LED spectral analysis from sanjay
- Thread starter reefsahoy
- Start date
jbannick18
New member
Great article , hopefully LEDs will continue to improv over the next year but this confirms to me they're not ready yet
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
He left out 2-3 popular fixtures that have better LED choices and didn't include a single DIY setup. LEDs are more than ready, but not every fixture is.
AIs have always looked the worst to me and this confirmed it. The blue:white combo wi never work.
It's all give or take in my opinion. He's comparing these new LEDs to the top of the line 400w radium bulb. IMO opinion, for as new as the technology is, these are pretty impressive graphs. Factor in the energy, heat, and bulb savings plus the customization capabilities and it won't be long before mh's are a thing of the past. Plus we already know that LEDs do grow even the hardest sps corals (see robert lopes ai sol thread).
NatureNerd
New member
How did you reach that conclusion? All that was done is a comparison to a MH spectrum. Yes, they are different. We all knew that long ago. T5 spectrum is different too. Does that mean T5's are not ready? By the way, the biggest differences are lower power in the <410nm area and the red part of the spectrum, and more power in the blue. In real coral reefs, there is an extremely small amount of red at the depths our corals are usually found. The LED spectrum (mix of white, blue, royal blue) is actually a better match to natural sunlight than the MH's in that range. My quick comparison of LED lighting spectrum to natural sunlight at 3 meters in the tropics had more value to making the determination if this technology was "ready". There may be something to the lack of deep-blue/near UV though, but nothing in that article could lead you to understand that aspect.
One has to compare the absorption lines of pigments to the output spectra of each lighting technology to even start talking about if something is "ready".
NatureNerd
New member
Again, how did you reach that conclusion. See above post. What part of the spectrum is missing in your opinion to preclude healthy corals?
I am at 11 months with AI's and my SPS's have continued to thrive with growth rates at or above my MH's. That should address the "never work" statement. See Robert Lopes tank too and tell me they will never work.
The spread and lighting pattern of LED's are probably people's biggest problems with them. There is nothing about the spectrum of these lights that worries me.
I don't know if I can paste links so I'll post a pic I found. He says he has had great growth under his ai's.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
You have no spectrum below about 440 with AI stuff. You might creep in to the 430s but its pretty scarce.
My statement cones from my own experience and understanding. Under a srtict blue/white combo, I lost colors in my corals. My pink tip frogspawn had no pink tips. The pink has since returned since I added some violet (403nm) and the magenta LEDs from Ecoxotic.
One tank that has success with something isn't nearly enough evidence for me. Everyone touts roberto's tank but it is one tank. I've seen at least a dozen local tanks with AI fixtures and not one of then impressed me. The color of the tank looked so flat to my eyes. I love a blue tank bit there needs to be warmth as well. Corals look much better when you add in some more of the spectrum to me.
Also, the whole "whats in nature" doesn't convince me of anything. Corals get a Ton more food in the wild then they do in our tanks. I actually have a theory that this may be some of the problem encountered with LEDs. JMO though.
codeblue48
Member
Good discussion here. Looking forward to see where it goes. I too have AI sol blues but only for about 2 months now.
dan.luster
New member
what would you suggest LED wise for my new to me 14 gallon bio cube with bad ballast on one cfl
jbannick18
New member
Whats the issue with comparing a proven technology such as mh or t5 to led when the latter should strive to match the spectrums of both? I agree that DIY is the way to go as like rtparty stated the blue/white just does not fulfill all the corals need.Hell I just saw a 400 gallon tank with a $5k led fixture from vertex that made even zoas look like **** let alone a sps dominated tank
Canadaguy
New member
I owned both AI and Radions together and I didn't care for the AI's at all. The AI's seemed to have very poor colour spectrum with spotlighting and a disco-like effect. The spread on the AI's was also poor compared to the Radions. I decided to keep the Radions and sell the AI's. Radions also are wireless,much nicer and sleeker look with much better programming than the AI. To me the AI's are old school outdated lights in comparison to the Radions and Vertex Illumina but everyone have and will have different opinions!
gcarroll
Active member
Unfortunately, Sanjay can only test the fixtures that are sent to him. He is willing to test them all. I give big props to those that have volunteered to have their fixtures tested. It is them that truly stand behind their product.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
I completely agree.
My statement was geared towards the "LEDs aren't ready for prime time" post. My tank has been all LED since March of last year and I have experienced both sides of the situation.
In December and January, my tank was going downhill quick. My corals weren't growing and were browning out like crazy. I went and bought a MH setup and was ready to put it on my new Ecoxotic tank as soon as the tank arrived. In a last ditch effort, I added my all white PRO module back to my tank and started the photo period at 1 hour a day with all lights on.
Within a week, things started turning around for me. I started bumping my time up and left it at 4 hours for about a month. Just the other day I bumped it up to 5 hours with all lights on and moved my SPS up higher in the tank. I can't believe how well my tank is doing now. But I am not using the standard blue:white combo that has been so prevalent. I tried that combo last March and instantly knew it wasn't for me. My corals also didn't like it at all.
My lighting looks like this:
(Front)
RGB PRO Module (set to blue with a little red and green added in)
445nm Stunner
12k PRO Module
UV Stunner
Blue/Magenta PRO Module
(Back)
I am pretty happy with this setup but wish it was a little more blue overall. The tank has a slight purple look to it when running dusk/dawn because of the magenta and UV LEDs. I have an 18" Ecoxotic Panorama PRO fixture coming with the new tank as well and can't wait to get that setup! It will be a beast of a light with 2 RGB modules, 3 UV stunners and an additional 445nm PRO module to play with.
Sorry for the long reply.
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