Last MH pics maybe? Going to LEDS
- Thread starter Dog boy Dave
- Start date
Big E
Premium Member
Vivid Aquariums has a 800g tank with half MH & half Radions. You can go to their site & see pictures.
The three problems I've seen over & over with LED's in person & threads fwiw......
--People skimp on the number of units & coverage is comprimised, because the commercial units are expensive they don't buy enough to fully cover the tank.
---There are very few full spectrum LED units available right now & Sps colors show this more than any other corals.
---People burn corals because they fail to realize that those units with just blue & white lights are mostly a spectrum range that a coral will take in 100%of the light & reflect none of it. Most halide & T5 bulbs carry multiple in each bulb so not all the light is absorbed........a certain amount is reflected off the coral.
I'm sure Dog Boy has a handle on these issues & can make a DIY setup to allay these concerns.
BigAl2007
Active member
Very true Big E.
The link to the Vivid Aquariums tank was posted just a couple of posts ago so people can see exactly what you're talking about.
Yes people really do "skimp" trying to save on these fixtures because the high end ones with all the features are far from cheap. That's a given but to some of us they are worth the price tag for performance and features. There's a new ultra high end unit that will start shipping to the US in a few weeks that covers 36" x 24" and that coverage is at the sand bed not the top of the tank while also putting a ton of light energy on the sand bed. No more trying to "tweak" your SPS positioning to compensate for light short comings.
Also the newest lights to come on the market will have a much MUCH broader spectrum compared to even the ones that came out in the last year or so. NINE light channels is simply amazing!!
It's so easy to burn coral with LED. I can't believe anyone would even consider an LED fixture without some form of dimming capabilities. My first unit (DIY) is dimmable and I still fried a gorgeous Birds Nest, Red Planet, and HUGE Monti going from 150w MH (at the top of the tank) to 3W LED dimmed to 50% (initially). It took me literally months (and coral) to realize just how intense LED really is. My last fixture (again DIY) took me almost 5 months to acclimate my tank from 10% to 90% and I lost no coral and the colors are stunning. Of course it's a mostly LPS and softie tank but it has a few SPS scattered through out and they are growing well and color is GREAT!
bvoss
New member
I wish I could have the $4,000 I have spent on LEDs back so that I could give it to the power company. My tank has never been the same.
Realize you could lose the whole tank. Be ready for the Alk spike. The corals will shutdown when you make the switch, and your dosing will drive your levels through the roof.
Realize you could lose the whole tank. Be ready for the Alk spike. The corals will shutdown when you make the switch, and your dosing will drive your levels through the roof.
jverna1
Member
I have halides and I am also thinking of taking the LED plunge. Im sick of the high heat and high electric bill but theres nothing better than Radiums so i have been pondering for over a year now. I dont know if everybody goes to reef builders site but did you see the Sps tank with the Orphek dif 100 xp's. They are the new multi chip full spectrum pendants. Let me tell you it really looks like it has MH's. Im seriously thinking of buying them.
Santoki
Shimmer Addict
bvoss,
I'm not sure what happened in your setup, but it is no longer a question whether LEDs work. The debate really should be focused on aesthetics (which is subjective).
Are you a member of the local reef club WAMAS? There are quite a few people that have been running LEDs for a while with success including myself. You could check out the tanks in person. Water chemistry and stability play a much larger role in SPS health, but I think it's easy to blame failures on equipment.
While I am a proponent of LED use, the VIVID tank video really doesn't do much to show real results from LEDs in general. The only thing the video does show is that corals can look the same when shown immediately under the Radions. It really doesn't do much to address growth or color shifts over time.
One thing to think about for the OP, Dog Boy Dave, is that you may experience die-offs if you were to suddenly put LEDs over your tank. You have many large mature colonies that have taken growth patterns adapted to MH lighting. LED lighting is much more direct and you will get many areas which used to be lit that will now be in the dark due to shading from branches, etc... Those areas will die-off and it will take a while before the corals re-adapt and start growing again. The best way to try LEDs is with small frags that have not yet become accustomed to other forms of lighting. This way, they will grow in relation to the type of lighting they are getting.
All colonies shown below were grown from small frags under the same LED setup still running today.
The tabling acro in the above pic can be seen in the below video from 2010 on the left side tank bottom next to the green montipora. The Turquoise A. Loisettae on the right side of the pic was literally 3 polyps I had rescued. It is not visible in the original 2010 vid, but can be seen in my various growth documentation threads.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kx0XUiUpxxQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is a more recent video I shot while playing with the movie function on my DSLR:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BtjHAISFEHM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
All corals seen in videos were original from end of 2009. No corals have been added in the almost 3 years since documentation began.
I'm not trying to convince anyone to switch to LEDs. On the contrary, I think people should stick with what works for them. I just don't think there should be endless debates on whether it works because it obviously does. Whether it is better than any other forms of lighting depends on your specific situation and needs.
-Robert
I'm not sure what happened in your setup, but it is no longer a question whether LEDs work. The debate really should be focused on aesthetics (which is subjective).
Are you a member of the local reef club WAMAS? There are quite a few people that have been running LEDs for a while with success including myself. You could check out the tanks in person. Water chemistry and stability play a much larger role in SPS health, but I think it's easy to blame failures on equipment.
While I am a proponent of LED use, the VIVID tank video really doesn't do much to show real results from LEDs in general. The only thing the video does show is that corals can look the same when shown immediately under the Radions. It really doesn't do much to address growth or color shifts over time.
One thing to think about for the OP, Dog Boy Dave, is that you may experience die-offs if you were to suddenly put LEDs over your tank. You have many large mature colonies that have taken growth patterns adapted to MH lighting. LED lighting is much more direct and you will get many areas which used to be lit that will now be in the dark due to shading from branches, etc... Those areas will die-off and it will take a while before the corals re-adapt and start growing again. The best way to try LEDs is with small frags that have not yet become accustomed to other forms of lighting. This way, they will grow in relation to the type of lighting they are getting.
All colonies shown below were grown from small frags under the same LED setup still running today.
The tabling acro in the above pic can be seen in the below video from 2010 on the left side tank bottom next to the green montipora. The Turquoise A. Loisettae on the right side of the pic was literally 3 polyps I had rescued. It is not visible in the original 2010 vid, but can be seen in my various growth documentation threads.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kx0XUiUpxxQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is a more recent video I shot while playing with the movie function on my DSLR:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BtjHAISFEHM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
All corals seen in videos were original from end of 2009. No corals have been added in the almost 3 years since documentation began.
I'm not trying to convince anyone to switch to LEDs. On the contrary, I think people should stick with what works for them. I just don't think there should be endless debates on whether it works because it obviously does. Whether it is better than any other forms of lighting depends on your specific situation and needs.
-Robert
Sps and leds dont mix
Sps and leds dont mix
I have a 120 gallon reef i started in november last year with radion the best led fitures out their and watched my sps corals turn brown. Oregon tort did ok, lps did fine. But beware a lot of sps did not like it.my local reef store warned me but i saw a lot of tanks on internet that were doing fine. Stn happened a lot. All water perameters were fine no alk swings and still stn. Out of 25 colineys i lost 6 and still have two that are still brown a i put two 250 metal halide 20k radiums on and 4 t5s on with halides. Leds were 1.3 amps each x 2. And lost about 400 in corals i dont think it was worth it if you want i will sell you my radions for 1350 for both.pluse shipping.good luck
Sps and leds dont mix
I have a 120 gallon reef i started in november last year with radion the best led fitures out their and watched my sps corals turn brown. Oregon tort did ok, lps did fine. But beware a lot of sps did not like it.my local reef store warned me but i saw a lot of tanks on internet that were doing fine. Stn happened a lot. All water perameters were fine no alk swings and still stn. Out of 25 colineys i lost 6 and still have two that are still brown a i put two 250 metal halide 20k radiums on and 4 t5s on with halides. Leds were 1.3 amps each x 2. And lost about 400 in corals i dont think it was worth it if you want i will sell you my radions for 1350 for both.pluse shipping.good luck
Dog boy Dave
New member
Yes indeed, this is not a debate thread. I have followed a couple of tanks with LEDS and have dome some experiments with leds and corals. I have made my decision and dropped about 12 hundred dollars so far in LEDs and supplies to build some lights. Today I removed 800 watts of Halides and replaced them with one twenty by six inch heat sink that had 50 cree three watt LEDS on it. Thats 150 watts instead of 800 watts in Florida. In the Summer time. So far the color is good , crisp white with a hint of blue and no yellow. The corals like it so far and penetration with out the lens seems sufficient. The corals are used to a lot of light but i will drop my photo period down from 12 hours. Probably start with around six running the leds at about 75 percent. I have another thread going as well showing this tank long term. Will post some pics tomorrow after things settle down.
250G
New member
I changed from my 400 halides to LED last year. Went with an Illumina 260. Very pleased with the aesthetics, output, temperature (lack there of), and electricity consumption of the fixture. Generally pleased with the spectrum, however I will buying the UV module when it comes out. Also considering the red module, I just can get the pinks like I used to.
BigAl2007
Active member
Do they offer any "Violet" options? As a very general rule of thumb if you can get Purple or Violet into the mix you'll see the Oranges, Reds, and Pinks really POP! It's very much like the KZ Fiji Purple bulbs did in T5 fixtures. This is why some of your high end fixtures are incorporating Violet type of diodes in the mix.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
This thread is very knowledgable and interesting. I would like also say that I have seen tanks with the radions and AIs and look great and some people sell them immediately. I don't know if it was patience or thinking they could place the light on the rank and walk away thinking nothing is going to change. Basically I'm saying is that what may work in ones tank may not work in another's. For hose who say no, I don't know what happened to your tank or friends tank, you just can't say no because it didn't work for you or the other reefer. I don't know if it was lack of knowledge or basically just didn't work, you shouldn't discourage the next person. Every system is not the same.
Sent from my iPhone using Siri and Tapatalk.
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ShaunMonahan
Clam nut
Robert- Thanks for your tank update. I remember seeing your original video and the update is amazing! I love your setup.
Subscribed and looking forward to the updates.
250G
New member
My understanding that one is planned. The UV should be out soon.....expected to give you the 400nm spectrum similar to the old URI Super Actinics, maybe the bulb reef bulb ever.
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