My own newbie thread
- Thread starter iidylii
- Start date
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
Wattage and wave length. You could have a million watts but if the wavelength of the light is wrong it won't grow coral. Plus the wattage of a LED fixture doesn't translate to the wattage of metal halide or fluorescent light. With Led it is more intensity than wattage. They are low wattage compared to their intensity. That is one of the pros to LED, the don't use much electricity and they don't need regular bulb changes like metal halide and fluorescent. There is more of an up front cost but lower operating cost.
It depends a lot on what you want to keep in the tank.
I had VHO fluorescent bulbs for probably 15 years. I had softies and fish. I left the hobby after my grand daughter "fed the fish" a whole can of flakes. The tank was in the basement and I noticed when the smell of dead tank made it up stairs. I got back in last September and bought my first AquaSTAR 165 W LED on eBay. That fixture grew softies and zoas and some LPS. I liked it enough that when I upgraded to a 55 in Nov that I ordered another. They are great fixtures for the price. When I upgraded in March to a 125 I used them on it. Originally I bought the Kessils to supplement the others but liked the look of light they produced so much I turned those off and used only Kessils. the eBay light was cheap enough that I didn't feel like I wasted my money when I upgraded and I have them as spares. One is over my QT.
It depends a lot on what you want to keep in the tank.
I had VHO fluorescent bulbs for probably 15 years. I had softies and fish. I left the hobby after my grand daughter "fed the fish" a whole can of flakes. The tank was in the basement and I noticed when the smell of dead tank made it up stairs. I got back in last September and bought my first AquaSTAR 165 W LED on eBay. That fixture grew softies and zoas and some LPS. I liked it enough that when I upgraded to a 55 in Nov that I ordered another. They are great fixtures for the price. When I upgraded in March to a 125 I used them on it. Originally I bought the Kessils to supplement the others but liked the look of light they produced so much I turned those off and used only Kessils. the eBay light was cheap enough that I didn't feel like I wasted my money when I upgraded and I have them as spares. One is over my QT.
pegasus
Well-Known Member
I haven't jumped onto the LED wagon yet, and there's a good reason... price. I've spent countless hours researching LED's, and I have come to the conclusion that if I want a one-size-fits-all LED fixture(s) for my 6' 125, it'll easily set me back $1K+. That's not an option for my budget. When I bought the tank (second hand), it came with a 48" ATI MH/PC fixture mounted in the hood. I didn't have corals, so I never ran the two 250W MH lamps. I used the PC lamps for illumination only, and when I decided to start stocking corals, I started researching lighting. One thing I learned from many of the pros, is that all LED's are not created equally. Top lighting manufacturers have exclusive rights to the latest and greatest LED's. The newest technology comes with a price, and only the big guys can afford them. All other manufacturers are stuck with off-the-shelf emitters. Older technology, inferior quality of materials, and less than stringent quality control results in the market flooded with cheap LED fixtures. Cheap fixtures with dimmable LED's? Forget it! The intensity is controlled by voltage reduction. Low quality LED's may not even produce the correct spectrum at full power, and when voltage is reduced, the wavelength goes even farther out of spectrum. The only LED fixture I would trust my corals use are those that have the latest generation of emitters with Meanwell drivers to control them. They have Pulse Width Modulation to control the intensity of the emitters, which is nothing like voltage reduction. PWM causes the LED's to "flicker", which gives the illusion of dimming, while keeping the wavelengths in the proper spectrum. It happens faster than the eye can detect, so don't worry... there's no strobe effect.
When it came time to replace my light fixture, I went with a 48" 6-bulb T5 HO. It's 324W, and using a mixture of ATI bulbs, I am growing softies, LPS, and SPS... which includes several Acros. If I wanted to keep "high light" acros, I'd need to supplement the lighting a bit. I did the math, and considering the initial cost of a highe-end LED, compared to cost of a decent T5, bulb replacements, and cost if operation, I think it balances out pretty close to equal. I had the choice of spreading the cost of ownership over a broad range of time, or break the bank with one purchase. Since my bank is already broken, the choice was a no-brainer. I chose T5 HO. Just a little food for thought...
When it came time to replace my light fixture, I went with a 48" 6-bulb T5 HO. It's 324W, and using a mixture of ATI bulbs, I am growing softies, LPS, and SPS... which includes several Acros. If I wanted to keep "high light" acros, I'd need to supplement the lighting a bit. I did the math, and considering the initial cost of a highe-end LED, compared to cost of a decent T5, bulb replacements, and cost if operation, I think it balances out pretty close to equal. I had the choice of spreading the cost of ownership over a broad range of time, or break the bank with one purchase. Since my bank is already broken, the choice was a no-brainer. I chose T5 HO. Just a little food for thought...
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
I think if you have a big enough fixture. 6 - 8 bulbs. Two bulbs wouldn't do it. You probably don't need a 6 foot fixture. A 4 foot fixture with 6 or 8 bulbs of assorted color centered over the tank would probably be enough to light the whole thing and keep an anemone.
iidylii
Active Member
Ok before I choose my path with other gobies...is anyone here an expert or know an expert on gobies...I ask because there are so many different types and I wanna make sure I house the right ones together...
I understand not to mix the sand gobies and what not but what about like the yasha...the fire...the clown...would one each of these be ok together? I guess I don't understand when they say "like" genres...I know that can mean color, shape, size, genre, water level they swim at etc...
IMO u could have a sifter, some sort of fire goby, a clown goby, engineer goby, and like a hectors goby...like I said if I can only have 2 or 3 of these id like to pick my favs
I understand not to mix the sand gobies and what not but what about like the yasha...the fire...the clown...would one each of these be ok together? I guess I don't understand when they say "like" genres...I know that can mean color, shape, size, genre, water level they swim at etc...
IMO u could have a sifter, some sort of fire goby, a clown goby, engineer goby, and like a hectors goby...like I said if I can only have 2 or 3 of these id like to pick my favs
jay0705
Well-Known Member
By fire goby do u mean fire fish? If so there not gobies, there dart fish. I have 2 tanks w 2 dif gobies. I have a golden sleeper headed (sand sifter) w a clown goby. No issues. I have a yellow watchman that lives in the same cave w a fire fish. No issues. Gobies is a loosely used term. Even mandarins I've seen listed as gobies. Its crazy.
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
I have a diamond goby and a yellow watchman. The often are in close proximity to each other but seem fine. I also have a fire fish who the watchman goby had a problem with the first day but not since. I do live gobies. Do your research in how hard some are to keep. I read that the hectors and rain fords are hard to keep.
Engineers are cool looking but they will move your sand all over the place.
Engineers are cool looking but they will move your sand all over the place.
bang guy
Moderator
I'm not so sure spectrum plays as big a role as light manufacturers would have you believe. I've grown healthy corals under a really wide range of color spectrums and wavelengths. In my experience the most important factor has been PAR.
As an example of range, I've experimented with UVA which is not even supposed to be photosynthetically reactive peaking at 365nm all the way to Sodium HID bulbs that peak at 590nm. Yes, the Dinoflagellates take some time to adapt to such extreme lighting but once adapted the corals seem to do fine. The growth rate seems good, perhaps the colors are not ideal but in regard to actual coral health they appear to be in excellent health.
As an example of range, I've experimented with UVA which is not even supposed to be photosynthetically reactive peaking at 365nm all the way to Sodium HID bulbs that peak at 590nm. Yes, the Dinoflagellates take some time to adapt to such extreme lighting but once adapted the corals seem to do fine. The growth rate seems good, perhaps the colors are not ideal but in regard to actual coral health they appear to be in excellent health.
Last edited: