LED lighting advancements? Opinons?

sh4rkbyt3 · 07/29/2017, 12:10 AM

Just getting back into this after about a 10 year vacation of sorts. When I dropped out LED lighting was just getting started and I see it's advanced at least in the spectrum control and intensity areas.

Was just curious to see some opinions from any reefers who may have soft and or hard corals if the LED's are intense enough or is T-5 supplementation still required?

Is it enough for soft corals, polyps etc?

Ryan Darilek · 07/29/2017, 12:27 AM

Welcome back!! Depends on the size tank I suppose. If you have a long or larger tank, all LED would be very expensive, thus why people will use T5s in addition to (only minimal LEDs on a large tank will create shadowing). Good quality LEDs are more than sufficient to grow absolutely anything... In fact, if I turned mine up to 100%, it would kill everything in my tank including my SPS because it's too strong. (I have all LED and no supplements)

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Cheapreef · 07/29/2017, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh4rkbyt3

Just getting back into this after about a 10 year vacation of sorts. When I dropped out LED lighting was just getting started and I see it's advanced at least in the spectrum control and intensity areas.

Was just curious to see some opinions from any reefers who may have soft and or hard corals if the LED's are intense enough or is T-5 supplementation still required?

Is it enough for soft corals, polyps etc?

Properly setup they can be used for SPS with no t5 etc. Quit a few here that run only LED on SPS dominant tanks, I use only LED about 90% SPS.

Ron Reefman · 07/29/2017, 05:09 AM

All led, all the time. About 50%sps, 20% lps, 20% zoas and 10% softie. And the first and last couple of hours of the day my tank looks like Pandora at night!

gprdypoo04 · 07/29/2017, 06:01 AM

Holy crap.....nice.

Chicagoreef2016 · 07/29/2017, 06:48 AM

Plenty of people have LEDs and have amazing tanks, SPS, mixed and otherwise. Follow Rons thread up above for case in point, and any of his posts on pro/con of different LEDS. Ecotech has a white paper out on them comparing growth vs T5 I believe.
http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/...ralLab_WP1.pdf

That being said I switched from my Hydra26HD to T5. For me, being new and 1 year in, I could not seem to dial in my lights. Too many options: % of each color, strength, etc. etc. etc. I chalk this up to user error, and not having enough coverage (should have had 2 Hydra 26HDs, not 1). Loved the form factor of LEDs. Control ability is awesome, which actually worked against me being new. Ecotech has some nice Pre set programs with their lights that would be set it and forget it, but they have a serious price premium on the gear.

sh4rkbyt3 · 07/30/2017, 10:56 AM

Very nice and thank you for the info Chicagoreef2016.

I drove up to That Fish Place in Lancaster, PA yesterday and was mulling over setups. I'm leaning between a 20 gallon to a 30 gallon with both in long version under consideration as well. At this point I'm leaning towards the 30 gallon downgrading from my 90 gallon of 10 yrs ago.

I'd love to go bigger but budget and heating cooling would be an issue so I'm considering a realistic size I can maintain. With that said though bigger is always better if you can afford it

.

jda · 07/30/2017, 04:15 PM

You question about T5s added depends a lot on the type of panels that you have. The point-source panels shadow a LOT more and usually need the T5s to help. The wider panels don't usually need this as much, but some folks prefer the fuller spectrum of adding T5.

Like every other important question in life, the answer is somewhere on the sliding scale of "it depends."

Ron Reefman · 07/30/2017, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jda

You question about T5s added depends a lot on the type of panels that you have. The point-source panels shadow a LOT more and usually need the T5s to help. The wider panels don't usually need this as much, but some folks prefer the fuller spectrum of adding T5.

Like every other important question in life, the answer is somewhere on the sliding scale of "it depends."

I couldn't agree more!

ssgss gogeta · 07/30/2017, 06:21 PM

El-cheapie Chinese led on my nano. Plenty for sps and clam.

Agreed though on large tank you will need to make sure that you underestimate the coverage. Say you use some hydra 52's on a 6 foot you would want 4 to make a good coverage. Expensive compared to t5's but they will last years and years without doing anything.

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djbon · 07/30/2017, 07:00 PM

LED alone is capable to grow almost everything, provided that it is properly setup (intensity & spectrum wise). The only problem with most of them is the end user ability to "fool around" with the spectrum and intensity, causing a lot of problem (bleaching, color morphing, flesh receding, no PE, sudden death, heat problem, stunted growth, algae issue, and the list continues).

Bpb · 07/30/2017, 08:30 PM

LEDs can work fine. Just need enough of them. It's not always going to be a money saving endeavor.

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07/29/2017, 12:10 AM	#1
sh4rkbyt3 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Elkton, MD Posts: 110	LED lighting advancements? Opinons? Just getting back into this after about a 10 year vacation of sorts. When I dropped out LED lighting was just getting started and I see it's advanced at least in the spectrum control and intensity areas. Was just curious to see some opinions from any reefers who may have soft and or hard corals if the LED's are intense enough or is T-5 supplementation still required? Is it enough for soft corals, polyps etc?

07/29/2017, 05:09 AM	#4
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	All led, all the time. About 50%sps, 20% lps, 20% zoas and 10% softie. And the first and last couple of hours of the day my tank looks like Pandora at night! __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

07/29/2017, 06:48 AM	#6
Chicagoreef2016 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 315	Plenty of people have LEDs and have amazing tanks, SPS, mixed and otherwise. Follow Rons thread up above for case in point, and any of his posts on pro/con of different LEDS. Ecotech has a white paper out on them comparing growth vs T5 I believe. http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/...ralLab_WP1.pdf That being said I switched from my Hydra26HD to T5. For me, being new and 1 year in, I could not seem to dial in my lights. Too many options: % of each color, strength, etc. etc. etc. I chalk this up to user error, and not having enough coverage (should have had 2 Hydra 26HDs, not 1). Loved the form factor of LEDs. Control ability is awesome, which actually worked against me being new. Ecotech has some nice Pre set programs with their lights that would be set it and forget it, but they have a serious price premium on the gear. __________________ 127ish gallon SC tank and associated equipment

07/30/2017, 07:00 PM	#11
djbon Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MY Posts: 813	LED alone is capable to grow almost everything, provided that it is properly setup (intensity & spectrum wise). The only problem with most of them is the end user ability to "fool around" with the spectrum and intensity, causing a lot of problem (bleaching, color morphing, flesh receding, no PE, sudden death, heat problem, stunted growth, algae issue, and the list continues). __________________ 75 gallon DT, 5 gallon sump, DIY LED bar with moonlight, DIY Arduino controller Current Tank Info: 75 gallon/Arduino Controller

07/29/2017, 12:27 AM	#2
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Welcome back!! Depends on the size tank I suppose. If you have a long or larger tank, all LED would be very expensive, thus why people will use T5s in addition to (only minimal LEDs on a large tank will create shadowing). Good quality LEDs are more than sufficient to grow absolutely anything... In fact, if I turned mine up to 100%, it would kill everything in my tank including my SPS because it's too strong. (I have all LED and no supplements) Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/29/2017, 06:01 AM	#5
gprdypoo04 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 389	Holy crap.....nice.

07/30/2017, 10:56 AM	#7
sh4rkbyt3 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Elkton, MD Posts: 110	Very nice and thank you for the info Chicagoreef2016. I drove up to That Fish Place in Lancaster, PA yesterday and was mulling over setups. I'm leaning between a 20 gallon to a 30 gallon with both in long version under consideration as well. At this point I'm leaning towards the 30 gallon downgrading from my 90 gallon of 10 yrs ago. I'd love to go bigger but budget and heating cooling would be an issue so I'm considering a realistic size I can maintain. With that said though bigger is always better if you can afford it .

07/30/2017, 04:15 PM	#8
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	You question about T5s added depends a lot on the type of panels that you have. The point-source panels shadow a LOT more and usually need the T5s to help. The wider panels don't usually need this as much, but some folks prefer the fuller spectrum of adding T5. Like every other important question in life, the answer is somewhere on the sliding scale of "it depends."

07/30/2017, 06:21 PM	#10
ssgss gogeta Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 251	El-cheapie Chinese led on my nano. Plenty for sps and clam. Agreed though on large tank you will need to make sure that you underestimate the coverage. Say you use some hydra 52's on a 6 foot you would want 4 to make a good coverage. Expensive compared to t5's but they will last years and years without doing anything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

07/30/2017, 08:30 PM	#12
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	LEDs can work fine. Just need enough of them. It's not always going to be a money saving endeavor. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk