Lighting for frag tank

[kookie_guy]

So I'm setting up a frag tank. The tank is 24"x18"x6".

Plan is to grow softies, montis, and maybe some other easy SPS corals. Nothing LPS, or anything delicate SPS.

Looking at lighting....I want to go with LED. What are the recommendations for max growth? Full spectrum? Or just stick to a certain wavelength? I'll be using luxeon rebel LEDs, as I will order extras to have as spares for my display fixture.

Out of 24 LEDs, I was thinking:
- 6 royal blue
- 4 cyan
- 2 red
- 4 green
- 8 neutral whites

 

[usctom]

I'd want more blue but that is my preference.
I'd do.
12 blue
1 red
2 green
2 cyan
6 white

 

[kookie_guy]

Is that simply for appearance reasons or grow out? This will be in the basement strictly as an aquaculture tank, no intention of it being a display.

 

[usctom]

A little of both. The blue adds a lot of color to your coral.

 

[organism]

On my 2'x2' frag tank I use 24 LED's as well, 18 royal blues, 3 violets and 3 white. I keep the blues and violets turned up to 100% for 10 hours a day, and the whites are on at about 30% for 6 hours a day. Keep in mind that you will absolutely need an adjustable driver for the whites. My frags range from softies to SPS, they all look great and grow like crazy.

If you want colors in your corals, like any colors at all, then you're going to need a lot more blue and a lot less white. If you want colors that look good then I'd swap most of the multicolor ones with blues as well if you want corals that need no coloring up to sell. You might be looking at it as just an aquaculture tank that doesn't need display quality colors, but you should consider how fast you want the corals you're growing to sell (if at all). You need people to want to buy your corals, otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose of investing in a frag tank.

imo you're overthinking it since everyone is pushing this "you need full spectrum for nice corals and good growth" myth, here's what my bulb combo gets you with great growth, some of them grow so fast that I've sold them for next to nothing or just given them away:

 

[kookie_guy]

Thanks very much for the feedback. You do have a good point about them needing to look good to sell. Looks like it'll be more blue with just a little white.

 

[pompeyjohn]

On my 2'x2' frag tank I use 24 LED's as well, 18 royal blues, 3 violets and 3 white. I keep the blues and violets turned up to 100% for 10 hours a day, and the whites are on at about 30% for 6 hours a day. Keep in mind that you will absolutely need an adjustable driver for the whites. My frags range from softies to SPS, they all look great and grow like crazy.

If you want colors in your corals, like any colors at all, then you're going to need a lot more blue and a lot less white. If you want colors that look good then I'd swap most of the multicolor ones with blues as well if you want corals that need no coloring up to sell. You might be looking at it as just an aquaculture tank that doesn't need display quality colors, but you should consider how fast you want the corals you're growing to sell (if at all). You need people to want to buy your corals, otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose of investing in a frag tank.

imo you're overthinking it since everyone is pushing this "you need full spectrum for nice corals and good growth" myth, here's what my bulb combo gets you with great growth, some of them grow so fast that I've sold them for next to nothing or just given them away:

wow, great colors. What is the water depth they are at? And the distance between water level and what I'm guessing are 3w leds? Thanks.

 

[swk]

If you split the neutrals and add some warm white leds you can eliminate the red and cyan.

Generally, a lot of led fixtures, like reef breeders for example, run 2:1 blues : whites.

I would do maybe 16 blues, 3 neutral, 3 warm whites and a couple uv or violet leds and call it good. If you like whiter lighting then reduce the blues to as low as 1:1 but the neutral and warm white leds will have enough orange, yellow, red and even green spectrums to make using dedicated leds in those colors unnecessary. Just my opinion.

 

[organism]

wow, great colors. What is the water depth they are at? And the distance between water level and what I'm guessing are 3w leds? Thanks.

My lights are a little weird so it's hard to say, but it would compare to about 8-12" deep or so. You can really blast corals with blue light and they'll grow like crazy with great color, it's the white LED's that can give problems. I know of two online vendors who use only blue LED's over their frag tanks, it's a myth that you need any white LED's at all which is why I'd recommend a 3:1 blue to white ratio if you want to grow and sell corals out of the same tank.

 

[pompeyjohn]

My lights are a little weird so it's hard to say, but it would compare to about 8-12" deep or so. You can really blast corals with blue light and they'll grow like crazy with great color, it's the white LED's that can give problems. I know of two online vendors who use only blue LED's over their frag tanks, it's a myth that you need any white LED's at all which is why I'd recommend a 3:1 blue to white ratio if you want to grow and sell corals out of the same tank.

Thanks for the response. Your corals look great.

 

[Scranton]

Im trying to get this right. Im building a purely growing frag tank. I can see out of other tanks. You're saying I should run 3 to 1 blue white ratio?
I don't care how they look in the tank I want good growth and good color when in my selling tank