LED colors?

[polarbear]

What do you guys think about adding green and red to an LED fixture? Does it really help out any? Im about to order an LED fixture within the next month and am wanting to get it right the first time. Also the person advised me that they recommend 18K for the whites. Any input on this?

[jcnkt_ellis]

I have a couple of turquoise (green) and reds on my fixture. I feel they did add to the color pop, however, i feel the red has increased the amount of nuisance algea in my tank. Also, I have not heard of 18k white LEDs. The cool whites, which have the highest kelvin ratings, are not even 10k.

[polarbear]

thanks for the info. Ya the guy said they have anywhere from 3500K to 25000K and that they recommend 18K.

[FireWater]

Not 100% on the whites. That was one of my gripes on my Vegas is that the whites overpower the blues very easily. As for the reds and greens I'm at a little different school of thought. Most of what I've read has said the greens are what cause the nuisance algae. I honestly don't know so I don't run the red or green very high on my Vegas.

When I order some new pucks I plan on losing the greens all together and getting rid of one red. I'll be looking at the uv and violets.

With LEDs being fairly new there is always something new and better coming out and the emitters have gotten leap years better.

[polarbear]

Ya I think I'm staying away from the red and greens since I have read the same as far as problems go. I still can't figure out the whites though. Ill have the blues and 4 UV's on one dimmer and the whites on the other so I can always turn them down if they over power the blues.

[Cammed_02]

Mitch on mine I went with the 14k and with both whites and blue at 50% its still too white for my liking. Next time I will go with a higher K white because I like to run a bluer tank.

Right now to achieve the 14k look of my phoenix mh bulbs I have my led fixture at 60% blue and 40% white.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Im using (2) 3watt bridgelux red leds mixed with the (14) blue and (16) white LEDs spread evenly on a 20 inch heatsink and have 4 of those and like them. for sure seems to add more color.
this is with 2 drivers and potentiometers so I can turn up or down the whites or the blues and red
no problems here.
no experience here with green.

[FireWater]

I must of totally missed it. What size tank and what light?

4 UV on a light the size of a vega is quite a bit. I'm thinking you could get away with less.

[polarbear]

I have a 90 gallon tank and the fixture I'm getting is from Hong Kong. It's like a Tao tronics fixture. I'm going to have 2 fixtures on the tank but am only buying one right now to try out.

[350gt]

I would be afraid of having the UV on the same channel with the blues..... I've read too much UV can be a bad thing..... With them on the same channel as the blues you might not want to crank them up......

any chance of adding another channel and adding violets with the uv's ?