Lighting

rockfanmidsouth

rockfanmidsouth

New member
I want to switch over from T5 to LED - NEED INPUT from those of you who have done this :) I would rather cut out the middle man and learn from your mistakes rather than make my own.. I have a 72 gallon bow front and I have been looking at these two...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150877681039?
ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160861199888?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I want to get the best coverage and the tank is pretty deep. Thoughts, another vendor, different style? I like the dual cord option so I can set them up on different timers. I have also ordered a "moon light" flexible LED strip that I plan to run around the inside rim.

Thanks :wave:
 
Great tropic!

(I'm still broiling my water with MHs.)

I've been curious about the same, but here's just a general thought, as a "professional" Purchasing guy: "Know Thy Vendor".

it would appear that lots of shade tree spark-chasers are serving up LED's which MAY be just fine, but for my money, I like to know the track record of who I'm buying from; especially if I'm dropping several hundred in a light retrofit kit.

Other than that, I welcome your experiences and good luck!

(FYI - Richard talked about this last year at the Frag Swap and looks like a refresher or update is warranted. Thanks!)
 
lol - :) Yes - beware the "DEAL" ....... I am a bit wary since the last T5 I bought off craigslist worked an entire 10 minutes.. :( Flushed that $100.....
I will swing by Memfish and talk to Richard and the crew.. They always give good advice and have great products.. I know going in there that I will leave with a fish or a coral - it always happens... lol :) appreciate the response.

Wendy
 
To that end Wendy, I'm more comfortable (even as a supply-chain guy) to pay a little more and ensure the VALUE and Warranty(!) is IN a buy.

It's all about "total cost" over the life and sometimes, you're better off buying New and paying for what you're getting for, as opposed to trying to 'working a deal'.

You ARE afterall... the Customer!

:dance:
 
Here's my two cents. LEDs are great for energy efficiency and lower tank temps, but I do not feel that the current LED fixture offerings have figured out the correct spectrum yet to mimic metal halide coloration of corals. You can definately get good growth under LEDs and get some good coloration, but I personally feel like something is missing in the spectrum. My AI Sols look kinda monotone and windex blue look if I don't really turn up the whites stronger than the blues. I feel LEDs are the way of the future, but I don't think the LED companies have got it totally figured out as how to grow ALL coral colors. Just my .02 cents..... :). I'm toying with going back to metal halides myself.
 
I somewhat agree with Jay (one reef) and we spoke about this the other day at Memfish. I love my LED fixture, its real "cool" and it does an ok job I guess. I however, think my MH fixture is better and wouldnt dare spend the extra money ($1500) to convert my big tank to LED. My LEd is on the nano I won at the frag swap last year. BE AWARE OF FREE TANKS!! I cant turn the LED light past 55% without bleaching the heck out of any coral in my tank. Like I said they are "cool" temp wise, cool looking, and cool to play with and show off. With all that being said PLEASE dont waste $200 bucks on a cheap light off Ebay. Those are Chinese made CRAP. Get a good reliable light if you decide to buy one. I have the AI SOL Nano Blue.

Nothing good in this hobby is cheap!!!
 
Just as a follow up, if you have followed LED offerings over the last year, new offerings are constantly coming out, each with its own claims of added color LEDs, better spectrum, different brand of LED bulbs that are supposed to be better, all the while the DIYers are adding different color/spectrums to their home built fixtures, trying to get it right. That to me shows that no one knows for sure what the correct mixture is yet.... Some peopLe claim to have figured it out, such as adding 420nm LEDs, but 6 months ago, people had claimed that adding red and green LEDs were what was needed. It will get there eventually, I just don't feel it's there yet.
 
The only LED light that I have personally seen GREAT colors and growth is the Radion... We ran the Blue Line over the tank before the Radion and the difference is night and day. Blue Line actually bleached the coral when the whites were on more than a couple hours a day. Soft Corals all ran from it in fact.

The colors that come out of the corals at various setting on the Radion are amazing. I have not seen much more than SPS under it, just a few plates and scoly's, but I am sure that it would perform well with those other corals as well.

Now, buying several or enough to light a big tank is hard to do I'd say... at $750 a pop.
 
I agree with adam about the radions,I am going to be ordering 2 of them, after doing alot of research on them.I also like how they will commnuicate with the vortech pumps.Leds are like anything else in this hobby,you get what you pay for.
 
Fantastic info - Thanks alot for sharing you knowledge....
To Nck1992 I wanted lighting that would benefit my corals and give me better color and growth - I suppose the T5 is doing an ok job - I have seen growth but the color just doesn't POP :) I have watched the posts about the MH's and although they are probably the best, I see that you need to run run cooling fans and all that - my bowfront is placed in a corner (sadly) between two windows - I have room darkening curtains but I still get a good deal of algae growth and I constantly monitor the temp - it stays right around 80 - with the MH's I would be terrifed of coming home to an unexpected seafood buffet in my tank :(

I suppose I can stick with what I have, monitor the advances with LEDs and just keep on scraping algae ;-)
 
Yes I changed them about 2 months ago - got some tips from Rob at Memfish, swapped what came with the light for actinic blues and an aqua blues. The color in my tank looks MUCH better - it did have a yellow/green tint (horrific) now its pretty crisp looking - was just concerned that the corals may not be getting what they need. I will keep at it :)
 
The Radions are lacking the 420nm bulbs, which now people are saying is needed


Here is part of a post in the Lighting Forum on halides vs LEDs (Radion in this post):


"Yes, This is a well known and documented experiment. I haven’t looked at the spectrum of the halides being used but like most others my guess is they have a nice spike around 420nm which the radions are missing.

With the release of the new lens and the 4 open spots my guess is they (EcoTech/Radion) will be bringing out an update to include something in the 420nm area sometime soon.

Now 420 is just part of the issue as more work is needed to be done to find out which of the spectrums added recently to LEDs is helping to keep the color. It could be the 420ish, 500ish, or the 660ish or a combo of them. "
 
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Jay, you just made my brain flat-line - ^^^^^^------------------ lol
Soooo they are getting close, just not quite there yet with the LEDs. What is it about the MH that do so well with the reef systems? I am trying to learn but as yet am still pretty uneducated on this subject - I am thinking,ocean + sun = happy fish and corals soooooooo a tanning bed would be the ULTIMATE lighting source for my tank - lol the light that my T5 puts off does look alot like my tanning bed bulbs... is that pretty close? whats the diff with the MH and T5?
 
Yes, I probably am being too picky and overly technical, lol. I have OCD about my reef tank...ha. Any lighting source, t5, LED, metal halide, is going to grow coral and keep it looking pretty good. I am just trying to figure out how to grow SPS the fastest and keep the best and most diverse bright colors of them. Other people may not have the wants or needs that I am looking for, and you will probably be happy withn any route you choose. I've seen successful and good looking tanks with all 3 types of lighting.


I am going to try metal halides again, but I am slightly worried about what type of water temperature increase I will see. Hopefully, I will be able to manage it ok without a humid room, and massive evaporation. That's a benefit of LEDs, ha.
 
On my 25g nano I started with a Blueline LED fixture. While it was a decent place to start I ended up selling it and getting a Radion. I would think that the biggest considerations that you need to take when choosing an LED fixture are the following.

1. Ability to control intensity
2. Ability to control color spectrum
3. Ability to change/upgrade optics

I was not able to do any of those with the Blueline and my tank suffered as a result. The only choice that I had was a very short photo period and to create shaded environments to protect my corals.

Honestly you have the same considerations with Halides & T5's to a certain extent. Blub color temperature selection, which actinics / purple bulbs etc...

I am still nursing back some of my corals from the evil beams of my Blueline but after overcoming the learning curve of all of the settings of the Radion I am amazed at the visual eye candy that it produces.


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