brad65ford
New member
Just wondering if anyone that had MH tried LED's and decided to move back to MH for more growth?
Anybody switch back to MH?
- Thread starter brad65ford
- Start date
xxxduke62xxx
New member
If you never had LEDs how would you know? I have 3 AI sol blues over my tank and all my frags were bought 1-2 inches in length. I will never go back to t-5 or MH. This was a picture of my tank 1 1/2 years of going full SPS. I had a bacterial infection and killed most acros but with my lights i will be back
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smtank
New member
Oh come on!
So many great tanks with only T5 or only LED and or hybrids can be found within many popular threads in the sps forum. Thriving and growing just as well as any MH tank.
I have had nothing but MH for several years and love the look, just changed to T5 ATI, love that too, although no shimmer.
acroholicreefer
New member
Well I went to LED lights a few months back after running MH lights for 6 years. I don't think I will go back. I am running a maxspect razor. Although I don't have long term experience with LED lights, I am very pleased with these lights.
blakers82
Member
I've ran metal halides since 2000. Overall, I've enjoyed halides with VHO actinic look over any other combo. I currently run halides with T5 actinic and some LED supplementation. I run LEDs on my nano. I've liked it enough to have recently picked up some LED units for my main. I've read many a thread on coral shock and negative reaction on this switch, but there are also plenty of happy people (and corals) who've transitioned to LEDs. I would still prefer some more time and research regarding coral growth and LED lighting, but I think I'm ready to attempt the switch on my coral friends. I'll surely throw a thread up about my experience.
ctniners
New member
I run t5s now....I like them more than the middle of the road LEDs I had.(I'm not willing to spend the kind of money on the high end LEDs)..better color...however in past years before my newest set up I always had radiums....the day I find a chiller at a good price I will go back to radiums...nothing to me has ever looked as good...personal opinion of course...if you have the money for $600+ per 18" LED fixture then maybe but 20k radiums to me look amazing
whiteshark
Active member
To those who say they don't like led and went back to t5 or mh, could you please clarify? Did you not like the growth rates you were getting? Color? What kind of led fixture did you have? How long did you run it before switching back?
elegance coral
They call me EC
This thread may help you. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2203067&highlight=tried+led+went+back+to+mh
Lots of people have gone back to MH after trying LED.
Lots of people have gone back to MH after trying LED.
ctniners
New member
Again let me make clear that i was not running high end leds or diy crees or full spectrum....however with my t5s i think i get a better 20k color with more color pop..i assume because i can play with my color by changing bulbs around....in terms of growth...hard to say..i think my growth was a little slower with LEDs...i run 6 xs ATI bulbs on a 16" deep tank so PAR for me is not an issue...my understanding is that is not easy to test PAR of LEDs with a regular PAR meter...i think you will get many opinions...i would never say that one is so much better than the other...again in my humble opinion MH especially running Radium bulbs has been the best look i have ever seen in a reef aquarium
powder_blue
New member
Wouldn't let go of my Sunpower for anything. Halide is def not the ONLY way for healthy SPS. Tried the maxspect razor and sold it after a month and bought another sunpower.
xxxduke62xxx
New member
I heard this so many times " I used LEDs for a month,few weeks corals didnt look good so i switched back. Your corals need time to acclimate to the new LEDs. It takes more then a few weeks for there color to come back after the initial switch then the corals adjust. When i buy a frag i know it will loose some color for a couple months but it wil come back just as prettier as before. Patience is the key to the switch
nysbadmk8
Premium Member
I love the fact that people switch things in this hobby and expect INSTANT results.
Those are the people that go broke in this hobby.
LEDS honestly need alot of time. My old tank was 4x 400w MH. My new downsized tank is 2x Radion.
Do I think these are better? Yes, Less heat, less equipment, adjustable, and great light output.
Do I think they are better then MH for light output? NO.
But, I'm not looking to have an extra 40-50 bucks a month in electric, and a possible chiller wrapped up into this hobby. Just to get one thing better, and the rest worse.
And almost ALL MY SPS are fine under LED, Growing at a good pace too, but yes you do get a frag here and there that dont like the light, I wont lie about that.
Those are the people that go broke in this hobby.
LEDS honestly need alot of time. My old tank was 4x 400w MH. My new downsized tank is 2x Radion.
Do I think these are better? Yes, Less heat, less equipment, adjustable, and great light output.
Do I think they are better then MH for light output? NO.
But, I'm not looking to have an extra 40-50 bucks a month in electric, and a possible chiller wrapped up into this hobby. Just to get one thing better, and the rest worse.
And almost ALL MY SPS are fine under LED, Growing at a good pace too, but yes you do get a frag here and there that dont like the light, I wont lie about that.
ctniners
New member
Hard to believe somebody would switch a light system for a month and then go back..especially with LEDs and their price tag...in my case i gave them a year and i just didnt think the reds and purples were poping as much i wanted...again...i assume with Radions at 700$ each you get what u paid for...same for MH a radium will cost you about 80$ per bulb each 6-7 months...it all comes down to what you like and your budget and also what your set up is....for example u dont want to have a chiller sitting in your living room...in my case my dt is in my LR and my sump is in the basement so i dont care if i add a chiller....but like everything in this hobby there will be many opinions on what works for some but not for others...at the end when it comes to lights you have to please your eyes.......good luck
JP Reef
Member
Not according to their website. Those corrections are theoretical. Even posted as such.
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