Yes!!!!!!!!! SPS Success with Leds! Come in and Share your Story!
- Thread starter tdb320reef
- Start date
Hi , I think you have a great looking tank. Could you clarify : are you running whites at 10% and multicolored LEDs at 10%?
Thanks
limitedslip
New member
I picked up some softwhite/blue dimmable 120w LEDS off ebay last year.
I like to run them more on the white side. So far, I have had great success with them.
Coral is growing faster now that I'm dosing and got some mp10s, but I'm surprised how well these cheap lights are doing.
I will post some growth pictures later tonight.
Here is a FTS
I like to run them more on the white side. So far, I have had great success with them.
Coral is growing faster now that I'm dosing and got some mp10s, but I'm surprised how well these cheap lights are doing.
I will post some growth pictures later tonight.
Here is a FTS
I picked up some softwhite/blue dimmable 120w LEDS off ebay last year.
I like to run them more on the white side. So far, I have had great success with them.
Coral is growing faster now that I'm dosing and got some mp10s, but I'm surprised how well these cheap lights are doing.
I will post some growth pictures later tonight.
Here is a FTS
Am I reading that right,....120w, what are you driving and controlling them with, what % of power ?---Rick
limitedslip
New member
Yes, you are reading that right.
Not using a controller, it is just on an external timer and has built-in dimmers.
Whites are at 100%, blues are at 20%, optics are 90 degrees. Camera makes it look a lot whiter than it really is. Fixture is 9" above the water, and 23" to the bottom of the tank.
Here are some more pics, sorry about the camera phone.
Here is a picture from another angle showing the light fixture.
Here is a favia frag I got a month ago. It had 5 eyes.
Here it is now a month later with 11 eyes.
First coral I got when I jumped back into the hobby a year ago (using the LED lights)
That same coral today, about the size of a baseball.
Purple Montipora about 10 months ago.
Now
Derasa clam 8 months ago
Derasa clam now (you can see the original shell part towards the bottom where it bevels out)
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tdb320reef
Active member
Looks great!
Yes, you are reading that right.
Not using a controller, it is just on an external timer and has built-in dimmers.
Whites are at 100%, blues are at 20%, optics are 90 degrees. Camera makes it look a lot whiter than it really is. Fixture is 9" above the water, and 23" to the bottom of the tank.
Here are some more pics, sorry about the camera phone.
Here is a picture from another angle showing the light fixture.
Here is a favia frag I got a month ago. It had 5 eyes.
Here it is now a month later with 11 eyes.
First coral I got when I jumped back into the hobby a year ago (using the LED lights)
That same coral today, about the size of a baseball.
Purple Montipora about 10 months ago.
Now
Derasa clam 8 months ago
Derasa clam now (you can see the original shell part towards the bottom where it bevels out)
What is the consensus on which colored LEDs or more specifically what color spectrum is most beneficial for SPS coral keeping/growing/health? AND in what quantity?
For example: I currently have three 3 year old LED fixtures, (Reeftech), over my 215 gal 72" tank. Each fixture is 180 watts and is comprised of; 24 x Cree XP-G cool white (approximately 7000K), 24 x Cree XP-E Royal Blue (450 to 465nm's) and 12 x Cree XP-E Blue (465 to 485nm's). I want to supplement these with a broader spectrum and was thinking of adding some Red (660nm), Cyan (500nm) and mostly Violet (405 to 420nm).
I would appreciate feedback and comments from experienced users.
For example: I currently have three 3 year old LED fixtures, (Reeftech), over my 215 gal 72" tank. Each fixture is 180 watts and is comprised of; 24 x Cree XP-G cool white (approximately 7000K), 24 x Cree XP-E Royal Blue (450 to 465nm's) and 12 x Cree XP-E Blue (465 to 485nm's). I want to supplement these with a broader spectrum and was thinking of adding some Red (660nm), Cyan (500nm) and mostly Violet (405 to 420nm).
I would appreciate feedback and comments from experienced users.
robert s b.
Active member
Yes, you are reading that right.
Not using a controller, it is just on an external timer and has built-in dimmers.
Whites are at 100%, blues are at 20%, optics are 90 degrees. Camera makes it look a lot whiter than it really is. Fixture is 9" above the water, and 23" to the bottom of the tank.
Here are some more pics, sorry about the camera phone.
Here is a picture from another angle showing the light fixture.
Here is a favia frag I got a month ago. It had 5 eyes.
Here it is now a month later with 11 eyes.
First coral I got when I jumped back into the hobby a year ago (using the LED lights)
That same coral today, about the size of a baseball.
Purple Montipora about 10 months ago.
Now
Derasa clam 8 months ago
Derasa clam now (you can see the original shell part towards the bottom where it bevels out)
Awesome Job!!
JPMagyar
New member
delete . . .
JPMagyar
New member
I picked up some softwhite/blue dimmable 120w LEDS off ebay last year.
I like to run them more on the white side. So far, I have had great success with them.
Coral is growing faster now that I'm dosing and got some mp10s, but I'm surprised how well these cheap lights are doing.
I will post some growth pictures later tonight.
Here is a FTS
Really? That tank looks awful. I would think some T5s would make it sparkle.
Are you for real? This comment is slightly uncalled for
This is a success with LED thread if someone wanted opinions about T5 they would have posted in another thread. Besides some people think T5 tanks look awful it all a matter or opinion.
AcroporAddict
There is no substitute.
Sorry, but the coral colors could be a lot better.
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Here's where it started almost 2 years ago
and here's a shot from a few days ago"¦I did move some corals to different locations and swapped out a few for frags that I liked better, but 90% of the originals are there and I never had any health issues
The tank has been under LED lighting the whole time, a Gen 1 Radion in the beginning and then I added TIR lenses and 2 14k Kessils, all 3 LED lights run at 100% intensity for 8.5 hours a day. I am also a big believer that it all come down to water quality, if everything is stable and in-line, than the corals will use as much light as they can get to grow and don't care if it came from an LED or a MH bulb
This is a nice example of LED success. Do you have a tank thread link?
I hate LED's in general. The results on the majority of users with SPS seem to be pretty poor overall. I can only hope that these LED companies start to address fading/bleaching problems instead of making brighter and brighter LED. You shouldn't have to acclimate corals for several months, something is very wrong there. I think it is a very damaging light.
With that said, the only way I can afford to run a large system in the future will be with LED lighting:uhoh3: This is probably the best LED thread that I have read, and I commend you guys for sharing all this useful info.
I'm just curious, has anyone run a UV glass shield under their LED light? If so any difference?
JPMagyar
New member
I'm not being mean. I'm being honest. If this thread is about "SUCCESS" with LEDs then I don't believe it is useful to cheer for brown corals because that's not "SUCCESS".
Just because all the kids in town joined soccer, I don't believe they should all get a "Participation Trophy" to make them feel good. When someone posts a picture online I don't see how being honest and telling them their corals look crappy is anything more than being honest.
I'm not calling anyone names; I'm not personalizing; I'm being honest, AND by the way I happen to have a little personal experience in keeping colorful SPS.
If my comment appears blunt I'm sorry that's part of the difficulty communicating with the written word on a forum. There's no chance to hear my tone of voice or see my facial features. Ultimately I would love to help the individual make his corals sparkle and honestly I believe an added T5 bulb or two would be all that is needed because the aquascape is great, there is no algae, and obviously the growth is good. It's just the colors that are off.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
+1 to the parts I have quoted.
Perhaps it is the photography which isnt showing it; but I dont see colourful corals. The SPS look brown, so in that regard, I completely agree with Joe that the corals do look brown.
I also agree that adding a couple of T5's will help colour up the SPS.
I also agree that the aquascape is VERY nice, the tank looks great overall.
Having said that, there are some tanks with PURE LED lighting that do have VERY nice SPS colours...the QUESTION is: Why arent more people having success?
My two favorite LFS's are have owners who are true hobbyists at heart. NEITHER have moved over to 100% LED for either for personal tanks or their shop display tanks.
One of them is Radium 20K fan, and told me having tried Radions over his home tank and over the shop display, wont be moving to LED's anytime soon. His shop display has a couple of Radiums with a Radion Pro in the middle.
The other guy runs T5's. In his shop display which is a beautiful 300G+ sized display, he runs 4 AI sol Blues, flanked by twin T5's. Colours are great.
My own view is that Spectrum wise, the likes of Radion Pro and AI Hydra 52's are now good enough...however IMO, the way the light is delivered to the corals, is what is causing most of the issues...that is; the narrow point source nature of the light are like hotspots.
The next area of research and improvement that needs to be taken by manufacturers like AI, GHL, Ecotech etc is NOT more gimmicks and features but should be in terms of better reflector design; less spotlighting and more diffuse like MH/T5. Yes a MH has a spotlight of strong PAR right beneath the bulb, but the huge reflectors send light in all different angles. T5's are great because of the diffuse nature of the combined effect of the T5 tubes and their reflectors.
Perhaps with the new 120degree lens from Ecotech is going to make some difference?
Mike de Leon
New member
Your tank must look absolutely awesome for you to say this tank is awful. Love to see some pics.
If the light was adjusted to have more blue it would definitely look better. On closer look the corals have good colour. Adjustments on water chemistry may be in order.
