How to avoid LED shimmer?

[LBA]

I run T5s.
I don't like shimmer.
I have a lot of surface movement.
I want some of the blue LED Pop at night.

I was thinking about adding an Orphek Blue Bar or 2. Or maybe Reefbrite XHO? How can I best avoid the shimmer?

Sometimes I play with a blue LED flashlight above the surface and the shimmer is really really intense. Do you think this is just because of lack of spread? Would a full spread bar be a lot less intense or am I still going to get crazy shimmer?

Thanks for your input!

 

[VintageReefer]

You would need lots of spread. I have a photon 48 and when all blue and purple on I have minimal shimmer. It’s like 6 rows of led so I think the shimmer is reduced because it isn’t a single focal point

I think your best bet would be full length bars in the front and rear

 

[The_Paradox]

If you’re only using it as a moonlight you can put window frosting film over the cover. Only do this though if you are using low wattage though otherwise risk overheating the fixture.

Otherwise you need a lot of emitters spread out or a mixing box.

 

[LBA]

That's a pretty cool idea. So it acts like a light diffuser / softner?

I have been looking around and I may put a full length Reef Brite Lumi Lite PRO on the front and back and see how that does. They seem like they have good spread.

 

[VintageReefer]

Have you looked into these bars?
Very good reviews on the forum and they have a wide spectrum blue and a OG Blue pop model. These were designed to replicate t5 spread

Products | Quanta Lights

This is where you buy the super awesome Quanta or Quanta Pro lights. Sold exclusively here!

www.quantareef.com

 

[LBA]

Have you looked into these bars?
Very good reviews on the forum and they have a wide spectrum blue and a OG Blue pop model. These were designed to replicate t5 spread

Products | Quanta Lights

This is where you buy the super awesome Quanta or Quanta Pro lights. Sold exclusively here!

www.quantareef.com

I had not looked into them. I will do so now. Thank you! I'm assuming the OG POP is what ill want for after hours glow.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Have you looked into these bars?
Very good reviews on the forum and they have a wide spectrum blue and a OG Blue pop model. These were designed to replicate t5 spread

Products | Quanta Lights

This is where you buy the super awesome Quanta or Quanta Pro lights. Sold exclusively here!

www.quantareef.com

Just based on the design of them with lenses like that they should have an ample amount of shimmer.

If you wish to limit the shimmer what you want is something with tons of low powered LEDs without lenses or something that uses a diffusion plate.

An easy way to visualize what you are looking for is this:
kessil - huge amounts of shimmer
LaniLed / Philips coralcare - very low amount of shimmer

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Glass Top, will reduce Shimmer due to the Refraction from the Glass. Also a Reef Bar, I use 21 LED Reef Bars, and have close to Zero Shimmer. My DIY COB LED’s some Shimmer through the Glass top when they cycle on. Get a lot of Shimmer, from them, with no glass top.

 

[landlubber]

If you run T5's and want less shimmer you might consider just adding a couple actinic bulbs into the mix.

 

[VintageReefer]

Glass Top, will reduce Shimmer due to the Refraction from the Glass. Also a Reef Bar, I use 21 LED Reef Bars, and have close to Zero Shimmer. My DIY COB LED’s some Shimmer through the Glass top when they cycle on. Get a lot of Shimmer, from them, with no glass top.

This could be why I don’t have a ton of shimmer…I run glass and acrylic lids. I just removed them and boom. More shimmer

And you can see from my picture I don’t have any diffraction media over my leds.

Can you get the bars (I also was thinking OG blue pop) + a lid? That might be the combo you need

 

[LBA]

I do like the Actinic T5 Bulb, but it's not the same amazing pop like the LED gives off. Plus I only have a 2 bulb (out of 6) slots for my night cycle.

A lot of good information here, and I really appreciate you guys bouncing ideas.

Maybe a combination of an LED bar with some diffuser paper is in order.

 

[Rjukan]

That's a pretty cool idea. So it acts like a light diffuser / softner?

I have been looking around and I may put a full length Reef Brite Lumi Lite PRO on the front and back and see how that does. They seem like they have good spread.

I have both a Kessil A360, and the reef brite lumi pros.. and the reef brites definitely don't have much, if any shimmer at all. They are very similar to T5 imo. I will check again later with just the reef brites on

 

[LBA]

I have both a Kessil A360, and the reef brite lumi pros.. and the reef brites definitely don't have much, if any shimmer at all. They are very similar to T5 imo. I will check again later with just the reef brites on

I appreciate you checking that out for me. The lumi pros were my top contender just because of the sheer amount of LED coverage vs. Lenses.

 

[FUNGI]

I run T5s.
I don't like shimmer.
I have a lot of surface movement.
I want some of the blue LED Pop at night.

I was thinking about adding an Orphek Blue Bar or 2. Or maybe Reefbrite XHO? How can I best avoid the shimmer?

Sometimes I play with a blue LED flashlight above the surface and the shimmer is really really intense. Do you think this is just because of lack of spread? Would a full spread bar be a lot less intense or am I still going to get crazy shimmer?

Thanks for your input!

Get a diffuser

 

[jda]

If you have a wide bar and raise the LEDs up the shimmer will be less. There always seems to be more shimmer from a point-source (Kessil, for example - or your flashlight) than many points.

 

[LBA]

Thanks for the input and suggestions!

To take this discussion further... are you guys a fan of blue only for night time, or the Blue/UV purple LED bars?

 

[VintageReefer]

I have a photon 48 v2 on one tank and a ai prime 16hd on another. For me, to my eye, the purple/uv isn’t noticeable unless it’s on by itself. Does it do something that the corals can sense? Who knows, beyond my pay grade lol. If you want pop then you want blue led added in. If you want max pop at night then you want blue led only. Nothing else. See pic

I run this nights and evenings until I go to bed, then it’s full darkness for the tank

 

[Rjukan]

I appreciate you checking that out for me. The lumi pros were my top contender just because of the sheer amount of LED coverage vs. Lenses.

Yep, just confirmed by blocking my Kessil that the reef brites really don't have any shimmer at all.
Edit: Mine are mounted on a rack resting on the top of the tank. Maybe an inch or 2 from the water surface.

 

[LBA]

I appreciate all of the input.

I ordered the Reefbrite Lumi Lite Pros in Blue and ordered some thick, plastic diffuser sheets as well. I will give it a try when they arrive. I may swap one of my T5 Blue Plus for an actinic as well, we'll see.

I'll post my results for anyone interested in this for the future.

 

[LBA]

Thanks again for the input.

For anyone interested.

The Reef Brite Lumi Lite Pro got the job done. It doesn't need diffuser sheets added, it has enough spread to not have any dramatic shimmering. Even with a lot of surface movement. 1 full bar is surprisingly enough to get a full spread from front to back on an 18 inch deep by 30 inch tall tank. If you're not looking for PAR, 1 is probably enough for aesthetics.

Still not sure how I feel about LEDs, I really enjoy looking at my T5s.