LED Testing

Discussion in 'LED Aquarium Lighting' started by mikejrice, Feb 22, 2010.

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  1. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    I got this LED light recently for my little 8g nano:

    http://www.3reef.com/forums/3reef-radar/marineland-double-bright-led-lamps-72136.html

    After reading some things online I found that it's ability to keep corals may be questionable so I decided to do some testing. I don't have a PAR meter, so I decided to let some corals be the judge. My first thought was I would move some into my nano to see how they did, but after thinking about it I decided to move the light to the corals.

    After a couple hours of having only it over my SPS frag rack, the SPS seems to be extending it's polyps more than it did with my halide.

    The question I have is, what kind of conclusions can I draw from this? How long should I run it like this to test it?

    Keep in mind I'm obviously not going to leave it like this long enough to see if there is growth.

    Thank you.

    Pics:

    Check out how much light it throws and how much my halide fixture dwarfs it!
     

    Attached Files:

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  3. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    It's still on the tank and SPS polyps are still out!

    After seeing the performance of this tiny low budget LED fixture, I'm sold on them. Now I need to figure out how to permanently upgrade my tank to LED's.

    The penetration power they have at least rivals MH. Even with this underpowered version it lights up the sand 15" underwater just as brightly as it does the frag rack 4" under water.
     
  4. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    Bump for opinions.
     
  5. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    Extreme polyp extension can also mean that they are reaching for the light more than before. I would judge the light on growth than polyp extension. If the sps frags are growing the light is working out well. If they are not growing then maybe it will be better for some lower light corals.
     
  6. iLLwiLL

    iLLwiLL Sailfin Tang

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    More polyp extension could be from a reduction in lighting from what their used too. Kinda like how clams will open up HUGE under less lighting, but if you put one a foot under a 400w halide its not as dramatic. Could also be from water quality, but IMO its just too early to tell.

    I almost put an LED fixture over the nano i'm working on but some of the longish term results I have seen with LED's weren't all that exciting.

    ~Will.
     
  7. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    I completely agree with you on that one. As of now I still feel that unless you have the budget to spend a lot on an excellent LED system, LEDs are still only good for moon lights and fuges.
     
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  9. crank2211

    crank2211 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    illwill, do you have any links or sources to the said underwhelming results of LED's with regards to coral growth. I'm very close on pulling the trigger on a DIY LED setup and the few threads I've been following show an impressive increase of coloration and growth under LED's. Just trying to gather all the facts from both sides of the fence before bothering with it.
     
  10. iLLwiLL

    iLLwiLL Sailfin Tang

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    Nano-reef has loads of people that are doing LED's in their tanks, I was following a bunch of threads there when i was debating putting them over my 25 gallon. I saw some decent growth, but the colors weren't really all that nice, especially in the before and after shots. The after shots had slightly larger colonys but the colors were all drab (to me anyways) compared to the befores.

    Then there is the cost. I was looking at $300-$350 + a TON of time to do a nice DIY setup. I was about to pull the trigger, then a friend offered me a nice complete 150w halide setup for $100. I just couldn't justify Doing LED's as a primary lighting source. I might get 6 cree royal blues for some actinic supplementation later on, but for now my corals and myself are very happy with halides.

    ~Will.
     
  11. k2skibum

    k2skibum Plankton

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  12. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    I knew this was what I would hear, but I wanted to ask anyway. I think I might try to get the LED's into the stock hood with the stock lights and run them all.

    Thanks for the help everyone.