Doug's 250, now 300, in wall build

[mr_X]

Doug Ive been doing way to much reading on LEDs, and I've started to doubt LEDs, I think youd be the one to change my mind. I have the dimmable 120w, and I'm thinking I'm going to have to add a supplemental strip of led or maybe just make a canopy and go with a small halide. It seems as if Cree LEDs arent really the best for a tank, good for the main light but you still need more spectrum, I guess royal blue and cool white doesnt cut it, especially for sps. I'm going to add cyan, uv (the 405nm violets, not really uv), red, green, and a few types of white. I'm hoping this will help me get the colors I'm needing, but is all this really necessary? I haven't gotten a straight answer, maybe there just isn't one..

You do not need supplemental lighting with what you have. people are making up a lot of stuff on the internet about these units not doing this or that, but one thing I can tell you from experience, is that these units can definitely grow sps.
Didn't you see my progression shots?

 

[scottayy]

Are all par meters the same?
This seems affordable: Milwaukee Instruments Par Meter MW700 [mw700] - $74.00 : Affordable Aquatic Supplies LLC

 

[needmorecowbell]

You do not need supplemental lighting with what you have. people are making up a lot of stuff on the internet about these units not doing this or that, but one thing I can tell you from experience, is that these units can definitely grow sps.
Didn't you see my progression shots?

I'm not Saying there are growth problems, more so color issues. I have a thread about the research I've done on it and I'll post the link here.

I've definitely seen your growth shots, and they are very colorful. I don't know, maybe I'm just reading too much lol.

Edit: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/making-leds-like-halides-210201.html

 

[mr_X]

One thing I would like to say is that corals shield themselves from ultraviolet light and enough of it can kill them. I doubt very highly that they need this at all. a UV sterilizer has an ultraviolet lamp in it, and everything that passes through the sterilizer, is killed.
Secondly, I would like to know who you are referring to that's not getting the results they would like. Every tank is different and in order to do an accurate study, you would have to have the same coral, in the same water, under 2 different lighting sources, before you could say it's the lighting's fault.

oh...and under the same flow patterns!

 

[needmorecowbell]

I don't think it's same flow lol in this video lol. The website has a tricolor Acro pic that is different and I preferred the halide one personally.

I'm not saying literal uv, that's just what they call the violet we see in the hobby. To get ultraviolet I think it's 400nm and below till 390. 420nm is what I was talking about, which is a big spike in 20k metal halide bulbs.

I'm also not saying that leds aren't working well, but why not stick with the pros of each and tailor the light spectrum to metal halide?

 

[Kio707]

Cool video, but seems like he confirmed the use of LEDs.. I have the same one Doug does, and I love them.

 

[needmorecowbell]

He does but guess what he is using.. Radions. The radions use an amount of LEDs that just about matches the halides I was talking about. Here's a pic showing the resemblance. It's hard to get an exact match, but they are on the right track IMO.

I have the LEDs you all have also, but mine are dimmable. We use cool blues and cool whites, covering only some of the spectrum. Again, it obviously works though.

 

[Buffy]

Wow I'm lost. I think I'll just stick to my lil ole T-5s

 

[needmorecowbell]

Wow I'm lost. I think I'll just stick to my lil ole T-5s

Lol don't let the numbers scare you away. I'm definitely not saying don't by them, I'll support them completely, they are very nice.

 

[mr_X]

UV is UV. When you say UV you are literally talking about the same light that comes from the sterilizer. Maybe not the same intensity, but it's the same light.
This is why they put a glass shield over metal halide lamps- to filter out a lot of ultraviolet light that would otherwise be harmful to your livestock.

I have found that some corals do respond differently to the LEDs and those need more acclimation, or to be positioned further away from the fixtures, not that they simply don't do well under LEDs, no matter what.
I have some montipora that is just now coming around and coloring back up after the initial intensity change shock, while others didn't skip a beat and colored up better immediately. Like I said before, since I have seen acropora growing and fully colored up 24" away from the pendants, I am convinced that the LEDs penetrate the water much better than the halides do. I don't believe a 250 watter would do this, especially not with a 20k lamp in it.
I believe all the bleaching and lack of color is an intensity issue. Not a color issue.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Even if it's the same type of light with less intensity, what do we know to say that it won't help the corals. As to the halides having the lens, some of the uv spectrum is coming into the tank, how else would they be getting the reading of uv in the tank?

The penetration of the LEDs is great, and I'm sure some people write on threads knocking them although what they are really experiencing isn't the light unit itself not acting as we want, but photo inhibition. It's when the coral goes through a shock from being in a much different light. It makes the coral drastically slow in growth and some colors aren't brought out as well because the majority of the pigments have died off (don't ask me how, thats too much bio for me lol).

 

[needmorecowbell]

Are there any updates on the tank?

 

[mr_X]

Nothing really. This is our busy time at work so, i've kinda got the tank on auto pilot lately.

 

[Rich42082]

A little late but will follow now. Very nice install.

 

[Cichlid-dude]

Hows the tank doing doug? Got any update pics? Hope all is well.

 

[mr_X]

I'm sorry, but this is the busiest time of year for us, and I've been working some long hours. It will calm way down as soon as it gets cold.
The tank is doing fair, on auto-pilot. I've added a few fish (purple tang, flame angel, tenneti tang, and another yellow tang). they are doing ok at the moment. All are very small so their transition wasn't eventful.
I'm going to be redesigning the sump refugium to be more effective, as it is catching a lot of detritus. I'm having to shake the macroalgae on almost a daily basis to free up the particulate matter. Filter socks will be in this system's future. Thanks for looking. I'll post a few pics soon.

 

[mr_X]

Okey Dokey....I think I should share what's been happening with the tank lately. First, I have been having detritus collect in the refugium and sump that's been negatively effecting things. Today I was able to correct the issue (hopefully).
I increased the amount of return from sump from 950 gallons before head loss to 1900 gallons before HL.
Secondly, I implemented filter socks and rearranged the filtration setup adding another 50 gallons of water volume.
I have to tweak things a bit because it sounds like Niagara Falls in he tank room, but otherwise I'm excited that this will do the trick.
The old setup:

The new setup:

I jig sawed some filter sock holders and added the extra stock tank:

..and a few shots of the tenants.....

and here is the blue throat trigger that couldn't bear the stress of captivity....he's with Jeebus now....

Meanwhile, I have quite the community now..

 

[Sniperhank]

Wow, looking great! You really have a setup taht I could only dream about. I wish my corals were as colorful as yours. Are you still running the taotronics or have you added supplimental lighting to go along with it? I've considered adding a T5HO to go with it...but everything is quite colorful besides my birds nest and with my frequent power outages, I should stay away from SPS until I move. Either way, I love the setup.

 

[Mrc8858]

Wow, looking great! You really have a setup taht I could only dream about. I wish my corals were as colorful as yours. Are you still running the taotronics or have you added supplimental lighting to go along with it? I've considered adding a T5HO to go with it...but everything is quite colorful besides my birds nest and with my frequent power outages, I should stay away from SPS until I move. Either way, I love the setup.

+10... Love your tank doug! So how'd the conversation go with the wifey when you asked to convert a hole room into a filtration room

 

[mr_X]

Yes, just the TaoTronics, and there's no need for supplement. Thanks Hank!