3Reef LED Lighting Review

TANK SIZE: 65g

TANK DIMENSIONS:36x18x24

LED BRAND:nanotuners

WATTAGE AND NUMBER OF FIXTURES: 5 par38s

BULB WAVELENGTHS/NUMBER OF LEDS: 4-20k 1-12k total number of leds = 25

OPTICS:80

DRIVERS: self driven

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING USED:no

DURATION OF LIGHT CYCLE:9 hrs

FIXTURE HEIGHT FROM SANDBED: 36

TYPES OF CORAL IN THE SYSTEM: mixed reef

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM (LED'S): 3 months

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: currently switched back to t5s. One thing to consider with the par38s is the lack of color temp control and lack of being able to do a sunrise/sunset schedule. Those 2 combined proved to not work for me. I also need my just actinic look. They did work great when I had them and showed considerable growth but they just weren't my cup of tea.

 

How about a FTS?!

 

TANK SIZE: 30g

TANK DIMENSIONS:30x16x18

LED BRAND:Cree XPE, XPG, and Osram
WATTAGE AND NUMBER OF FIXTURES: 40 3w leds, 120w total

BULB WAVELENGTHS/NUMBER OF LEDS:25 rb XPE, 7 xpg cw 6 xpg nw, 2x osram 660nm

OPTICS:55/65

DRIVERS: meanwell constant currents 700+1050

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING USED:no

DURATION OF LIGHT CYCLE:10 hrs

FIXTURE HEIGHT FROM SANDBED: 25"

TYPES OF CORAL IN THE SYSTEM: mostly sps, some lps and softies

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM (LED'S): 2 months

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: I built several fixtures for my various tanks, the softies tank i found hates high powered leds, i switched back to t5 for it and they have since healed. I originally used dimmers but have since removed them to get better par. I looked at it this way. Dimming reduces the lifespan of your leds, Also dimming adjusts how much light is outputted altering the par. Well if dimming shortens my fixtures lifespan and makes t less efficient, why would i want to add dimming. by raising the light i can adjust intensity so as not to ffect the light output or lifespan of the leds. I miss out on the sunrise effect but i have done very well until now without it so i dont really care, id prefer higher par and lifespan to a sunrise but thats me.


Also can we establish any set pattern for these leds yet.
How many are needed for sps, lps, softies?
Spacing apart, certain optics.

IE. If covering a 2'x2' area you will need 20 3w leds w 55 degree optics on a tank, 18-24" deep. To get good growth on sps.
or 12 leds to grow lps properly.

i know ratios like 1:1 for rb to white ratio for 10k look and 1.5:1 for 12k 2:1 for 14 k etcc?

 

from my understanding dimming lengthens the life of LEDs because it keeps the heat on them down and it is better to underpower than to have at maximum strength

 

TANK SIZE: 210g

TANK DIMENSIONS: 72x24x29

LED BRAND: AI Sol Super Blue

WATTAGE AND NUMBER OF FIXTURES: 4 fixtures (288watts)

BULB WAVELENGTHS/NUMBER OF LEDS:

OPTICS: All 40 degree optics (swapped from standard 70/40 mix)

DRIVERS: AI sol

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING USED: None

DURATION OF LIGHT CYCLE: Around 12 hours

FIXTURE HEIGHT FROM SANDBED: About 40" from sand bed and about 15" above the water line.

TYPES OF CORAL IN THE SYSTEM: Sps dominate mixed reef

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM (LED'S): 5 months

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: I love the LEDs. The lack of a chiller and excess heat in my house is a HUGE bonus. Power savings, bulb savings, and color control all kept me from feeling the sting of the initial purchase price. While I love my AIs, I have found that some of the colors in the sps are lacking. But there is still a lot of stabilizing going on as my tank is under a year old and that is probably more to blame. Overall, I would absolutely make this same purchase again!

 

True, but theres a difference, you say running them at maximum strength, yet this is actually the wavelength and temperature they were designed to run at. Overdriving them would be considered Maximum Strength. My other view too is dimming reduces your par. If i'm looking at a spectrograph test of a light tested at 100 % supplied by the manufacturer. but then your running that same light at 50-70%, you will certainly not be getting the same par from it.

Well if dimming does extend the lifespan of your leds from a guess could be 10,000 more hours. I would still take the higher power and PAR over a dimmer light.
My 2 cents

 

im not questioning whether or not what has better effects on coral growth but dimming is definitely a necessary thing for a couple of reasons which may vary from tank to tank

1) while converting from a lesser light source such as PCs or T5s to LEDs the corals need to be weened into the highest LED output slowly as to not fry everything

2)if someone likes a specific color temperature (ex. 10k, 14k, 10k) they have the option to tweak and tune their lights without replacing bulbs

3)for those who like a sunrise/sunset effect they can slowly be brought to power

and im sure im forgetting a couple more reasons as well but it all depends on preference and what a tank can get by with

 

TANK SIZE: 25 gal cube

TANK DIMENSIONS: 18"x18"x18"

LED BRAND:Cree

WATTAGE AND NUMBER OF FIXTURES:3w

BULB WAVELENGTHS/NUMBER OF LEDS:24 XRE led total. 13 cool white 11 royal blue (4 addition cree XPE blue with 350MW driver)2 fans to cool down heatsink..

OPTICS:65 Deg Cree XRE, XPE moonlight 80Deg.

DRIVERS:2 Meanwell constand current @750 MA

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING USED:NA

DURATION OF LIGHT CYCLE:9am-8pm

FIXTURE HEIGHT FROM SANDBED:22"

TYPES OF CORAL IN THE SYSTEM: SPS, LPS

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM (LED'S):4 months

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: Best idea ever.. Project took me a while but over all well worth it. Lest heat than a MH.. and I can grow sps corals...

 

TANK SIZE: 150

TANK DIMENSIONS: 48wX24dX30t

LED BRAND: About 80% Bridgelux 20% CREE

WATTAGE AND NUMBER OF FIXTURES: 1 DIY 252 watt fixture.

BULB WAVELENGTHS/NUMBER OF LEDS: 86 3 watt emitters total 52 royal blue, 24 cool white, 2 royal blue moonlights, and I tried to emulate a Radion and have 4 red and 4 green LED to add a little spectrum.

OPTICS: 60 and 80 degree lenses

DRIVERS: Mean Well ELN 60-48P with a Rapid LED DDC-01 PWM controller

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING USED: None

DURATION OF LIGHT CYCLE: 10 hours

FIXTURE HEIGHT FROM SANDBED: 35"

TYPES OF CORAL IN THE SYSTEM: I have a red planet tabling acro, a blue acro, orange digitata, red setosa, superman monti, purple monti, hammer, trumpets, birds nest, and some palys.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM (LED'S): Not long, maybe 45 days.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: I bought the Bridgelux kit first the emitters are not equal in quality to a CREE. The drivers you get maybe last two weeks. The old saying goes you get what you pay for. You get a lot more PAR out of the CREE's. Anyway, I digress, I began with too many LED's (90) and too close to the surface and I burnt some things. The cost of a PAR meter and a fixture revamp later my acros sit at 420 PAR and the bottom sits at about 150 PAR. Things seem much happier now. On another note I have not seen any new algae growth from the green and red LED's. Mike from Rapid LED told me to limit them to 4. Followed his advice and it does a little something for spectrum.

 

Thanks for the color input RPM!