Evergrow Color coming out Pink

[DaveS]

Hey guys, I got a D120 from the last GB. I think the fixtures are really nice. I am however having a little issue where the light color is more pink that I want. Hoping someone here can suggest which LEDs are causing them so I can swap them out. Here's my config:

 

55 LEDs Total

 

23 450nm Royal Blue (42%)

12 10k Cool White (22%)

4 3500K Warm White

4 4500K Neutral White

4 7500K Neutral White

 

3 660nm Red

5 420nm Violet

 

My DIY fixture is all CREEs with 1/2 RB and 1/6 CW, 1/6 NW and 1/6 WW. This fixture does not have the pink color.

 

As you can see, I went heavier towards the Cool and Neutral whites for the D120 vs. my DIY so I'm surprised by the pink. I know the color designations of the Evergrow LEDs aren't exactly comparable to the CREE ones, but I'm still surprised. I covered up the Red LEDs thinking they were the cause but that didn't change much.

 

Anyone have an idea of which ones I should look at changing out?

 

Thanks.

[flooddc]

I don't have the led fixture. But I have a t5 with 420nm bulb that make the light pink! maybe applicable to your situation too.

[ridetheducati]

I would have gone this route:

 

23 450nm Royal Blue

8 480nm Blue

4 420nm Violet

15 4500K NW

5 3500K NW

 

Pink is coming from an unbalanced RB array. You need some 470nm or 480nm.

[CaptainRon]

Tony, would you talk about your white choices a little? Why the low kelvin whites versus say the 8.5k bulbs?

[matt]

Tony, would you talk about your white choices a little? Why the low kelvin whites versus say the 8.5k bulbs?

 

+1 ...can you talk about your recommendation in general and what kind of color temps you can achieve with that setup? That would be great!

[DaveS]

Yes, more info would be appreciated. Seems like a lot of blues.

 

Thanks.

[ronl]

Yes, more info would be appreciated. Seems like a lot of blues.

 

Thanks.

Funny, I was thinking just the opposite. 31 blues and 20 whites is only a 3:2 ratio. With the lower kelvin white (3500k and 4500k), many on Reef Central have indicated that they wish they went with a 3:1 ratio of blue to white.

[CaptainRon]

^^^ That's why I was curious about the lower kelvin whites. I have a pretty high ratio of blues to white, and things look a little too blue in a tank with heavy coralline algae, but pretty good in a tank where the coralline hasn't grown yet. But, I also had all 8.5k and higher white. Here's my layout:

[ridetheducati]

Tony, would you talk about your white choices a little? Why the low kelvin whites versus say the 8.5k bulbs?

 

Disclaimer: Like hearing, seeing is very subjective.

 

I like to have the white channel white (4000-6000nm). The 8,500nm LED is ok, but the true colors tend to show better at a lower spectrum. I strive to have a (2.5:1) Blue to white ratio, which looks like a 20k Radium bulb with electronic ballast. Three to one is OK, but I think you will be turning down the blue channel a bit.

 

Remember, choose one, great color or great growth, can not have both. I do believe the pink color is due to the balance of RB to Blue; unfortunately, I do not know what that ratio is in your case. I believe I have (3:1) RB to Blue in my arrays.

[howaboutme]

Disclaimer: Like hearing, seeing is very subjective.

 

I like to have the white channel white (4000-6000nm). The 8,500nm LED is ok, but the true colors tend to show better at a lower spectrum. I strive to have a (2.5:1) Blue to white ratio, which looks like a 20k Radium bulb with electronic ballast. Three to one is OK, but I think you will be turning down the blue channel a bit.

 

Remember, choose one, great color or great growth, can not have both. I do believe the pink color is due to the balance of RB to Blue; unfortunately, I do not know what that ratio is in your case. I believe I have (3:1) RB to Blue in my arrays.

 

I second this. In all of my research (and I've done a ton), it seems that a true 3:1 ratio results in a too blue of a light leading many to adjust via the dimmer. For my layout, I have chosen something around 2:1 and will tone down the whites to my desired look if necessary. I have also added extra LEDs to help if I don't get it right w/ the layout.

[ronl]

In reading the voluminous discussion about these lights on RC, it seems that there are a number of people that got the lower kelvin whites (3500-4500k) that wish they had gone with a 3:1 blue to white ratio. As you increase the kelvin of the whites, the blue to white ratio can be lower since the cooler whites have more blue spectrum in them than the warmer/neutral whites.

 

For what its worth, the Reef Breeders default layout has 33 blue (including moonlights and excluding violet) and 14 whites (all 4500k), which is a 2.36:1 ratio. They indicate that this gives an approx 14000k appearance at 100% all channels. I am going with a similar layout except replacing two of the whites for blues to get to 35 blues and 12 whites, which is a 2.92:1 ratio. I am getting a couple of extra whites and a couple of extra blues to swap out if needed.

 

Howaboutme, what color whites are you going with on your 2:1 layout?

[howaboutme]

I am going with a total of 18 whites (8 3.5k, 6 7.5k and 4 10k), 27 blues (450nm and 480nm), 6 420nm and 2 660nm and 2 520nm for good measure. I am also getting extra 450nm and 3.5k whites to substitute in case its too cool. So it's roughly 2:1 B (including V, G and R) to W.

 

Do I know what this will look like? No...It's all a guess and my opinion. I bet I'll have to adjust the output to each channel to get the right look. I also believe that this fixture will be awesome looking no matter what.

[DaveS]

Pink is coming from an unbalanced RB array. You need some 470nm or 480nm.

 

Looking at the most recent GB, I see a 480 but not a 470. Am I missing something?

[matt]

I keep hearing everyone talking about LEDs color rendering compared to a MH Radium bulb. This may be very useful for some, but I've never had MH...I have T5 with ATI bulbs and LED supplementation. I have niether a radium or a D120 at present. In thinking about this a bit, it occurred to me to look at the led selection that the Maxpect Razor has published. See http://www.marinedepot.com/Maxspect_Razor_R420R_LED_Light_Fixture_24_Inch_LED_Light_Fixtures-Maxspect-0M1131-FILTFILDTF-vi.html

 

Working that through to find a comparable 55 LED array, I ended up with the the following Led Counts for a D120:

 

Hopefully that would prevent a 'pink problem' as posted and may also be my final layout. If you passionately beiieve in this layout, or very much disagree...I'd love to hear. The deadline for the current GB is 6pm and I'm still on the fence as to whether I keep tinkering until the next one.

[matt]

Oh, and here was the analysis of the Razor I did. If anyone has thoughts as to whether the Razor has a good color in person (like, is it too pink etc), that would be good to hear.

[monkiboy]

matt - i think you got too much violet in there, sir. i'd probably max out the violet count to 6. while not a ton of visible output, eight is too much on one d120 and will make things look purple. what kind of overall look are you going for? 14000k or thereabouts?

[matt]

I was thinking 16k...with the ability to dim the white channel and move closer to 20k if I wanted to. Shouldn't the 480 help balance out the violet to a certain degree?

[robertmi]

I know of other people that have full spectrum leds and they have said that the violet leds caused the pink look so they replaced them with other colors.