Ideas for LED supplementation

[Myka]

No no, just sell the particular colonies you're not satisfied with and replace them with other SPS pieces!!! SILLY!!!

[don.ald]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

What group buy is this? Can you please point me to that thread? I talked to a vendor on here and he did not mention any such thing.

What he said!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Myka

No no, just sell the particular colonies you're not satisfied with and replace them with other SPS pieces!!! SILLY!!!

You mean like the large efflo? Nah...

The other is the pink and blue milli. It's a really nice blue milli, I just know it should be half pink. And the pink lemonade is less yellow that it has been in the past. But I'm setting up a 50g grow out tank with radiums, so I may just move them to there.

[Milad]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

I'm also finding that some of my SPS have gone colorless under LEDs... but then some have never looked better.

Most likely in my case it is just neglect and way too much light. I've never cooked so many corals before.



Crap Milad, couldn't you have referenced a longer thread?

The OCW LEDs look interesting, but I'm half way through and I haven't got to the "I added the extra colors to the NW, RB LEDs and I'm totally amazed" posts yet.

Any feedback from people who have actually done this?

OCW is basically Deep Red, cool blue and Turquoise
That was introduced a few months before that thread was started. Half way through (about page 60000 billion) the OCW got introduced so instead of doing 3 individual stars, people started just getting the OCW because the way we placed the LEDs and the wavelengths we used, they produce a white light to your eyes and brighten up your tank. hence the "ocean coral white" name.

So what happens with the OCW is your tank gets brighter because some of the wavelengths of the Royals help produce the white and also anything around your tank and in your tank that is orange/red/pink will explode.

[StirCrazy]

remember this Brad

Originally Posted by Aquattro

You NEED metal halide. I'm just sayin'.....

what are you doing with LEDs anyways

Steve

[Reefer Rob]

Have you tried your old halides over your tank to see if you still like them? I think you'll find them a little bland after LEDs.

LEDs are so new, with very little real information for a reference, that it makes it challenging to get them dialed... but that's the fun of it isn't it.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

remember this Brad



what are you doing with LEDs anyways

Steve

And I still stick with my original quote! Due to evaporation rotting my house, I had to either spend money on HVAC, or switch to LED. I choose the LED. I'm thinking not the right choice
Overall, the LED have lots of great options. They're quiet, cool, have ramping ability, and the color given off is very pleasing to view. Most of the corals are growing to fast, and anything with blue or green looks great. Even my pink milli and pink stylo look incredible. Really, out of 100+ colonies, only maybe 4 have changed to a less pleasing color. They just happen to be some of the nicest pieces I have -lol
But, that being said, the Radiums had the color, intensity AND whatever it is that is missing in the LED. Yes, they're hot, noisy (due to fans cooling and bulbs rattling), more costly to run, blah blah....But MH IMO is superior light for SPS corals. I'm sure that if I'd started with LED, I'd never consider changing, but having run Radiums for so long, the LED were a downgrade. I've looked at Vertex fixtures over tanks with their "fuller spectrum" and they suffer the same issues as my Sols. So not really a brand issue, but a technology issue, in that the manufacturers haven't quite got it right yet. I'm sure that will change very soon, as there are a lot of SPS owners that are holding out until they see a true competitor to MH for color production.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Have you tried your old halides over your tank to see if you still like them? I think you'll find them a little bland after LEDs.

LEDs are so new, with very little real information for a reference, that it makes it challenging to get them dialed... but that's the fun of it isn't it.

Rob, I guarantee I'd still like them, I've loved Radiums for 10 years. I actually find the color separation from LED annoying, you can see it on the sand and the corals. I think some higher end units reduce that, but I have not seen a LED not do this, SOL, Radion, or Vertex. This includes DIY units I've seen with tons of LEDs installed.
With the SOLs, there is nothing to dial in. It's blue and white, or some mixture of that combo. The units are missing something that tweaks a particular pigment, not sure if it's red, UV, purple or anything else. Radions affect the corals the same way, so it likely isn't red or green, or maybe it just needs more than is provided.

Don't get me wrong, the LED gives of great light and color, and my blue and purple pieces are all gorgeous, and the ramping for sunrise/sunset is a fab feature. I do really like the lights and would have to seriously consider changing back to MH due to all the good features. I'm probably just going to have to accept that some pieces aren't going to have the color they had. I may be able to supplement with different color spectrum strips, not sure. Some type of T5 addition maybe?
I also have to consider that if I went back to MH, my wife would probably stab me in my sleep, not somewhere I really want to go

[Delphinus]

Glad I'm not the only one who finds the colour separation a bit of an issue. Every LED tank I have seen has had this and once I notice it, no matter how nice everything else may be, I get a little disappointed feeling. It's sort of like being in a Star Trek holodeck and thinking everything is nice and perfect in my little fake imaginary world then noticing one of the holo-emitters is on the fritz and you see these little staticy spark things zapping around and in behind you see the black wall of the holodeck itself and you realize "Oh yeah, right. This is not real. Kind of a bummer." With a well done reef tank when you really focus in on it there is this "suspension of disbelief" (it's not just for fiction apparently) where all of the cool technology in the world that is supporting the main cast, is just a supporting player and basically irrelevant so long as it's doing its job - it's what's in the tanks that is the draw for me to this hobby - the rest are just tools to get a job done.

I wonder how the multichip pendents compare though. These still intrigue me. I still would like to try a few and replace one of my Radiums at a time and then run in parallel to see how they stack up. I'm saving my pennies for this at this time, although it probably means I'm pre-empting a possibly more-better investment of a controller (yeah I run everything old skool still) in the meantime.

[Reefer Rob]

I had no color separation with the LEDs 16" - 18" off the water, or since I removed the optics to reduce the intensity (and moved them down to 6")... but then I don't have sand.

I agree there are some missing spectrums, especially red in my case. I get no algae in the display at all, and almost no slime on the glass. Likely this is also effecting the corals.

I'll let you know what I think after I've added a few of Milads OCW LEDs.