LED SPS tanks long term?

HuskerBioProf

HuskerBioProf

New member
I have seen a few builds that have used LEDs long term. However... I am getting nervous that I don't have the skills to keep color and growth up with LEDs only on my SPS tank long term based on the number of people that have given up on LEDs or who have only used LEDs for a short period.

Can people who have used LEDs long term for their SPS tanks share their experiences? Even better for those that started with LEDs. Do you have any reason for why you have been satisfied with your LED results while others have "given up"?

I love the idea of no bulb changing, but I want to get the most out of these as possible. Thanks, folks.
 
What do you consider long term? My 60 was just over two years on LED only. The 120 got all the corals and both the fixtures.
 
Had my LEDs up for about 8 months now and the learning curve is a little rough, but I think staying the course is worth it. Less energy consumption, no bulb changes, and highly programmable. I think it all depends on how seriously you want to take things...from what I've seen, T5/LED combos might be the most potent in terms of growing healthy coral.

In the end, the fixture most people end up with depends a lot more on money than anything else. A Giesemann T5/LED combo is well over $1,000 and that's pretty impractical for most of us. So the decision comes down to what you're willing to spend AND how content you will be with the results. T5s lack some features, LEDs lack others....you just have to set some personal goals and choose the system that will bring those out the best.

For example, if ease of use is most important, then T5s. If low energy consumption or long term cost is most important, then LEDs. Use this type of reasoning to establish your own priorities and go from there. Do you want "shimmer"? Get LEDs. Do you want optimum light coverage? Get T5s. Maybe look at some tanks that inspire you and factor that into the equation? HTH!
 
HuskerBioProf said:
I have seen a few builds that have used LEDs long term. However... I am getting nervous that I don't have the skills to keep color and growth up with LEDs only on my SPS tank long term based on the number of people that have given up on LEDs or who have only used LEDs for a short period.



Can people who have used LEDs long term for their SPS tanks share their experiences? Even better for those that started with LEDs. Do you have any reason for why you have been satisfied with your LED results while others have "given up"?



I love the idea of no bulb changing, but I want to get the most out of these as possible. Thanks, folks.
Click to expand...



All I can say on this subject from what I have read and observed personally is that the success with SPS isn't limited by your lighting choice. Quality LED fixtures today are fully capable of doing the job. Focus on stability, stability, stability of the environment that you provide your corals. That IMHO is by far more important.

Long term? I'm not sure what you mean by that. If LEDs are able to grow and color up my corals the last couple months as I just moved and set up my system to its final form recently. Why would it be any different 1,2,5 years from now?

My feeling are that if you chose LED, and use a PAR meter to set them up and properly acclimate your corals you can sleep well.

Personally I couldn't recommend other LEDs other than the ones I have owned (all being Kessil products). However I can not see why Radions, AI, Maxspec, Giesimann, or any other manufacture can't do the job almost as well.

I chose Kessil AP700s for the following:
Shimmer #1!
Also the AP700 has technology others do not plus dense matrix array, fish eye lens, reflector, Kessil logic, wifi. This results in the best blended light from LED, no hot spots, no disco effect, and no harsh sharp shadows all problems that ALL other fixtures have. Adding T5s helps eliminate most of these problems. However that means either buying a fixture with both that cost a way lot more like the Giesimann which is great but damn $$! Or building a canopy so you can add retrofits. I have considered adding T5s before I bought the AP700 because the 360s I had before include the sharp shadow. However after installing and using my AP700s I don't foresee me needing them now. They just do such a good job of spreading light around, even the corners of my tank can support SPS. Very happy with my choice and only lose sleep over things like Alk stability or possibly introducing AEFW, a real nightmare.

Good luck!
 
Wazzel said:
What do you consider long term? My 60 was just over two years on LED only. The 120 got all the corals and both the fixtures.
Click to expand...

Your tank was one I was thinking about when considering the "few long time users." I would consider a couple of years to be long term. There have just been so many great tanks on here that have switched to LEDs only to switch back in less than a year. I had a couple corals loose color on me after a month, but I think I could attribute that to a big phosphate spike.

It does seem like the most successful "long-term" LED SPS tanks are ones that started with LEDs. The ones that started with T5s and switch seem to have the most negative outcomes, thus leading to the "T5 only" thoughts. Maybe acclimation is the biggest problem?

I run AI Hydra HDs My target is 17,500K for 6 hours at 65% with 2 hours of 80% in the middle. I have 4 hours of ramp time on either end. I am currently on acclimation mode (40%) until January 31st. I checked PAR before, but not since changing some things, so maybe I need to again... or maybe I need to delete the app so I stop changing things...
 
HuskerBioProf said:
Your tank was one I was thinking about when considering the "few long time users." I would consider a couple of years to be long term. There have just been so many great tanks on here that have switched to LEDs only to switch back in less than a year. I had a couple corals loose color on me after a month, but I think I could attribute that to a big phosphate spike.

It does seem like the most successful "long-term" LED SPS tanks are ones that started with LEDs. The ones that started with T5s and switch seem to have the most negative outcomes, thus leading to the "T5 only" thoughts. Maybe acclimation is the biggest problem?

I run AI Hydra HDs My target is 17,500K for 6 hours at 65% with 2 hours of 80% in the middle. I have 4 hours of ramp time on either end. I am currently on acclimation mode (40%) until January 31st. I checked PAR before, but not since changing some things, so maybe I need to again... or maybe I need to delete the app so I stop changing things...
Click to expand...

I have also noticed that people that start with LED have a better run than people that switch to LED on an established tank. Not sure the reason. It could be an acclimation issue, they might need more fixtures, could be a settings issue, or something else.
 
I have been out of the hobby for about 10 years, got back in about 4 months ago. I had the T5's back in the day and had to have the 'christmas tree light timers' plugged into the power cord to be able to control when the lights would be on/shut off. For this new tank I bought AI Primes based on the easy to use/program/upkeep factors...plus theyre fairly priced! I might buy 2 more to put over my tank now (90g) but i currently have a large mushroom and plate coral that are both doing really well and are at the bottom of the tank. I love the primes, especially theyre pricing! i feel that buying a few more of them if needed will be easier on the wallet still than buying some of those expensive lights. And you never have to replace them like MH or T5 (which is not cheap!) Plus if you ever decide to get another tank or anything you will have multiple prime lights to use for that and then upgrade the other one. I know they only output about 50w each, but ive had 2 on my 90 for about 4 months now and those two corals are doing exceptionally well! Like i said i will add 1 or 2 more because i will do some more sps in the future. But i would definitely do LED again....
 
The main issue with led's is the ability to change settings. Change is not good for coral.Bad change. :lol:
 
Scorpius said:
The main issue with led's is the ability to change settings. Change is not good for coral.Bad change. :lol:
Click to expand...



Exactly, also there is so much guessing going one. One really should invest in a good par meter to know, not guess, they are setting things correctly.

To add to this I personally love the fact that Kessil has eliminated some of the guess work with Kessil logic. Pick your kelvin rating and pick your intensity. No matter what Kelvin you chose it has been optimized for coral growth and color.


Aaron
 
I grew out my tank with two radions. The growth was there, and the color was mostly there. I was never happy with the level of shadowing, so I've since added four tubes of T5 to supplement and the tank looks 10x brighter with much less shadowing. Still enjoying the LED's benefits of the shimmer, fluorescence, and stronger "hot spots" for more light demanding SPS.
 
Nanighan said:
Ive been using LEDs since a least 2010. Growth has been good. Color will not be T5 like but I will take the LED's positives instead. Here is a recent example of cheap LEDs with good growth and color.
Dec 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jumwhgsiLcc
Sep 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Kzjsum274
Click to expand...

Looks convincing! I am getting growth but my colors have faded a bit from when I first got them. All of the frags are relatively new still.

I have that exact same brown fuzz that you had in the 2015 video. Good to know it didn't cause too many problems!
 
HuskerBioProf said:
Looks convincing! I am getting growth but my colors have faded a bit from when I first got them. All of the frags are relatively new still.

I have that exact same brown fuzz that you had in the 2015 video. Good to know it didn't cause too many problems!
Click to expand...

Brown fuzz was caused by nutrients trapped by dead/decaying stuff trapped in the rocks when I soaked the rock in fresh water, killing everything. I had an aiptasia problem that just wouldn't go away completely and was fed up. Decided to just keep my favorite sps and make lots of swimming room for the fish.
June of 2015. Hidden are aiptasia's that just won't quit!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aQq4II0Ruo

Edit same lights use in all videos.
 
You can have both actually.. My first led tank was only led.. It did well for my first sps system.. My current task has t5 and led.. The t5 is 3 5 foot bulbs.. It's been an interesting and fun journey.. But, like yourself, my goal is long term and colonies.. At least that's my goal.. I moved at the end of June, and that was hard on the system, but it is doing ok now.. I am working on getting my color back.. However, you certainly can have both..

I think the key that someone else touched on, is to think of them like halides or very high powered t5, and simply leave them alone!

05/13/15


https://youtu.be/XFnGQ6KvyKI



About 09/02/16

https://youtu.be/VK3kAVrDFi8

from note 7
 
Nanighan said:
^^^^Really nice colors. Looks like a bare bottom. Which LED's are you using?
Click to expand...
Thanks.. Working on it.. And yes, it is bare bottom. My first time running one..

And I have pretty much always used and had good success with the Reefbreeders photon series. I used a few others but didn't get the results I liked. I am using the v1 version on this system. But I wouldn't hesitate to do the v2 if I needed..

from note 7
 
DamonG said:
You can have both actually.. My first led tank was only led.. It did well for my first sps system.. My current task has t5 and led.. The t5 is 3 5 foot bulbs.. It's been an interesting and fun journey.. But, like yourself, my goal is long term and colonies.. At least that's my goal.. I moved at the end of June, and that was hard on the system, but it is doing ok now.. I am working on getting my color back.. However, you certainly can have both..

I think the key that someone else touched on, is to think of them like halides or very high powered t5, and simply leave them alone!

05/13/15


https://youtu.be/XFnGQ6KvyKI



About 09/02/16

https://youtu.be/VK3kAVrDFi8

from note 7
Click to expand...



Nice to see you representing the 180 club so well. Hope that soon I can too. Great looking tank.


Aaron
 
Thank you, I am certainly trying.. It is definitely a work in progress and I learn something new every day..

And just give it time.. Every one of my colonies(i still call them mini) started as a small frag.. A lot of them, were then, accidentally broken at some point, and I just re-mounted them, creating a backup specimen..

A buddy then told me a little technique of clustering pieces together when I mounted them.. This, while they are still small, gives a better look than a single stalk, and when they grow up, looks much better and developed..

from note 7
 
DamonG said:
Thank you, I am certainly trying.. It is definitely a work in progress and I learn something new every day..

And just give it time.. Every one of my colonies(i still call them mini) started as a small frag.. A lot of them, were then, accidentally broken at some point, and I just re-mounted them, creating a backup specimen..

A buddy then told me a little technique of clustering pieces together when I mounted them.. This, while they are still small, gives a better look than a single stalk, and when they grow up, looks much better and developed..

from note 7
Click to expand...



Good tip! Thanks


Aaron
 
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