Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
- Start date
cabinetman123
Member
14 k pheonix rock. I love them!
SPotter
Active member
Par Readings.....
Par Readings.....
I got around to taking some quick readings tonight and was interested to see how my par levels would read as I spread out along the bottom of the tank.
My Tank....
96X36X24 acrylic with black acrylic bare bottom
Lighting.....
3 Hamilton Cozumel Sun Pendants evenly spaced apart
3 x Galaxy 250/400 ballast on the HQI setting
3 x 250w 20k Radium bulbs (less than 1 month of use)
4 x 54w Giesemann Pure Actinics
4 x 54w ATI Blue+
Lights are hung 18" AWL and there's 22" of water in my tank. All lights were on and all pumps were off.
I only took readings under the middle pendant.....
Readings from center of the pendant.....
Glass shield 1350
Water surface 450
6" below water 350
Halfway down 290
bottom 220
Next set of readings I took were from the outer edge of the pendant but still from the center of center of the tank.....
Glass shield 1200
Water surface 460
6" below water 400
half way down 330
bottom 250
I found it interesting that the par values got better as the light spread out further away from the pendant. Tomorrow I will take readings from the front panel. After this I will lower the light about 4" and take all new readings.
Par Readings.....
I got around to taking some quick readings tonight and was interested to see how my par levels would read as I spread out along the bottom of the tank.
My Tank....
96X36X24 acrylic with black acrylic bare bottom
Lighting.....
3 Hamilton Cozumel Sun Pendants evenly spaced apart
3 x Galaxy 250/400 ballast on the HQI setting
3 x 250w 20k Radium bulbs (less than 1 month of use)
4 x 54w Giesemann Pure Actinics
4 x 54w ATI Blue+
Lights are hung 18" AWL and there's 22" of water in my tank. All lights were on and all pumps were off.
I only took readings under the middle pendant.....
Readings from center of the pendant.....
Glass shield 1350
Water surface 450
6" below water 350
Halfway down 290
bottom 220
Next set of readings I took were from the outer edge of the pendant but still from the center of center of the tank.....
Glass shield 1200
Water surface 460
6" below water 400
half way down 330
bottom 250
I found it interesting that the par values got better as the light spread out further away from the pendant. Tomorrow I will take readings from the front panel. After this I will lower the light about 4" and take all new readings.
SPotter
Active member
When I had my Pacific Sun led fixture it had 4 x 150w led banks with 4 x 80w t5's. The highest par readings I would get on the bottom of a 28" high tank with the fixture hung 8" awl was 150 and would drop as you got closer to the edges.
ReeferSteve78
New member
I was running the reef breeders leds for almost 2 years and had a lot of trouble with keeping the correct color of some sps and zoa corals. So now I have 3 250w metal halide with 2 t5. Am in the process of adding some reef brites leds which will make a nice combination. I already see a difference in my corals as I mentioned before. My miyagi tort for instance is now coloring up fantastically but when I only ran leds it was pure white and growing white. I have too admit nothing beats halides yet. Maybe in the future when am old and my son takes over then that's when leds can possibly grow and color any coral in my tank.
DavidinGA
Active member
Trying to push me off the ledge and go MH aren't you....
I have a frag system and DT tied together. I switched my frag system to full spectrum LED's 6 mos ago and kept my DT on MH & T-5 (hamilton cebu sun 60"). I have about 40 different SPS, 10 different LPS and 6 different zoas & 3 softies in both tanks
keep in mind my DT is 66 x 36 x 24 & frag tank is 60 x 30 x 20. SO i am not positive how the DT will do being deeper. Right now I have 2 24" units ofver the frag tank about 18" AWL
Overall the colors of the frag tank(led's) most all of my SPS have as good or better colors than the MH's. A few I prefer the colorings under the MH. I had 2 sps pieces that I acquired yrs ago, that never really did anything and were ugly brown that now are colored awesome under the LED's....
ORA borealis is about the only coral that I have that I like better under MH than LED. Most all look a little better under the full spectrum LED's
LED's Pro:
-less heat and energy
-"should" have less replacement cost
-take up less space
-Very simple install.. No external balast
-Most can swap LED's to fine tune color
-fans very quite
-sleek look
-fully dimmable & programmable dusk to dawn
LED Cons:
start up cost, but really not much more than a comparable MH& T-5 setup
not visually as bright as MH
Par fall off is quick and seem to get Hot and cold spots (par Numbers)
-I am seeing maybe slightly less growth...minimal
-seem hit or miss with various users...Not sure why?
MH's Pro's(with or w/o t-5)
-tried and true in general
-Lots of choices
-Nice and bright!
-Great Growth rates
-Light spread even through out tank usually with good reflectors
MH's Con's
-Bulky
-balast and cords
-heavy
-Heat
-Fans louder
-hard to fit in canopy (heat issues)
-Not as appealing over open tank
-Light spread (into room)
-bulb replacement
-not programable
Gotta weight pro and cons for each setup!
I just bought new MH & t-5 bulbs for the DT, not ready to chance the mature PS dominate tank yet. But given the next go when these bulbs are done and my tank s very full, i wil probably switch to LED's over the DT. Heat is not a concern for me as its a basement setup. Also energy isn't a big deal as I live in a relatively low cost area. SO to save $10-$15 a month on 350g of water volume, not really a big deal overall.
keep in mind my DT is 66 x 36 x 24 & frag tank is 60 x 30 x 20. SO i am not positive how the DT will do being deeper. Right now I have 2 24" units ofver the frag tank about 18" AWL
Overall the colors of the frag tank(led's) most all of my SPS have as good or better colors than the MH's. A few I prefer the colorings under the MH. I had 2 sps pieces that I acquired yrs ago, that never really did anything and were ugly brown that now are colored awesome under the LED's....
ORA borealis is about the only coral that I have that I like better under MH than LED. Most all look a little better under the full spectrum LED's
LED's Pro:
-less heat and energy
-"should" have less replacement cost
-take up less space
-Very simple install.. No external balast
-Most can swap LED's to fine tune color
-fans very quite
-sleek look
-fully dimmable & programmable dusk to dawn
LED Cons:
start up cost, but really not much more than a comparable MH& T-5 setup
not visually as bright as MH
Par fall off is quick and seem to get Hot and cold spots (par Numbers)
-I am seeing maybe slightly less growth...minimal
-seem hit or miss with various users...Not sure why?
MH's Pro's(with or w/o t-5)
-tried and true in general
-Lots of choices
-Nice and bright!
-Great Growth rates
-Light spread even through out tank usually with good reflectors
MH's Con's
-Bulky
-balast and cords
-heavy
-Heat
-Fans louder
-hard to fit in canopy (heat issues)
-Not as appealing over open tank
-Light spread (into room)
-bulb replacement
-not programable
Gotta weight pro and cons for each setup!
I just bought new MH & t-5 bulbs for the DT, not ready to chance the mature PS dominate tank yet. But given the next go when these bulbs are done and my tank s very full, i wil probably switch to LED's over the DT. Heat is not a concern for me as its a basement setup. Also energy isn't a big deal as I live in a relatively low cost area. SO to save $10-$15 a month on 350g of water volume, not really a big deal overall.
Last edited:
muttley101
Never go full retard!
Well I just pulled the trigger on a Cebu Sun... Glad I don't have to keep tinkering with spectrum's anymore... The day someone comes out with a LED that can replicate a Radium w/m80's, or Phoenix 14k's DE, Ushio's or any other bulb selection with a click of a button, then that will be the day I may dabble with LED's again... Till then I can refocus on husbandry and watching corals thrive! No more adjusting the Radion hoping for better results.
Sorry my fellow Radion lovers... I hope Ecosmart live gets better..
-Mutt
Sorry my fellow Radion lovers... I hope Ecosmart live gets better..
-Mutt
SPotter
Active member
It is a good deal, but consider the reflectors are spotlights, so you will have to hang them higher to get any spread.
DavidinGA
Active member
Those are one of the better reflectors out there is my understanding from looking around online; right?
I was going to hang them probably 12"+ off the water. Would that work?
Better is a matter of needs, if you need a lot of par in a very small area, then yes it is the best at that, if you want an even spread of light to cover the whole tank then it is not a good choice. 12" may be enough but many go higher to get that little hot spot of light to spread out a little more, and then of course you have a lot of light spill to contend with which is no issue in wall or in a tall canopy.
It depends on your goals but for your tank dimensions I would go with a reflector designed to spread better.
It depends on your goals but for your tank dimensions I would go with a reflector designed to spread better.
03sonicstang
Member
My Cebu Sun will be in tomorrow!!! Getting excited about going back to MH!
DavidinGA
Active member
DavidinGA
Active member
I have a 210gal (6x2x30") that has two center braces (so 3 separate areas for a reflector). I would think with my tank setup and 3 lumen bright mini's would be the ideal reflector to give good spread at 12-16" above the water line.
What kind of reflector would you suggest that would be better?
muttley101
Never go full retard!
Yeah, I'm happy with my decision... Seems everyone that has the Cebu really likes the quality and light output not to mention coral response from this fixture... Man I really wanted LEDs to work out for me. However, it's just not the same.
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