Are LED Lights Good for a Saltwater Aquarium?
- Jul 10, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 179 0 0
Are LED lights suitable for a saltwater aquarium? Absolutely! And if that is all you are looking for, then you have your answer. But, if you want to know why they are an excellent option for all kinds of saltwater aquariums, including the most light-demanding reef tanks filled with SPS, and also how you can make sure that you are using your exact LED fixture with the best settings possible for growing the best coral likely for your tank; then, let's get started.
LED Lights
LED lights have come a long way since they first appeared in the reefing hobby decades ago. And not only has the technology itself progressed leaps and bounds but so has our understanding of how to successfully apply it to our reef tanks for growing even the most light-demanding SPS corals into stunning colonies.
Why are LED Lights So Popular?
There are lots of reasons why LED lighting is so popular.
The fixtures themselves are compact and discreet. Even the larger panel-style pictures are very sleek. And not only do they look great over the tank, but it also leaves lots of rooms above the tank for access to feed and maintain it.
Visually LED lights produce a beautiful shimmer like metal halides, or if you prefer, you can also get heavily diffused LED fixtures that look like T5.
LED also shows off a ton of color pop and fluorescence in corals compared to that older technology. Many reefers that use T5 often supplement with LEDs to show off those crazy colors.
Most LED reef light fixtures are also controllable, allowing you to adjust the color or spectrum to what suits your taste. They also allow you to adjust light intensity since LEDs can produce plenty of PAR.
They often have app control for setting up a custom lighting schedule and presets for those who want to keep things simple. There are also LED lighting options to fit a wide range of budgets. And unlike metal halides and T5s, there are no build changes to worry about.
Today, a vast majority of reefers are using LEDs over their reef tanks.
Perks of LEDs
Many of the LED lights that have excellent shimmer also create a high contrast look which means shadow. So, if you keep a tank filled with branching SPS corals that need a lot of even light coverage, add more e fixtures to create a band of LED lights or add an LED to T5 hybrid fixture to the mix as a fill light is a great solution.
On the other hand, panel-side LED fixtures are built for this kind of job. And while they produce less shimmer, they have much less shadowing.
LED prices can also range quite a bit, and some of the most popular lights are quite spendy when you compare them to the older technology. But, there are a lot of budget options that have a proven track record.
And unless you are aiming for an SPS-dominated reef that needs tons of lights, most softy and LPS are well-thought-out mixed reefs that can do very well under those more affordable LED light options with lower PAR. While the ability to tinker around with the spectrum of your LED fixtures in an app is a lot of fun, it can be detrimental when you don't know what's best for the corals. However, many LEDs come with the preset spectrum for specific corals, thus saving you the trouble.
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