After 9 months Leaving LED for Metal Halide

[ReefIslandLight]

personally, i have been through the MH and the LED.... The LED was cool but i dont think anything out there beat the color and growth i saw from my Radium bulbs on Galaxy ballasts... I left those for ReefKoi evo's (those were just OK IMO) and now that im setting up a way larger tank im looking at going with the Kessil A350W's BUT im not going crazy with corals any longer, im over it at the moment... only some softies, nems, sharks and fish.. But again... Radium bulbs on Galaxy ballasts FTW so far until i check out the A350W's lol

 

[jolliebrowngiant]

Working on my set up and all of this helps..will continue to do lots of reading and research, I don't have money to waste so I have to make the right choice. Tank is 110 gal. 48x32x18. So it is deep and I need penetration.

 

[ReefIslandLight]

lol i feel you... my tank is 48" DEEP and i have NO IDEA if these LED's will do what im hoping lol

 

[Malster1]

Personally I went from 2 250 mh with pc to AI over a 100g and now 180 that is 30" tall. At 11" over my water level I run three with the lights powered up to around 80's and have amazing growth and color on my z and p', softies like frog spawns and challs are growing good too. Sps is hit and miss though as there a only some that do well under LEDs, like birds nest. That stuff grows like a weed. I lighted it do much I changed my frag tank 24g and our other 50g tank to the ai's as well.

I do agree that some coral do lose color under LED, but I have been able to tweak my color temp overall and they colored back up. My PG&E is not liking me much anymore since my bill dropped like crazy moving from mh on my tanks.

Again, just my experience.

 

[psusocr]

i went from 3x 400 watt MH to LEDS and couldnt be happier..i do agree some grow better under LED some better under MH but they all grow and my color is still the same it was with my MH..I think if i take frags from someone tank that has halides and the color changes drastically under my leds then something is off with my water chemistry..I also have a T5 frag tank and i have the same colors in there as my main display which has leds

 

[MrIcky]

Here are my thoughts:
-Many LED owners are extremely insecure, many of the most outspoken LED owners view par like gamers view fps on the crysis boards. It seems to me to be more important to get a good match to your tank's depth, which to me means about 300-400 par midtank and 100 on the sandbed.

There have been LED owners with multiple years of success now. I guess I would ask how your success was in your prior tank. A Kessil a150w in blue sky was tested at about 100 par on the sand in an 18 inch cube iirc, which would mean that's about the limit for it's penetration.

There are LED's that are a better match to that tank, but a 250 MH would be a good match as well. I've seen a lot of newer tanks that just have a tough time getting started with all sorts of lights including MH and LED. 9 months is still pretty new. I'd ask question about what kind of live rock you started with, food types and frequency, what "stable parameters" means to you, etc.

I think the fact that mushroom and frogspawn have been your successes could mean your lights, but could also be factors in other parts of your husbandry.

Good luck with whatever light you choose. I definitely agree that a single a150w appears to be a little thin for a 60g cube.

 

[kungfukid]

should I sell my Radion and go back to MH?

 

[Runfrumu]

should I sell my Radion and go back to MH?

If you are happy with it why does it matter if someone else thinks you should?

I like Metal Halides, but if someone else likes LED's or T5's thats fine with me too.

I went LED on my small tank, and just didn't like the look compared to a 14k Phoenix bulb, so after a few months of messing with different LED combo's, I switched back.

Growing fast or slow isn't big deal unless you're a seller, otherwise its doesnt matter as they will all get big eventually.

Good color is what I'm looking for, after a few years and giant colonies taking over, you'll wish some things grew slower.

 

[CarlitosReef]

Unfortunately for you, the biggest strides in color rendition and growth in LEDs didn't come along until recently within the past 6 months. I have seen comparable growth and excellent color using LEDs, but I use a custom DIY fixture. Almost no fixture on the market can provide the PAR and color that a DIY unit can, at an affordable price. I built a Cree unit that measures nearly triple the PAR of an AI unit, and paid nearly half as much.

The only fixture on the market I would even use would be the Maxspect Razor, but even that is missing some red LEDs that I feel add a lot to a led fixture. They are far too costly to not be 100% happy with.

The only true downside to LEDs compared to MH right now is its experimental nature on what colors to use. With MH you just buy a bulb and you're done. With LEDs, you need to plan out a correct ratio of colors to achieve a desired look.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

THIS so far sums it all up.

I do not own an led unit not yet, but I'm currently starting with my first tank and going T5. I have done a lot of reading and T5 seems to be way better than mh imo. Also considering the electrical bill.

I also do plan in going 10xs bigger later on and there's no way I would run mh T5 maybe but I'm really considering moving to LED to reduce electrical cost.


So far the best led unit are DIY and you have to do your research really well to pick your led set up. There's a huge thread on this not on this forum but a different one and I have been taking notes on it and even though I have hated leds and still not a fan I'm getting more comfortable around them now but still sticking to my T5 plan.


So OP I highly doubt you have been getting some good reading.



Also your lfs shouldn't even charge you in the first place to test some new unit. You should be the one charging them or working out a deal. But my advice is not to even attempt it you are going to risk your system by stressing it even more if is not doing well. If you loose your corals whose going to take the blame?

I will also suggest you to find a more honest lfs.
Sent from my private Jet.

 

[coral_dog]

I love my LED setup, corals love it too.

 

[roczero]

I have tried em all. Now going back to MH after 8 months of LEDs.

 

[CRJ]

Ive been running t5's for about 7 months now, and am making the switch to a radion system. I could never stand the power bill of a MH bulb or the heat. (my room is normally at least 80F) The OP's main problem is depth of his tank, as 24" is getting deep for LED's. I plan a 15" water depth, which should be perfect since the new LED's put out double my t5 lights and its controllable. Favorite feature is still slow sunrise and sunset. That to a plant means alot, same with the fish!

 

[cdrewferd]

24" is nothing for LEDs. You just have to have the right fixture. The Kessil 150 wasn't made for 24" deep tanks. I know a guy running 3 AI Blues over his 24" deep 180, and they are mounted about 12" from the water. Everything looks great and his growth is amazing. You just have to get the right LED for your tank. You wouldn't put a single 150MH on a 24" deep tank and expect to grow SPS on the bottom would you?

 

[Nanofreak79]

^this is funny:lmao:

 

[CarlitosReef]

LED are way brighter than MH, if you have the right led fixture. A nice sweet DIY can be done 10xs better and cheaper than radions.

Sent from my private Jet.

 

[grigsy]

If you are happy with it why does it matter if someone else thinks you should?

I like Metal Halides, but if someone else likes LED's or T5's thats fine with me too.

I went LED on my small tank, and just didn't like the look compared to a 14k Phoenix bulb, so after a few months of messing with different LED combo's, I switched back.

+1

Agree

 

[yachtdr22]

The Manager of my LFS finally stopped by to look at my tank... said my LEDs were too bright and recommended i turn it down, which i did...
I dont think the issue with LED's is the Lumens, I think it is the proper spectrum for the INDIVIDUAL tank set up!

 

[reeksreef]

If you're having any doubt about LEDs and MH check out vividsaquarim.com 800g tank. He also have a video tanking about both and what growth he's having. I have seen tanks with both and have seen growth from both, yeah birdsnest does excellent under LEDs but I also seen a green slimmer and orange digitata grow like weeds under LEDs. I personally did my own led build with "full spectrum" and all my corals are loving it.

 

[Toadally]

I just posted a new thread giving my review on the Kessil A150w. But basically here is what I said....

I wanted to do an update on this lighting. I was a little skeptical at first after receiving the lights and placing them on the tank. I was thinking that I may have made a bad decision by getting them, after all they are very expensive. I was also seeing numerous postings here on RC from people that were selling them after only a few weeks of use. But I can tell you that not only do they look exceptionally good, they make the corals pop and they do grow coral....even SPS!

As a trial, I cut a couple of frags, one off my ORA Red Planet....and one from my ORA Plum Crazy. The frags initially lost there color and I chalked it up to the difference in lighting and water chemistry. After a few weeks in the tank the Red Planet has started looking phenomenal. The colors are very vivid and nothing like I was getting under the metal halides or T5's. I snapped a pic of the red planet this morning to let you see just how great it looks. The plum crazy has turned a deep red purplish color. When I placed the frag in the tank it had red polyps and tips. It came out of my 57 which uses T5 lighting. I'll wait a little longer to take a pic of the plum crazy frag.

We all know that every system is different, and it all depends on having the correct parameters to be successful. Sometimes lights get the blame when it's actually something totally different causing the issues.

Here's a pic of the red planet....

 

[deepseadan]

I also tried LEDs including ai sol blues and ecoxotic. I went back to metal halides. No comparison, mh are far superior in color rendition and coral growth and color. I am however eyeing the new ecotech pro model with a uv led.