Zoanthids and LED's

[vargomat]

All,

I've recently moved to an all LED system. My SPS's couldn't be happier, but my Zoas are having a rough time. I used to run a 7 bulb t-5 fixture and now run two radions. I think the LED's are just to powerful... but if I lower the intensity, then the tank doesn't look very bright, plus my sps love it.

Now I want to preface that I've never been a very good grower of zoas. I'm not sure what the issue is... it could be my water parms or something else.

My Question: Is there anyone else running an all LED system and getting great results from their Zoas? Please indicate placement and which LED fixture you are currently using. Feel free to post a pic as well!

Thanks!

 

[zoafarm]

I had the same situation when I switched to LEDs. I have a 72gal (24" deep). My fixture is a DIY 48 LEDs (36 CREE Royal Blue and 12 CREE XML Cool White). The fixture is 11" above the water. Before the LED fixture, I was running an 6 bulb t5 fixture.

I had the same observations after installing the LEDs. SPS/LPS did great and zoas/palys not so good. I dimmed my LEDs down to about 45% and eventually got up to 50 or 55% of full power. Once I turned down my lights the zoas/palys started opening back up. But it took 4 to 6 months for them to actually start growing. Some started early, but for the most part they were pretty slow in the beginning. I also moved a lot of them around. Now, most of my zoas/palys live in the bottom 2/3s of the tank, and are doing fine.

Hope this helps. Happy Reefing

 

[Donkeykong]

When I switched from Halides to AI Sols it took my Zoas a while to adapt, they probably took the longest out of everything in the tank.

 

[mayjong]

give it time...
my zoas love leds

 

[agruetz]

Yea I moved from a T5 over my tank to a AI Sol. Took about a 2 week transition period. Started at about 45% power moved all the way to 80%. First week or so was a bit meh. After that it got much better and the recent growth seems to be far exceeding my old T5's (no actual test data just visual observations).

 

[zoaking120]

I run 2 AI sol blues over my 120. I keep Zoas mid to bottom and have really good results. I set the tank up with them so I can't compare but I run 100% all for 5 hours.

 

[vargomat]

Thanks for the responses. I've had the LED's now for about 5 months. I've ramped up the intensity during that time and maybe it's just too much for the Zoa's.

It's comforting to hear that others have had to wait for them to adapt. I'll think about moving them down and hopefully that helps.

Thanks again for the support. Here's a pic of the tank when I first got the LED's...

I'll post an updated version this weekend. You should be able to see the SPS growth and the reduction in Zoas.

-Matt

 

[dviper150]

I have a custom china led fixture that I ordered straight from China. It runs at 100% only for 4 hrs. I have tons of zoas just sitting randomly all over the place, high and low. They are all doing great.

 

[Saltycrab12]

my zoas never looked the same after switching to LEDs from t5/Halide combo. They are slightly brighter with the more intense blues but the growth and size is just not comparable. Zoas seem to like soft whites more I had t5 6500k with 20k halide and growth was just sick I had to clip back all the time.

 

[ibtigr33]

i have a Chinese LED fixture and it took my z&p's a while to get used to it too but once they did, they grew like crazy. I run my white 4 hours a day but not all at once. from 10 to 4pm, they are off and on until the whites have been on for a total of four hours. My coral seems to like this setup.

 

[agruetz]

Maybe this is why I have noticed way more growth in my Zoa's with my LED's from my under standing the the AI Sol white LED's are 6500k. Beats all I can say is my Zoa's have not look better since I switch to my AI Sol Blue.

my zoas never looked the same after switching to LEDs from t5/Halide combo. They are slightly brighter with the more intense blues but the growth and size is just not comparable. Zoas seem to like soft whites more I had t5 6500k with 20k halide and growth was just sick I had to clip back all the time.

 

[vargomat]

Thanks to all who have replied. From the responses I got here, I think I have 2 issues going on...

1. My LED's were set too high and were killing everything (I ramped up from 65%, but they still killed my acans and some zoas)

2. My water quality could be better (I have always had a hard time keeping certain types of zoas, SPS's flourish though...)

I'm going to lower the light intensity to 60-70% and work on keeping my water consistent and we'll see what happens.

 

[amond003]

It took mine a little while to adjust. That being said they are growing faster than they did before.

 

[vargomat]

As promised, here's a pic of my tank today...

I've got fewer zoanthids, but the SPS are doing well.

Thank you all for your input.