My new LED lights. (AKA "cheap Chinese" ones.)

I got my other, undamaged, light in today. Since I had alread figured out the proper hanging technique it was up within minutes. Below you will see the pictures. Blues are set to come on 1 hour before the whites and stay on one hour after the whites. They go completely dark for 1 hour then my 453nm Blue stunner strip comes on for moonlight.

In box
Out of box/controls
Tank with t5's and Stunner strip
Lights hung
Tank under LEDs. The left one is set at about 30% on both blues and whites. The right (new) is set at about 20% both blues and whites.

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100_1033.jpg
 
Thanks Biff!

Cranked up the right side blues to 30% but left the whites at 20%. Looks a lot better. I'll post up a good picture when I figure out the proper balance.

As I mentioned above, I was worried about a dead spot in the center. I'm not worried anymore. It looks great as far as distribution goes.
 
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Here is a shot of just the actinics. 30% left and 20% right. I had to turn them down a bit as my mushrooms closed up! Now just the actinics are on for an hour then it will be dark for an hour before the moonlight comes on.

EDIT: WOW that was a HORRABLE picture, so I deleted it! I'll try again later. PB seems to be having some issues right now.
 
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So I have been up at various hours today and last night checking on timers and such. Every thing worked as programmed on the first try so I'm satisfied with that. On the left side of the tank, which has had the new light for over a week now, I ramped up the white to around 40% and the blue to about 45%. Let me tell ya, that is BRIGHT! I have a few Zoas that seem to be responding well and some of the same kind that don't seem to be doing well. Not real sure why.

The other Zoas and the Palyos seem to be fine. The Palyos have dramatically shortened. This is letting more light through to some of the hidden Zoa polyps so I'm guessing its a good thing. Left side mushrooms seem to be doing good.

On the right, where I installed the light yesterday is doing better. I had the lights up to about 25% but have since backed them down. My new blue mushroom didn't seem to like it much and the green stripped mushroom had a few heads shrink up. Going to let them acclimate for a few more days before I turn it up any more.

My GSP covered rock is my big issue. The one side facing left appears slightly bleached. All of the polyps are once again open, but the right side is MUCH greener. Should this be placed in a more shaded area? I hate to move it again since it seems to be so grumpy.

My new Zoas, on the sand next to the GSP, seem to be fine. I'm going to do a "Zoa Garden" area on the left side once things smooth out a bit. The brighter lights seem to be the ticket for mine.

Over all I'm happy at this point. Its like going from an old TV to a new HD TV. Not that the other was bad, its just much sharper now with the LEDs. I'll post follow ups as I see fit.
 
Corals like mushrooms and zoas will stretch/expand more to increase their surface area or "reach" the light when they are wanting more light. So what you are describing sounds pretty normal, and they should adjust over time.

As for the GSP, you may have to fiddle a bit with its positioning. I have found that they do well in low and high light, but the change could have shocked them.
 
They're such a good price. I am really kicking myself for even buying the Marineland ones to begin with.

Have you tried them at 100% power at all just to see what it's like? Have you found any info online about their PAR ratings?

I really want one of these. :-)
 
I've seen PAR readings but can't quote them. They were pretty good thought. IIRC at the bottom of a 90 like mine the reading was something like 165.

I have turned both sides, both blue and white, up to max. I just don't see running them like that. They are bright. Today I have them set at 50% for the whites and about 60% for the blues. It's a good visual balance for me and the few corals I have seem to be responding well to it. I'm going to leave them as is for a few days just to see.

I picked up a dimmer for my stunner 453nm strip. It was just too bright as a moon light with full power. Just a matter of fine tuning things now.
 
Excellent post. I was very interested in your commentary about light settings and the effect on your creatures. Please keep us informed on your progress.
 
Well I'm back. I left the tank for 4 days after fine tuning the timers for the Actinics, whites and moonlights. Everything was fine (a little dirty but fine) when I got home. I did notice that my green stripped mushrooms as well as my blue mushrooms are not fully expanded. I'm not sure why. They seem to go through stages but I did turn down the lights a little on that side just in case. (Stage right) We'll see how the respond.

Overall everything seems to be adjusting nicely. The Zoas seem okay. The Torch and lavander mushroom really seem to like things.
 
The corals really pop under these lIghts. The only growth I've noted is maybe some Zoas and algae. I'm having some other issues that may be retarding the corals though. Nothing has shunk or seems sickly.
 
I like reading your updates, because i have been kicking around the ideas of getting these types of lights for my 55 long
 
Well thanks for following along!

I picked up a few frags today. My first frags. Normally I buy full colonies so this will be the test. I picked up a red and a green Montipora as well as blue dimpled Montipora. Thats what I think he called it anyway! Anyway, they are all encrusting type coral and should be easy to judge the growth with these lights.

I placed all three corals and a 1/3 depth in the water column. I turned the lights down to about 20% and will gradually bring them up over the next week or so. I have also moved my slowly disappearing colony of Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas to a slightly shaded spot. (Was told it might help) My Watermelon Favia continues to reside on the sand bed and is NOT looking good, but then again, it never has. It has managed to stay alive even though it spend a few months "hiding" behind a wall of rock thanks to a turbo snail. Maybe it will pull through.
 
Well, it appears that I have new growth on some of my Zoas! I am VERY pleased with this. I haven't been able to keep Zoas for more than a few weeks in the past. My Radioactive dragon eyes are still departing the rock they were on, so I fragged of s few of the healthier ones and have placed them in differing locations in the tank. I'll keep posting as I see losses or improvements. Since My lights were so bad before I have to attribute the growth to these lights.
 
This is really good to hear.

I'm still 50/50 on which one of these I want. I'll only buy one for my 29g so we will see...
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-lights-Dimmable-Tronics-dimmable/dp/B0085Y6ZKW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344912620&sr=8-3&keywords=taotronics+dimmable[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-TT-AL03-Design-Aquarium-Coral/dp/B007MHYX0W/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1344912407&sr=8-12&keywords=taotronics]Amazon.com: TaoTronics TT-AL03 New Design LED Aquarium Coral Reef Tank White Blue 1:1 LED Grow Light 141W: Home Improvement[/ame]

The second one is brand new I think. It looks amazing with such a great price but the first has the built-in dimmer and I don't think the second one is dimmable. :-(
 
I'm just trying to find out what kind of lights to get for a 48" long tank... I have a 55ga Long, but i havn't been able to find a set of lights that would work for it..
 
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