GHL Mitras Club
- Thread starter rodneyri
- Start date
BigAl2007
Active member
You would need probably 4 Mitras to ensure wall to wall coverage. If you got really creative maybe 3 units.
reefmutt
Active member
Hey Mike.. Thanks, I've been playing with many programs over the pasts 7 months. This last program has only been running for a week.
I have 6200s- I upgraded my 6100s very early and really like the new led clusters..
Unfortunately, I am a Mac user. I have to borrow a buddy's laptop every time in want to tweak my program. They are saved in his laptop and he's not very tech savvy so he isn't really able to email me my project.. Sorry.. One of these days I'll remember to get over there and get the program myself..
However, I can tell you essentially how I design my projects..
I run all blue channels at 100% throughout the whole project (on 6200, that is hv, blue, rb, blue white) that is to say these four LEDs dominate the light mixture in all programmed k values. Dawn and dusk are very high k. Light on at 7 am and off at 11pm. Between 7-10 and 8-11pm intensity only goes up to (and down from) 30%. I introduce some white starting at 8 am but just a small amount.
At 10 am the whites and red/green LEDs begin to ramp up. From 10 am to 2pm intensity goes from 30 to 60% and k drops from 18 to 14 (aprox). From 1pm to 3pm, I give the tank a real shot- intensity goes to 100% and k drops to around 12. From 3pm to 5pm, k rises back to 14 and intensity drops back to 60%..
Up until recently I was using lower k values across the program but I found that some corals were showing light stress, so I lowered the intensity on the whites, thus raising the k values throughout the program.
If you run too high an intensity with too low a k value (meaning too much white led light) you run the risk of actually bleaching, or whitening the corals instead of colouring them up.
I have 3 Mitras over a 53 inch tank so I have to be careful not to blast the corals with too much light.
My experience with these lights and a few other LEDs on the market (AI, ecotech) is that the blue LEDs are much less harmful or stressful to the corals, but the white LEDs can seriously damage coral. I usually aim for a 60%/40% mix between blue/white LEDs respectively.
I recently backed off on general intensity and reduced the whites (raised the k) on my midday peak in an attempt to get more colour.
I know this is contrary to Aaron's experience but I assume it's because I have 3 fixtures over a small area..
The trick to success with LEDs is complex because corals seem to react to led light more dramatically than they do to t5 or mh and the human eye seems to register led light as more dim than t5 or mh.. With LEDs, you can't judge the intensity the corals are experiencing by how intense the light seems to your eyes..not to mention the whole issue with coral nutrition and reaction to led light.. I find that ulns corals have even more trouble dealing with led light, so if you are running low nutrients, corals are naturally pale but too much led light could pale them even more..
Now, I have to tell you that I also run 4 t5 bulbs from 10 am to 8 pm basically because I find the tank kind of dim and I want it brighter for viewing. I honestly don't think that they are significantly contributing to the colour of my sps. I've run the Mitras both with and without t5 supplementation and have had the same results..
Hope this long winded response helps!
I have 6200s- I upgraded my 6100s very early and really like the new led clusters..
Unfortunately, I am a Mac user. I have to borrow a buddy's laptop every time in want to tweak my program. They are saved in his laptop and he's not very tech savvy so he isn't really able to email me my project.. Sorry.. One of these days I'll remember to get over there and get the program myself..
However, I can tell you essentially how I design my projects..
I run all blue channels at 100% throughout the whole project (on 6200, that is hv, blue, rb, blue white) that is to say these four LEDs dominate the light mixture in all programmed k values. Dawn and dusk are very high k. Light on at 7 am and off at 11pm. Between 7-10 and 8-11pm intensity only goes up to (and down from) 30%. I introduce some white starting at 8 am but just a small amount.
At 10 am the whites and red/green LEDs begin to ramp up. From 10 am to 2pm intensity goes from 30 to 60% and k drops from 18 to 14 (aprox). From 1pm to 3pm, I give the tank a real shot- intensity goes to 100% and k drops to around 12. From 3pm to 5pm, k rises back to 14 and intensity drops back to 60%..
Up until recently I was using lower k values across the program but I found that some corals were showing light stress, so I lowered the intensity on the whites, thus raising the k values throughout the program.
If you run too high an intensity with too low a k value (meaning too much white led light) you run the risk of actually bleaching, or whitening the corals instead of colouring them up.
I have 3 Mitras over a 53 inch tank so I have to be careful not to blast the corals with too much light.
My experience with these lights and a few other LEDs on the market (AI, ecotech) is that the blue LEDs are much less harmful or stressful to the corals, but the white LEDs can seriously damage coral. I usually aim for a 60%/40% mix between blue/white LEDs respectively.
I recently backed off on general intensity and reduced the whites (raised the k) on my midday peak in an attempt to get more colour.
I know this is contrary to Aaron's experience but I assume it's because I have 3 fixtures over a small area..
The trick to success with LEDs is complex because corals seem to react to led light more dramatically than they do to t5 or mh and the human eye seems to register led light as more dim than t5 or mh.. With LEDs, you can't judge the intensity the corals are experiencing by how intense the light seems to your eyes..not to mention the whole issue with coral nutrition and reaction to led light.. I find that ulns corals have even more trouble dealing with led light, so if you are running low nutrients, corals are naturally pale but too much led light could pale them even more..
Now, I have to tell you that I also run 4 t5 bulbs from 10 am to 8 pm basically because I find the tank kind of dim and I want it brighter for viewing. I honestly don't think that they are significantly contributing to the colour of my sps. I've run the Mitras both with and without t5 supplementation and have had the same results..
Hope this long winded response helps!
reefmutt
Active member
Thanks Al.. I find too many people fail to achieve success with LEDs and blame the light when it is probably another factor in the tank or simply not using the light properly..
By the way, forgot to mention that I run my Mitras in HE mode with the centre light at 70% and the two sides at 75%
Here's my tyree lime in the sky..
Pink lemonade
Unknown frag from lfs
Red planet
Ok last one.. Unknown wild Aussie frag
By the way, forgot to mention that I run my Mitras in HE mode with the centre light at 70% and the two sides at 75%
Here's my tyree lime in the sky..
Pink lemonade
Unknown frag from lfs
Red planet
Ok last one.. Unknown wild Aussie frag
BigAl2007
Active member
Matt I couldn't agree with you more. I really like how you added the ULNS comment to your write up. I actually just made a comment yesterday in an unrelated thread about "coral feeding" etc when talking about LED. There is a lot more to coral health than just blasting them with light. So many people are quick to blame LED when in fact something else very well could be "off" in the tank and the LED merely amplified the situation. We forget that it's really just one big balance beam and changing any single variable could upset this balance even though the change might be a "good" change.
Very well said indeed.
Your colors look amazing
Thanks for sharing
Very well said indeed.
Your colors look amazing
Thanks for sharing 
AQD_ottawa
New member
Matt can you email me your project please it will make a great stater project for everyone that asks for it. thanks
Matt,
Great expalantion . thank you for taking your time, really appreciated.this weekend i will try to mimic your set up on 6100 and report back to you. If you can PM your email i will send you my current project and new one for you review
What major different have you notice between 6100 and 6200, i know 6200 provide more blue spectrum .
lastly, do you run bak system like prodibio or zeo?
mike
Great expalantion . thank you for taking your time, really appreciated.this weekend i will try to mimic your set up on 6100 and report back to you. If you can PM your email i will send you my current project and new one for you review
What major different have you notice between 6100 and 6200, i know 6200 provide more blue spectrum .
lastly, do you run bak system like prodibio or zeo?
mike
reefmutt
Active member
Hobite, ca vaut la peine! You'll love the light.
Michael, I'll try to get my last 3 programs (they are fairly similar) to you this weekend..
Mike, I honestly wouldn't even know how to look at somebody else's program.. Would I have to load it into the control centre?
As for differences, I can't really say.. I didn't have the 6100s long enough to really see what they would do... I switched over right when the upgrades came out..
I have a compartmentalised dsb in my sump, run biopellets, use some vinegar, have two decent skimmers and feed a LOT of coral foods and fish food..
Michael, I'll try to get my last 3 programs (they are fairly similar) to you this weekend..
Mike, I honestly wouldn't even know how to look at somebody else's program.. Would I have to load it into the control centre?
As for differences, I can't really say.. I didn't have the 6100s long enough to really see what they would do... I switched over right when the upgrades came out..
I have a compartmentalised dsb in my sump, run biopellets, use some vinegar, have two decent skimmers and feed a LOT of coral foods and fish food..
