LED moonlight - how much light is too much?

LCDRDATA · 11/25/2010, 07:29 AM

I decided to experiment with adding moonlighting to my 75-gallon reef setup. To minimize the cost I bought a $15 blue LED rope light (package states 9 watts) at Wal-Mart and just laid it around the inside perimeter of the glass top on my tank. There is a lot of wasted light (since the lights aren't directional), and the LEDs aren't optimized for this use, but with LEDs every inch and a half I figured quantity would make up the difference. I certainly seems to have; definitely lots of POP! from my corals.

However, my wife pointed out that this might be too bright, especially if I left it on all night.

I know a number of the corals/zoas were significantly more open under this lighting than they were in the dark (I periodically watch my tank at night with a dim red light to not disturb nocturnal activity). While it looked cool, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. So, can anyone help me out on this? How bright is too bright?

If I were to put this and my 'fuge light on a separate timer opposite my main unit (right now my 'fuge is on the same cycle), would this be a good idea or a bad one? Thanks!

redfishblewfish · 11/25/2010, 10:05 AM

I have two, four foot IceCap blue LED lights on my five foot long, 90 gallon tank, and it is pretty bright. I do not run them overnight. I use them as part of my early morning / late evening light cycle, and I think they are on for 1 ½ hours, morning and evening. The reason is that I noticed my Mexican Turbos were not coming out when the LED’s were on. So I would recommend not running them through the night. JMTC

11/25/2010, 07:29 AM	#1
LCDRDATA Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 225	LED moonlight - how much light is too much? I decided to experiment with adding moonlighting to my 75-gallon reef setup. To minimize the cost I bought a $15 blue LED rope light (package states 9 watts) at Wal-Mart and just laid it around the inside perimeter of the glass top on my tank. There is a lot of wasted light (since the lights aren't directional), and the LEDs aren't optimized for this use, but with LEDs every inch and a half I figured quantity would make up the difference. I certainly seems to have; definitely lots of POP! from my corals. However, my wife pointed out that this might be too bright, especially if I left it on all night. I know a number of the corals/zoas were significantly more open under this lighting than they were in the dark (I periodically watch my tank at night with a dim red light to not disturb nocturnal activity). While it looked cool, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. So, can anyone help me out on this? How bright is too bright? If I were to put this and my 'fuge light on a separate timer opposite my main unit (right now my 'fuge is on the same cycle), would this be a good idea or a bad one? Thanks! __________________ "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called 'research'" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: 75 gal reef (zoas/palys/discoma/xenia/GSP; monti (cap & digi)/acan/favia/hammer/frogspawn/candy cane; derasa clam, Leopard Wrasse, Randal Goby, Kole Tang, Clown pair, 2xYT Blue Damsel, Engineer Goby, Skunk Cleaner/Coral Banded Shrimp,asst scavengers) Last edited by LCDRDATA; 11/25/2010 at 08:26 AM. Reason: added hyperlink for LED rope light; clarified wording

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11/25/2010, 10:05 AM	#2
redfishblewfish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 716	I have two, four foot IceCap blue LED lights on my five foot long, 90 gallon tank, and it is pretty bright. I do not run them overnight. I use them as part of my early morning / late evening light cycle, and I think they are on for 1 ½ hours, morning and evening. The reason is that I noticed my Mexican Turbos were not coming out when the LED’s were on. So I would recommend not running them through the night. JMTC