible- like everything glows. LPS and softies have been growing consistantly. I've finally been able to maintain stable parameters and my SPS has great pe. If I were to do it over I would go dimmable and add some more leds, not necesarily red or green, but more blue and uv. The uv does help distort the yellowish tint of the whites It almost looks like a disco ball, the colors blend to a certain degree, but you can definitely tell that the uv is a seperate light. I've found that anything yellow gets a reddish tint (yellow tang, yellowtail damsel) and everything orange or red really pops (acans, rbta, zoas). Purples and blues tend to get a washed out look.
Ghstwolf
New member
2 Ecotech Radion (Gen 1) over my 90g system. I generally ramp up slowly starting with all blues at 630, then switch to 14K mode and ramp up in 10/15% increases until 1100 when I'm running at 70% power.. At 3pm my lights switch over to 20K mode and ramp down to full off by 8pm.. Everything in my tank LPS and a few zoas has been doing great for 4 mths now.. (Yea I know a short time)
Biggest upside I've got from my lighting choice is the fact they put off VERY little heat.. I only have a .5 degree difference from my tank temp at 630am and 8pm when they turn off.
Biggest upside I've got from my lighting choice is the fact they put off VERY little heat.. I only have a .5 degree difference from my tank temp at 630am and 8pm when they turn off.
pictures are of green monti from jan 30 to march 15.
MellowReefer
New member
I've had the Ecoxotic Panorama pros for about a year. I have mainly LPS and most are looking pretty good but I can't say I've noticed any growth except my duncans. I have one SPS, a branching montipora, which seems to be growing quickly. My fuzzy mushrooms bleached the first day and only the ones in total shade look happy now. I had moderate T5 lighting before but I only had a few corals then.
I have the lights under a canopy and I didn't realize you had to have fans for LEDs, so some of them burnt out but since they were under the warranty Ecoxotic replaced them. I think in the user manual they should tell you that you have to use fans under a canopy. It says they produce "virtually no heat" but when I asked them about that they said it means they don't warm your tank water, but you still need to use fans to cool off the lights themselves.
I have the lights under a canopy and I didn't realize you had to have fans for LEDs, so some of them burnt out but since they were under the warranty Ecoxotic replaced them. I think in the user manual they should tell you that you have to use fans under a canopy. It says they produce "virtually no heat" but when I asked them about that they said it means they don't warm your tank water, but you still need to use fans to cool off the lights themselves.
Alavaster
New member
I helped take care of a 200 gal display tank with mostly acros, digi, and chalices for about a year, and when I first started helping out we switched the lights over to Kessil 350's. Even after slow acclimation to the new lights we had to run the thing below half power/intensity. It just kept burning things to hell. But eventually after a lot of fine tuning the thing the colors on the chalices started going crazy, but I didn't see anything different with the SPS than when we ran Halides. (growth or color wise)
Stusdesktop
New member
DIY LED's for me over a new 90g, Bridgelux emitters covering Royal Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Pink, Cool White, Warm White and True Violet, all strings are dimmable.
Too soon to tell on growth but coloring seems better than the old T5 fixture on the previous tank. I've actually cut the white light down to 90 minutes a day, one hammer was looking a little lighter than normal in the whites, everything else looks great to me. One other reason for less white is the color mix I get with all the other LED's, it's actually more pleasing to me.
Too soon to tell on growth but coloring seems better than the old T5 fixture on the previous tank. I've actually cut the white light down to 90 minutes a day, one hammer was looking a little lighter than normal in the whites, everything else looks great to me. One other reason for less white is the color mix I get with all the other LED's, it's actually more pleasing to me.
Oh forgot to mention, I went from MH's to LEDs and I love it. Yes, I'll admit the color is NOT the same. It will probably never pop as much as MH's, but it doesn't look bad. I save a ton on electricity bills and bulb replacement. I live in nola so its "cold" only 2 months out the year, I'm rather happy I switched to LEDs and I will never go back.
Growth is actually pretty good, I think its better for my zoas thus far. Not sure about anything else though since I started with smaller colonies of LPS/SPS
Growth is actually pretty good, I think its better for my zoas thus far. Not sure about anything else though since I started with smaller colonies of LPS/SPS
I am running Apollo leds. Non-dimmable and an older model that is not in current production, but has 90 degree optics. I have had good growth and color but cannot say if the lights have everything to do with it. I switched to a 220g from a 75g and have a 50g sump as opposed to a 10g sump and went from mp10s to mp40s so flow, water volume, and parameters are more consistent. The 75g also only had t-5s. I am also supplementing with 2 VHO actinics.
All the extreme changes aside, I am happy with the growth over the last month and the color is also good. I did think that with just the leds my reds were not as good but since adding VHOs my reds look much better.
All the extreme changes aside, I am happy with the growth over the last month and the color is also good. I did think that with just the leds my reds were not as good but since adding VHOs my reds look much better.
