reefernanoman Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I actually love the shimmer and that's why I want a kessil. Link to comment
onefang Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 I don't intend any insult to those who like LED at all, and it's all good and well for the folks who like LED to come on the thread and tell me why they like it, and why they are better. I suppose the original purpose of the thread was to see if there was anyone out there who felt the same as I do, and what they did to cope with it given that nano sized and smaller fluorescent fixtures are getting hard to come by with the explosion of LED. I am happy that you all are happy with LED. That's cool! But I kind of wanna hear from the folks that aren't, and what they are running. So far I have: 1. Diffusion helps with color separation on LED 2. Optics may contribute to spotlighting, disco, and color separation. Check out non-optic fixtures(nanobox, etc) 3. A combo fluorescent/LED might be a good option. Anyone got anything to add before the thread derails? Link to comment
Horerczy Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 It's a pity T2s never took off in our hobby. They'd be right up your alley. Link to comment
onefang Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 It's a pity T2s never took off in our hobby. They'd be right up your alley. not sure if sarcasm, or serious.. Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ive seen a handful of "full spectrum" LED fixtures and I feel all I have seen are lacking in some areas, when running I feel that you miss out on some colors. However, I cant get over the gnarley psychedelic colors that "blue" LEDs give, not "natural" but bad ass. I retrofitted my ATI fixture, but with the LEDs as a supplement as opposed to the T5s being the supplement you see more lately Link to comment
Horerczy Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 not sure if sarcasm, or serious.. Quite serious. T2 lamps are generally quite short but with high output. Perfect for our nano tanks. Unfortunately the only seller I've ever found is americanaquariumproducts (not a company I'd purchase from) and even then only in poorly defined daylight and blue colors. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ben - what species of angel is that? Oh, and pick up that gorgonian... The angel is Centropyge potteri and I finally did glue that gorg in place. Took an entire tube of superglue to do it since I didn't want to use any more epoxy and anger my skimmer Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I just wish they made 18w bulbs that were worth a shit Link to comment
onefang Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Quite serious. T2 lamps are generally quite short but with high output. Perfect for our nano tanks. Unfortunately the only seller I've ever found is americanaquariumproducts (not a company I'd purchase from) and even then only in poorly defined daylight and blue colors. Ok, this makes a little more sense now that I did a better search. My initial search brought up T2 Spiral CFLs, which is why I thought you might be ribbing me Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ok, this makes a little more sense now that I did a better search. My initial search brought up T2 Spiral CFLs, which is why I thought you might be ribbing me Whatchu got against CFLs? They're actually pretty badass if you don't mind the sunlight look Link to comment
onefang Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Whatchu got against CFLs? They're actually pretty badass if you don't mind the sunlight look It's funny you say that, because I am currently running two 50/50 CFLs on my tank until I settle on a fixture. Link to comment
sprite Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'm going to t5 tomorrow when my light arrives... I like the adjustability of LEDs but they are not for me Link to comment
Horerczy Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ok, this makes a little more sense now that I did a better search. My initial search brought up T2 Spiral CFLs, which is why I thought you might be ribbing me CFL lamps can be pretty sweet actually. I've even seen cfl setups that got a little shimmer in the tank. Still would need more color choices. Could always get some of the colored cfl party lights I guess. Link to comment
cromag27 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I just wish they made 18w bulbs that were worth a shit This! Link to comment
zooman72 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 The angel is Centropyge potteri and I finally did glue that gorg in place. Took an entire tube of superglue to do it since I didn't want to use any more epoxy and anger my skimmer That is a really nice Potter's! And I have learned to hate superglue... Link to comment
zooman72 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I don't intend any insult to those who like LED at all, and it's all good and well for the folks who like LED to come on the thread and tell me why they like it, and why they are better. I suppose the original purpose of the thread was to see if there was anyone out there who felt the same as I do, and what they did to cope with it given that nano sized and smaller fluorescent fixtures are getting hard to come by with the explosion of LED. I am happy that you all are happy with LED. That's cool! But I kind of wanna hear from the folks that aren't, and what they are running. So far I have: 1. Diffusion helps with color separation on LED 2. Optics may contribute to spotlighting, disco, and color separation. Check out non-optic fixtures(nanobox, etc) 3. A combo fluorescent/LED might be a good option. Anyone got anything to add before the thread derails? I am not sure what you are looking for here - you basically have 3 choices: MH, LED, T5. You have stated you like the "flat" look of T5, and you are not going to get that with the other 2 sources, so it appears that the choice is simple. Of the 3 statements you listed as learned so far, only one might help you if employing LED's - diffusion, and in your case possibly lots of it... I have never, and will never, insult anyone who states that they like a certain lighting choice. I may not like some of the "false" claims that are so prevalent with lighting discussion, but "preference" is such a subjective issue - there is no right or wrong with any of the above - they all grow coral. There was also no intent to derail your thread, but it might be helpful if we had some idea of the fixture size you need. If you have a 2g aquarium, then T5's are going to be difficult... Link to comment
onefang Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 I think you are misreading - I am not looking for anyone to give me a fixture which meets all my needs. I wanted to have a discussion as quoted: to see if there was anyone out there who felt the same as I do, and what they did to cope with it given that nano sized and smaller fluorescent fixtures are getting hard to come by with the explosion of LED. However, in hindsight I think I may be in the wrong neighborhood for this conversation, so I will just let this thread carry on as it is. Link to comment
Hart24601 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Here is my tank FWIW. I really like LEDs and the look they give, but to make me happy I am using 5 hydra 26s over my 48" 120g. I like the color they have, but I don't like seeing dark areas even in the water like you see often with LEDs. So I went with the 26s over the 52 and spaced them out and overlaped. 3 on the rear rail, 2 on the front. The picture isn't good, I know... I have a point and shoot and this is straight out of the camrea, but it looks close enough for me. This time of day I am running the whites higher than blues before dropping down to a 20k look when I get home. The rock is vidarock ceramic, so it's hard to tell the structure from this picture. Link to comment
D Z Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I think you are misreading - I am not looking for anyone to give me a fixture which meets all my needs. I wanted to have a discussion as quoted: However, in hindsight I think I may be in the wrong neighborhood for this conversation, so I will just let this thread carry on as it is. I can totally understand how you feel and, to an extent, I once felt the same. When I upgraded to my 34G Mini, I chose to give up on LED and give T5 a try. Before that, I had only used LED(Nanobox Tide to be exact). My desire to try t5 was probably more because of a desire to just experiment with something different, but with that said, I now find myself adding LEDs to my ATI Sunpower because I feel that a hybrid gives the best of both worlds. That is just my preference, though. You are not in the wrong place, just expect other to give their opinion, regardless of whether it actually pertains to your original post. Link to comment
PrangeWay Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 If I were to crop the light out of this photo, would you think it were full T5 or LED? I'd think the shadowing screams LED. As for the posted topic, i think as long as long as your okay with a certain amount of shadowing and rainbowing, I think the visual spectrum on most led's is pretty good now days, and the quality of light seems great for growth. Unless the tank is breaking out of the nano realm and is big enough for an ati or ps hybrid I don't think you can do better with what is currently on the market. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Plenty of people go back, plenty don't. All of the lights will grow your coral. Depends on what you want out of a light. Go with what you like. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'd think the shadowing screams LED. This next photo has four 36" T5HO (2x Giesemann Super Purple, 2x Giesemann Actinic Blue). Still awfully shadowy. Link to comment
zooman72 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I think you are misreading - I am not looking for anyone to give me a fixture which meets all my needs. I wanted to have a discussion as quoted: However, in hindsight I think I may be in the wrong neighborhood for this conversation, so I will just let this thread carry on as it is. Not misreading, but if you want a "discussion", you are probably going to get "both sides" of it, and when someone starts a thread like this, most are either going to simply give an opinion, or offer alternatives to the issue. There is a disturbingly combative thread over on ReefCentral ("Anyone thinking of dumping LED's and going back to metal halides") that you might find interesting if you have not seen it already and feel like wasting some time... I also would be remiss if I did not mention another possibility that seems to address some of the diffusion concerns - BuildMyLED fixtures, which can had in almost any length... Here is my tank FWIW... Very nice, and I especially love the anthias (Randall's or resplendents?)... Link to comment
zooman72 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'd think the shadowing screams LED... This next photo has four 36" T5HO (2x Giesemann Super Purple, 2x Giesemann Actinic Blue). Still awfully shadowy... There is a difference (rather minor in my opinion), but it certainly isn't "screaming"... Link to comment
Hexadron Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm an LED guy right now. The main reason above all else is the form factor LED provides versus Halides and T5's. For pico and nano Tanks smaller than 20 gallon, the latter would look goofy LED's for the minimal heat, quiet operation, and low power use. The disco banding that occurs with a lot of fixtures (even high end) bother me immensely; that's why I went with a Kessil this time around. The shimmer took a bit to get used to, but the flatness of T5's is a bit of a turn off for me personally and makes things look a bit too static. I really think the future of LED is dense matrix arrays with complimentary optics. I like that T5's fill the space with even light, and I love Halides look but not the power consumption, heat and build replacements My next fixture after an upgrade will most likely be a T5/LED Hybrid or an LED w/ dense matrix (like the upcoming Kessil AP700) I already like how this seems to be far more civil conversation than the one over at Reef Central. Link to comment
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