Black box LED wavelength

[17]shawn[17] · 03/06/2016, 10:06 AM

Hey folks

I'm looking for some help with my black box LEDs I bought on eBay they have been running all right but I'm noticing that my corals are not really popping with the fluorescent color I was expecting. I had a look at the blue LED channel and to my eyes it looks like all the Blue lights are the same wavelength the manufacturer says they should be: blue: 470nm, royal blue:450nm, purple:430nm however I definitely do not see these.

Has anyone ran into this issue? I would like to add some 450nm & ~410nm had anyone done this?

[17]shawn[17] · 03/06/2016, 10:10 AM

Here is the blue channel at low intensity

Ron Reefman · 03/07/2016, 06:23 AM

I see 4 leds that make up a diamond in the middle of the fixture that look different than the rest. The 2 in the middle of the outside long row of leds and 2 in the middle of the fixture both left and right of the middle led.

Are you expecting to see the fluorescing colors while the white leds are on with the blues?

What are they driving the leds at in watts? Take the total wattage of the drivers (likely 120) and divide by the number of leds (likely 55). If you get about 2.2 watts/led, that's good. Some run at 1.8 watts/led and that's OK just lower and makes a difference to what you set your power levels at.

So what are you setting your power levels at for both blue and white channels? And how deep is your tank? What corals do you have that fluoresce?

[17]shawn[17] · 03/07/2016, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I see 4 leds that make up a diamond in the middle of the fixture that look different than the rest. The 2 in the middle of the outside long row of leds and 2 in the middle of the fixture both left and right of the middle led.

Are you expecting to see the fluorescing colors while the white leds are on with the blues?

What are they driving the leds at in watts? Take the total wattage of the drivers (likely 120) and divide by the number of leds (likely 55). If you get about 2.2 watts/led, that's good. Some run at 1.8 watts/led and that's OK just lower and makes a difference to what you set your power levels at.

So what are you setting your power levels at for both blue and white channels? And how deep is your tank? What corals do you have that fluoresce?

Hi Ron, thanks got pointing that out, i can just make out the slight color diffence in the picture- in person its not noticable.. im guessing those are my 450nm they are fat too blue to be 430nm violet

im not really looking for my corals to glow with my white channel on - im just looking to make my corals retain that nice pigment they have when i buy them from the LFS, i think my lights lack the lower wavelengths that trick the coral into producing the pigments

my tank is a 20L i believe it is 12" deep? i run my white at the point where it just comes on about 15% and my blue channel i have at approx 35% i keep mostly LPS: Acan, Chalice a few Lobo, torch duncs that sorta thing

i have no way of monitoring the power used, but it is a good point that all these units are probabuly driven diffrent

Saltine · 03/07/2016, 02:15 PM

SB reef lights makes a nice led board upgrade for the black boxes which contain all the proper spectrums...

Salt

tinfoilhate · 03/08/2016, 01:44 AM

What are your tank parameters? Lighting is only one piece of fluorescence.

Ron Reefman · 03/08/2016, 03:30 AM

The 15% and 35% were the power levels I was looking for. Even in a 20L tank, you should be able to bump up both levels some. I run much higher numbers for 3 or 4 hours of the day and I have some corals that are quite shallow in the tank (less than 10"). I'd try slowly bumping up the power by 5% blue, then do 5% blue again the next week and finally 5% white the 3rd week. Live with that and make sure you aren't bleaching any corals. If all is well after an additional 3 to 4 weeks, try another %5 blue and a week later another 5% white. But pay attention to the look of the coral! Your tank is shallow and corals near the surface will likely exhibit the first bad effects if you have any.

BTW, how far off the surface is the light?

And tinfoilhate is absolutely right. Light is just one of many needs. And just how did 'tinfoilhate' become a screen name?

tinfoilhate · 03/08/2016, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

And tinfoilhate is absolutely right. Light is just one of many needs. And just how did 'tinfoilhate' become a screen name?

That's what happens when you start an account intending to make it "tinfoilhat" (the truth is out there) but misspell it. Didn't care enough to register again haha.

Ron Reefman · 03/08/2016, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinfoilhate

That's what happens when you start an account intending to make it "tinfoilhat" (the truth is out there) but misspell it. Didn't care enough to register again haha.

Ha! And they kind of have opposite meanings in an abstract way.

[17]shawn[17] · 04/13/2016, 04:09 PM

I have added my diodes!!
The color difference is amazing! My coral has responded amazing and is already getting its fluorescent pigments back!

I added- and removed lenses from:
3x 470nm cyan
2x 395nm UV
6x 420nm violet

I'm going to wait another month or two and add another 4 420nm and 1 more 395.. I would highly recommend recommend this modification to anyone with these lights

03/06/2016, 10:06 AM	#1
[17]shawn[17] Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brockville Ontario Canada Posts: 844	Black box LED wavelength Hey folks I'm looking for some help with my black box LEDs I bought on eBay they have been running all right but I'm noticing that my corals are not really popping with the fluorescent color I was expecting. I had a look at the blue LED channel and to my eyes it looks like all the Blue lights are the same wavelength the manufacturer says they should be: blue: 470nm, royal blue:450nm, purple:430nm however I definitely do not see these. Has anyone ran into this issue? I would like to add some 450nm & ~410nm had anyone done this? __________________ shawn “We will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.”

03/07/2016, 06:23 AM	#3
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	I see 4 leds that make up a diamond in the middle of the fixture that look different than the rest. The 2 in the middle of the outside long row of leds and 2 in the middle of the fixture both left and right of the middle led. Are you expecting to see the fluorescing colors while the white leds are on with the blues? What are they driving the leds at in watts? Take the total wattage of the drivers (likely 120) and divide by the number of leds (likely 55). If you get about 2.2 watts/led, that's good. Some run at 1.8 watts/led and that's OK just lower and makes a difference to what you set your power levels at. So what are you setting your power levels at for both blue and white channels? And how deep is your tank? What corals do you have that fluoresce? __________________ 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

03/08/2016, 03:30 AM	#7
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	The 15% and 35% were the power levels I was looking for. Even in a 20L tank, you should be able to bump up both levels some. I run much higher numbers for 3 or 4 hours of the day and I have some corals that are quite shallow in the tank (less than 10"). I'd try slowly bumping up the power by 5% blue, then do 5% blue again the next week and finally 5% white the 3rd week. Live with that and make sure you aren't bleaching any corals. If all is well after an additional 3 to 4 weeks, try another %5 blue and a week later another 5% white. But pay attention to the look of the coral! Your tank is shallow and corals near the surface will likely exhibit the first bad effects if you have any. BTW, how far off the surface is the light? And tinfoilhate is absolutely right. Light is just one of many needs. And just how did 'tinfoilhate' become a screen name? __________________ 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

04/13/2016, 04:09 PM	#10
[17]shawn[17] Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brockville Ontario Canada Posts: 844	I have added my diodes!! The color difference is amazing! My coral has responded amazing and is already getting its fluorescent pigments back! I added- and removed lenses from: 3x 470nm cyan 2x 395nm UV 6x 420nm violet I'm going to wait another month or two and add another 4 420nm and 1 more 395.. I would highly recommend recommend this modification to anyone with these lights __________________ shawn “We will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.”

03/07/2016, 02:15 PM	#5
Saltine Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 495	SB reef lights makes a nice led board upgrade for the black boxes which contain all the proper spectrums... Salt

03/08/2016, 01:44 AM	#6
tinfoilhate Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 61	What are your tank parameters? Lighting is only one piece of fluorescence.