LEDs on a tank for the first time

[gmate]

Wow, just wow. Pictures just do not do it justice when you see what LEDs can do. I purchased a really small marineland fixture (9x 1w, 5 white 4 blue) just for shits and gigs from Pete. This is my cheap 'test run' to see if I like how the LEDs can make the corals pop. The white shimmer is so nice, but let me tell you. Those blues. I see my zoa colony that's just a red/brown colony with 50 heads...well that's a giant red hornet colony. The blues, the reds, the bright yellows. My acans are absolutely gorgeous. I see neon greens that look like a very dark dull blue under my T5's. My golden frogspawn shimmers, my mushrooms glisten.

Yes, I will be taking the plunge for LEDs when money flow comes again (did I mention the money I was going to spend on LEDs went to my brakes!!! Taxes came back to me and left so fast!!!).

This is just to say, if you are on the fence with LEDs, please please just take the plunge. If you're not totally sold then just get a stunner strip or two for supplemental night lighting a few hours. My tank is so alive with color I have never seen it before, and it's reinventing the fun behind purchasing coral for me. I've seen metal halides on tanks tons of times, and they don't do what LEDs that are positioned right on the surface of the water can do.

 

[my2girls]

Perceived color is different from actual color. The question is will their corals still look good under LEDs a year later? Some corals like to brown out or bleach under LED.

I like LED and own them, just thought I'd play devil's advocate for sake of discussion.

 

[ClemQuat]

As long as the leds in the fixture provide the proper color spectrum, the should look as good as ever

 

[howardchaz]

'neon greens that looked like dark blues under your t5's ' - what kind of t5 light and bulb combo you using ? Lol

 

[mikelaubach]

Those Marineland fixtures are a joke. A kid at the high school had on one his tank. My fuge's DIY 4-LED (2 white, 2 blue, CREE 3W) would bury that fixture in a head-to-head comparison. Step up to 3W LEDs and see what LEDs are really about. ;-)

 

[Collinrb]

gmate, if you make it on monday to pick up that shroom be sure to remind me to pop the halides off for ya and show you the stunner strip. I remember you asking about it.

 

[gmate]

Yessir !

 

[hanas]

What T5 bulb combo are you running that you didn't get good colors?

Also, what do you mean by "I've seen metal halides on tanks tons of times, and they don't do what LEDs that are positioned right on the surface of the water can do" - what are you comparing? PAR levels? Growth rates?

Lighting is only a small part of getting color out of your corals, especially SPS.

 

[gmate]

I was comparing coloring, Nami19. From personal experience, I've always seen LEDs make things pop way more than MH.