Lighting For SpS

[John Deroe Kenedy]

LoL.. Lets mix T5 + MH + Led Together

[cedricang]

Honkit,

it was certainly not my intention to slight anyones aquarium! I personally do not like the colour I get/got under T5s. In the end, we do keep marines to satisfy our own aesthetic (partially, anyway). For the record, I do keep one tank with T5s for comparisons with LEDs. My preference is clear. I prefer the glitter lines and more fluid colour play of the LEDs. I do not really like bright bon-bon colours, but plenty of people do. There is certainly room for more than one look.

My apologies, if you felt I was slighting anyone.

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

I am curious as to what you mean by "more fluid colour play of the LEDs. I do not really like bright bon-bon colours" ?

Do you mean you are more keen on watching the lightings then the colors of the corals itself ?

Also i see that you do keep records...and mentioned about keeping different tanks with T5 and LED respectively for comparison. It would really help us sps lovers here to see what is the drastic difference in sps colors between the two lightings system which you have employed and compared.

I have considering using LEDs for a while, just that i have not been fully convinced...perhaps your kind input would spur those on the sideline into trying the LED (the good ones).

With due respect to your many years of experience in the marine aquarium hobby, and your recent insightful info on SPS id, i would be delighted to further hear from you on the above subject and hope it would also help the reefing coummunity here as well on the understanding of LED lightings.

[Marineman]

Honkit,

it was certainly not my intention to slight anyones aquarium! I personally do not like the colour I get/got under T5s. In the end, we do keep marines to satisfy our own aesthetic (partially, anyway). For the record, I do keep one tank with T5s for comparisons with LEDs. My preference is clear. I prefer the glitter lines and more fluid colour play of the LEDs. I do not really like bright bon-bon colours, but plenty of people do. There is certainly room for more than one look.

My apologies, if you felt I was slighting anyone.

Jamie

Dun worry about it bro. Honkit is big and strong man with strong views and he meant no harm

Whatever lighting used can be successful in keeping SPS, lighting alone is not the answer as it depends on many other factors and diff people have diff preferences, maintenance methods, use of additives etc etc. It's a combination of factors, LED works well for you but not for all. You have showed us LED works for you and some reefers my try it out and succeed while some may fail as I said it depends on many factors and not lighting alone.

In my case, I use MH becos of the glittering effect, I measured the lumens of LED and MH, the answer is obvious, I used MH becos my water quality is not perfect and the light penetration is reduced becos of this. If your water quality is perfect, LED may work for you. So each case is different and reefers should make their own evaluation and assessment before trying out new ideas, it may or may not work for you.

It's good that you share your experiences with us here. I am sure there are other reefers have successes with LED used for SPS tank as the technology in LED has improved over the years and they are easily available in the LFS. Perhaps we should conduct a poll on the use of LED and get some feedback from those using it.

[Jamie @ Vertex]

Cedric,

I'm certainly planning on showing people the pluses and minus of LED lighting. We are dealing with a very different approach to lighting with LEDs. The open a whole new group of parameters to play with.

As to the colour play, I am referring to the development of pigment in the corals. Under T5s, partly due to their spectrum, but mostly due to their not being a point light source, as are halides and LEDs, you tend to get a much more homogenous pigment production with fewer dark to light shadings. This reaches its peak in ULNS system with T5s, where the reduced nutrients combined with the very even lighting produce, for my eyes, an articficial-looking colouring of the corals. Also, due to the very nature of T5s, colour rendition is different form halide or LED. Most of us see this directly. Of course, what we tend to produce in the aquarium is not really like nature, where most corals are not brightly coloured and are shaded from dark to light in mainly creams to browns with touches of colour. Still, the ability to control (partly) the pigment expression in corals has become part of the game with marines and I see no reason not to exploit these possibilities. We need to keep in mind, what is typical for a coral and understand the changes we are creating within the organism. We still do not know what effect many of these supplements have long term.

Of course, my personal tastes play a role, having grown-up on the sea and spent a lot of time under it, I have a strong preference to more 'natural' light effects. The oceans are full of shadows and lights playing amongst each other. For me, this brings a great deal of life into the general picture.

I feel I am moving this thread away from its origin and will be posting more in this general line on our forums.

Jamie

[John Deroe Kenedy]

Cedric,

I'm certainly planning on showing people the pluses and minus of LED lighting. We are dealing with a very different approach to lighting with LEDs. The open a whole new group of parameters to play with.

As to the colour play, I am referring to the development of pigment in the corals. Under T5s, partly due to their spectrum, but mostly due to their not being a point light source, as are halides and LEDs, you tend to get a much more homogenous pigment production with fewer dark to light shadings. This reaches its peak in ULNS system with T5s, where the reduced nutrients combined with the very even lighting produce, for my eyes, an articficial-looking colouring of the corals. Also, due to the very nature of T5s, colour rendition is different form halide or LED. Most of us see this directly. Of course, what we tend to produce in the aquarium is not really like nature, where most corals are not brightly coloured and are shaded from dark to light in mainly creams to browns with touches of colour. Still, the ability to control (partly) the pigment expression in corals has become part of the game with marines and I see no reason not to exploit these possibilities. We need to keep in mind, what is typical for a coral and understand the changes we are creating within the organism. We still do not know what effect many of these supplements have long term.

Of course, my personal tastes play a role, having grown-up on the sea and spent a lot of time under it, I have a strong preference to more 'natural' light effects. The oceans are full of shadows and lights playing amongst each other. For me, this brings a great deal of life into the general picture.

I feel I am moving this thread away from its origin and will be posting more in this general line on our forums.

Jamie

as u said, the one thing that really brings me to use LED fixtures is the effect.. Sunset, sundown, cloud, lunar.. doesnt all this effects play apart of a natural reef environment? So far, From what i know, Vertex and Pharos have an wireless controller which can amend this effects. There r still many more brands in the market.

[Jamie @ Vertex]

I find that the closer to nature lighting schedules certainly play a role in general health of the marine aquarium. of course, this makes sense in that we really can only directly monitor that which we can measure or immediately see. The long term effect is more difficult to define.

With the Illumina you have incredible possibilities for programming and we are always attempting to push the envelope. Although many find items such as storm-cloud programming gimmicky, I have found quite the opposite. These pauses randomly through the day are offering the corals a short rest and seem to improve the general growth. Consider that many corals on the reef spend up to 80% of the day in photoinhibition, only photosynthesising during morning and afternoon hours, when the light levels drop. Cloud patterns, which one finds in nature, offer the corals this extra time to recover and be productive.

There is so much to learn, stil.

Jamie

[MadScientist]

Haha, sometimes, the best option is to use what nature is using , sunlight! Just grab a light tube and prism or metal grating to filter off unnecessary wavelengths. Comes complete with solar/lunar cycles, storms and lightning!

Seriously, I have seen some reefers having amazing results with natural sunlight, though not many people are willing to take this challenging task to use sunlight

[RockyBoy]

A good read discussions from various perspectives

[honkit]

Honkit,

it was certainly not my intention to slight anyones aquarium! I personally do not like the colour I get/got under T5s. In the end, we do keep marines to satisfy our own aesthetic (partially, anyway). For the record, I do keep one tank with T5s for comparisons with LEDs. My preference is clear. I prefer the glitter lines and more fluid colour play of the LEDs. I do not really like bright bon-bon colours, but plenty of people do. There is certainly room for more than one look.

My apologies, if you felt I was slighting anyone.

Jamie

Thank you for your apology. I am unsure what you mean by T5s producing bon-bon colours but one man's meat is another man's poison. Hence, in public forums such as this and given your vested interest in selling LED lighting fixtures, I believe it would make good sense to display appreciation for a well-cared and thriving reef tank regardless of lighting systems.

[honkit]

Dun worry about it bro. Honkit is big and strong man with strong views and he meant no harm

Whatever lighting used can be successful in keeping SPS, lighting alone is not the answer as it depends on many other factors and diff people have diff preferences, maintenance methods, use of additives etc etc. It's a combination of factors, LED works well for you but not for all. You have showed us LED works for you and some reefers my try it out and succeed while some may fail as I said it depends on many factors and not lighting alone.

In my case, I use MH becos of the glittering effect, I measured the lumens of LED and MH, the answer is obvious, I used MH becos my water quality is not perfect and the light penetration is reduced becos of this. If your water quality is perfect, LED may work for you. So each case is different and reefers should make their own evaluation and assessment before trying out new ideas, it may or may not work for you.

It's good that you share your experiences with us here. I am sure there are other reefers have successes with LED used for SPS tank as the technology in LED has improved over the years and they are easily available in the LFS. Perhaps we should conduct a poll on the use of LED and get some feedback from those using it.

I think I am somewhat undergoing reduction, especially in strength lol.

Did you use a light meter to measure your lumens?

LEDs are certainly an interesting development in SPS reefing and one that continually draws active debate in the reefing community. As per the old adage, time will tell as LED technology continues to evolve.

[Marineman]

I think I am somewhat undergoing reduction, especially in strength lol.

Did you use a light meter to measure your lumens?

LEDs are certainly an interesting development in SPS reefing and one that continually draws active debate in the reefing community. As per the old adage, time will tell as LED technology continues to evolve.

Yes, I am using a light meter to measure the lumens. I do not have many LED to test with though.

Many LED are available in the market esp those made in China for general lighting, not sure if they are the same specs as those used for marine. Need to measure the intensity for those used for general lighting and those used for marine as the latter pricing are more pricey.