Color!!

Kizzy911 · 12/12/2015, 03:36 AM

Lighting wise, I notice that the LED lighting makes colors of corals pop better, compared to my (current) lighting system a t5 with ATI Blue+

I have a couple of questions.
1) Is it true that LEDs' Blue's make the color pop better?
2) DO al LED's produce the same blue color that make your corals brighter?
3) will the Cheaper CHINESE LED BLACK BOX lighting work?
4) Will the CHIENSE LED BLACK BOX be enough to grow mixed corals? zoas, SPS, LPS, etc.
5) Someone locally is selling it for $50, was wondering if it's worth the pick up?

Thanks.

Ron Reefman · 12/12/2015, 06:40 AM

I have a couple of questions.
1) Is it true that LEDs' Blue's make the color pop better?
Pop is a highly technical term and hard to understand!

Blue light is the high energy end of the visible spectrum. Many of our corals (not all by any means) have pigments (like you or me turning brown or red when we go in the sun) that take in the high energy blue light, use some of that energy and then 'fluoresce' their own light. That is probably what you are describing as 'pop'?

2) DO al LED's produce the same blue color that make your corals brighter?
Not all, but most aquarium led fixtures sold these days do to some extent. And some do it better than others. When leds were first tried over aquariums they didn't have any blue at all. They were all white. And there are different spectrum of blue light. 400nm wavelength is the cutoff between UV (less than 400nm) and violet (more than 400nm). Violet then becomes blue and there are leds available at several wavelengths that are blue, 420nm and 440nm are considered violet, 460nm, 480nm and 490nm are all blue. Above 500nm wavelengths are getting into green.

3) will the Cheaper CHINESE LED BLACK BOX lighting work?
In a word, yes! I think there is a company called Chinese Blackbox who sells led fixtures and then there is the common term Chinese black box which refers to a large assortment of companies selling led fixtures made in China. Most of these are enough to grow almost any coral given all the other parameters in your system are also equal to the job. I have used a variety of cheap and inexpensice Chinese led fixtures over the last 4 years. Some are cheap and can have 'issues'. Others are still inexpensive as far as led fixtures go, but are good enough to be considered above average quality (IMHO).

4) Will the CHIENSE LED BLACK BOX be enough to grow mixed corals? zoas, SPS, LPS, etc.
I have 4 tanks, all with led fixtures and for the last 3 years I've grown all kinds of coral. See photo below of my main tank. I even have some I have collected personally when snorkeling in the Florida Keys (I have the proper license so it's legal).

5) Someone locally is selling it for $50, was wondering if it's worth the pick up?
It's hard to say if anything being bought used is "worth the pick up." Is the $50 a big deal to your budget? Do you trust the seller? If it dies in a month, will replacing it be a financial burden? If so, maybe buying a new MarsAqua for $85 with a warranty would be a better decision? If the $50 is no big deal, sure, a good led fixture for $50 is a nice deal. Do you know the brand and model number? Do you know how old it is?

I hope that helps some? If you have more questions just ask.

seamonster124 · 12/12/2015, 12:18 PM

Ron pretty much nailed it.
I made the switch when a high end LFS went all chinese boxes.
You could buy a new one on eBay for $83.
They also make programmable versions.

Kizzy911 · 12/12/2015, 05:09 PM

Is the Chinese LED black box the same as the Marsaqua?
Ron thanks for all the answers, it's very spot on.
In terms of making the color pop, i just want something that my current t5 lighting can't provide, dark blue light that make my corals' color intensely bright.
May i also see a close up pics of bright corals under your blue lights, since you're also using the Chinese Black boxes. Thanks much appreciated.

Ron Reefman · 12/12/2015, 05:30 PM

There are a dozen or more companies selling led fixtures made in China. Many of them are VERY similar looking. Some use better (more expensive) stuff, like real heat sinks, aluminum case, quiet fans. So it pays to look closely at specs and be suspicious of specs you want to see and aren't listed. Then ask questions of the seller and see what they say.

MarsAqua uses slightly lower power than almost all the others, but it's not a big deal unless you have a tank deeper than 24". ReefBreeders, OceanRevive, EverGrow, ReefRadiance, and on and on and on. There are way more resellers than there are manufacturers in China, so some come from the same factory. But that doesn't mean they use the same hardware. Some resellers work very closely with the manufacturer and get special treatment.

Almost any of the Chinese led fixtures using 55 3 watt leds will have enough blue and violet leds to give you really good fluorescence under blue light. But remember, the white light really washes out most of that color pop when you get up to more like daytime lighting.

I'll see what I can do but photos of corals under blue leds can be really difficult to get right. The camera white balance doesn't understand looking at things under just blue light. I do have a couple of rock flower anemones that fluoresce well. Here are a couple pics:

I'll see what I can get and will get back to you tomorrow morning.

Kizzy911 · 12/12/2015, 05:35 PM

No, those are amazing already! Do you have a link for one of the ones that you use by any chance? I'm looking for something fairly in expensive i don't want to spend more than $100 really, it's just for the sole purpose of the corals fluorescing. I just want a nice night time light, or something to wow others when i turn the blues on and the colors just are so bright.

12/12/2015, 03:36 AM	#1
Kizzy911 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Seattle Posts: 202	Color!! Lighting wise, I notice that the LED lighting makes colors of corals pop better, compared to my (current) lighting system a t5 with ATI Blue+ I have a couple of questions. 1) Is it true that LEDs' Blue's make the color pop better? 2) DO al LED's produce the same blue color that make your corals brighter? 3) will the Cheaper CHINESE LED BLACK BOX lighting work? 4) Will the CHIENSE LED BLACK BOX be enough to grow mixed corals? zoas, SPS, LPS, etc. 5) Someone locally is selling it for $50, was wondering if it's worth the pick up? Thanks.

12/12/2015, 06:40 AM	#2
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	I have a couple of questions. 1) Is it true that LEDs' Blue's make the color pop better? Pop is a highly technical term and hard to understand! Blue light is the high energy end of the visible spectrum. Many of our corals (not all by any means) have pigments (like you or me turning brown or red when we go in the sun) that take in the high energy blue light, use some of that energy and then 'fluoresce' their own light. That is probably what you are describing as 'pop'? 2) DO al LED's produce the same blue color that make your corals brighter? Not all, but most aquarium led fixtures sold these days do to some extent. And some do it better than others. When leds were first tried over aquariums they didn't have any blue at all. They were all white. And there are different spectrum of blue light. 400nm wavelength is the cutoff between UV (less than 400nm) and violet (more than 400nm). Violet then becomes blue and there are leds available at several wavelengths that are blue, 420nm and 440nm are considered violet, 460nm, 480nm and 490nm are all blue. Above 500nm wavelengths are getting into green. 3) will the Cheaper CHINESE LED BLACK BOX lighting work? In a word, yes! I think there is a company called Chinese Blackbox who sells led fixtures and then there is the common term Chinese black box which refers to a large assortment of companies selling led fixtures made in China. Most of these are enough to grow almost any coral given all the other parameters in your system are also equal to the job. I have used a variety of cheap and inexpensice Chinese led fixtures over the last 4 years. Some are cheap and can have 'issues'. Others are still inexpensive as far as led fixtures go, but are good enough to be considered above average quality (IMHO). 4) Will the CHIENSE LED BLACK BOX be enough to grow mixed corals? zoas, SPS, LPS, etc. I have 4 tanks, all with led fixtures and for the last 3 years I've grown all kinds of coral. See photo below of my main tank. I even have some I have collected personally when snorkeling in the Florida Keys (I have the proper license so it's legal). 5) Someone locally is selling it for $50, was wondering if it's worth the pick up? It's hard to say if anything being bought used is "worth the pick up." Is the $50 a big deal to your budget? Do you trust the seller? If it dies in a month, will replacing it be a financial burden? If so, maybe buying a new MarsAqua for $85 with a warranty would be a better decision? If the $50 is no big deal, sure, a good led fixture for $50 is a nice deal. Do you know the brand and model number? Do you know how old it is? I hope that helps some? If you have more questions just ask. __________________ 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 Last edited by Ron Reefman; 12/12/2015 at 06:52 AM.

12/12/2015, 05:30 PM	#5
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	There are a dozen or more companies selling led fixtures made in China. Many of them are VERY similar looking. Some use better (more expensive) stuff, like real heat sinks, aluminum case, quiet fans. So it pays to look closely at specs and be suspicious of specs you want to see and aren't listed. Then ask questions of the seller and see what they say. MarsAqua uses slightly lower power than almost all the others, but it's not a big deal unless you have a tank deeper than 24". ReefBreeders, OceanRevive, EverGrow, ReefRadiance, and on and on and on. There are way more resellers than there are manufacturers in China, so some come from the same factory. But that doesn't mean they use the same hardware. Some resellers work very closely with the manufacturer and get special treatment. Almost any of the Chinese led fixtures using 55 3 watt leds will have enough blue and violet leds to give you really good fluorescence under blue light. But remember, the white light really washes out most of that color pop when you get up to more like daytime lighting. I'll see what I can do but photos of corals under blue leds can be really difficult to get right. The camera white balance doesn't understand looking at things under just blue light. I do have a couple of rock flower anemones that fluoresce well. Here are a couple pics: I'll see what I can get and will get back to you tomorrow morning. __________________ 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

12/12/2015, 12:18 PM	#3
seamonster124 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: United States Posts: 900	Ron pretty much nailed it. I made the switch when a high end LFS went all chinese boxes. You could buy a new one on eBay for $83. They also make programmable versions.

12/12/2015, 05:09 PM	#4
Kizzy911 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Seattle Posts: 202	Is the Chinese LED black box the same as the Marsaqua? Ron thanks for all the answers, it's very spot on. In terms of making the color pop, i just want something that my current t5 lighting can't provide, dark blue light that make my corals' color intensely bright. May i also see a close up pics of bright corals under your blue lights, since you're also using the Chinese Black boxes. Thanks much appreciated.

12/12/2015, 05:35 PM	#6
Kizzy911 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Seattle Posts: 202	No, those are amazing already! Do you have a link for one of the ones that you use by any chance? I'm looking for something fairly in expensive i don't want to spend more than $100 really, it's just for the sole purpose of the corals fluorescing. I just want a nice night time light, or something to wow others when i turn the blues on and the colors just are so bright.