SPS under LEDs successful?

[extremecoral]

I'm wondering is anybody doing SPS under LEDs? I know alot of folks gonna say SPS only doing well in Metal Halide bulbs, I have tried/tested sps under leds....it turned brown at first then regain the "momentum" and spurs back to original colors. But the growth rate I'd say is slower than even PC bulbs.... just throw out who is doing this now and how they look. :blabla:

 

[Peppie]

There are many more contributing factors to coral growth than just the lighting.

 

[extremecoral]

Para are all the same except for lights switch...

 

[Peppie]

How long have you been running this test?

 

[DTECH07]

I read this earlier tonight
Awesome SPS Growth with LED's
There are several here that have built and ran LEDs including sponsors and LFS. I'm sure you'll get what your hoping for.

 

[extremecoral]

Very nice thread Dtech07. I've been testing for probably two months from now....

 

[DTECH07]

I'm sure there is as detailed info here from local reefers but I just read this one and it seemed to be what you were asking. I've been running LEDs now for almost three weeks but I had a nice conversation with Mojoreef on corals, lighting, PAR, and zoo that lives in a symbiosis relationship with the coral (those that have it).

 

[Solov]

After running very basic LEDs for 2.5 years (hence they are basic there wasn't anything besides cool-white and blue back then) I can say that it seems to be down to coral preference. Some grow like crazy, most grow okay, a few not at all. As for colors, for me it seems to be mostly down to chemistry rather than light (I guess powerful white-blue LEDs are falling into "okay" category already and provide sufficient light for proper coloration).

Having said that. I am starting to run what's considered "full spectrum" LEDs soon. We'll see how these will do.

 

[trido]

I've been running DIY LED's for over a year and have had great color and growth.

 

[Chichas01]

Most SPS will grow great with LED. Might take some tweaking depending on the light you have and how flexible it is in configuration. It took me a bit to find what I think is now the 'sweet spot' for my system but I am seeing some decent growth and color. One of the biggest issues I had was too much light and color getting lighter as opposed to browning out (not enough light). I've also had some Acros that just never made it but that happened on occasion with the halides I used to run as well. And then there is the issue of making sure everything else is in order as well; Alk, CA, Mg, pH and just overall stable water/tank conditions.

 

[eww]

We have been keeping and growing SPS under LED's for near 2 years now with great results and growth. I am referring to our DIY set up over our personal aquarium. It has multiple colors of LED's, not just blue and white and many can attest here how it looks. Before we moved it to the store it was doing really well (see my signature pic). Since we have moved it to the store it has been through it's struggles but nothing I can attribute to lighting issues. I know we will never look back from LED's. We are also running them in the store over all our coral displays.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I switched from a combo of halides and CF to LEDs that I bought from OBD. The SPS have brightened up and increased growth measurably.
I suspect it is the direction where all coral lighting is heading.

 

[TJL]

I have had phenomenal growth rates in my predominantly SPS system using DIY LED's (96 3w emitters) a mix of 4 whites 4 blues plus red, green, cyan and now violet. Coral growth lighting wise is rather affected by overall spectrum and does not matter the source LED/MH/Flo. Corals will be healthier and grow more quickly in a full spectrum 10-12K range than in a narrow spectrum 15-20K range, though they (some) look amazing with their fluorescence. My original research going back 4+ years in creating a mix of emitters that emulated the Phoenix 14K lamp without much so-called garbage light that is always there with incandescent bulbs. This was the data used in my own build as well as Eric & Beccas, Mojos and now several others out there. It provides a crisp blue-white light that we see yet fluoresces more than just the greens and oranges typical of 20K MH or Cool White / 460nm Blue LED fixtures. You or anyone seriously looking into building your own or buying a multi spectrum LED fixture like OBD's are welcome to visit if in the area.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Katchupoy]

Here is my answer to OP. I think it is successful. But there is a lot of factors to consider and light is only a one of those factors. I have a 75 gallon with 36 DIY crees (low side) because i only have softies. Although not high end SPS coral i have a few in my low lighting setup.

Here is a video of my tank and you can see the SPS on timestamp 3:00.
Considering that the light is only Royal Blue and Warm White built in 2010. I think it will be better if I have a more full spectrum selection of LEDs.

2013-03-19 - 75 Gallon Reef Tank Update 720 - YouTube

Hope this helps.

Cesar