Has Anyone used LED Supplimental Actinics and Metal Halides?
 

I have 3 250W pendants mounted in my canopy on my new reef build. I'm looking into Actinic Supplimental lighting now. I really love VHO lighting for some odd reason, and was going to do some retrofit kits, but now I'm thinking I might try out LED.

My main question is, how many LED's would I need to have good supplimental lighting?

I've been looking at these units from Rapid LED, which have a 48" heatsink, and 24 LED's. I would buy 2 of them and place them on either sides of the halides. Would 48 LED's do the trick?

http://www.rapidled.com/24-led-actinic-supplement-kit/

I actually just saw that Ecoxotic has new 24W 48" stunner strips available on Modular LED as well. I could use 2-4 of these as well. Any suggestions?

I'll be doing the similar with halide and LED but I don't think the stunner strips will do much other than moonlight effects. I'm thinking of a few par38 style bulbs or ecoxotic panorama pro strip on both sides of the halide. I think ecoxotic made the panorama pro for uses that most people hoped the stunner strips would do. I'll do my homework when the time comes but thought I'd share my thoughts.

Cheers.

Stunner strip does not say how many watts these LEDs are but it might do more then just moonlight imo.

Here is less expencive alternative, its 18W per 45" strip and only $64.
Hard to say if 2 or 4 may be enough for suplemental lighting
http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Submersible-p/56223.htm

Yes, with my Aqualight Pro, I actually used two blue LED strip lights (17w each) instead of the PC actinics. Worked really well & colours popped.

What kind LED strip do you use?

Yeah I'm really looking something to rival T5's or VHO's. It's tough to compare wattages because they are so different. 48 3W Cree Royal blues would be pretty bright I think (In the Rapid LED option)

I have stunner strips and trust me they are not noticeable with halides on. As a moon light it works fine.

I also have one of those aqua traders LED strips, and I use it as moonlight only on a small tank. You can barely see the blue light in a dark room when the lights are off. So those are out of the question.

But as for the stunner strips, I suppose the panorama pro ones are supposed to be a lot better, but you pay a good price for them.

I should also mention this will be on a 155 Gallon 6 foot bowfront SPS reef, so they are gonna have to be decent lights.

I think your halides will drown out the Stunner strips, I recently put on on my AI SOL (and the power is only about 35%) and I can't tell a difference, its nice for moonlighting, but other then that probably not my smartest purchase

So you think that I should go with T5's?

I'm thinking more for color, and dusk/dawn effects when the halides are off.

When you pick up the tang and wrasse you can see how my Halides, T5s, and PCs mix for color. I have 3 150W halides, 4 96W actinic PCs, 6 blue plus 2 purple plus, 2 actinic, and 2 aquablue special 39W ATI T5s on a 6' tank. I too think the ultimate light will likely be a mix of halides and LEDs some day.

well if your looking at leds talk to martin, stunners IMO might not make a difference, panorama pros may. hard to say

I'm running 3x250w halides and 4 12" blue ecotech panoramas over my 5 foot tank. I origally changed out 2 48" fiji pink T5s . The blues really make my LPS pop. It loks totaly insane with just the blues on.

http://www.modularled.ca/panorama-pro-led-module/

Chris

I had them made at an LED place in New West. It was about $70 for two 6' strips and really bright. Sticky on the back. Plug and Play. He has strips of the LEDs that can be cut to custom size for your tank.

Onstate Technologies, Dan Hsu 604-522-7811

Sorry ment ecoxotic not ecotech. I have two of the older Panaramas and two of the pros. When I get home tonight I will try and take a picture of my lighting to show how bright they are and how I have them set up.

Chris

Any pics of your tank/how you set that up?

And are you growing any SPS?

I was just adding some stuff to my last post. Yes I do have SPS in my tank and they are all coloring or colored up. I will try and get some pics when I get home from work. They definetly have more pop then th two T5s I had over the tank before.

Chris

Chris, if you going to make pictures, could you please make picture with MH + panaramas and MH only.

Thanks.

That would be awesome thanks! Thats what I like to hear too. LED's would be a lot more efficient and easier to mount in smaller spaces then the T5 option for me.

I'm with you on VHO.
Nothing looks like 454 actinic and super actinic IME.
its just too bad the power draw and heat from them are so significant compared to t5 or led.

Yeah I kinda fell in love with them when I had an older Hamilton fixture that had 2 X 250W halides and 2 VHO super actinics. The color when just the VHO's were on was truely amazing. Haven't seen anything like it in any of my tanks since.

I've also seen a few tanks of the month on Reef Keeper Magazine that rock the VHO's as well, and they swear by them.

Are you looking for a manufactured mh + LED combo like this one from Reef Brite?

http://reefwholesale.com/gallery/mai...serialNumber=4

One of our stores up in ottawa has their main display running with halides plus the Reef Brite LED's. Previously they used halide plus VHO but now run the Reef Brites. Now they actually have their timers set to turn the halides off a couple hourse before the store closes so that people can see what the tank looks like with just LED's and its pretty amazing!

I will see if I can dig up some pictures, but it would be on my old lap top.
I snapped some pictures when they did the transfer in feb of 2011 but have since updated my computer.

Here you go halides and leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4518.jpg

Just Leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4519.jpg

Halides and Leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4517.jpg

Leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4524.jpg

On the rest of these doubles first shot is with leds second with out. I don't see much of a diference. You do though when you are looking at the tank and turn them off.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4539.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4541.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4542.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4543.jpg

One with halides and leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4549.jpg

Just leds

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4557.jpg

I havn't figured out how to take pictures with just the blue leds. They always look washed out or supper saturated

Chris

By the looks of the first two photos I really need to straighten my halides.:lol:

Here's a few shots of SPS for color.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4462.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/IMG_4469.jpg


Also I ran the two middle ones which are the panaramas for about a year and a half. The two outers ones I got on boxing day and mounted them at the beginning of January.

Chris

Which one do you have,? aquatraders 1W or older version 0.3W?

How many watts are your LED's from Onstate?
Is it anywhere on their website?
thx
http://www.onstatetech.com/products/products.htm

Mine is the new 1W Verson. And I used it on a 131 gallon. My AquaMedic Ocean light that is suspended 12" above the tank with the 10 moonlights makes more light than that LED bar. It's horrible.

That looks awesome! Thanks for sharing! Colors look very nice.

Are those 4 Panoramic units?

There are two older Panaramas and two new Panarama pros.

Chris

Wow ! thx for sharing that i almost bought one...

I just bought two 36" blue LED strips from Onstate Technologies, (Dan Hsu 604-522-7811) for $35. Big Thank you Anthony (SeaHorseFanatic)
Ballast was another $20.
Dan did all the soldering of the connectors free and it comes with double sided sticky tape. I re-atached one strip twice and tape failed but that is easy fix. The other one is fine.

Removed two HO fluorescent T5 's from the 2x250W HQI MH fixture.
Dan told me that LEDs are 140 degrees 470nm. Even though the LED's are only 0.2W and only 10 watts/0.9Amps per strip (50 led'sx 0.2W) it seems insanely bright.
When LED only are "ON" the tank looks only tad bit brighter then T5 actinics only.

I have 36", 65 Gal so it is not a shallow tank.

I accidentally glimpsed at it shortly and I was seeing yellow dots for a few seconds (imaginable)
I noticed that on top of usual green coral color "pop" it seems like zoas are opening quicker to these LED's. Red Gonioparah is glowing red ! But it can only be seen when MH is "OFF" still nice though with MH on as it is still brighter red. As well as superman monti red glow even in the shade.
I have 4 actinics in the fixture and 2 were replaced with LED.
With MH is "ON" I can not tell the difference between T5 actincs and/or LED combined with a MH. When i turn LED's "ON"&"OFF" quickly I can see that with LED's tank looks brighter/bluer. Some people may find that it is too blue, but personally I like it on the blue side.

I tried making pictures but they turned out horrible and do not really represent true likeness of the light and color. Already thinking about replacing the other 2 T5 actinics with these blue LEDs but it may be way too blue, so might go with one extra white strip to compensate (counterproductive), the only thing Dan has only 7000k whites no 10k's.
i asked him if he has any higher power LEDs in stripes but he does not have any.


Other LED's are also in 470+nm range
.
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Replaced the other two actinics with the same LED.
Quite like the outcome, my bonsai SPS as well as zoas responding very well. I see a better polyp expansion on the bonsai.
So far i spent $100 for 4 x 36" stripes and heavy duty ballast capable of 8.5Amps to drive these lights (3.6Amps total, but planning on adding two whites when they will have 10k whites.)
4xactinics would cost me $25+tax each so i think if these will last for two years or more i am happy

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0637.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0631.jpg
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please note LED's are facing down (very bright)

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0620.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0657.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0664.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0640.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0580.jpg
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Full tank shot with MH ON (2x250W DE)
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0578.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0569.jpg

There are some new LEDs coming real soon from Ecoxotic for additional actinics. They have the power of the Panorama Pro but in a larger and longer format with legs and such. Should be available in a week or two.

http://applications.ccusa.com/martin/panoramastrip.jpg

This is what I ended up going with:

8 Bridgelux LED strips (6 X 3W Royal Blue 452nm-455nm LED's each strip).

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...a/IMG_6660.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...a/IMG_6662.jpg

This is the light rack that I just made up. My 250W halide pendants obviously go in the open spaces.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...a/IMG_6659.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...a/IMG_6661.jpg

Dan also built me a LED dimmer that is automatically starts from zero and goes up to 100% in 3.5 hrs, and at night after timer is "OFF" it goes from 100% to zero in 3.45 hrs pretty good feature.
So when MH lights are off at 9pm then blue LEDs start to dimm, it goes down gradually till like midnight and acts as moon light for awhile.
like it so far.

Thats a neat feature!

I now have added two more 10k white LED strips (36" inch) because 4x blues are so blue that it was weird to look at.
Now when dimmer starts from zero to 100 in the morning it looks more natural, and also i don't need to have MH DE on for 9 hrs and now i have my MH DE 14K on only for 6 hrs.
I was hoping for Less algae growth on the glass but this is not the case at all.
It's just as much glass cleaning even though MH DE 2x250 is "ON" for 3 hrs less.

BTW Dan from LED place had to modify the dimmer because it was taking too long (8 hrs+) to dimm down from 100% to zero.
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