LEDs too purple and wipe out the cool colours :(

Camille

Member
Heya!

I have a shallow 1m D x 2m W x 50cm H tank. I have 4x R420R 16,000 LED units. They are pretty cool lights and completely silent.

But they are really, really purple. They wash out any of the brighter colours: orange, pink, red, green. I noticed when I transferred some pink zoanthids from the LED tank to a tank with T5's the pink was soooooo much brighter. Also when the lights are at 1% at night and I look with a torch (white light) all the colours are amazing.

Are there any LED units that really do bring out the reds and greens? I know some units have a couple of red and green LEDs in the set up but do they really work? I can't seem to find any before/after pictures - except for one where the guy went back to MH - and the tank really did look way better with MH instead of the 16,000 R420Rs.

Argh.....

Cam

:(
 

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
You need to familiarize yourself with the Kelvin scale and color temps. The issue isn't LED vs MH vs T5, you just don't personally like the way a 16k color temp appears over your tank. You would likely be just as disappointed with a similar color temp MH bulb.

If you go LED it's a really good idea to make sure the channels are independently dimmable. This allows you to tune the color temp to your personal liking.
 

LostintheDark

New Member
I went from the blue/white Tao-tronic leds to a full spectrum Ocean Revive S026. There is a very big difference in the corals. Not only in how they are perceived but in there actual color and growth. I had a yellow toad stool that went from a dull brown to a very bright yellow in a couple of weeks after switching. Most of my sps have also deepened in color. Growth has also been much faster. To me its well worth the switch.
 

Camille

Member
OMG - discovered that I can change the balance of white and blue on my lights :doh:

So now I'm super happy with my LEDs :)

And I've learnt heaps about kelvin scale and colour temps (thanks reefer gladness)
 

saltfan

Well-Known Member
I was just gonna chime in and tell ya you can control the colors on your unit I have the 160 watt version and love it..
 

Camille

Member
I was just gonna chime in and tell ya you can control the colors on your unit I have the 160 watt version and love it..

Thanks! I feel stupid and super happy now - stupid because, well that needs no explanation and super happy because I don't need to buy new lights (or change them over which is such a PITA when I can reach the back of the tank....)

:)
 
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