LED and SPS

[moto826]

my few sps i got is looking great i got a appleberry and was brown now its glow green and every thing else is looking good too and they went green under my leds

 

[Skimmy]

if you have the same light frequencies, and same output, then why in god's name would a coral care what source it's coming from...
personally, I think people who cant grow under LED's are retarded, and I'm putting it all up to user error/stupidity...
even under my shytte weipro fixture in conjunction with my ecoxotic module (both of which are crappy 1 watters that arent even cree) the corals I have have thrived in the last couple months, even can see good growth and excellent color from the single sps colony I have (granted it's a pocillapora)

 

[treehugger]

I take care of a 18 reef tanks...12 run on the aquaillumination LED units, one that is rurnning reefbrites, and 5 that are various combinations of t5 and metal halide...i can tell you first hand...sps lost alot of color and polyp extension under the LEDs (both types)...this is not just in the adjustment period. LPS for the most part have had little to no success in the long run...lots of bleaching (even with the intensities turned down and placement starting at the bottom and moving up into the higher light) The only thing i've seen some success with under the LEDs are some euphyllia. Clams on the other hand can't get enough of the LED lighting. Their colors are insane and health is perfect with the LEDs. Like alot of others, I've noticed a serious decline in health of LPS and softies after about 4-6 months under the LEDs...i've taken these corals back to the shop and put them back under metal halides and t5s and within a couple of weeks color and polyp extension returns. These problems have been seen across the board in EVERY tank I run the LEDs on. All tank parameters are kept identical to my shop tanks for ease of movement in corals from holding to customer tanks. Just my opinion obviously but I'd say that I've had ample experience with at least the Aquaillumintion units in a dozen different situations. I've pulled the units from several tanks and added more t5s to others and basically turned the LEDs off. These units were on all the tanks I took over but I can tell you that I would never put one of these units over a tank that I designed from the ground up. If you do run LEDs I think it is important to supplement with some non super focused point source light. The par readings on these LEDs is the only nice thing. It barely changes from surface to about 26 inches of water and has good penetration to depths of 48 inches (this is the deepest tank I have them on)

 

[reefrat]

I take care of a 18 reef tanks...12 run on the aquaillumination LED units, one that is rurnning reefbrites, and 5 that are various combinations of t5 and metal halide...i can tell you first hand...sps lost alot of color and polyp extension under the LEDs (both types)...this is not just in the adjustment period. LPS for the most part have had little to no success in the long run...lots of bleaching (even with the intensities turned down and placement starting at the bottom and moving up into the higher light) The only thing i've seen some success with under the LEDs are some euphyllia. Clams on the other hand can't get enough of the LED lighting. Their colors are insane and health is perfect with the LEDs. Like alot of others, I've noticed a serious decline in health of LPS and softies after about 4-6 months under the LEDs...i've taken these corals back to the shop and put them back under metal halides and t5s and within a couple of weeks color and polyp extension returns. These problems have been seen across the board in EVERY tank I run the LEDs on. All tank parameters are kept identical to my shop tanks for ease of movement in corals from holding to customer tanks. Just my opinion obviously but I'd say that I've had ample experience with at least the Aquaillumintion units in a dozen different situations. I've pulled the units from several tanks and added more t5s to others and basically turned the LEDs off. These units were on all the tanks I took over but I can tell you that I would never put one of these units over a tank that I designed from the ground up. If you do run LEDs I think it is important to supplement with some non super focused point source light. The par readings on these LEDs is the only nice thing. It barely changes from surface to about 26 inches of water and has good penetration to depths of 48 inches (this is the deepest tank I have them on)

oh boy ,that's the great info and hand on experienced for sure
LED is it called burnt.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I am also with you on this roscoe I want to see hard numbers and proof before i would think of making the switch over. LEDs IMO are still to new. I plan on getting a cheap fixture also to do my own test. well before I spend 1 or 3 g's on a set up. I still have my doubts on this and like it is now something always better is coming out. in the LED world higher watts etc. the saving on power is great but will my corals grow and look good thats what I want to see. and not birdsnest or pocc. i am looking at the high light demanding sps that will grow and thrive.

 

[moto826]

oh boy ,that's the great info and hand on experienced for sure
LED is it called burnt.

lol not burnt
i can put 10 pages of links to sps doing good for at least a year

the only down side i see is zoas fading color so i have mine way up and so far so good i should post pics of the progress so the burnt will turn into bling bling i read about them for a wile before i jumped in

 

[Skimmy]

I take care of a 18 reef tanks...12 run on the aquaillumination LED units, one that is rurnning reefbrites, and 5 that are various combinations of t5 and metal halide...i can tell you first hand...sps lost alot of color and polyp extension under the LEDs (both types)...this is not just in the adjustment period. LPS for the most part have had little to no success in the long run...lots of bleaching (even with the intensities turned down and placement starting at the bottom and moving up into the higher light) The only thing i've seen some success with under the LEDs are some euphyllia. Clams on the other hand can't get enough of the LED lighting. Their colors are insane and health is perfect with the LEDs. Like alot of others, I've noticed a serious decline in health of LPS and softies after about 4-6 months under the LEDs...i've taken these corals back to the shop and put them back under metal halides and t5s and within a couple of weeks color and polyp extension returns. These problems have been seen across the board in EVERY tank I run the LEDs on. All tank parameters are kept identical to my shop tanks for ease of movement in corals from holding to customer tanks. Just my opinion obviously but I'd say that I've had ample experience with at least the Aquaillumintion units in a dozen different situations. I've pulled the units from several tanks and added more t5s to others and basically turned the LEDs off. These units were on all the tanks I took over but I can tell you that I would never put one of these units over a tank that I designed from the ground up. If you do run LEDs I think it is important to supplement with some non super focused point source light. The par readings on these LEDs is the only nice thing. It barely changes from surface to about 26 inches of water and has good penetration to depths of 48 inches (this is the deepest tank I have them on)

im sorry my post was so crass... I know u know ur shyte and have good husbandry skills, T huggy.....
the thing that i think is happening is that corals are getting cooked because they are too close, or the intensity is too high,and that maybe LED's dont require the same par numbers and amount of time to be effective...especially when it comes to softies and LPS. at least this has been my experience...
so basically, this big push to get more power with LED's is unwarrented, IMO...
we already have fixtures like the AI that will provide too much...
and I have heard others complain as well that with their AI fixtures, they have to cut it to almost half depending upon distance of the fixture from the water so as to not cook their softies/lps and even some sps corals...

as for me...
i think i have finally decided upon 3 ecoxotic 12 watt panorama modules for my 20g, 2 blue, 1 white, and one of their 6 watt 402nm stunner strips for a dawn and dusk until I get a serious LED fixture...Im waiting it out until there are about twice as many fixtures as there are now...plus, as i have said, I know ALOT of companies are coming out with new LEDS...

 

[barrierreefcf]

Good choice for your 20G Mark. I've been looking at what's out there for nanos and we decided on the the same. We are setting up a little 8 gallon with two of the Ecoxotic 12w Panorama units. One blue and one combo.

Its an interesting debate with some people having success and others not. I'm glad we (BRA) are finally diving in and experimenting first-hand. Its the only way to find out what our preferences are

 

[gothunder3022]

I think Mark is on to something with the intensity. I've been measuring what lighting I can with my little apogee quantum meter, and I've found that MH's seem to have a smaller delta between the intensity at the upper parts of a tank versus the lower portions. I recently measured a 400W light over a 24" deep tank (I think)...we were getting 450-550 PAR near the top and over 200 at the bottom. I found in my 24" tank, that with 200 PAR from my PacSun 160W BP's at the bottom I was getting numbers close to 800 PAR in the upper regions. And these lights don't have optics...just the built it 120 spread. Many of the other fixtures and DIY setups are coming with 60 and 80 degree optics which are definitely concentrating the light.

Obviously time and experience will be the only way to know for sure...but in makiing my own decision, I found a lot of comfort is what Dr. Sanjay Joshi has to say about LED's...I think he's got them running on many of his tanks. For what this guy knows about aquarium lighting, I take that as a pretty positive sign.

Based on all the different things people on here are trying, we should have some great empirical data in the coming months. And while they are certainly entitled to their opinion, I sure hope the flat-earth society is wrong.

Oh, any maybe more importantly...whose orgainzing the group buy for the plasma male enhancers???

 

[apollothesun]

if you have the same light frequencies, and same output, then why in god's name would a coral care what source it's coming from...
personally, I think people who cant grow under LED's are retarded, and I'm putting it all up to user error/stupidity...
even under my shytte weipro fixture in conjunction with my ecoxotic module (both of which are crappy 1 watters that arent even cree) the corals I have have thrived in the last couple months, even can see good growth and excellent color from the single sps colony I have (granted it's a pocillapora)

so i guess im stupid, and the only sps colony you have is a pocillapora?

 

[Myteemouse]

I want to be wrong I want these lights to be good and advance in technology and reduce in price..
Right now they are actually cheape than I would have thought this early in the game..
The price of LED's themselves need to come down first to get these fixtures down.

 

[Shane and John]

Well Bro..lets do the test..I will put one of your fast growers in my tank and see how it does!!Now with the new camera...we can take weekly pics to watch what it does!!

 

[Myteemouse]

My door is open, i'm home anytime bro
I'll send you home with a chunck fo sho

 

[Shane and John]

Yup Yup..I know...Its gonna be my experiment!!..Plus we get to play with the camera!!

 

[moto826]

Hope to see pics of this I will post before and after led pics of my zoas too in a wile to see the change
But I'm liking them still

 

[apollothesun]

Hope to see pics of this I will post before and after led pics of my zoas too in a wile to see the change
But I'm liking them still

hey moto826, have you any red acros turn green on your maxspect led fixture?