Confused about LED's

[Jester613]

I am very confused on LED's. What is the difference not in color of LED's but in the color temp and what is the most important factor for reef aquariums? I have a friend that says any bright white and blue LED will provide enough light and allow corals to grow. Is this true? I am new to the hobby and got a large tank for free and want to start to build showcase piece but I’m currently stuck in the planning of it all. Also I’ve read that you need around 10000K for corals does the K on each LED get added to the total or do you need LED's that each produce that? A few of the threads I’ve read for LED's the owners say that they only have there whites at 50% does that mean they could do with half the number of whites, or could they do with a less bright LED? Any help you can give me would be most appreciated.

 

[Chichas01]

Oh man, this is a really big topic. First, what is your budget? That is what you really need to figure out. LED's will grow corals just fine and there are lots of decent fixtures but some have more options than others such as software to configure color temp and intensity and built in timers and programs etc. So I would start with, how much you can spend and then compare features in your price range. I looked at AI and Ecotech and decided on Ecotech. Couldn't be happier with them.

 

[Katchupoy]

I have a friend that says any bright white and blue LED will provide enough light and allow corals to grow... Not True

does the K on each LED get added to the total? K means Kelvin. It means the light spectrum temperature. Anything below 6500K is yellowish redish, anything upward of 6500K is going to the blue side.



A few of the threads I’ve read for LED's the owners say that they only have there whites at 50% does that mean they could do with half the number of whites, or could they do with a less bright LED? It means that some LED drivers can be dimmed and some cannot be dimmed.

Welcome to Reef Frontiers. Youre lucky that someone gave you a large tank. More water volume, more stable the tank parameters will be. It does not mean that you need to fill it up with corals all at the same time. It does not also mean that you need to fill it with lights too.

Suggestion.
1) Keep reading. And keep asking. Tons of information here at RF. AND TAKE YOUR TIME!!!
2) Try fish only tank. Learn which fish can be coral safe or not. This will help you practice some very basic husbandry of reef keeping. You dont need lights here yet, so while saving up for other hardwares EXPENSES, you are actually enjoying the hobby.
3) Start with soft corals. They are less demanding in terms of husbandry and requires less hardware. Less lighting required, skimmer optional, etc etc etc. Now if you think you still have extra time besides all that time with upkeeping... Then you can take it to the next level.
4) Craigslist is your best friend here... a lot of beginners like you turn to spend a lot of money too fast and then they get burned up too fast too, and quit the hobby altogether, so they will end up selling their expensive stuff for a deal. So watch out for that. Also we have classified section here at RF.

If you are handy with DIY and still want to pursue LED lighting. Then come and check my build.

Hope this helps. Happy Reefing... dont burn yourself.

C