DavidinGA
Active member
Thanks for the info.
I'm gonna run my new mh setup here through the winter I think and see for myself how it does vs my reef breeders (which I'll keep so I can go back to them if mh doesn't pan out).
Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
- Start date
Thanks for the info.
I'm gonna run my new mh setup here through the winter I think and see for myself how it does vs my reef breeders (which I'll keep so I can go back to them if mh doesn't pan out).
wildman926
Active member
Very good info...
DavidinGA
Active member
d2mini
Premium Member
DavidinGA
Active member
LolWelcome to the costs associated with owning a large tank.
I should have added that the t5 option would only cost a fraction of that tho...
d2mini
Premium Member
Personally, I would (and do) supplement MH with T5. The T5 adds a lot of soft light to the tank that will wrap around the coral. Removes some of the shadowing. MH wraps better than LED but its still a pinpoint light source compared to T5. And it will be much easier to tweak the overall color with the T5 vs LED.
I wouldn't have just MH and LED. But I may try adding a reefbrite strip to my MH/T5 setup at some point down the road just to see if it adds anything positive.
I wouldn't have just MH and LED. But I may try adding a reefbrite strip to my MH/T5 setup at some point down the road just to see if it adds anything positive.
Tweaked
FUP&A Member
$350 for my 48" tank, and need 2 lol. Happy (never happy :angryfire
with the one for now.
Tweaked
FUP&A Member
I run 4 T5's and agree to this statement sort of. Nothing beats the LED pop!
Big E
Premium Member
If you're going to spend that kind of jack on LED supplements I'd go with the Build my LED strips as you can customize them. You can get 420,405,450,470 or any combo you want along with a dimmer for about the same price.
The Reefbrites are only 450nm blues................to much of that can green out some acros or cause rainbow acans and some chalices to turn orange.
The Reefbrites are only 450nm blues................to much of that can green out some acros or cause rainbow acans and some chalices to turn orange.
cabinetman123
Member
I use just a few 10 watt blue over my 180 to get the pop. They are dirt cheap and easy to set up. I just glued them to a piece of aluminum window frame. Cost me about $30 total. I did the same over my 300 when it was running. I think I had 8 or 10 over it.
Pinkskunk
New member
beautiful tank, i love the dimension. Who built your tank?
My personal preference is always a fixture that is a little smaller than the tank.
I'd rather have a little light fall-off at the edges for lower light coral, than to have light spill on my floor.
Either way works just fine.
For reference, here is my tank.
As you can see, looking at the sand bed the light fall off is really not that noticeable and I have sps all the way across the tank.
DavidinGA
Active member
overexposed
Acroholic
Thought I'd share my results with you guys. Posted a few pages back that I was planning on a switch and this is what I went with...
Over my 90 gallon I took down the 110 3 watt LED fixture and replaced it with 3 250w mh units. 2 PFO mini pendants which run DE XM 20k's on Maxkor ballasts on either side of a Hamilton Cayman Sun reflector running a Radium on a CoralVue ballast. Supplemented by 2 Blue+ bulbs.
Overall I'm incredibly happy with the switch. It's too early to see how the corals will respond but I very much enjoy the colour and brightness of the tank. Have measured the PAR at various places in my tank and am also pleased with those results. I'll return with more notes in a few months. Here's some pictures:
Over my 90 gallon I took down the 110 3 watt LED fixture and replaced it with 3 250w mh units. 2 PFO mini pendants which run DE XM 20k's on Maxkor ballasts on either side of a Hamilton Cayman Sun reflector running a Radium on a CoralVue ballast. Supplemented by 2 Blue+ bulbs.
Overall I'm incredibly happy with the switch. It's too early to see how the corals will respond but I very much enjoy the colour and brightness of the tank. Have measured the PAR at various places in my tank and am also pleased with those results. I'll return with more notes in a few months. Here's some pictures:
SPotter
Active member
Thought I'd share my results with you guys. Posted a few pages back that I was planning on a switch and this is what I went with...
Over my 90 gallon I took down the 110 3 watt LED fixture and replaced it with 3 250w mh units. 2 PFO mini pendants which run DE XM 20k's on Maxkor ballasts on either side of a Hamilton Cayman Sun reflector running a Radium on a CoralVue ballast. Supplemented by 2 Blue+ bulbs.
Overall I'm incredibly happy with the switch. It's too early to see how the corals will respond but I very much enjoy the colour and brightness of the tank. Have measured the PAR at various places in my tank and am also pleased with those results. I'll return with more notes in a few months. Here's some pictures:
looks awesome and really bright!!!!! I would love to see the par numbers on your tank! You could probably get away with just two of the MH's and save some money on electric. How long are you running the mh's?
overexposed
Acroholic
I also figure I could probably get away with two but I don't have a second large reflector like the Hamilton and the PFO units have a really small spread. I'm getting very even coverage this way. Directly under the Radium (in the center) I'm getting around 900 PAR at the surface and 200 at the bottom where the rainbow Echinata sits.
seandpilot
New member
do you want to sell your radion?
cabinetman123
Member
Yes I do but I mostly just run them after the halides go out and before they come on. I love the look of just blue LEDs on. My pheonix 14k are plenty blue enough for me is why I don't run them at the same time but I can definetly tell when just 3 are on over my 180
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