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LED overkill?

802 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  KaMike98E 
#1 ·
Hello, this is my first post, so please excuse me if I leave some details out. All tank parameters are good. This tank has been set up for 2 years stock 29 gallon with DIY 24x 3 watt cree LEDs running at 100% about a foot over the water. The light has been there for 2 years as well. The light penetrates the DSB about 2 inches. Corals are showing ok growth (SPS, LPS, and softies). Coraline algae only grows on the far ends of the tank in the shadows and power heads. The problem is that this is the first LED light I've had, I'm used to not having enough light from my tank and can't tell...does this sound like too much light? Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Are any of the corals bleaching out? Do they have good color? As long as everything looks good I wouldn't mess with it to much. 12" AWL seems a bit high, do you have them up that high to get the light coverage you want? If you are using standard 120 degree optics a lot of light is probably escaping the tank. You may be able to lower them and decrease the intensity.

However if everything is happy don't fix what ain't broke :)
 
#3 ·
Many types of coraline are low-light types... if you are used to low-lighting tanks, then you coraline is likely avoiding the higher intensity light.
 
#4 ·
Well, I keep it 1 foot AWL because I had poor planning and used 60 degree optic lenses. I just kept thinking that I needed the best penetration of light through the water. There's not much spillage on the sides. The ORA bird of paradise was doing awesome right at sand level, tips were white (I read this was good?). The only thing that seemed to tolerate the top of the tank was the pink pulsing xenia, which seems impossible to kill. It's hard to judge now because I had some copper leach into my tank and bleached everything. So I guess I have to switch to dimmable drivers because I love that purple coraline algae, just not on the glass, lol. Gracias.
 
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