Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.

[mr_X]

You cannot convert it. You have to guess, or spend about 4 grand for a PUR meter.

 

[JJ-MIK]

Isn't there a way to convert it ? I thought I read you can multiply or divide numbers to get close readings

 

[JJ-MIK]

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium_lighting.html.... I found this site very informative!!

 

[mr_X]

Yep, but like any lighting article written for this hobby, there's a lot of copy and paste information, without any real data to back it up.

 

[Gti_Leo]

Yep, but like any lighting article written for this hobby, there's a lot of copy and paste information, without any real data to back it up.

its true just a hobbiests experience regarding the topic.

truth is what does a human really know about how much usable radiation is used by a coral in the spectrum or a plant or bacteria. we can only study based on experience

 

[Gregcoyote]

There are some studies done that are very specific in information. They tend to be pretty boring reads as they break down the whole process. But, in general, they support most of what we think of as common wisdom. They also tend to point out that a specific coral, in a specific location, may have different needs than the same coral in a different location. Flow, light quality, etc. all add up and work interactivly.

 

[mr_X]

Yes, but the part that I was commenting on was this nonsense-
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]*In another comparison; one can use one of the many cheap LED panels commonly sold that use 90-120 watts (or more) to light a reef or planted aquarium, OR you can use a LED Fixture that utilizes the best technology emitters & drivers available such as only found "higher end" LED Lights which produce more PUR from less emitters & watts.
This is similar to the above example as lower end emitters & drivers do not pin point the important light wave lengths the best patented emitters can (think about lighting your aquarium with 100's of LED flashlights; would you do this?).
[/FONT]
I'd like to know exactly which units this guy was referring to and what were the results of his testing on that particular unit. I'm willing to bet the truth is, nothing was tested.

 

[Reefer4eva]

Yes, but the part that I was commenting on was this nonsense-
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]*In another comparison; one can use one of the many cheap LED panels commonly sold that use 90-120 watts (or more) to light a reef or planted aquarium, OR you can use a LED Fixture that utilizes the best technology emitters & drivers available such as only found "higher end" LED Lights which produce more PUR from less emitters & watts.
This is similar to the above example as lower end emitters & drivers do not pin point the important light wave lengths the best patented emitters can (think about lighting your aquarium with 100's of LED flashlights; would you do this?).
[/FONT]
I'd like to know exactly which units this guy was referring to and what were the results of his testing on that particular unit. I'm willing to bet the truth is, nothing was tested.

I agree you you 100% mr.X. ....I look at it this way either spend 150-200 or spend 1000+ to get the same exact results.since owning the evergrow d120...which is the same exact thing inside and out as the Chinese eBay lights,reef breeders or any other no name company that's producing these 120 watt fixtures I have better growth on all my SPS dominant tank than I did with metal halides and T5's.BUT that's just my opinion.....

 

[mr_X]

No.....that's a FACT.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Yes, I also agree, but different emitters have different levels of efficiency. There are obviously some emitters out there that won't grow coral. The flashlight analogy is ridiculous as flashlight LEDs are almost all 12VDC, or less. Different animal. Look at the Cree catalogue, they make many different emitters for targeted use. But as I have commented before, the fixture either puts out enough lumens in the right frequencies, or it doesn't. In fact, i bet i could use enough LED flashlights to grow coral, but why would you? It would take hundreds. The testimonials of successful users around the world on this forum is better proof of which fixtures work than anything other source of info. IMO

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode

Look under the technology tab and read about "droop." Any the efficiencies new LEDs are exhibiting.

 

[JJ-MIK]

What about your colors in corals under led? Mine right now have little color. When I bought them they were under LEDs. And MH.. And they popped out at me.. Get them in my tank and the colors are bland.. Is that because of a poor emitter ? Or poor led?

 

[Gregcoyote]

Are they growing? And by bland, do you mean less fluorescence to the color?

 

[JJ-MIK]

Very minimal growth. And I mean . Luke my fix coral. When I bought it. It was an awesome brown and green.. But in my tank it's just brown. My neon candy cane was brilliant.. In my tank it's just green. Just bought an aus elegance last night.. It was under LEDs. And it was awesome with pink tips.. Today in my tank it's just green with brown.. Barely see the pink.. . Under actinics alone the all fluorescent pops.

 

[jeffaquarius]

If I may chip in with some info with regards to colors. First I must admit I am not a pro in growing corals (yet) but I know more about lights and colors. The reason why a certain object will show a combination of colors in one source of light and will display different colors under another source of light is because of the light source itself. Each color has a frequency and each type of lighting fixture will emit only a limited frequency. The object also has a characteristic to reflect only certain frequencies that are available from the source of light which our brain interprets as colors. A red object under the sun absorbs all the colors except the red. The black object absorbs all the colors while the while object reflects all the colors. This is the reason why wearing a white clothing during the summer is cooler than wearing black. If the light source has no green frequency the green object will look dull or brown.

 

[Gregcoyote]

That is part of the rationalization for full spectrum LED fixtures. Not needed for growth, but it does IMO make the colors pop more. As said if the color isn't transmitted by the fixture, the coral cant bounce it back to your eye. One reason why actinics were popular, the higher energy blues cause fluorescence, like a black light poster does,

 

[JJ-MIK]

So does that fall in with the previous comments.. The emitters in LEDs do make a difference? Or how the LEDs are powered?

 

[Gregcoyote]

So does that fall in with the previous comments.. The emitters in LEDs do make a difference? Or how the LEDs are powered?

You have to divide the topic, as far as growth goes, total power (PAR) of the fixture and the color of the LEDs to a lesser extent control how the coral grows..at least from the lighting viewpoint.The "beauty" factor can be enhanced with certain frequencies of lighting.

The emitter make a difference in the terms of efficiency and spectrum. But as said before, even though Chinese fixtures may not be quite as efficient as a newer Cree based fixture, the cost more than makes up for it.

 

[jeffaquarius]

You must be aware that all LEDs are not created equal. Aside from their power capacity they also differ on what spectrum of light they emit just like other lighting fixtures. Some reefers say they don't care about the color of lights since they do not contribute to growth. My question is, isn't it that we love this hobby because the intention is to see the beauty and colors of the corals we are growing?

 

[Gregcoyote]

You must be aware that all LEDs are not created equal. Aside from their power capacity they also differ on what spectrum of light they emit just like other lighting fixtures. Some reefers say they don't care about the color of lights since they do not contribute to growth. My question is, isn't it that we love this hobby because the intention is to see the beauty and colors of the corals we are growing?

I think it's up to everyone as to how they want the reef to look. I like natural, so I don't emphasize fluorescence. Some want that pop that a lot of blue can give.

 

[jeffaquarius]

I think it's up to everyone as to how they want the reef to look. I like natural, so I don't emphasize fluorescence. Some want that pop that a lot of blue can give.

That makes sense. I know deep ocean photographers like you would even use full spectrum lights to capture the colors of the deep.