LEDs serious hallide alternative or fluf?

[xelnaga15]

I'm starting a new tank and I'm trying to get addition feedback on LEDs. I did read the big stickyed article on LED and it has an overall positive response about LED useage in reef tanks. Yet I was at my LFS to day and the owner(who has some KILLER reef tanks with some serious growth he had clams growing over 200lbs in size) was dead set on any LEDs not performing any where as good as halides.

So I'm looking for some positive or negative feed back as using LEDs for Corals/Clams.

 

[DaveK]

Lighting is one of the more controversial areas of reef keeping.

My opinion on LED lighting is that it can be a good alternative to MH lighting. However, your going to have to shop around a bit for a decent setup. Almost all of the "major manufactures" LED lighting is not up to the task of keeping SPS corals or clams. There are several small manufacturers around that provide decent setups, and some even sell DIY kits.

The initial investment for LED lighting is still high, but not as bad as it was a few years ago.

The main questions come down to -
How big a tank are you talking about, and how deep is it? MH's are usually considered to have more penetrating power on deeper tanks.
What do you want to keep in the tank, and where will you place it? For example, if you just want a few SPS corals, it may be possible to place them directly under the lighting.

 

[dmatt88]

Pick up coral magazine a few issues back. The front of it says LEDS . Really good read.

Here's the cliff notes. Ya they're real. Just gotta b choosy about what u get.

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back

 

[GlassMunky]

Lighting is one of the more controversial areas of reef keeping.

My opinion on LED lighting is that it can be a good alternative to MH lighting. However, your going to have to shop around a bit for a decent setup. Almost all of the "major manufactures" LED lighting is not up to the task of keeping SPS corals or clams. There are several small manufacturers around that provide decent setups, and some even sell DIY kits.

The initial investment for LED lighting is still high, but not as bad as it was a few years ago.

The main questions come down to -
How big a tank are you talking about, and how deep is it? MH's are usually considered to have more penetrating power on deeper tanks.
What do you want to keep in the tank, and where will you place it? For example, if you just want a few SPS corals, it may be possible to place them directly under the lighting.

so lets say you have a 90G STRICK SPS/Clam tank and want to grow SPS on the sandbed as well as up high for some of the even MORE light demanding SPS..... which LED would you choose? or would you just stick to MH?

 

[Willie McDaries]

MH is a sure thing but if I were starting from scratch and had the money,I'd give LEDs a try,I believe with the right set-up that LEDs are gonna be a serious contender but it'll take doing your homework and choosing the proper set-up,this is just my opinion...I plan to change to LED sometime in the near future but I'll probable use a mix of LED and T5HO

 

[steved13]

LEDs..a lot less heat, color choices, last longer, less electricity, proven to grow any coral or clam...yes you have to make sure you get the right fixture, just like any other light source, or for that matter any component of your reef system.

 

[xelnaga15]

So with a perfecto 125 gal (which I think is 72x18x24) 3 Ecotech radions would be a serious contender?


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.648390,-77.603588

 

[dmatt88]

Absolutely.

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back

 

[xelnaga15]

Good feedback guys thanks for the votes

 

[DaveK]

so lets say you have a 90G STRICK SPS/Clam tank and want to grow SPS on the sandbed as well as up high for some of the even MORE light demanding SPS..... which LED would you choose? or would you just stick to MH?

This would depend upon the budget I had available. If money were not a big issue, I'd go with LEDs. Long term you will recover your investment because of the lower power consumption. If upfront money was a bit tight, I'd say that you can't really go wrong with MHs.

 

[Fishguy56]

I just installed LEDs on my 72 gallon reef last week and so far with good results. My previous lighting was T5 lamps. With the LEDs the corals have opened up even more just soaking up the rays and already starting to see new growth. The corals even look more alive. What is key about LED lights is to do your research on the systems out there. There are smaller companies that have made some good LED systems for marine tanks versus the common known aquarium equipment companies.

 

[Willie McDaries]

that's pretty cool,with what votes have been submitted so far,not 1 bad LED vote yet and only 1 sticking to MHs.....I have yet to try LEDs and I know that MHs are tried and true but with the excessive power consumption and heat,LEDs are gonna be the standard for reef lighting eventually IMO I'm just glad that more companies are jumping on the band wagon to produce LED lighting,the cost should start to taper off some as the sales increases and more manufacturers get involved....I also like the fact that DIY LED kits are available and will likely be my approach to LEDs

 

[PIMPALA]

I just installed LEDs on my 72 gallon reef last week and so far with good results. My previous lighting was T5 lamps. With the LEDs the corals have opened up even more just soaking up the rays and already starting to see new growth. The corals even look more alive. What is key about LED lights is to do your research on the systems out there. There are smaller companies that have made some good LED systems for marine tanks versus the common known aquarium equipment companies.

I'd just like to note, that when LPS corals are "opening up" and looking all fluffy and full... they are usually getting LESS light than they are used to, not more.

 

[BigAl07]

I'd just like to note, that when LPS corals are "opening up" and looking all fluffy and full... they are usually getting LESS light than they are used to, not more.

In many cases this is SPOT on! Look at it like this.. they can "somewhat" control how much energy they get from light by how much tissue is exposed to the light itself. If they are bombarded with light they will open less where-by exposing less Zoanthellae to the light. When they need more they expand more trying to get as much light energy as they can. Mushrooms are known to do this to an extreme.

 

[clowning around]

check out the reef torch led light. ReefTorch
i have 2 of them on my 75 gal. so far their great

 

[Built347]

I have marineland Led's and I like them because they are slim and clean looking but I've read on this site that they have an extremely narrow spectrum and that they are not necessarily an adequate replacement for halides.. also if you read the par ratings on the box of a 500 dollar ML 48" led bar they are very low.. much lower than required by many Lps/sps corals.
This may be unrelated but I have read that led's are not suitable for zoanthids. ( mine are dying).
There are many options for led's other than pre made bars like mine tho..

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[ckozma]

Marineland LED's are just weak. I have two Maxspect G2's that run 36 semiled (not even Cree, cheaper US made led) each, total of 72 leds on a three foot 65G reef tank. They are about 4 inches off the water and I run NO optics. They generate little heat and look much like T5's color wise, but they shimmer like crazy! I have zoanthids, palys, assorted LPS such as open and closed brain corals, chalices, and a ton of SPS frags. The tank has only been up about 10 months, so all of the frags are tiny, but I have seen great growth even on the sandbed 24" down. SPS appears to me to grow just as fast on the sandbed as it does up high. Most of the frags that I get from people with halides look ok, but after two weeks in my tank the colors intensify to new levels.

 

[Built347]

Since I've already been burned on these ML's is there any way of swapping out a portion of the led's with bigger 3w or something?.. or would that require different drivers and whatnot?

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[ckozma]

Nah that would require drivers and leds, basically a whole setup. Marineland used like 1w led's or something like that! Most people run 3w led's with optics, however there is no need for optics most of the time on 24 or 25" deep tanks. 90 degree optics are the best fit for a tank this deep to see zero spotlighting. Most of the kits out there now run 40, 60, and 70 degree optics, which are great if you a)want to hang your lights a foot or more off the water (I have a canopy so that is a no for me) or b)have an extremely deep tank. Here is a pic of my tank with no optics:

 

[Built347]

Ya there 1watts in the marine lands

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