freebies on a piece of LR

[Jnickles85]

So what should I do about the Zoas? Move them or keep them where they are? they are staying pretty small still and not opening a whole lot, almost been a week.

 

[Jnickles85]

If anyone wants to follow my Nano tank here is the link.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=22464284#post22464284

 

[Mael]

checked the fluval link and your right, it says 312 leds and it also says 25 watts.....Now I have heard of running 1watt led's at say 50% but 25watts would mean they were being run at 8%. Unless they are using some low draw LEDS that I haven't heard of, without them listing brand and model of the LED, like CREE or so forth, no way to tell how they got those numbers. It is possible I guees, Most of my research about LED fixtures was about getting Highest PAR output, and for other purposes too, so I could be way off.

 

[A. Grandis]

Grandis,
I emailed Fluval about the LED light fixture and they ended up having to forward my question to one of their experts, they called it, for an answer. This was his response.

The M series Reef Aquariums and LED’s will effectively grow SPS corals up to a depth of 10”. However, light requirements for corals varies greatly and some higher light requiring SPS species may have to be placed within the top 4” to 6” to receive adequate light. LPS and Soft corals can be placed in the tank up to 16” deep but some corals may also do well deeper depending on where they were grown (ie. aquacultured or wild).

I thought you would like to know since no one else came to our rescue in the thread.
...

Again, thanks for posting here! That way other can participate and give their opinions as well.

Well, well, well…
Those info weren't exactly what many here would want to hear. Am I wrong? :wildone:

IMO the fixture doesn't have enough intensity, to begin with.
Not to talk about that weird 25000K choice for spectrum.
The LEDs are probably 1W each and they are spread.

The claims that "it can grow" is superficial to say the least.
Anyone can say that. They say that at PetCo too. They sell that fixture there too.
:fun5:
I've seen recently the fixture in a friend's 55gal and I felt sorry for the guy.
Now the same friend has 2 of those 120W Chinese ebay deals and... boy the difference is more than clear!!!
No comparison!!
Almost same price for a huuuuuuge difference.

Here is the video of the Marine and Reef Fluval fixture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCMJSQNI94w

Please listen to the video and take your conclusions…

Here are mine:
1) 80cm = 31.5 inches with only 35W?????? Are you kidding me?
The Chinese black box LED has 120W and it's about 18" long.
I've called my local PetCo and they said the fixture has 504 LED bulbs.
Doesn't make sense...

2) 4 types of blue LED bulbs to achieve a 25.000K? For what? For basically no actinic supplementation? LOL!!! I'm sorry, but that's just so unreal!

3)Right spectrum out of the box? UUUHH...

4)400nm, 420nm, 440nm, 460nm for blues and a 600nm for red?
They added the red just so the red corals would look red, artificially by reflection. Other wise it would look brown/black! Just think about deep water blue for that spectrum. That would mask the low intensity by giving you the illusion. No 10000k whites at all? Hummm…

5) Blue bulbs (blue spectrum) ARE very important.
Red bulbs (red spectrum) AREN'T very important.
The white IS very important and has some of the red in the spectrum. Normally the white bulbs, including 10000K bulbs, will already have some of the red needed!!

6)15000K "white"bulbs? The white is already too blue!! The quantity of white doesn't even play and they know that because the end of the story says 25000K. Not what we would look for.

7)The 460nm isn't that bright as we know and he points out. With all those blue LEDs the tank also looks unpleasant to me!! At least to me.

8)Protection against humidity and water intrusion? That's because you'll need to put the fixture almost in the water to be able to see the corals! LOL!!

9)Putting the fixture close to the water will improve efficiency? That's also because the lenses are 120° instead 90°. Light is dispersed and wasted.

10) "Not protected" fixtures are placed 8" above surface? Those inexpensive fixtures are 120W, have a dimmer, and 90 lenses. Light is directed to the tank, not to the walls. And you won't even use 100% of the dimmable lights most of the time. They are bright!

11) 120° lenses? No thanks, 90° is better.

12) Inverse-square law is right!
The angle of the 90° lenses will cover that easily!!!
The amount of intensity per square inches is still very important for any type of artificial/natural light for corals/zoas. No intensity, no deal!

...My next question is, since my tank is 14" from top to bottom where should I place the Zoas? They are about 8 1/2" from the top right now. I do not want to risk cooking them. Since the LED's can grow heavy light dependant SPS up to 6" Should I drop the Zoas down to the bottom and see how they do ? That would place them about 12" from the lights.

Good question!
Don't you worry, my friend. You won't cook your zoas with that fixture.
In fact I would suggest to get your money back and get some of those ebay deals, like my friend did.
You won't regret.
I'm just telling you my opinion.
I didn't realize that the fixture was the same my friend had until I saw that video above.

Here is my US$.02 to you.
Good luck!

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

312 LEDs over a 24g tank? How many watts? Just curious.

Bugs me!

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

checked the fluval link and your right, it says 312 leds and it also says 25 watts.....Now I have heard of running 1watt led's at say 50% but 25watts would mean they were being run at 8%. Unless they are using some low draw LEDS that I haven't heard of, without them listing brand and model of the LED, like CREE or so forth, no way to tell how they got those numbers. It is possible I guees, Most of my research about LED fixtures was about getting Highest PAR output, and for other purposes too, so I could be way off.

Hehe. That's a fake number.

Grandis.

 

[Jnickles85]

Again, thanks for posting here! That way other can participate and give their opinions as well.

Well, well, well"¦
Those info weren't exactly what many here would want to hear. Am I wrong? :wildone:

IMO the fixture doesn't have enough intensity, to begin with.
Not to talk about that weird 25000K choice for spectrum.
The LEDs are probably 1W each and they are spread.

The claims that "it can grow" is superficial to say the least.
Anyone can say that. They say that at PetCo too. They sell that fixture there too.
:fun5:
I've seen recently the fixture in a friend's 55gal and I felt sorry for the guy.
Now the same friend has 2 of those 120W Chinese ebay deals and... boy the difference is more than clear!!!
No comparison!!
Almost same price for a huuuuuuge difference.

Here is the video of the Marine and Reef Fluval fixture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCMJSQNI94w

Please listen to the video and take your conclusions"¦

Here are mine:
1) 80cm = 31.5 inches with only 35W?????? Are you kidding me?
The Chinese black box LED has 120W and it's about 18" long.
I've called my local PetCo and they said the fixture has 504 LED bulbs.
Doesn't make sense...

2) 4 types of blue LED bulbs to achieve a 25.000K? For what? For basically no actinic supplementation? LOL!!! I'm sorry, but it's just so unreal!

3)Right spectrum out of the box? UUUHH...

4)400nm, 420nm, 440nm, 460nm for blues and a 600nm for red?
They added the red just so the red corals would look red, artificially by reflection. Other wise it would look brown/black! Just think about deep water blue for that spectrum. That would mask the low intensity by giving you the illusion. No 10000k whites at all? Hummm"¦

5) Blue bulbs (blue spectrum) ARE very important.
Red bulbs (red spectrum) AREN'T very important.
The white IS very important and has some of the red in the spectrum. Normally the white bulbs, including 10000K bulbs, will already have some of the red needed!!

6)15000K "white"bulbs? The white is already too blue!! The quantity of white doesn't even play and they know that because the end of the story says 25000K. Not what we would look for.

7)The 460nm isn't that bright as we know and he points out. With all those blue LEDs the tank also looks unpleasant to me!! At least to me.

8)Protection against humidity and water intrusion? That's because you'll need to put the fixture almost in the water to be able to see the corals! LOL!!

9)Putting the fixture close to the water will improve efficiency? That's also because the lenses are 120° instead 90°. Light is dispersed and wasted.

10) "Not protected" fixtures are placed 8" above surface? Those inexpensive fixtures are 120W, have a dimmer, and 90 lenses. Light is directed to the tank, not to the walls. And you won't even use 100% of the dimmable lights most of the time. They are bright!

11) 120° lenses? No thanks, 90° is better.

12) Inverse-square law is right!
The angle of the 90° lenses will cover that easily!!!
The amount of intensity per square inches is still very important for any type of artificial/natural light for corals/zoas. No intensity, no deal!



Good question!
Don't you worry, my friend. You won't cook your zoas with that fixture.
In fact I would suggest to get your money back and get some of those ebay deals, like my friend did.
You won't regret.
I'm just telling you my opinion.
I didn't realize that the fixture was the same my friend had until I saw that video above.

Here is my US$.02 to you.
Good luck!

Grandis.

Well the light fixture came with the tank package. So I didn't actually waste the money just on the light fixture. Also I am now wondering why they would say that the light can support corals at different depths if it really can't?

Which Chinese LED fixtures are you talking about?

I don't mind the way my tank looks. The blue is a little bright at night but besides that it doesn't look to bad.

 

[A. Grandis]

Well the light fixture came with the tank package. So I didn't actually waste the money just on the light fixture. Also I am now wondering why they would say that the light can support corals at different depths if it really can't?

Which Chinese LED fixtures are you talking about?

I don't mind the way my tank looks. The blue is a little bright at night but besides that it doesn't look to bad.

NO (Normal Output) fluorescent bulbs WILL "support corals" as well. Yes, those old style T8s and T12s! That's how many began 25 years ago. Coralife bulbs. Triton bulbs. That's so long ago!!!!

That fixture of yours just isn't the best deal to me.

please note that my observations were referring to their mid size long fixture.

I didn't realize that was a package.
It's up to you to decide what is going to be done.
If you want to have light available for any coral with decent intensity available I would think that fixture won't help.

like they said. Not for all the corals anyway. Who knows for what really with those messed up info with the numbers...

For those Chinese LED fixtures please check this out:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2380453

Grandis.

 

[Jnickles85]

NO (Normal Output) fluorescent bulbs WILL "support corals" as well. Yes, those old style T8s and T12s! That's how many began 25 years ago. Coralife bulbs. Triton bulbs. That's so long ago!!!!

That fixture of yours just isn't the best deal to me.

please note that my observations were referring to their mid size long fixture.

I didn't realize that was a package.
It's up to you to decide what is going to be done.
If you want to have light available for any coral with decent intensity available I would think that fixture won't help.

like they said. Not for all the corals anyway. Who knows for what really with those messed up info with the numbers...

For those Chinese LED fixtures please check this out:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2380453

Grandis.

I so not have any normal output bulbs in my fixture. Just LED's.

Going to check out your link now.

I did come across a 24 inch 92w T5 fixture. Wasnt to expensive. But I really don't think I want to spend to much more money right now. My plan to begin with was to stay with soft corals. I guess the Zoa hitchhikers I have will be the test to see how well they do.

 

[A. Grandis]

I so not have any normal output bulbs in my fixture. Just LED's.

Going to check out your link now.

I did come across a 24 inch 92w T5 fixture. Wasnt to expensive. But I really don't think I want to spend to much more money right now. My plan to begin with was to stay with soft corals. I guess the Zoa hitchhikers I have will be the test to see how well they do.

Oh no, I said "as well", or "just like".
I didn't say that you've got NO tubes. Yours are LEDs!
T5 fixture is way better than that fixture you've got. That's for sure.

I look for the same light for zoas and SPS.
Even though I have no SPS here.
The light for zoas is supposed to resemble a shallow water environment, where most of the zoanthids are from.
But this is only what I do and recommend.
There are certainly others that will just go with those type of light for their zoas. They can probably survive.

Like I've said, up to you.

Everyone is free to say what they think here and that's just what I think.

No worries...

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

I found this article here with a little more info to help you:

http://www.reefs.com/blog/2012/07/12/product-review-hagen-fluval-sea-led-light/

The article says that those LEDs are the same used on cell phones (indicator lights/flash strobes).
It talks about the "36" fixture", which is in reality 33 1/2.
Lots of miss info with their numbers, I guess.

Keep in mind that they probably gave that fixture for the review and they were expecting some promotion from the site.
So the reviewer needs to say the truth, and at the same time promote it somehow.
That's the way it works.

Grandis.