LED fixture controllability - overrated?

[Type-H20]

Just wondering what everyone thinks about all the controllability in led fixtures.  On one hand its cool to be able to adjust the level of each individual color and from your smart phone to boot, but on the other hand, shouldn't the light have the best spectrum for coral out of the box?  I can appreciate ramp up/down, but I'm on the fence if all the extra control options are a needed option or a bit of a gimmick.

[tibbsy07]

Needed? Nope. Useful? Yes, depending on your tank inhabitants and requirements. Worth it? Up to the individual

[Simulated Fish]

28 minutes ago, Type-H20 said:

Just wondering what everyone thinks about all the controllability in led fixtures.  On one hand its cool to be able to adjust the level of each individual color and from your smart phone to boot, but on the other hand, shouldn't the light have the best spectrum for coral out of the box?  I can appreciate ramp up/down, but I'm on the fence if all the extra control options are a needed option or a bit of a gimmick.

 

 

 

I went from PC on/off lighting to a bare bones white channel / blue channel and very simple day night control to a nanobox retro (in my biocube) and now a quad on my main tank. 

 

having basic control was SO MUCH better IMO then simple on of and running outlet timers. not only does it cut down on clutter but having a ramp up/down really does reduce stress on my fish. in my experience after only 1 week of switching from on/off to ramp up/down my fish were much more active in the early morn and night time as well as my corals seem to open polyps in time with the lights ramping up.

 

now storms and "local location settings" and other bs - no you dont need that. only thing like that i use is cloud simulation, and that's because i like it and it give the tank a more natural feel but the coral and livestock could care less.

 

if your trying to decide between control vs on/of them IMO control is a no brainier. But you don't need a super fance one. The maxspect  i just replaced had 6 points of control that i would set the time of day and the percents for blue / white channels and it would slowly ramp between them. Really that's all you need and anything more is for you, not the tank.

[Nano sapiens]

There are some newer LED fixtures hitting the market that are much more plug-and-play, providing minimal options.  They are designed to take away a lot of the potential user error that comes with a fully programmable LED array.  I think this will be an ongoing trend as many people are just looking for something LED that works with as little difficulty setting up as possible.

 

'Best Spectrum' is not quite so cut-and-dry.  A good light fixture should output the correct type and sufficient intensity of wavelengths for coral health, coloration, growth, etc., but also have the ability to customize other (mostly warmer) wavelengths that largely determine how the light fields looks to our eyes (and we all have different likes/dislikes when it comes to this).

 

As for all the other bells and whistles, most of it is a 'nice to have' kind of thing.  Personally, I use the ramp up, ramp down feature with my DIY array.  I also use the 'Cloud' feature on it's least frequent setting since I find it beneficial to give the corals an occasional break from full intensity lighting during the peak lighting period.

[Type-H20]

1 minute ago, Nano sapiens said:

the potential user error that comes with a fully programmable LED array.

 

 

That's one of the things I was thinking about. 

 

I'm not against control, as I said, there's a fun aspect to it, but it leaves a lot of configuration decisions to the end user.  

[Nano sapiens]

17 minutes ago, Type-H20 said:

That's one of the things I was thinking about. 

 

I'm not against control, as I said, there's a fun aspect to it, but it leaves a lot of configuration decisions to the end user.  

 

Yes, it does.  What many do is find someone who is successfuly using the same LED fixture over a similar tank and then use those settings for theirs.

 

I took the road less travelled and put together my own array using a Storm controller since the commercially sold units available at the time didn't fit what I was looking for.

[1891Bro]

If for nothing other than acclimating corals. 

 

Im using a par lamp on my current setup still cycling, I wonder how I'm gonna acclimate stuff. My first time without the controls. 

[Clown79]

I love my Ai and the controllability with my phone.

 

I like the options of having the natural process of sunrise to sundown. 

 

I like choosing how my tank looks with custom colour percentages. Some don't want 14k, some prefer 20k etc etc.

 

I have 2 tanks

 

The Ai is fully controllable with many led colours.

 

The other is the Aquamaxx. Nice light but i can't control the red, which i don't like because its stuck at the same percentage as white. 

 

Its not about fun, its about providing certain needs, natural environment, what i like look wise.

[xcom]

It's completely overrated. I think people spend so much time fiddling their light controllability that they completely forget they have a reef tank under it. Therefore, the tank looks completely inadequate. Hahaha

[Melfy77]

I had a non controllable LED fixture and just switched for a Kessil A80 with the controller...and I love it!! Nothing fancy, no storm feature or cloudy sky, but love how you can chose the color and intensity throughout the day. More natural than a on/off timer. Also noticed algae pretty much stopped growing on the glass, and corals are looking great!!