SPS Corals and LED Lighting

[broadwave]

Hoping to get some good conversation around this topic.

As I am in the process of upgrading my tank to a 93 Rimless Cube, Im on the fence about using either a MH/T5 fixture or my EcoTech Radion LED fixture. Im curious as to what some reefers have experienced moving from a MH/T5 lighting set up to an LED setup specifically on how their SPS corals reacted to the LED lighting (RTN / Slow Growth / Etc..).

I know you need to adjust the output of the LED's to about 50% to start then gradually ramp up the output and duration.

Has anyone had LED lights and gone back to a MH/T5 combo and if so why?

 

[Ellabug]

From what I have read and experienced, SPS colors brighten under LEDs and are quite vibrant. I think LPS (acans and brains in particular) tend to have more color shifts under LEDs (particularly red coloration shifting to orange/brown) than SPS do. I've only had positive experiences with SPS under my LEDs, as long as they are properly acclimated. For my tricolor acro, I bought it from someone who had it under T5 and it was brown, after a few months under my LEDs it turned a brilliant blue/purple w/ hints of green at the base and reddish polyps on the tips. I am stunned at the transformation!

 

[PSU4ME]

I've had the same experience as Ellabug. I just upgraded my gen 1 to gen 2's as I think the added par will really benefit my SPS.

 

[broadwave]

I've read a few posts on here today and I think Im just going to stick with Radion LED's. Way too many advantages to using them that I would be foolish not to.

 

[STiTCH87]

I've had my Maxspect R420R over my 40g breeder for just about a year now and have seen great SPS health. The montipora caps are growing well, as is the pocillopora. The red planet frag I got last year hasn't seemed to grow at all other than a slight encrusting, but certainly hasn't died off either. And my ORA green birdnest and Birds of Paradise frags grow at an extremely impressive rate to where I can look at my tank every week and find a new branch or two sprouting per stalk. Both have tripled in size if not quadrupled since last year. The montipora caps have grown about 1/4" to 1/2" which I guess isn't much but it's mostly been encrusting.

But to put it out there, I have LEDs, I have SPS, I love both, and both me and my corals are very happy. =]

EDIT: And I also have a red acan frag with teal centers that has stayed brick red since day one with the LEDs so I think it's more so anything vibrant candy apple red that shifts over. My acan is the coloration of a war favia for an idea of coloration.

 

[jofost1216]

I also made the switch to LED's, I'm showing a large increase in growth of SPS acro and softies, a couple different polyp colonies and LPS chalices are growing great.. As for my Acans i haven't seen a real jump in growth, definitely some but not anywhere near the increase on all the others. As for the lights, since i installed them, 2 dimmable 180 watt LED panels, the coloration of everything has been great. The one thing i reccommend is to start pretty much as low as you can go with the dimmers increasing week to week maybe 10-15%. As for your coral, anything LPS you really care about keep a close eye on for bleaching when increasing your lights, I moved most of my LPS down in my tank, some to the sandbed, until everything adjusted to your tanks liking.

 

[STiTCH87]

My acropora refuses to grow in my tank but I don't think it's the LEDs fault. I think for me it's more so my tank being a mixed reef is making less-than-perfect conditions.
My chalices however do love it also. In my 40g acans grow decent but the LEDs in my 5g, cheap ones, grow acans crazy quick. I keep SPS high, LPS low or on the sand, and softies wherever they fit.

 

[Bobbofin]

From what I have read and experienced, SPS colors brighten under LEDs and are quite vibrant. I think LPS (acans and brains in particular) tend to have more color shifts under LEDs (particularly red coloration shifting to orange/brown) than SPS do. I've only had positive experiences with SPS under my LEDs, as long as they are properly acclimated. For my tricolor acro, I bought it from someone who had it under T5 and it was brown, after a few months under my LEDs it turned a brilliant blue/purple w/ hints of green at the base and reddish polyps on the tips. I am stunned at the transformation!

My exact experience. SPS color up and grow like weeds, Acans turn brown and don't do so well. Dumped LED a while back and went back to T5.

 

[dz6t]

I put LED back to two frag tanks. Soft coral seem to live it. LPS like hammer and frogspawn grow a lot. SPS is growing but much less than t5 or halide.
off topic :
T 5 seems grow the most for SPS.

 

[Bobbofin]

I've had several commercial LED fixtures and a DIY one. I've found that SPS grow like weeds for about six months than stop. LPS and softies don't do so well. I have abandoned LEDs at least for the next 4-5 years until it's perfected some more. Remember how no one thought SPS could be kept under T5 until ATI perfected it? There's a great thread on RC titled, "open letter to the LED industry". If I were to go back to LED it would be Pacific Sun. They do not use white LEDs. They use blues, red, amber, purple, violet and UV to get full spectrum. Pacific Sun engineers state that current white LEDs are harmful to corals long term due to their high yellow range. I've experienced this with corals doing great for six months then stalling. I will only use T5HO bulbs until the LED debate and long term five plus year guinea pig experiment on all consumers and their livestock is over. No offence to those having success but there's just as many not having success compared to T5 and MH. Sorry

 

[STiTCH87]

My LPS and some SPS grow like weeds under my LEDs and it's been exactly one year with them. They're actually at this very point growing the fastest they ever have. Where your LEDs just white and blue? I have two forms of white, two of blue, and UV with great success. Haven't noticed damage from the whites but I do run 60 on white and 90 on blue so that might be why I'm successful. It's not even that blue to be honest. More of a purple hue. Nice though. I never had success with SPS when I had T5s,but I think it was more of a water chemistry issue than a lighting issue.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4

 

[nemodan]

I have a 14 G biocube almost all soft and just 4 SPS lighted with 3 Truelumen Pro 12" LEDs (2 blues and 1 white) + a Truelumen 4 LED strip white + a Truelumen 4 LED strip Magenta + the white and blue LEDs that come from factory in the Biocube.......The growing is FANTASTIC.

I wanted to move to a more complicated level and try a SPS tank. I set up a 12 G Mr Aqua rimless tank with 2 Ecoxotic Marine pro fixtures and all is growing OK. Well, let say that at least corals are growing. I do not have any idea of normal growing speed.

I only saw one thing, that I believe is an issue, on this new SPS tank. I posted my question on this thread with pictures where you can see the coral growth and what I believe could be an issue:

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums...Is-this-coral-bleaching&p=1162109#post1162109