leds

[iiluisii]

i have a scrubber built for 4 cubes a day which is 6 x 9 i was using 2 23w url and never got green growth so i order 2 12w led grow light bulbs from ebay which have 8 red and 4 blue leds and this is my 6th day they been on and I'm getting nice green thick green growth on the middle of the screen the same size diameter of the outer ring of my bulb i notice that this leds come with optics and i see that every body here don't use optics on their leds. do you guys think i should removed them so i can get a wider spread. also my bulbs are 4 inches apart from the screen.

[Floyd R Turbo]

yes remove the optics if you can. Optics focus the light into a tighter beam and throw it further. You want spread. Although you bring up something interesting, if you are getting good growth why change anything. If they're 1W LEDs they might not be strong enough w/o the optic. Take them off then move the lamp closer if you can, try it out. Worst case you have to put them back the the current configuration.

[iiluisii]

the thing is I'm not getting the thick growth on the outer portion of my scrubber

[Floyd R Turbo]

Then give it a shot. Might have to play with distance and photoperiod, etc...pics would really help

[kotlec]

1w is strong enough to be used without lens if you can put them close. That's is how my DT and scrubber are arranged. Another question is if it is 1W. Sometimes they use 0.5w for cheaper grow-light.
You can try to move light more away from screen to get coverage. If this not possible , then try removing lens.

[Tommyb]

Hi can I ask for the link to the Led lights you purchased.
kind regards Tommy

[iiluisii]

New LED Grow Light Bulb E27 12W 85-265V 12LED R&B 1100LM for Indoor Plant

[iiluisii]

Search that on ebay

[iiluisii]

ok second week i got about an inch of green thick algae on both sides but only the same pattern of the light bulbs. so its just round in the middle of the screen not the hole screen about 4 inches round and my screen is 9 inches long. if i take off the optics will i have to get the lights closer? my lights are about 3 1/2 inches away from the screen

[iiluisii]

also I'm only feeding one cube a day and the scrubber is made for 4 cubes a day. it 9 x 6 I'm kinda of worry of feeding 4 cubes a day due to the fact that I'm fighting to keep my nitrates below 20 and my phosphates are 0.22 with my gfo needing to be replaced, with new gfo my phosphates go down to 0.1. do ya think i have to feed my scrubber the 4 cubes a day, do ya think thats the problem. also i have 13 fish in the tank 5 tangs, 1 coral beauty, 1 midas blenny, 1 sleeper goby, mated pair of lerytail anthias, 2 clowns and 1 xmas wrasse but have not seen it since introduce in the tank so i think is dead since is been 3 weeks.

[SantaMonica]

Try moving the light back a little, to cover more of the screen.

[iiluisii]

ok i will. but what you think about feeding all the 4 cubes and what you think of the nitrates and phosphates

[SantaMonica]

Stay with what you are feeding now.