What LED's to go with?

Tank2379 said:
IDK if RapidLED is cheaper than ReefLEDlights they are about the same price and Bill will work with you on the pricing and it sometimes is cheaper than RapidLED...
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That and with Bill/Rick you get personalized service that will stick with you for the life of your tank. They get to know not only you, but your tank and your lighting system.

Nothing against RapidLED, and I plan to use them shortly, but if I was doing a full build it would be through ReefLED.
 
+1 for reefledlights. I have done setups with them and bill is a nice guy. He helps u out and since he local he can probably help u out on sumthing u have a problem with. They have great customer service and diy is not as hard as it looks. Now with the solderless and drilled heatinks.
 
I chose RapidLED over reef led lights because of their complete biocube 29 retrofit kit, everything I needed including fans, and the package price was a bit cheaper than the individual components, and free shipping/no tax.
 
SkullV said:
My aim is to replicate a 20k Radium bulb. The chart is provided above.
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Personal preference wise, I like to replicate as close as possible natural conditions.

Since the suns rays are at about 6500K but blue light penetrates deeper in water than some of the other color spectrum, I shoot for 10,000K.
 
jcarlilesiu said:
Personal preference wise, I like to replicate as close as possible natural conditions.

Since the suns rays are at about 6500K but blue light penetrates deeper in water than some of the other color spectrum, I shoot for 10,000K.
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Nothing wrong with that at all, but you are going to miss out on a lot of coral coloration and fluorescence at that Kelvin level. There are a lot of colors that will not be seen on the real reef that we can see in our tanks due to artificial lighting.
 
Tethered_Limbs said:
natural reefs are brown half the time. at least sps dominated ones
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I guess I think that the natural colors which more closely mimic the wild reef is more desirable than a false laser light show style of aquarium.

Many natural SPS reefs have great color, but they don't glow like some hobbyists try to create.

coral-reef-490_48186_2.jpg


Its all a matter of preference, but the unnatural glowing blue tanks, I don't understand why not just change out to fake coral that truly does represent the colors of sharpy accent highlighters?
 
Tethered_Limbs said:
n that reef will look brown in winter
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That would be cool to have the tank naturally go through the seasons in my opinion.

The problem is, we have a hard time replicating the intensity of the sun and natural light to color the coral back up swiftly enough as it would in nature.

So in the interest of trying out best to mimic the natural environment, we provide a consistent amount of lighting which keeps the coral colored up.

The coloring however doesn't really impact the initial discussion regarding the temperature of lighting.
 
jcarlilesiu said:
I guess I think that the natural colors which more closely mimic the wild reef is more desirable than a false laser light show style of aquarium.

Many natural SPS reefs have great color, but they don't glow like some hobbyists try to create.

coral-reef-490_48186_2.jpg


Its all a matter of preference, but the unnatural glowing blue tanks, I don't understand why not just change out to fake coral that truly does represent the colors of sharpy accent highlighters?
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Have you ever dove a natural reef? A lot of the time what you see with your eyes and what the camera lens picks up is different due to light filtering of the water. Often times a brown reef will appear colorful in a photo. That is not to say that some natural reefs are not colorful.

Also the coloration of the coral is internally regulated. It is the phosphorescence of the zooxanthella algae that puts off those colors. They are just more visible under certain lighting spectrums.

I take it you own Sol fixtures and not Sol Blue?
 
by the way the shawdowing is in that photo there is some artificial light illuminating the coral in the foreground.

Yes, diving actual reefs is so different... in the caribean i see lots of brown and drab orage, but when i look at my photos (before color adjusting) i see lots more orange/red/green.

videos/pictures/and people telling me, the GBR is insane with color with the naked eye. I can't wait to plan a trip!!
 
jcarlilesiu said:
That would be cool to have the tank naturally go through the seasons in my opinion.

The problem is, we have a hard time replicating the intensity of the sun and natural light to color the coral back up swiftly enough as it would in nature.

So in the interest of trying out best to mimic the natural environment, we provide a consistent amount of lighting which keeps the coral colored up.

The coloring however doesn't really impact the initial discussion regarding the temperature of lighting.
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making your tank go into high nutrient seasons wouldn't be too crazy, lesser or no detritus removal, less intense light if you have progamable leds will also be easy. but i wouldn't want a brown reef for months, or weeks, or even a day. but we all strive for different things. i just dont see the point of trying to replicate one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet in a glass box.
 
Just for reference, these are my rough numbers between 2 fixtures, both 6" above the water, metered directly below center of fixture. This is not from Skull's PAR meter, but I believe it is the same one, just older model.

Finnex DL 4x 24" T5-HO, two ATI Aquablue, 1 blue+, 1 purple+, with and without built-in 9w RB LED turned on:
Surface: 475+, 550+ w/ LED
12" down: 350+, 420+ w/LED
23" down: 200+, 250+ w/LED
The pitiful 9x 1w Royal Blue 460nm actually contributed 20% of the "metered" PAR
It has already been disclaimed that Royal Blue LED PAR is not metered fully accurate.

Apollo 15k Solar Blast Elite (30x RB LED, 25x Cool White LED):
Surface: 1300+
12" down: 750+
23" down: 250+

T5-HO definitely penetrates deeper, especially with individual reflectors, but the LED kicks it where its needed if you are focused on SPS corals, and your lps/softies can still be comfortable down lower. The Radion is definitely a well built fixture to be getting the numbers shown in the posts above.
 
Poidog....

Any Idea when AI will be releasing the Phoenix?

Then maybe the SOL wil come down a bit.....



Looking to LED a 130 half-cylinder 30" deep
 
Douggie-Style said:
Poidog....

Any Idea when AI will be releasing the Phoenix?

Then maybe the SOL wil come down a bit.....



Looking to LED a 130 half-cylinder 30" deep
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There is no official release date for the Phoenix. The SOL however have already come down in price in response to the impending release of the Phoenix.
 
Here is AIs Facebook post from 5 hours ago


AquaIllumination Marcus, our anticipated release date for the "Phoenix" is for later this fall or very early winter. We have an email sign up that would keep you in the loop when we have a release date too :) http://ow.ly/79XuO
5 hours ago · Like
 
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