By any chance do you have a build thread?? and ok ill lookinto other options as well....i saw the LED group buy but that seems like it would take a long time to ship as well. I dont mind waiting as long as its all there the first time. Oh also do you have some pics of your tank with LEDs and maybe befor the LEDS??
LEDs, discussion.
- Thread starter Wicked Color
- Start date
Here is a link to my build thread:
http://www.marinecolorado.org/forums/showthread.php?9012-My-latest-DIY-LED-build
And some pics of my tank taken on the same day. One with a 400 watt halide, the other with the LED's.
http://www.marinecolorado.org/forums/showthread.php?9012-My-latest-DIY-LED-build
And some pics of my tank taken on the same day. One with a 400 watt halide, the other with the LED's.
I really don't have any proof, but I think that having a mix of 6 different colors has been good for the Corals. Here is another comparison for you. The first pic was taken July 2011 right after I finished the LED build. The second pic was taken on Feb. 5, 2012. Take a look at the birdsnest. The color is much better and it has almost doubled in size in only 6 months.
I have seen a few people using green in their fixtures. The thing to keep in mind is that you do not need a lot of the green or red LED's, a little goes a long ways with them. I am using 3 red and 3 UV. I keep the red turned WAY down. As for how many UV, I really don't have an answer. They put off almost NO visible light so it would be really easy to go overboard on them. If it was me I would do between 4 and 6 of each - UV, red, and green. If you go with Cree LED's use even less. Also I personally would not put optics on these colors.
ok well if i order from the satis led i have to oreder in groups of 5 for the uv and ten for everything else. So maybe 5 uv and 6 of the rest and i can turn them way way down and slowly increase maybe at two week intervals to see where growth is best....now as far as optics i was going to just use them on the outside ones. i have read alot of different reviews on using optics.
I put my LEDs in back in September. I started out with them real high, and lowered them down a few inches at a time.
These are the 120watt 14k fixtures, I am running 2 of them over my 90. most of my colors are washed out and just dont have that pop. I did do a DIY to add blue to the tank, added another 60w of blue (which reminds me I need to finish my build thread) I have 3 of the LEDs left and will probably get another driver to have a total of 90w to see if that helps the colors pop. But on the fence if I want to throw any more money at it or go back to what I know was working.
These are the 120watt 14k fixtures, I am running 2 of them over my 90. most of my colors are washed out and just dont have that pop. I did do a DIY to add blue to the tank, added another 60w of blue (which reminds me I need to finish my build thread) I have 3 of the LEDs left and will probably get another driver to have a total of 90w to see if that helps the colors pop. But on the fence if I want to throw any more money at it or go back to what I know was working.
Ok so i ordered my LEDs today, overall from what i read and saw at local fish stores alot of individual were having good luck with either DIY or the chienese white/blues. Sense i dont have time to DIY nor do i know enough about them to do it i just oreder the TaoTonics 120watt 45white/40blue 3wattbulbs setup (x2). My plan is to build a custom alum housing to fit them in and surround them with my T5s in order to get a little growth. However first i am going to do a little expirement and light half my tank with LED and the other half with my current MH, i have a fairly diverse mix of diffrent corals including sps, and lps as well as plenty of softies. Im going to give it two weeks and if i see a diffrence in some corals i will then switch them and see if the same thing happens to the oposing side. If i see a huge decline in the corals overall health then i will have really nice LEDs on MASC for a reallycheap price :0. Maybe this little expirement will help answer a few questions IE; are the perticular corals that will do better either under MH or Leds? also weather or not the corals will do any better with T5 support?
Ebay was the best price other than aqua imports in boulder and they were out of stock (highly suggested them). I forgot to mention that the AI got really good reviews from what i saw and the big benifit is they are made in the USA however i was not quiet willing to dump another 1k into my tank lighting just yet.
You need to acclimate your corals to the LED's because they are SOOOO intense and can easily bleach your corals. Since I have dimmers on all of my LED's, i started with the LED's dimmed way down and increased the brightness a little bit every couple of days. Most people without dimmers typically just start with the light WAY above the tank and lower it a little bit every couple of days. This can save you a lot of heartache and money spent on corals.