Anyone with leds

[Flake]

The white AIs are pretty unpopular since they're TOO white, they make the tank look dirty. With the controller on the AI you can turn them down to nearly nothing but enough to give the tank a good color.

 

[Time2reef]

PAR vs PUR has not been an issue with MH due to the fact they offer such a broad spectrum.

In LED it is important to know exactly what spectrum is being given out. It is also important to know what is being left out. Specifically the spectrum that algaes use versus what corals use. We all want to feed our corals and if we can starve our algaes in our DT all the better.

It's important to note that most LED manufacturers do not manufacture anything specifically for the marine industry. We are a secondary market at best. They will sell us what they are making for bigger fish so to speak. If it works great...if not.....

Would you put 6500 k compact flourescents on your DT? Then why would we settle for 6500k LEDs?

Someone said the white only made their tank look dirty... well...a 6500 k bulb would do that.

 

[Zbatey]

So would the ai sol have the spectrum that we need for our corals

 

[Time2reef]

AI and Orphek both have what corals need. AI uses the blue to provide the look we are accustomed to and to provide for the corals.
True 10k - 15k LEDs are very expensive and thats why most companies don't use them. The same with UV.
Some really good info can be found here.

Orphek | superior led lighting

 

[mr_X]

PAR vs PUR has not been an issue with MH due to the fact they offer such a broad spectrum.

In LED it is important to know exactly what spectrum is being given out. It is also important to know what is being left out. Specifically the spectrum that algaes use versus what corals use. We all want to feed our corals and if we can starve our algaes in our DT all the better.

It's important to note that most LED manufacturers do not manufacture anything specifically for the marine industry. We are a secondary market at best. They will sell us what they are making for bigger fish so to speak. If it works great...if not.....

Would you put 6500 k compact flourescents on your DT? Then why would we settle for 6500k LEDs?

Someone said the white only made their tank look dirty... well...a 6500 k bulb would do that.

not if supplemented with blues.
they sell 6500k metal halide lamps.
6500K Metal Halide Bulb - Iwasaki, Mogul Base
folks use them because they have very high PAR, and look fine if supplemented with enough actinic. the same goes for a 6500k LED. the right mix of blue and white and it looks good.

there are many LEDs out there that are full spectrum, and since you wouldn't use a single lamp to light your tank, you can get any color you like with mixing of white, blue, and even red, just like people do with T5 lamps.

 

[cmor1701d]

Yes Doug, you are absolutely correct. My LEDs go form about 13.8k to 24k depending on the % white vs. blue. I run them at about 18k, though I ramp up for 2 hours and down for 2 hours leaving full lights for 8 hours a day.

 

[Time2reef]

not if supplemented with blues.
they sell 6500k metal halide lamps.
6500K Metal Halide Bulb - Iwasaki, Mogul Base
folks use them because they have very high PAR, and look fine if supplemented with enough actinic. the same goes for a 6500k LED. the right mix of blue and white and it looks good.

there are many LEDs out there that are full spectrum, and since you wouldn't use a single lamp to light your tank, you can get any color you like with mixing of white, blue, and even red, just like people do with T5 lamps.

Yes Doug, you are absolutely correct. My LEDs go form about 13.8k to 24k depending on the % white vs. blue. I run them at about 18k, though I ramp up for 2 hours and down for 2 hours leaving full lights for 8 hours a day.

So you are telling me that by adding blue to a 6500k LED it will look and react the same as a 10k - 20k set of LEDs?

Isn't there a difference between a say....12k led and you Sol unit turned to 12k?

Putting a 6500k CFL and a 9000 CFL in a fixture doesn't give you 7700k light.......

light doesn't mix it overlaps so to speak.....

If you are giving your corals 6500k at 15% and 460nm at 100% the brightness will shift but the fact is that you are still giving 6500k and 460nm....

Is that not correct?

 

[cmor1701d]

So if I mix yellow and blue I don't SEE green?
Mixing the ratio of whites and blues gives you a perceived different color.

 

[FDshoes]

http://www.satisled.com/3W-Higer-Power-Royal-Blue-LED-for-Reef-lighting-450-455-460nm_p479.html

Does anyone know about this company??

 

[mr_X]

So you are telling me that by adding blue to a 6500k LED it will look and react the same as a 10k - 20k set of LEDs?

Isn't there a difference between a say....12k led and you Sol unit turned to 12k?

Putting a 6500k CFL and a 9000 CFL in a fixture doesn't give you 7700k light.......

light doesn't mix it overlaps so to speak.....

If you are giving your corals 6500k at 15% and 460nm at 100% the brightness will shift but the fact is that you are still giving 6500k and 460nm....

Is that not correct?

i think you are confusing spectrum with color temperature.
as far as the mixture of color goes, corals will grow and do well in both instances. people just seem to like the bluer lighting due to the way it makes corals appear more colorful.

 

[Time2reef]

i think you are confusing spectrum with color temperature.
as far as the mixture of color goes, corals will grow and do well in both instances. people just seem to like the bluer lighting due to the way it makes corals appear more colorful.

But that can't be totally true because color and temp matter to some extent or coral would grow under any lights right...

Maybe I am just confused.....

 

[mr_X]

color temperature is another way of saying kelvin.
Color temperature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

corals will grow under any lights with enough PAR.

 

[Time2reef]

color temperature is another way of saying kelvin.
Color temperature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

corals will grow under any lights with enough PAR.

I didn't think that they would grow under things like halogen or anything like that because they all have the wrong spectrum.


This is exactly why I am looking to companies for my fixtures and not building my own....

 

[Zbatey]

I'm definitely going to get the ai sol LEDs unless someone has a comment about them. If anyone has an led fixture they'd like to sell me I'd be happy to buy it if it meets my needs

 

[Time2reef]

As for how LEDs work and the relations with PUR/PAR/CRI/Lumens....

It is all very confusing at times.

The higher an LED is in k (ie.17000k) the lower the par. This can be offset by adding blue. Blue LEDs pack a ton of PAR. Turn your AI white all the way down and your blues up. Check the PAR....then turns whites up and blues down and check. You will be suprised....

So, balancing good k LEDs with the proper amount of blue is important....this is no different than MH and t5 actinic supplements....It's all about preference...I personally don't like the smurf blue AI SOL tanks.

When you add lumens then it gets crazy. Lumens is what we see. This may not be good for corals necessarily BUT it is great for algaes.... This is in the 500nm to 650nm range which is where the 6500k LEDs put a lot of their light out at.

Very rarely do you see spectrographs for LEDs. The equipment is expensive and testing is very expensive. Our industry doesn't really generate enough business to make these manufacturers run out and perform expensive tests.

I dont suggest buying anything other than a good name brand fixture with LEDs that you trust. Anyone can produce these things nowadays. The $200 fixtures you see all over are very inconsistent. High quality LEDs are matched/batched and held to high standards. Lesser quality ones can be all over the field....They may look the same to our eyes but they aren't.

Think of lighting like this....do you add chemicals to your tank that you don't know about? (we try not to....)
So why would we put in light that we don't know about......