Chinese LED Lights

[YoungREEFA]

Can anyone tell me the difference between violet and UV? Is it true to not use the uv as they burn? And whats the impact of them on corals?

[Ron Reefman]

What I've heard is that the UV and violet leds turn dark, as in they burn the glass (or whatever the led is made from). I've heard one report that Bridgelux has corrected the problem and for now I'd take that with a large grain of salt (as in, I'll believe it when 3 or 4 more people say it's true). I'll find out for myself in a few weeks as I'm ordering from EG this week.

What do they do for the coral? They make some corals glow a bit more when under blue light and it's impossible to see any difference when the white leds are on. They have almost no impact on the zooanthellia that live in the coral and don't do anything for the coral polyps at all. The zooanthellia use blue, white and some red spectrum for photosynthesis.Any other colors are more for show than for the health or growth of the zooanthellia or the coral.

That's my take, but I'm no expert, I just listen to them.

[YoungREEFA]

thanks man! you have seemed to help me alot then i dont see why i have 8 violet and 2 uv in my fixture! im going to add more blue probably, and as far as red goes, how much is to much? i feel 3 is good? how many are on your fixtures?

[YoungREEFA]

Now tell me, am i crazy for going 4:1 on blue to white ratio!??!!??! is this above 20k?

[Grayhead]

Ordered the d120 today. They threw in 6 extra leds in case I did not like some of the selections. Found the Christmas special that advertised the DIY d120s cheaper. They must have had a typo in the advertisement. They would not honor it. $180 per fixture for me.

[Grayhead]

Also, once I install, what will be the best way to acclimate my tank to the leds? What is the ideal height from the surface for these lights? I will have 90 degree optics going over a 4' 75 gallon tank. I currently have 4 t-5 and 2 t-12 vho sitting at the top of the tank. I dont want to bleach the corals. LPS dominant.

[Fish_Freek]

Originally Posted by Grayhead

Also, once I install, what will be the best way to acclimate my tank to the leds? What is the ideal height from the surface for these lights? I will have 90 degree optics going over a 4' 75 gallon tank. I currently have 4 t-5 and 2 t-12 vho sitting at the top of the tank. I dont want to bleach the corals. LPS dominant.

The d120's are dimmable. Just start them out at 30-40% or so and ramp up 5% every other week or so. I have two d120's on my 75 gallon mixed reef and found my corals are happy with running only 60% blue and 50% white channels(I also like the color like this) I don't feel I'll need to run them at 100%.

[Fish_Freek]

Originally Posted by Grayhead

Also, once I install, what will be the best way to acclimate my tank to the leds? What is the ideal height from the surface for these lights? I will have 90 degree optics going over a 4' 75 gallon tank. I currently have 4 t-5 and 2 t-12 vho sitting at the top of the tank. I dont want to bleach the corals. LPS dominant.

The d120's are dimmable. Just start them out at 30-40% or so and ramp up 5% every other week or so. I have two d120's on my 75 gallon mixed reef and found my corals are happy with running only 60% blue and 50% white channels(I also like the color like this) I don't feel I'll ever need to run them at 100%.

[mknightryder]

Originally Posted by Grayhead

Ordered the d120 today. They threw in 6 extra leds in case I did not like some of the selections. Found the Christmas special that advertised the DIY d120s cheaper. They must have had a typo in the advertisement. They would not honor it. $180 per fixture for me.

Same here Grayhead with the xmas special deal. I purchased two last week. $180 each. They did/ are supposed to throw in 16 extra leds for me to play around with. That price included the 5% PayPal fee as well. Sunny has been great so far. I emailed Her earlier today to check on the status of my order and she sent a tracking number. She did state that dhl and ups are a bit backed up than usual. Went to the DHL site and it states its still in Hong Kong being processed?!?! Jus hope the plane isnt flying into a head wind over the pond! I can't wait to get them!

[lastduke]

it seems everybody has a good experience with their sales. I have purchased few units from Lena, she is very sweet as well. very thorough and sweet girl Her name is never mentioned here, is she new?

[ifrizk]

Has anyone used use led lights?
and has anyone used a controller with these lights.
http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Des...taotronics+led

[ifrizk]

Has anyone used these led lights?
and has anyone used a controller with these lights.
http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Des...taotronics+led

[Ron Reefman]

youngREEFA, the D120's I'm getting will have 2 UV, 2 violet and 4 red (2 at 630nm and 2 at 660nm). I'm also ordering spare blue leds in case I have issues with the UV and violet. As to 4:1 blue to white ratio, if you want your tank to look like a windex bottle when all the lights are on, 4:1 will be just fine. You will be well above the 20K shade of blue. I have an older version of the D120 that has no dimmers and is 35 blue and 20 white and it's solidly in the 14K - 16K range (maybe even more blue than that).

ifrizk, I have an old chinese fixture I bought used (traded a MH for actually). It's been in use by the PO for about 6-8 months and I've had it for a month. Other than the old fans being a bit loud, it works just fine. I've heard Evergrow and maybe some others are using better fans now. I've heard too many bad stories about Tao-Tronics and wouldn't even consider them. I've been dealing with Helen at Evergrow and she has been very good. I send her e-mails in the evening (they are 13 hours ahead of us) and she gets back to me in 30-60 minutes!

[nikesb]

Has reefbreeders replied to anyone lately? I ordered on the 21st and still have no exact eta on a custom it2040 that was scheduled for 2-3 weeks.

[benjc]

I ordered an IT2080 from reefbreeders on 11/24; I emailed them on 11/29 and was told it would ship in 3-4 weeks (from that date).

[YoungREEFA]

maybe i will add more nw to get a 18 k look

[bhazard451]

Got my replacement lcd for the IT2040. All time issues were fixed compared to my pre-production model.

I should take a pic later of what the IT2040 looks like next to my 180w Cree/Luxeon DIY. I actually like the IT2040 look a little more. Its warmer and more visually pleasing.

[glee]

what does the replacement lcd fix? can the IT2040 ramp up and down by minutes? are the LEDs the stock set up as what is listed on reefbreeder's site?

[gorally]

my IT2080 is on it's way ...should be here Monday.

[Fish_Freek]

Bhazard,
Got a question for you. I have two d120 units over my 75 gallon with 32-460nm and 19- 12-14k and 4- 420nm. I ordered extra LEDs from EG to supplement my current led layout. (12)440nm,(10) 6.5k and (8)3.5k. What and how many leds should I swap out to get a "full spectrum" style effect with the new LEDs I received?
Thanks

[Daneek155]

just set up my it 2040. was wondering how i should start my lights out as in brightness on channel one and 2 and how fast can i move them up?? also for corals i have a sps birdsnest/ duncan/ candy cane coral

[Fish_Freek]

I'd start about 30-40% and ramp up as needed. You shouldn't really need to go over 50% for your current corals. I have a birdsnest and I would place it lower to mid-level in your tank. Mine started to bleach at the top and did much better after I moved it lower. HTH.

[sushi4u]

Can anyone list the LED spectrum that are required in each fixture to reach full spectrum.

420nm, 440nm, 630nm, 660nm and etc.

Want to get a list going for what LEDS should be needed in all fixtures to produce full spectrum and promote healthy growing corals.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by sushi4u

Want to get a list going for what LEDS should be needed in all fixtures to produce full spectrum and promote healthy growing corals.

A full spectrum isn’t what corals need to be healthy and grow.

The light we provide is for the photosynthesis that goes on inside the zooanthellia that lives inside the coral polyp. The coral polyp then uses the zooanthellia as food. We really don’t know much about what colors the coral polyps like.

Zooanthellia only have chlorophyll A which uses a slightly different spectrum than chlorophyll B (plants have both A&B). Here is a graph that shows how the various colors in the ‘full spectrum’ are used by the zooanthellia. You want anything in the 400nm – 460nm range and anything in the 630nm – 670nm range and what ever you like in whites (they are close to full spectrum, but if that was all you needed, you wouldn’t be adding the blues and reds).



Colors like UV, green and yellow don’t get used by the zooanthellia. So why do people add them? For the look. You have 2 sides to play against each other. What is good for the zooanthellia (and therefore the coral) and what you want the tank to look like. Trust me, if you take the time to read this thread, you’ll learn a lot!

Good luck.

[YoungREEFA]

Ron, doesnt the graph show that uv and violet are needed? They are just as high as the red led absortion rate