Ashrs 36x30x20 build!

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by ashr

I wish I could afford that! I think the wife would kill me if I did.. haha

I have always loved the ATI bulbs but never had the fixture. Could you go into more details with what you mean?

For me, it's the lack of shimmer. It's nice that on the ati fixtures you can dim the bulbs for somewhat of a sunrise sunset effect, but having no shimmer just doesn't look realistic to me. And the colours... Sometimes they look amazing, but sometimes they look totally artificial. Maybe it's because I've done some diving and snorkeling on reefs in the ocean, I just expect my aquarium to look a little more like that. Plus, then there's bulb replacement, higher energy usage, and trying to find just the right colour combination of bulbs (spending as you go)...

[ashr]

Originally Posted by mikellini

For me, it's the lack of shimmer. It's nice that on the ati fixtures you can dim the bulbs for somewhat of a sunrise sunset effect, but having no shimmer just doesn't look realistic to me. And the colours... Sometimes they look amazing, but sometimes they look totally artificial. Maybe it's because I've done some diving and snorkeling on reefs in the ocean, I just expect my aquarium to look a little more like that. Plus, then there's bulb replacement, higher energy usage, and trying to find just the right colour combination of bulbs (spending as you go)...

Good info for sure. What are you using right now? I am mainly looking growth SPS. I want the best color and growth I can. I have not heard the best things for LED and SPS...

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by ashr

Good info for sure. What are you using right now? I am mainly looking growth SPS. I want the best color and growth I can. I have not heard the best things for LED and SPS...

I'm not sure anyone knows yet what the optimal LED setup is for growing SPS... that being said, I'll be going with a Kessil A360WE, partly for aesthetics (going on a rimless tank) and partly because of other factors. For one, the shimmer is unreal because it really is a point-source light, more like the sun in that respect than any other light out there. This means, of course, that there will be significant shadowing, but I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily. Then there's UV; Kessil is the only LED that I know of that actually produces true UV light (<400nm); not sure from what I've read if this is absolutely necessary but is closer to natural conditions for coral. Also, I've read these lights are way more than enough for most tanks, and many people don't run them at full power; for me this is good, as I plan on raising it up a bit to cover 30x30, so I don't have to worry about it being underpowered.

For your tank, I would definitely go with two A360WE's for better coverage. I'm actually thinking about doing that with my 30x30 footprint, but I'll start with one and see how it is. Then there's the AP700:

http://reefbuilders.com/2014/05/30/k...-matrix-array/

[ashr]

Originally Posted by mikellini

I'm not sure anyone knows yet what the optimal LED setup is for growing SPS... that being said, I'll be going with a Kessil A360WE, partly for aesthetics (going on a rimless tank) and partly because of other factors. For one, the shimmer is unreal because it really is a point-source light, more like the sun in that respect than any other light out there. This means, of course, that there will be significant shadowing, but I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily. Then there's UV; Kessil is the only LED that I know of that actually produces true UV light (<400nm); not sure from what I've read if this is absolutely necessary but is closer to natural conditions for coral. Also, I've read these lights are way more than enough for most tanks, and many people don't run them at full power; for me this is good, as I plan on raising it up a bit to cover 30x30, so I don't have to worry about it being underpowered.

For your tank, I would definitely go with two A360WE's for better coverage. I'm actually thinking about doing that with my 30x30 footprint, but I'll start with one and see how it is. Then there's the AP700:

http://reefbuilders.com/2014/05/30/k...-matrix-array/

Thanks for all the info.. I need to do a lot of reading up.. I would need to run two of the A360WE like you said for sure. I want to have mostly sps and acros,millis so I want to make sure they keep the color and have good growth. I will also be dosing.

[ronau]

Originally Posted by mikellini

Then there's UV; Kessil is the only LED that I know of that actually produces true UV light (<400nm)

What's the difference between the Kessil UV and the UV LEDs in the AI Hydra 52 and Ecotech Radion XR30w Pro?

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by ronau

What's the difference between the Kessil UV and the UV LEDs in the AI Hydra 52 and Ecotech Radion XR30w Pro?

From what I understand, other fixtures have "UV" emitters that are anywhere between 405-410nm peak, which is actually violet. UV is <400nm. I think Kessil (actually, DiCon, their parent company) has a patent on true UV, heard that somewhere

[ronau]

Originally Posted by mikellini

From what I understand, other fixtures have "UV" emitters that are anywhere between 405-410nm peak, which is actually violet. UV is <400nm. I think Kessil (actually, DiCon, their parent company) has a patent on true UV, heard that somewhere

According to AI specs on the Hydra 52, the 4 UV LEDs are 400nm. On SemiLED's site, they have several UV LED chips that go down to 360nm so I don't think Dicon had a patent on UV LED chips.

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by ronau

According to AI specs on the Hydra 52, the 4 UV LEDs are 400nm. On SemiLED's site, they have several UV LED chips that go down to 360nm so I don't think Dicon had a patent on UV LED chips.

Yeah maybe not, just what I heard. Regardless, 400nm isn't UV. The thing about the Kessil A360WE as well is that the intensity of the UV is supposed to be the same regardless of the colour you tune it to. The only thing I'm a little concerned about is that they seem 'dim' to the naked eye, even when providing more than enough light for corals. I guess I'll see...