Lets See SPS LED Tanks!

Lucas electricity here is also a fortune LOL. Is just a matter of how big or little of a fortune.

Excellent system! I will be supplementing my tank with some t5's to obtain the spectrum I want. Project is currently underway.
gasman, why do you need t5 to get the correct spectrum??

on my system there are modules of 9 white and 4 blue LED's

the white ones are 8500K and the blue 24000K.....they are dimmerable separately and therefore you can have the Kelvins you want.....in my case i keep the white at 100% and the blue at 75% but a lot of people down here are coming from T5 (i'm coming from 5x400w metal hyalides) and they like it cooler so they have even more percentage of blue than white ;)





personally i was really concerned about this LED technology as there are not much hystorical dates around.....expecially for big SPS dominated tanks......but ater i've tried for 8 months by swapping one of my spectra's with a same sized LED light i immediately got convinced.......colors, growing rate and healt of my corals where really satisfying to me.....and so i made the big decision to change over completely......and the corals look still fine, don't they? :D
 
I think this combinaqtion that I picked will allowed me to use the AI's at 100% white and match my 400 watt 20 k raium look while playing with the LED's. As far as wattage not much will be added with the t5's:thumbsup:

Not to speak for gasman but I think he wants to be able to run the whites %100 and in doing so will not acheive the 20k look he wants. So he is adding addition T5's for more blue.
 
Lucas I'm not completely satisfied with my current spectrum since I've been running 20k tanks for many many years.
I don't know if you are familiar with the aquaillumination
units here's a couple of pics for your reference.
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First pic 3x400 20k on lumenbrights- galaxy e-ballasts-- powerbrite supps x 10
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This pic under 4 aquaillumination modules at 50% white/100%blue
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Haksar here's the most current pics- i will snap a few when my supps are running
 
Sorry lucas here ya go, the unit pics for reference and Ill try some pics tonite if i get my supplementaion lights wired.
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And my DYi version of t5 supplementation/ after all is set and done i may ask a friend to build me a canopy for this tank since there's no heat and i have to hide all of this fixtures.
Sorry for the bad cell phone pics- Again ill get some more for you tonite.
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So Gasman in fact you put the t5's all around the LED + in between??


not bad idea as i've noticed (maybe wrongly but on the pictures i'ts difficult to recognise) the typical spot-effect of most of the LED illumination........do you have lenses on your LED?
 
These AI units running on 3W Cree and have 40 degree optics.

gasman059, AI released new tri-color pucks which is 1 blue 1 royal blue 1 white in single pucks, check out here and AI website, my understanding you can order some tri-color pucks, that way maybe you can run you unit at full 100% and adjust the color temp by mixing the new tri-color pucks with your existing 2white-1blue pucks.
 
BTW, gasman how high you hang your AI units at? How do you like the coverage front to back? I mean the length of unit is 12", can it provide 20 to 24" high light area (for SPS) from front to back?

Your tank and corals are fantastic please keep us updated on how it goes as far as SPS color and growth.
 
These AI units running on 3W Cree and have 40 degree optics.

gasman059, AI released new tri-color pucks which is 1 blue 1 royal blue 1 white in single pucks, check out here and AI website, my understanding you can order some tri-color pucks, that way maybe you can run you unit at full 100% and adjust the color temp by mixing the new tri-color pucks with your existing 2white-1blue pucks.
hhhhmmmmm 40° optics.......that's why the spot-effect......down here in Italy we found out that the best compromise between penetration and diffusion are the biconical optics (i think 40°& 90° on the same lens...but i'm not a tecnician :))

and mine also runs on 3w cree xr - E 7.0 led's (if i don't remember wrong)
 
hhhhmmmmm 40° optics.......that's why the spot-effect......down here in Italy we found out that the best compromise between penetration and diffusion are the biconical optics (i think 40°& 90° on the same lens...but i'm not a tecnician :))

and mine also runs on 3w cree xr - E 7.0 led's (if i don't remember wrong)

From what I read spot effect does not exist on AI system, maybe on other LED system. They use 40 degree optics to get better penetration, from the test result a single unit (72W) penerate better than 250W 14K MH on good reflector (meaning better par at same depth), but coverage is smaller than MH on good reflector. That's why I ask Gasman about coverage.
 
So Gasman in fact you put the t5's all around the LED + in between??


not bad idea as i've noticed (maybe wrongly but on the pictures i'ts difficult to recognise) the typical spot-effect of most of the LED illumination........do you have lenses on your LED?

Lucas I regret to inform u that the supps are not what I thought meaning the LEDS aoutshine any difference that they may create.

There's a definite adjustment phase in terms of colors for someone that has had MH's forever. Many of my corals are not liking this change as expected. Again its a matter of time and patience:blown:
 
From what I read spot effect does not exist on AI system, maybe on other LED system. They use 40 degree optics to get better penetration, from the test result a single unit (72W) penerate better than 250W 14K MH on good reflector (meaning better par at same depth), but coverage is smaller than MH on good reflector. That's why I ask Gasman about coverage.

Coverage is fine but spectrum is not what I'm used to- IMO is wayy to early to tell. My sps have lost some color for sure- many shades of brown:thumbdown

But patience is a virtue in this hobby.

As far as the other color from AI- I bet the turnaround is forever!!!!
 
BTW, gasman how high you hang your AI units at? How do you like the coverage front to back? I mean the length of unit is 12", can it provide 20 to 24" high light area (for SPS) from front to back?

Your tank and corals are fantastic please keep us updated on how it goes as far as SPS color and growth.
My tank is 30 deep and most of my corals are between 20- 25 coverage is not an issue at this width. Since my reef has an isalnd with n0o corals in back or front is ok. If I was covering a 30 deep back to front the lights will not work IMO.:thumbsup:
 
It seems kevin range of Gasman's previous MH is higher than his current LED, could this be the reason?

It should not be too much light because he is running at 50% white only, it is very less likely that his LED system at this setting produce more par than his previous 400W MH.

Lucas was your previous MH system in similar kevin range as current LED system?
 
It seems kevin range of Gasman's previous MH is higher than his current LED, could this be the reason?

It should not be too much light because he is running at 50% white only, it is very less likely that his LED system at this setting produce more par than his previous 400W MH.

Lucas was your previous MH system in similar kevin range as current LED system?
Yes Probably.....i had 5X400 aquamedic 13000K fed with electronic ballasts + 20 t5 x24 W 20000K....and maybe now with the LED it's just a bit higher........
 
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But my bigger suspection is still on coverage side, more specifically for those offcenter areas on Y dimension (from front to back) Gasman's system have Acropora everywhere in around 48"X24" area, we know that one need at least 200 PAR for decent color and growth for Acro, many Acro demend more. If you look at Sanjay's par testing for below plot chart from single AI unit at 24" distance (From picture I guestimate Gasman units locate at around 12" above water, so below is corresponding to middle level in the tank) there is around 12" X 12" area with 200+ par, on X dimension (from left to right) there is help from overlap of nearby unit, but since Gasman only have 1 row of AI units, on Y dimension each unit is pretty much on it own. I suspect Acros in offcenter areas on Y dimention are not receiving enough light, I am wondering if Gasman you have a PAR meter that is best way to know.

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For reference below is Sanjay's chart from a 400W MH on good reflector, at same 24" distance you are looking at about 24" X 24" area with 200+ par, certainly there is no meaning for 1 to 1 comparion but what I mean is that if you want to replicate lighting from single 400W MH (which is currently running on many SPS dominant tank) by AI units, you probably need more than 2 units, or 2 units with some supplemental, that is awefull expensive given by current price, not sure if it can reach breakeven point before replacing LEDs.

Maybe the solution is system like Lucas, which combine 40 and 90 degree optics , but there is no such product available in states. Even there is, it will most likely be very costly.

Myself is researching for lighting of my future upgrade, for now I will prob. stick to original plan which is 10 bulb ATI PM and see if it is possible replace few T5 slots with some sort of LED tube to add some spectrum and dynamic looking.

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