LED's with respect to color of Sps corals
- Thread starter Big E
- Start date
At this point I prefer to use LEDs covering the entire surface of the tank. For my 120 expansion I will be using 3 reefbreeder value fixtures with some white swapped for violet to give even coverage. I am using 2 values over a 36" now and have been having good results with it.
Big E
Premium Member
Thanks Bernie!
hart24601,
What you mention and also markalot's comments is one of the issues that I have mentioned for over 2 years. These units were/ are grossly overstated in how much area they can actually cover.
People didn't have enough units for good coverage and they'd turn them up and burn corals or they'd have problems getting uniform light.
Once you do have a bank of light over the tank you have to make sure they are producing uniform spectrum across the whole tank. That's where it can be tricky because now it's harder to blend the colors of the diodes.
It depends on if the configuration is correct and the overlapping provides smooth and consistent spectrum & par.
The best design I've seen has the strips over the tank and control over every diode color and also control over each bank of strips.
The other option is the matrix type multicolor chips that can be created in a bank type coverage.
hart24601,
What you mention and also markalot's comments is one of the issues that I have mentioned for over 2 years. These units were/ are grossly overstated in how much area they can actually cover.
People didn't have enough units for good coverage and they'd turn them up and burn corals or they'd have problems getting uniform light.
Once you do have a bank of light over the tank you have to make sure they are producing uniform spectrum across the whole tank. That's where it can be tricky because now it's harder to blend the colors of the diodes.
It depends on if the configuration is correct and the overlapping provides smooth and consistent spectrum & par.
The best design I've seen has the strips over the tank and control over every diode color and also control over each bank of strips.
The other option is the matrix type multicolor chips that can be created in a bank type coverage.
trueblackpercula
New member
"œIs it true that sps need more light from just 425nm through 475nm range for color?"
Use this chart and it gives you a good idea what pigments need. The range is much wider than 425-475.
"œAnd if so how many hours a day is too much?"
You have to be careful with too much intensity. Stay between 200 near the bottom and 450 at the top. In that range you should be okay for 7-8 hours a day.
Your fixture has about a 24x24 coverage foot print according to Sanjay. Use his coverage graph for placement. Also use his review to get more familiar with your unit.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/8/review
Acros sweet spot-- 300-350
Millies like more par, smooth skin acros 200-250
If you use a par meter, don't concern yourself with the 10% or so error readings "¦"¦"¦corals don't care. They won't show different shades (Pastel/dark) due to intensity till you're at around 50 difference, so you can use increments of 50+/- to judge things.
"œwhat should the spectrum look like?"
Use the Radium 400w halide spectrum chart as your guide. I posted the spectral chart on page one of this thread. Also keep in mind that most people would also use VHO actinics as supplements for that extra 420 pop which isn't in that chart.
Your unit is a bit light on the 400-420 range and also a reason why some people that use LEDs supplement with T5. I would say for now just see where you're at with the current changes and decide that later if needed.
Set your unit to one spectrum and stick to it"¦"¦.don't change all those spectrums during the day. Think of the halides"¦"¦..they were the same all day, we didn't fudge spectrums during the day. If you want you can do a day/evening the first and last hour, but that's it.
If you want to dim over time you can but if your unit is incapable of keeping the spectrum the same and dimming don't do it. With the par levels and spectrum I suggested you should be fine for 7-8 hours. Maybe even start at 5 and work your way up to 7-8 hours.
Coverage---
Be aware that no matter what you do your coverage isn't going to be the same as a halide or T5. The only way to fix that is use T5 or more LED units.
Hold your unit about a foot from the wall or a table top and see where the hot spots are if any. With your Radion it would obvious, I'm not sure with your Mitras. Make a mental picture of that and make sure you setup your aquascape to manage a more consistent par across your tank.
Keep the reds turned way down on your Mitras"¦"¦they have way too much red in them
They also have around the same White to blue type ratio (# of diodes in the unit) as your Radion"¦"¦.too many whites. I prefer to see closer to a 3-1 ratio. You can manage around this by running your whites at about 20% of your blue settings. You'll probably have to do this anyways to match the 400w radium chart.
One other thing to remember is that no matter what you do you're still basically working with the same diodes as the Radion. Cree diodes, ect. Just be aware of that and don't expect big differences.
It looks like the Mitras has the coverage/hot spot issue much more under contral than the Radion so that's where it's going to help the most"¦"¦..coverage and par consistency.
Most importantly is use the corals as your guide and go slow"¦"¦"¦.it takes at least 4-6 weeks for color changes to really show up. Be patient and logical"¦"¦"¦try to keep other variables consistent while you're working to tweek your settings. I'm speaking in terms of nutrients and maintenance more than anything.
Hope this helps........keep us posted in your thread.
Well I cant thank you enough for all the time you have taken to explain my questions in detail. I will take all your advice and try to apply all that i can. I do have a question about your bulb selection for the radium. First should it be from the 250watt 400watt Etc? also why that bulb vs the aqua connect 14k bulb? not trying to debate just asking.
now as for the above graph for the pigments and in what color range. Is it between the 400 and 500 where the corals use the most I really don't understand that graph fully can you explain a littlle more ? thanks
Just an FYI...that graph is for fluorescent pigmentation and not for photosynthesis, the wavelength ranges do over lap but that is not what the graph is showing. Only shows what color light causes pigments to fluoresce and at what color the pigment fluoresces. Reflected light also plays into how the coral looks to us, and is equally important to making corals color up as expected.
With an adjustable fixture like the Mitras you can play with the colors and see what color causes which coral to glow and figure out what your lacking for a particular specimen to some degree, it's kid of fun also!
With an adjustable fixture like the Mitras you can play with the colors and see what color causes which coral to glow and figure out what your lacking for a particular specimen to some degree, it's kid of fun also!
The tank with leds and a lot of colors http://zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23096 .
I realize par is just o piece of puzzle however I'd love to know par numbers from this tank...
I realize par is just o piece of puzzle however I'd love to know par numbers from this tank...
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
No disrespect to Bon bon (the owner of the tank in that link), but I personally prefer the coral colours in Ed's tank because Bon bon's corals have pastel colours and seem to be crying out for more nutrients. Just my opinion ...
Big E
Premium Member
That's the whole point you want lighting that's the right spectrum and consistent par level to create the best colors from all corals........any light can grow corals.
There's a difference between coloring an acro and throwing a bunch of fake colors on it to make it something it isn't.
You can't pull blood out of a turnip.........if the light doesn't produce the correct spectrum you aren't going to produce the colors.
And explain to me how you're going to play with the Mitras to make coral A look good and three inches away coral B is going to still look good if your lighting doesn't have the ability to address the needs of all pigments whether it be reflective or through excitation.
It's really simple, you want to create a uniform/consistent spectrum across your tank that is going to make all acros look colorful. Just like bulbs, some combinations work better than others. If the LED unit has the capability of doing this, it's a matter of setting it up correctly and then you still have to have good coverage.
If you create a consistent level across the whole tank it's simply a matter of placing the coral in a good spot in reference to it's par needs.
Big E
Premium Member
Michael,
That graph was just to show you the range where the pigments fall. Early blue/white LEDs were incapable of covering that range.
I use the 400w Radium on a HQI ballast as the model spectrum as it has proven to be the gold standard for coloring acros over a decade+. You also have to consider that a lot of people would add some VHO actinic to provide that little extra pop which won't show on that graph. It's not to say other bulbs couldn't do the same.............just that the Radium did it best.
If you go back to the first page of this thread you can see that spectral plot. It's basically a good starting point to get anyone in the range and then you can go from there to slightly adjust for your ambient tastes.
That graph was just to show you the range where the pigments fall. Early blue/white LEDs were incapable of covering that range.
I use the 400w Radium on a HQI ballast as the model spectrum as it has proven to be the gold standard for coloring acros over a decade+. You also have to consider that a lot of people would add some VHO actinic to provide that little extra pop which won't show on that graph. It's not to say other bulbs couldn't do the same.............just that the Radium did it best.
If you go back to the first page of this thread you can see that spectral plot. It's basically a good starting point to get anyone in the range and then you can go from there to slightly adjust for your ambient tastes.
Fishmommy
Active member
This thread has been immensely helpful to me.
This morning I changed my Mitras project to be 17000K for an hour, then 14000K for 8 hours, then 17000K for an hour at night.
I tried to mimic the spectral output of the Radium bulb for the daylight cycle.
I'm at 50% power and hope to ramp up a bit as my corals recover from LED bleaching.
Thanks everyone. Fingers crossed!
This morning I changed my Mitras project to be 17000K for an hour, then 14000K for 8 hours, then 17000K for an hour at night.
I tried to mimic the spectral output of the Radium bulb for the daylight cycle.
I'm at 50% power and hope to ramp up a bit as my corals recover from LED bleaching.
Thanks everyone. Fingers crossed!
trueblackpercula
New member
trueblackpercula
New member
I have a one already just wanted to see what others looked like that's all.
Interesting
Interesting
I can visualize and see this working with a timer. It sure beats the old rail and pulley. I am going to try this project in the near future. Brilliant!
Interesting
I can visualize and see this working with a timer. It sure beats the old rail and pulley. I am going to try this project in the near future. Brilliant!
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