Alex's 75 gal

[parrotchute]

yeah, ha. About $2300.

 

[dcantucson]

Wow! Not as much as the failed PFO Solaris would have been, but still almost 3 times as much as conventional lighting. I hope they turn out super for you. I was very disappointed with my Solaris lighting, but many advancements have been made since then.

 

[parrotchute]

This is supposedly the 3rd generation of LED lighting by AI, and 've be researching them for a while; it seems like they really have their research/technology up to speed, so I'm hoping in the long run these will turn out to be economical and effective. My armor of god palys are already colored up more than I've ever seen them with some vivid pink and silver.

Side note, just saw a 6" bristleworm in my tank....::shudder::

 

[yote]

Thats a good looking set of lights Alex.
Hows the shadow effect in between those banks?

 

[parrotchute]

i don't have any noticeable shadows, it looks pretty even to me. Tonight when it's darker in my house I'll give it a closer look. Anyone have an answer on my question re: bleaching?

 

[parrotchute]

Another plus today: Got a shipment from farmfreshfrags (local reef place that specializes in New England shipping): 3 heads of Duncans, some tubbs blue zoa's, and a micromussa coral! They're still closed up, but hopefully in a day or two they'll open up enough to get some pics.

 

[daugherty]

just keep an eye on your corals they may not try to bleach at all but if they start loosing color move them down a bit. or cut the time the lights are on in half. those lights look great

 

[motorcyclereefer]

Those look like bright lets. I am interested in LED's and might eventually get some.

 

[parrotchute]

Those look like bright lets. I am interested in LED's and might eventually get some.

Yeah the moonlights are on right now and they look downright amazing. It actually is almost too bright - they are 1% white and 3% blue for moon and half the corals haven't even closed...fish are asleep tho.

So far I'm pretty impressed.

 

[parrotchute]

just keep an eye on your corals they may not try to bleach at all but if they start loosing color move them down a bit. or cut the time the lights are on in half. those lights look great

Yeah if I see any changes, I'll tone them down....what types of corals are most susceptible?

 

[daugherty]

lps and sps are the ones that i would watch

 

[Picasso]

Since we're on the topic of LED's, why is it that I can buy a string of LED Christmas lights for $5.00 but if I get them stuck to a box it's a gazillion dollars? Is it a different kind of LED light? do they put out different amounts of light or different colors?

Catherine

 

[daugherty]

yes these are dofferent leds

 

[coolhandgoose]

Remember our good friend qxcontinuim? He used christmas tree LED's for moonlighting.

 

[daugherty]

christmas leds work great for moon lighting but for lighting the tank no. many of these high end bulbs will cost8-10 bucks per led (some more than that) many are focused with a reflector in the led and they are the correct k values we need to keep our corals happy

 

[parrotchute]

Yeah, these LEDs are powerhouses compared to the christmas tree ones. I really wish I could describe how bright these are; the tank looks radioactive and they're currently only at 52%! I flew over my house last night with night vision goggles, and with all my house lights off, I could see the glow of the tank from inside the house like a beacon.

So far, no bleaching. I'm turning them up 2% per day, so after about 25 days, they should be at 100%. All my leathers look a little swollen and fat, with really good polyp extension.

My new duncans (pics coming soon) are already taking food and nice lookin'. If anyone is from new england, I can gladly recommend farm fresh frags, cheap shipping to the area, and good, low prices.
-alex

 

[coolhandgoose]

Better be careful the cops will think you're running a grow op!
By the way. How many watts is your set up and what is the equivalent wattage?

 

[parrotchute]

Better be careful the cops will think you're running a grow op!
By the way. How many watts is your set up and what is the equivalent wattage?

HAHA, probably. I have 4 modules, each consuming 71 watts (depending on the output); eac is supposedly equivilant to a 250 watt halide. I'm not a big fan of watt measuring, because (as I interpret it) the energy of the system doesn't always equal PAR.

But without a doubt, it's as bright or brighter than halides. My bigger concerns are its durability and spectral wavelength, the latter which is, according to the company's graph, very similar to mh.

 

[coolhandgoose]

Just curious to see what the electric bill would be. Looks like you'll save a little bit. Hope it works out the the bulbs last a long time.

 

[parrotchute]

Just curious to see what the electric bill would be. Looks like you'll save a little bit. Hope it works out the the bulbs last a long time.

maybe...I was running t5s, so it might still be an increase, not sure what wattage they were