Violet UV LEDs and Zoas/Palys

[zoafarm]

I want to experiment a little with some differ LED combinations, but I'm guessing someone here has already beat me to this. :thumbsup:

I would like to limit this to the effects on Zoas/Palys. Colors I'm interested in are:

Violet UV
Red
Green
Natural White vs. Cool White

If you have added new colors to your LED setup, please share with us what you observed with your zoas/palys. Any observations would be greatly appreciated!

[zoafarm]

Nobody has played with this?

[Lukel]

well..... i would stay away from reds..... tried that once, mind you my po4 was high when i tried it, but unless you want to turn your display into a refugium, reds encourage algae !!!!!

[zoafarm]

Lukel... How many red did you add to your setup? What were your ratios? What Reds did you use (660nm?)? What was the effect on your zoas/palys?

I was afraid reds would grow algae like crazy...especially in the a nutrient rich environment.

Thanks for the reply. Any others out there?

[Lukel]

to be honest it was my brother, he had 96 total, 8 red, 6 uv, 41x20k, 41 reef blue, I just don't know the nm values, but he experienced brown hair/film algae in sand bed, once he took reds out it disappeared... his zoas looked good, actually tank had amazing color...


in my tank I got 66 20 I white, and 30 reef blue, I love it, here is a pic of one of my zoo colones
http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv149/lukelubinskyj/led009_zps53c8eb7c.jpg

[zoafarm]

Awesome zoas!

[Lukel]

i love the color, but i wanna do some playing too, when i ordered my leds, i neglected to click the pull down menu to alter my nm, i ended up with 450-455, (when i did my build) and now i am building one more rail to add to my setup with 10 Royal blue (445-450) and half a dozen uv (400-405nm) just to get that floresence......

here is another, these ones are too high up in the tank, and have a white led directly ontop of them...

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv149/lukelubinskyj/led010_zpscaed048d.jpg

[bubonic]

I have three different LED units. A DIY which consists of a single 10w. The DIY is on a 5 gal zoa/paly pico. It has been setup for about 6 months. First 4 months it ran only with a Chinese 455nm on it. Growth was about as much as you would expect out of a 5 gal. These last 2 months I switched it out for a 10w hybrid chip. Its a 2/1 ratio of blue to white. I have seen little to no difference between the 2. Second, I have an eshine custom unit with a 2 to 1 ratio blues to white with 3 uv's on there.( 55 3w's). Color on this unit is good along with good growth.(also on a zoa/paly frag tank). Last is those Chinese Units that you see on ebay with the same color specs as the eshine.

[zoafarm]

At first glace, the 3 uv's seem to add more color and growth. But I do have a couple questions.

1. Were these lights over different tanks? If so, were they hooked to the same system?
2. Are the blue and whites the same as the previous two lights?

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to more.

[kex2p]

I would go all cool white unless you prefer the yellow tint that warm whites will give you. As far as light spectrum the warm and cool whites heavily overlap.

Also look at the manufacturers specs. Even though people tend to generalize by saying royal blue, cool white, etc. not all LEDs are made equal and the wavelengths of different companies vary slightly. For instance most of my LEDs are CREE, but I chose Philips Royal blue LEDs because CREE RB = 450-465nm and Philips RB = 440-460nm. I then supplemented the difference with normal blues from CREE to try to get a more comprehensive spectrum of light.

Right now I have roughly 60:40 (RB, B, UV: Whites) and my colors really pop.

[zoafarm]

Kex2p - I currently run 36:12 (CREE RB:CW). Although my SPS do quite well, my zoas/palys don't seem to thrive like some other tanks I've seen or like they did under my T5s. I'm setting up a frag system, and want to try some other spectrums to see what the impact to growth and color might be.

I was hoping someone had already tested some different LED colors, and had results that they might be willing to post.

[slin1977]

Just received my violet and cyan LEDs today - looking forward to setting it up for long term over my tank. The initial colour pop is really satisfactory , looking forward to seeing the colours develop as the zoas get used to the new spectrum.
I now have 400, 420 ,450, 470 , 550 and 620 nm LED over my tank along with NW and CW.
Lets see how this goes long term!

[brvheart]

Just received my violet and cyan LEDs today - looking forward to setting it up for long term over my tank. The initial colour pop is really satisfactory , looking forward to seeing the colours develop as the zoas get used to the new spectrum.
I now have 400, 420 ,450, 470 , 550 and 620 nm LED over my tank along with NW and CW.
Lets see how this goes long term!
Ok so now more than 5 months later, how is it looking??

[Ssteve]

No updates?

[brvheart]

No updates?

I asked for an update earlier in the thread, probably because I had just done a similar build.

At least I will share MY comments.. I also went for complete spectrum coverage. At least the best available based on what's on the LED market. I'm using a combination of Cree and Luxeon, chosen specifically for spectrum coverage.

The fish store I use 90‰ of the time uses cool white / royal blue only. When I bring home a coral, I see better color instantly, and tend to see slightly better growth. I will often keep an eye on specific corals at the store and watch them turn gradually more and more brown, until all the corals are basically the same color. I think this is a combination of growth limitation from a CW/RB setup and the fact that LFS's tend to have their lights so far off the water. Either way, it is quite apparent that in a variety of circumstances, the CW/RB combo is not good for long term color and growth. Violets are also commonly misunderstood and under utilized, much like natural whites. I think the people that prefer cool whites haven't actually seen NW's over their tank. The CW/RB combo looks sterile and flat in comparison. This is a common finding when you research the matter here on RC.

[A. Grandis]

"Whites" and blues for a decent reef light.

Grandis.

[brvheart]

"Whites" and blues for a decent reef light.

Grandis.

Thank you for your insight

[A. Grandis]

You're very welcome. I was trying to be out of the conversation.
I don't want to go too deep because I'm not a LED fan.
At the same time I just want to give you an idea of what I think, independent of LEDs or other types of lights for any reef system (zoas included).

Spectrum has been a mess with many of the bulbs in the market, so I would recommend something between 10.000K and 20.000K for the "whites". Like crispy white to bluish white. Using the white bulbs with the blue bulbs. Example: ATI Coral Plus with ATI Blue Plus (for T5 HOs).

Grandis.

[Tszat]

That's a Sweet picture!! Nice colors.....

[R.ahlskog]

Radion pros have blue white red green and uv. I have them and my zoos and Pallys are huge and multiply like crazy.

[A. Grandis]

Radion pros have blue white red green and uv. I have them and my zoos and Pallys are huge and multiply like crazy.

Any LED fixtures could have those colors.
The UV is a plus for that fixture and a promise for future improvements.
I do hope to see a LED fixture that will provide the same or even better results than T5s in the long run.

Too bad I don't have the money and time to feed the LED market.
Besides that, my T5s are great and working wonderful for many years, so…

I'm very glad your zoas are huge and multiplying like crazy!!
Could you please share here what is your system about, like water parameters, maintenance schedule and others?
That should help lots of friends here to manage their own tanks using LEDs, so they can try to get same results.
Thanks in advance!! :thumbsup:

Grandis.

[Tszat]

Radion pros have blue white red green and uv. I have them and my zoos and Pallys are huge and multiply like crazy.

We just switched from metal halides to LEDs.... So much more fun to play with. .. ..

[jabudda]

For my system, I have a cadlight 50g cube with the AI Vega mounted about 10 inches off the water and at 20% white, 10% green & red and all the blues at 40%. This is at peak ramp up on the led. My zoos seem to be doing very well at the top with medium flow from the EcoTech mp10 set the lowest setting on both power heads. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8124&pictureid=58156
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8124&pictureid=58155

[jabudda]

The tank maintenance is as follows: No chemicals are added, just water changes twice per week of 3 gallons each change(I don't like to add stuff and 6 gallon weekly changes seems to keep things in check, when I test for stuff both at home and the fish store they are amazed at the water quality) I have a GFO Reactor in the sump, some carbon and mangroves & chaeto. My tank consists of a clean up crew & 4 fish, 2 clowns & 2 Gobies, Golden Head goby and diamond goby. The water is kept at 80 degrees and salinity at 1.025. I have never added calcium to any of my reef setups, I prefer doing frequent water changes and have been doing this method for the last 20 years with great success.

I feed 3 times per week with DT Photoplankton & Rods Coral food. Not sure which corals eat what, but they all get a little something. I don't target feed. Some nights I see all sorts of stuff reproducing in the water & the various corals have their tentacles extended.

[jabudda]

In my other aquariums I have SPS and LPS using the same water change method. Along with some Red & Green Goniopora that I have had for a couple of years.