Success with LED and SPS

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by lockrookie

You guys are making me nervous about building my led fixture.


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

As long as you have enough emitters, you should be fine. I'm still convinced that LED is still a ways out from replacing MH in coloring SPS, but it's certainly a close second with many other positives. I miss my MH, but I wouldn't go back because of all the other features. I wouldn't hesitate building a fixture, but do model it after a successful unit.

[kien]

Originally Posted by lockrookie

You guys are making me nervous about building my led fixture.


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

are you afraid of your tank looking totally awesome like the tanks we posted pictures of?

[Reefgoat]

The coral in the pictures look fairly healthy but to me the colours look less than awesome. Every time I read a thread on LEDs and SPS there are always people who say that their colours are inferior but the benefits of LEDs outweigh the negatives. If I was keeping an SPS tank I think that vibrant colour would be one of the top priorities.

That being said it may simply be that the pictures are not representative of the actual colours.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Reefgoat

The coral in the pictures look fairly healthy but to me the colours look less than awesome. Every time I read a thread on LEDs and SPS there are always people who say that their colours are inferior but the benefits of LEDs outweigh the negatives. If I was keeping an SPS tank I think that vibrant colour would be one of the top priorities.

That being said it may simply be that the pictures are not representative of the actual colours.

The pics I linked in the other thread are close, but are nicer in person. But yes, I did lose some "pop" going to LED. But...I spend less on power and bulbs. I no longer have 5gallons/day evaporating into my livingroom, rotting my house. I don't have to run the chiller 10 hours a day. MH do not ramp up and down like LED, which is a really nice feature. Yes, colors are slightly better under MH, but I'm mostly ok sacrificing a bit of color for all the other pluses. It's a trade-off you need to justify as an individual based on your priorities.

[molotov]

I'm running 4 AI Sol blues over my 5' tank. I would say it's lacking some colour. I'm considering adding some supplemental red/green to see if I can get more pop. You may want to consider adding additional reds and greens. I haven't yet researched it yet but maybe stunner strips have something where you can add reds/greens?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by molotov

I'm running 4 AI Sol blues over my 5' tank. I would say it's lacking some colour. I'm considering adding some supplemental red/green to see if I can get more pop. You may want to consider adding additional reds and greens. I haven't yet researched it yet but maybe stunner strips have something where you can add reds/greens?

I'm at a point where I'm content, so no more mucking around with it. Just keep the corals watered and watch them grow

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by molotov

I'm running 4 AI Sol blues over my 5' tank. I would say it's lacking some colour. I'm considering adding some supplemental red/green to see if I can get more pop. You may want to consider adding additional reds and greens. I haven't yet researched it yet but maybe stunner strips have something where you can add reds/greens?

I've supplemented my AI Sols with 2 Ecoxotic RGB modules. When the reds are turned on it does not pop the reds at all. I find the rdes pop more when the blue is turned up more. I'm waiting for the new controllors for the said supplemental lights and will be adding 2 more for more options to play with.

[lockrookie]

My concern is I don't get the color ratio right for my tank or not enough intensity that I will kill off my corals or royally fubar my tank. I love how Greg's build turned out for his 8 footer but I cannot afford modular LEDs regretfully


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

[daplatapus]

I have to admit, while I do think my build is a hair on the blue side, I love the colour it puts out with the NW, RB, TV and OCW. That's 6 colours. I will definitely be taking out a couple of the RB's and perhaps add more white in another spectrum than the NW. But having them all on differing channels has allowed me to see what effect they all have at least to my eye. I do have to raise it and see if maybe I can turn up the whites a bit without cooking anything.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by lockrookie

My concern is I don't get the color ratio right for my tank or not enough intensity that I will kill off my corals or royally fubar my tank. I love how Greg's build turned out for his 8 footer but I cannot afford modular LEDs regretfully


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

I wouldn't be too concerned with that. The more likely scenario would be accidentally starting the LEDs off at too high of an intensity and frying them (provided you have enough LEDs to start with). The colour mix is something that you can play with over time. If you drill and tap your heatsink you can easily swap LEDs around at your pleasure. The modular LEDs are really nice, but not necessary. And as long as you have enough of the base colours (RB/NW) which can drive photosynthesis, you're good.