LED experience for under $2

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

To get a real representation of the coral color, I take frags outside. If I wanted to artificially color them, I could tint the glass blue and purple

Seriously, MH has another 10 years on my tank before it's outdated. I have yet to see a tank with LED that I like, and I sure wouldn't spend money on doing that to my tank. No, I haven't seen a lot of tanks lit by LED, but of those I've seen, I haven't liked any yet.

Actually it is not artificial colour. Many SPS and LPS have enzymes in their mass. When hit with lighting like the blue light from LED or to a lesser degree the blue light from actinic light, the enzymes react causing the coral to fluoresce; a natural response not an artificial one.

In other words humans looking a brown sps frag see brown under MH. That same sps frag will look stunningly green or pink or purple depending on the natural enzymes in the coral of the coral. I think that is what the fish and inverts see.

So Aquattro what would you rather see? Brown or bright red, green, yellow or pink

[reefwars]

ill say this i got to see a friends tank the other day with his diy led fixture and it was dimmable and very nice indeed infact alot nicer then the vertex alummina(?) that ive also seen in person on a few tanks


i do like my halides but they run hot and are expensive to maintain so im thinking diy led fixture in my canopy either way both are effective and both are expensive lol

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by naesco

So Aquattro what would you rather see? Brown or bright red, green, yellow or pink

I'd rather see a realistic color, as I might find the same coral in the wild. Wild corals don't have enzymes activated by LEDs on a reef
If this is your thing, that's great, it's just not what I want on my tank. Maybe as the technology matures, and the effects I don't like are addressed (and the Porsche price tag drops), I might look at them. Years from now. Maybe.

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I'd rather see a realistic color, as I might find the same coral in the wild. Wild corals don't have enzymes activated by LEDs on a reef
If this is your thing, that's great, it's just not what I want on my tank. Maybe as the technology matures, and the effects I don't like are addressed (and the Porsche price tag drops), I might look at them. Years from now. Maybe.

Maybe you could start dealing in black market marine goods to pay for that porsche?
I'm still on the fence with LED's right now but I'm hoping as they become more popular they will drive the prices of top end T5 and MH fixtures down as well as bulb prices.

[fishytime]

I was gonna say that I could put a string of X-mas lights on my tank and make the color look good

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by fishytime

I was gonna say that I could put a string of X-mas lights on my tank and make the color look good

you may be onto something there doug possibly a new breakthrough in the lighting realm i still like the idea of tinting the glass blue hehe maybe even one of those urinal thingys that make your water blue in your toilet lol that could possibly work too eh??