DaveS July 3, 2012 July 3, 2012 When you are finishing up the 4th day without power and decide the corals need some light, you can run them off the generator. No way I can fire up 400w MH buy the LED I can do. Any thoughts on whether running the RB string is worth it? Not looking for pretty viewing, just light to keep the sps from dying...
OldReefer July 3, 2012 July 3, 2012 I heard a lecture from Eric Borneman a few years ago about oxygen in reef tanks. Light was the most important variable. When you hit a tank with even a modest amount of light, the oxygen levels increase dramatically. The large amount of Benthic algae in our tanks makes a big difference. Ever since then I have tried to put some light in the tank when I have a outage. It is easy now with LEDs.
icecool2 July 3, 2012 July 3, 2012 That's interesting. Do you have a link to slides or a paper about that?
chucelli July 3, 2012 July 3, 2012 (edited) Kept mine on during the outage. If you have a refugium with lots of algae, it's even more imperative to keep the lights on. -Robert Edited July 3, 2012 by chucelli
OldReefer July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I heard a lecture from Eric Borneman a few years ago about oxygen in reef tanks. Light was the most important variable. When you hit a tank with even a modest amount of light, the oxygen levels increase dramatically. The large amount of Benthic algae in our tanks makes a big difference. Ever since then I have tried to put some light in the tank when I have a outage. It is easy now with LEDs. I have been looking for a link. I think the research was published in Advanced Aquarist in 2005 or 2006. I can't find back issues that far back.
Marc Weaver July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I run royal blue only for a few hours before and after the halides come on and the coral definitely responds to the light. The LPS and softies mainly, but it can't hurt. I can't really tell whether or not the SPS respond.
OldReefer July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I found the article. It was in Reefkeeping magazine not Advanced Aquarist. I thought this research was undersold. It shows pretty clearly that in a large tank, light raises dissolved oxygen level much more than air stones. That is pretty significant now that we have cool energy efficient LEDs that generate plenty of light for photosynthesis. It infers that you could save livestock in a big overheated tank by turning some LEDs on. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-08/eb/index.php
taiscici July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I took some algae out of the sump and put them in the DT and it helped.
Coral Hind July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 Did anyone have issues with LED power supplies or drivers being damaged by being run of a generator? I know some electronics don't fare well with generators.
chucelli July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I didn't have any problems running them off the generator. If I had known there was a chance of damage, I probably wouldn't have run them... Perhaps putting them on a UPS and plugging the UPS into the generator will prevent any issues with power fluctuations. -Robert
Coral Hind July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I agree, a UPS would be very helpful. I did have a power supply for the Ecoxotic Panarama Pro die on me Sunday but I don't know if it was the generator or not, that's why I asked.
DaveS July 4, 2012 Author July 4, 2012 My small generator has a built in inverter. I specifically got that type so I could run computers and electronics off it. But I agree that many generator could cause a problem. UPS is a good way to protect against this. If the UPS is ok with the power, the LED should be too. But this kinda means you are possibly sacrificing the UPS as you test this.
OldReefer July 4, 2012 July 4, 2012 I have a big nasty generator. I ran a bunch of ELN powere supplies and the AI factory power supplies with no problems.
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