Led Darkness?

[Stevesault]

Ok so I just watched to LED from t5s but I started them at 30% for the corals sake but it seems to dark and there's lots of shadow how do I fix this as I'm a noob to led lighting

 

[TORX]

Things will change as you turn them up. The corals will be fine, after all, there are cloudy days in real life.

 

[Stevesault]

Lol how often should I ramp then up you think?

 

[TORX]

LoL, not too sure myself. I did the opposite and went from led to 6bulb t5. Hopefully one of the others chime in.

 

[theyangman]

When I was working with the maxspects, I heard 5% every few days or 10% per week.

 

[Stevesault]

When I was working with the maxspects, I heard 5% every few days or 10% per week.

Thanks I will give that a go

 

[monizb]

With my Maxspect I started low and came from a 8 bulb ati fixture started at 25%whites 30% blue and left for a week or so then moved it up 2% per CH a week I now sit at 55% 61% and going to leave it corals are happy when I go sps I'll bump up

 

[scubasteve]

my old 125 tank was 24" deep so i started white25 blue40 royalblue40 and upped them 10% a month till w30 b85 rb87 but with the 90 being only 18" deep and 4 modules being overkill (but wanted good coverage on large footprint) so started whites10 blue 30 royalblue 30 and have uped it 5% a week but bleached my monti a bit so am at 5% every two weeks and all is happy at w30 b70 rb 75 will up it to w35 b80 rb85 when i get my higher end acros back as they need the intensity to hold colour.....

but with you being lps i would max yours out around 65-75% should give nice tone and keep everything happy being a deeper style tank..... what kind of lights were they someone may have the same for better reference

 

[EricTMah]

I always drop my maxspects by 15% with new frags or corals and bump it 5% a week.

I find 5% a week is safest


Sent from my Z30 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Stevesault]

. The LEDs are bridgelux, 3w. They can be run at a max of 350mA. The power supply is a 350w meanwell brand. And the drivers are no-name customs from aqua style online. . The controller is a first gen aqua style online controller.

 

[MrHermit85]

What sort of corals do you have and were you running a 6 bulb or a 4 bulb tek before? How far above the water line are they?
Not sure why you are seeing shadows though? do you have any sort of diffuser like egg crate? There will be a shadow in the centre between the fixtures and where the tank brace is... Otherwise maybe check in the areas where the shadows are and look above them to see if those Leds are dimmer off or not turned up enough...

 

[Stevesault]

6 bulb tek shadows are in middle and back Cornors it's about 4-5 inch off the water line no egg crate

 

[MrHermit85]

How far apart are the fixtures? Have you tried raising them? What happens when you turn them up to 100% do the shadows remain?

 

[Stevesault]

Center dose yes can't make them any higher

 

[MrHermit85]

So when you turn them up fully only the center shadow remains?

 

[Stevesault]

Yes

 

[MrHermit85]

Have you removed the splash guards? Maybe they block some of the light? I ran them mostly without the guards and there was only a shadow in the middle from the brace of the tank.

 

[pulpfiction1]

i would assume if the shadows still remain even on high power the lights are
1.to far apart
2.you dont have enough lights
3.to close to the water,i run about 12 inches off the water

 

[MrHermit85]

I agree on the height, I just measured my canopy and I had mine close to 10 inches above the water and quite close together

 

[Robedwards]

Steve, if you decide these aren't going to work for you I'll be more than happy to take them off of your hands, lol