Led q&a

C'mon, let's not turn this one into a debate too. Ask me an LED question, and I will be happy to help. Start a thread for debate, and I will give you all the proof you need. I have been 100% LED for a year, and honestly, I saw nothing but better growth and colors from my corals. The reason you see tank of the month tanks with mh and T-5, is because they tend to be mature tanks, which were started before the LED craze, and thus were not yet upgraded. Scott put a lot of money into his lighting, but you do not have to spend big anymore to get the full spectrum colors LEDs have to offer. I guess I did just make this a debate,

 

Think you should post this under metal halide Q+A?

 

So how much would it cost? and the current height of my bulb is ok at 13" for 12 hours a day?

 

I think around $200-$300, check our Rapid LED or Reef LED Lights for DIY kits. I have no intention of turning this thread into an ad for our fixtures, just a place to ask LED setup and use questions, with 100% unbiased answers. If you have a question about prices, or our LED systems, start a new thread and I will be happy to help. I know you are not likely asking about something we sell, but I would like to set the tone for future posts in this thread.

 

Question

So I do kinda have a question. I am having a hard time understanding the color combos and how many lights and of what colors. Can you kinda point me in a direction to help me figure if out and get my head on straight? And i am curious on what controller styles or dimmers to do storms ,clouds, sunrise&sunset. Just so much info and a lot of debates to try and sort threw. Sorry if my question seems like I want e act product info just looking for general idea and such.

Thanks kcco

 

The sunrise/sunset function is the only thing I use controllers for, weather, especially thunderstorms, is a waste of money, as it will do nothing but stress your fish. The sunrise is really cool looking, and will get some fish to spawn at sunset, so that is why I like that effect. As for color combos, the best way to go is to start out with a 1:1 ratio of cool white 7500k to royal blue 450nm, then add colors like red, green, blue, and violet to get a 3:2 ratio of colors to cool whites. That will give you an adjustable 14k spectrum, run the whites lower and it is 20k, run the blues lower, and you can have 10k, so that is the perfect combo IME. Add about 4 reds for every 34-36" of tank, same thing with the greens and blues. You can add as many violets as you want, at least 2 per 24" to get a benefit out of them.

 

Awesome you are fast. So every 3 colors -2whites. How many inches for a white and blue 1:1 ratio to start? is the colors going to be on dimmers them selves so obviously sunset will be mostly red

 

great thread here. and lets try to keep it debate free! lol i know its tough, but this could be a very informative and useful thread for those who DO CHOOSE to go the LED route. so, i have a question. for a diy fixture, is it your preference to cluster the leds together in a star or square?? or do rows of LEDS?? i can see that clusters might be a great way to get a mixed spectrum effect. I also think with a cluster it would be easier to distribute the
other spectrums that use less LEDs(red green cyan uv). ive been toying with the idea of going LED, at least on one of the tanks.

 

It makes no difference, the rule applies mostly to colors. For every 24 inches, 18 cool white XT-Es, and 18 royal blue XT-Es, or about double that for bridgelux, a little less than double.

 

I usually do rows, and put the reds next to the royal blues to get rid of the disc ball effect. Squares, stars, or clusters also work well, with a good heat sink.