Wazzel
New member
On order.
Long term LED success post here
- Thread starter ReefCowboy
- Start date
On order.
ReefCowboy
New member
I was watching some clips on Youtube and noticed progression videos from Mike Palleta on his 300 gal transition from MH to Radions. He was happy with the switch giving it a 9 out of 10(course of a year's time lapse)
He also mantioned Sanjay, the sps guru had also been using Radions after ditching his MH's.
Thing is we cant find much about it. Its important to doccument success so we can understand how people are having their tanks improve with Leds.
He also mantioned Sanjay, the sps guru had also been using Radions after ditching his MH's.
Thing is we cant find much about it. Its important to doccument success so we can understand how people are having their tanks improve with Leds.
ReefCowboy
New member
My 120 has been running for 3 years. 2 x AI Sol Blues, set to 45W/65B/65RB, 12" above water. 15 minute ramp up to full on at 10AM and 30min ramp down at 10PM
The first picture shows the tank at 1 month on the left, 1 year on the right.
This picture is at the nearly 3 year mark.
I wouldn't even consider MH because of the heat and energy consumption, or T5 because of the need to replace them so often.
jm.02
Throughout the 3 years, did you change anything drasticaly in the tank? Great tank BTW
limbhanger
New member
gcarroll
Active member
Not like you didn't have the opportunity to ask him for yourself!
Sanjay is a friend of mine and he believes that LED are good enough to grow healthy coral. Had he not had a heat issue that fried his tank, IMO, he would still be running MH. He went from 3-400w MH to 10 radions pros. He runs the Radions at 100% most of the day and turns doe the blues approx 50% in the evening. He does not refer to them as the best lighting, but claims they work fine.
billdogg
Well-known member
The only things I changed were the water (~30% monthly) and I had to start dosing Ca and ALk after about 6 months. I use 2 x BRS Drews Dosers for that.
I recently set up a 60g frag tank (4x2x12") and did a major pruning. You can't really even tell I took out nearly 100 frags.
ReefCowboy
New member
LOL, hoping to someday see those guys again. Mike Palleta was such a classy cool guy to meet, I bet Sanjay is also the same way.
What are you running Greg? You have the answers im looking for... Im in the process of going to a bigger build, a 150gal(goldfish bowl for you guys:lol2
.I currently run a 250w Mh with kessils and am extremely happy with the coral growth/color. On the new tank i thought of going for a fixture with 2x250w's and t5's(Giesemann Spectra). Thing is im worried about the old heat problem, and believe the new LED's have come a long way... So want to get oppinions while taking away myths about them with long term success...
BTW, i saw the post you had about Giesemann's T5/led hybrid(Genesis). Looked awesome. Did you see it over a tank?
Here is a pic of my current 57 gal. These sticks were grown from frags 2 years ago. Glass is dirty, sorry
VoiceInTheDeser
Member
I've been running LED for about 2.5 years now, ReefBreeder Photon series. Had great success with several kinds of LPS (blasto, acan, trachy) and recently some with some of the more basic SPS (montis, poci, one small acro). I love the ease of use and the gradual dimming/brightening over the course of the day you can get with LEDs. I switched from T5s and have no plans to switch back to more "conventional" methods.
gcarroll
Active member
Currently my tank is dry. Moving in a month and will set up there.LOL, hoping to someday see those guys again. Mike Palleta was such a classy cool guy to meet, I bet Sanjay is also the same way.
What are you running Greg? You have the answers im looking for... Im in the process of going to a bigger build, a 150gal(goldfish bowl for you guys:lol2
I currently run a 250w Mh with kessils and am extremely happy with the coral growth/color. On the new tank i thought of going for a fixture with 2x250w's and t5's(Giesemann Spectra). Thing is im worried about the old heat problem, and believe the new LED's have come a long way... So want to get oppinions while taking away myths about them with long term success...
BTW, i saw the post you had about Giesemann's T5/led hybrid(Genesis). Looked awesome. Did you see it over a tank?
Here is a pic of my current 57 gal. These sticks were grown from frags 2 years ago. Glass is dirty, sorry
I am a big fan of the Giesemann Spectra as I have first hand experience.
The new Genesis, that was just a prototype and I only saw it at the show. I was interested in it because it seems to be able to light more than a 24" wide tank. If you want to talk equipment, feel free to pm me or shoot me a phone # and I'll call you. Either way i'd be happy to sway your decision!
reefkeeper2
Premium Member
I first changed over to LEDs when the AI SOLs came out. From there I upgraded to Vegas and now I have a combination of eight AI Hydra 52s and five Vegas.
Ron Reefman
Active member
Not sure what "afe gour" is? LOL! :beer: Been there, done that more often than I care to admit.
My fixtures are about 8" off the water.
I do a 5 hour sunrise starting with blue the first 2 hours and then adding in white as well for the last 3 hours.
Midday is 4 hours of 90% blue and 40% white. I get a 100 to 125 PAR at roughly 20" deep in the tank (close to the sand bed).
Sunset is 6 hours and I dial back the whites faster than the blues so I end up with 3 hours of blue going down to 10%.
My tank is in the dinning room which is wide open to the living room and the kitchen. I enjoy seeing the deep blue at night when I go to the kitchen to get snacks or beverages. But I'm home all day and enjoy seeing the tank change every time I look at it.
I've read that coral's zooxanthellae only do photosynthesis for 5 or 7 hours and then they 'shut down' even if there is sufficient light. I think my last hour or 2 of sunrise, plus 4 hours of midday, and the first hour or 2 of sunset at all high enough to allow for photosynthesis. So I think I'm getting 6 to 8 hours which is more than the zooxanthellae can use.
gcarroll
Active member
Are you sure this wasn't a study conducted in the wild where PAR numbers dwarf our captive reef numbers. It is true that corals shut down after they have received enough light. If I recall they call this, photo inhibition. It is my understanding that lighting a coral past that point is unnecessary. With that said you can overcome lo PAR light sources by running the lights longer. At least that is my understanding. Per Sanjay, "Light adds up!"
oreo57
Well-known member
Actually that is not always the case..
First:
http://www.fondriest.com/environmen.../weather/photosynthetically-active-radiation/
39.
conversions..
http://www.egc.com/useful_info_lighting.php
just for fun:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=891628
and;
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/9/aafeature
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Do you see much difference in the tank with the Vegas and 52's compared to the sols?
slief
RC Sponsor
I run 10 Kessil 360WE's over my 4'x8'x24" tall tank. I've been running the 360's for nearly 2 years and my coral growth has been spectacular. Prior to the Kessils, I ran Reef Tech Prometheus LED's for about 4 years. Prior to that I was running MH's and VHO bulbs in combination. I've been very happy with the switch to LED's. I don't run any supplemental lighting. My tank is a mixed reef with soft coral, LPS and SPS. My SPS are growing upwards of an inch a month. This includes various acro's, Monti's, Birdsnests and other SPS. I have a massive branching hammer that is well over 100 heads. It started out a small head the size of my pinky nail about 3 years ago. It's now a colony that's well over 2' across.
I have lots of growth shots in my build thread. If you go to the last page of it, there should be some shots that were taken about a month ago along side a series of SPS shots going back to Decemeber to document the growth. I need to update the thread with some new growth shots though.
I have lots of growth shots in my build thread. If you go to the last page of it, there should be some shots that were taken about a month ago along side a series of SPS shots going back to Decemeber to document the growth. I need to update the thread with some new growth shots though.
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ReefCowboy
New member
I saw gour tank, congrats on the growth, the shimmer of 10 kesiks must be insane!
slief
RC Sponsor
I ran 8 for the first year and change. I recently added two more to gain a bit better coverage on the end of the tank where I had some of my SPS placed. The shimmer is great. Mesmoeizing would be the best word to describe it. Being a scuba diver and having run halides for 15 years leading up to my switch to LED's, I can honestly say that the Kessils provide the closest thing to natural shimmer of any light I've seen. I absolutely love the shimmer. Especially with all the surface agitation I have.
Here is a video I shot when I made the switch from Reeftech's to Kessils. In this video, I have half the tank lit with Reeftech LED's and the other half with Kessils. I will shoot a quick walk around video so you can see the growth since the switch to Kessils.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NehoO27nL_Q?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
slief
RC Sponsor
Here is an update video that I just show that is a complete walk around of the tank. You can see from the corals above that the tank is growing very well under LED's. The only new additions to this tank since the video above was shot (in terms of coral) are the SPS.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PZLXB7YPBig?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PZLXB7YPBig?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
david pinder
Member
running cheap Chinese leds 4 yrs now and had to trim many of my sps this year because they were growing out of the water. Some were a inch or more out of the water.
