Reef Lighting....A joke?

Discussion in 'Reef Lighting' started by Jeffww, Jul 9, 2012.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. Biocube

    Biocube Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2011
    Messages:
    3,499
    Location:
    Northern, IL
    My thoughts

    So I felt like I should chime in because there are so many different ways you can do LED lighting.

    I currently have (32 Cree LEDs) 96 Watts 2 inches above my water on my BC29. Now do I need all 96 Watts of light? NO! But that doesn't mean I have them dimmed down to 50% with wider spectrum then most other DIY lighting. So why didn't I build my DIY with 16 3 Watt Cree LED? I had no idea what was right and wrong, since LED is so new people don't know whats what.

    I previously came from 4 (24 Watt) Compact bulbs (Nano Tuners 4.36 Mod) totaling 96 Watt of Compact fluorescent, this light unit would raise my tank from 76F to 82F in 3 hours with ambient temp at 71F (AC Unit Running). With LEDs I never see a change in temp if their on or off and I use less power ( But who really cares, I spent so much money on this DIY after completion I could have purchased a MH upgrade and powered it for maybe a year and broke even on my LED upgrade.

    Lastly, why do people hang their LED unit miles above their tank? As said before people don't want to spend the extra $ on dimming their fixture. I feel everyone thinks that it's used just for Sunrise/set simulation and not the health of their corals. I personally would have never bought my LED unit if I needed to hang the light above my tank, I have spent so much time making my BC29 look stock.

    I hope this helps :)
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. NanaReefer

    NanaReefer Fu Manchu Lion Fish

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2011
    Messages:
    1,911
    Besides the lights may force them to upgrade their tank :)
     
  4. SourGummy

    SourGummy Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2012
    Messages:
    30
    for me I do it for the light spread (PAR30)
     
  5. Sacul1573

    Sacul1573 Millepora

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2010
    Messages:
    948
    I think there are several reasons. Yes, one of them might be that people look at the old watt per gallon or PAR rule, and end up with stronger lights than they expected. This is then amplified by the fact that LEDs have lenses. Another reason is spread.

    In my case, I purposely designed my LED (DIY) fixture to have more LEDs than I needed (33 for 30 gal shallow), and placed narrower optics (60 degree) with the intent of hanging it higher off the tank for asthetic reasons. And yes, it's dimmable as well.

    Regardless, people would benefit their pocketbooks (and reef) if they'd do more research and figure out whats best for their needs, rather than scooping up the latest and greatest just because.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. gcarroll

    gcarroll Zoanthid

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2010
    Messages:
    1,117
    Location:
    Anaheim Hills, CA
    This hobby is not black and white. There are an infinate number of ways to get good results out of the hobby. That being said, what you find as success, may not be how I define success.

    With lighting, what one person finds as sufficient, another may see as lacking, yet another may find as excessive.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2009
    Messages:
    4,767
    Location:
    New Freedom, PA
    Perfectly stated!
     
  8. Click Here!

  9. alby

    alby Plankton

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2012
    Messages:
    5
    you can take many factors into account with led lighting as they are all different mix of led type of led wattage these led come with all sorts off lenses the chips are fitted with 60,90,120 lense then some lenses have a high par lense over itand it also it what you want it to do,
    I recently read on a web site about colour temprature for coral
    it says best all round K is 12-14 this provides good growth and colour
    below 12-8 this what amazed me it gave much better growth but dull colour but if you go above 14 it slows growth and enhanses colour
    what do you think

    I add to this that each coral is different SPS LPS etc
     
  10. reefnJeff

    reefnJeff Pajama Cardinal

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2012
    Messages:
    1,412
    Location:
    Saint Cloud, MN
    I seen this post and it brought a question to mind, what would we see or what should we look for to tell if lighting is burning our Corals? I got 4 T-5's HO and 250w MH lights and its sits about 5'' above the water, it does warm the water a lot if fans are not used. but really don't know what to look for in Coral getting burned, they look great, but I think I should know what to look for. ohhh! and thats in a 40b.
     
  11. dragit

    dragit Plankton

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2015
    Messages:
    12
    Then why do guys say the Current Orbit Marine LED isnt enough light?

    Nobody has an opinion on lighting that is inline with anyone elses opinion. Its a crapshoot
     
  12. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2010
    Messages:
    19,652
    Location:
    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    No not true,

    I do not know about Orbit, but there are a whole heck of a lot of fine fixtures out there that any hobbyist growing corals would be happy with.

    Not everyone likes the same brand name, but probably for little reasons, fans, colors, ....... Look at the hybrid fixtures like ATI, if you can afford it I doubt you'll be disappointed.
     
    Vinnyboombatz and DSC reef like this.