Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides

mhucasey said:
Yep yep and for what its worth the Hydra 52 would be on my short list of LED fixtures to buy if I was in the market for one, specifically because of your experience:thumbsup:
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Thanks, I just hope my experience can help someone down the road. I have picked up nuggets here and there on this board that have helped me through the years. We all benefit from the shared knowledge.
 
power boat jim said:
I dont know why it has to be a "one or the other" debate. I have been using both MH and LED for a while now and it works very well. I like having the best of both worlds. Mine is a dual system, either one can provide enough light to run the tank. I can now choose, as the seasons permit, which one takes over the dominent role.
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I does not have to be. There are a couple of really nice tanks that run all 3 tech.
 
power boat jim said:
I dont know why it has to be a "one or the other" debate. I have been using both MH and LED for a while now and it works very well. I like having the best of both worlds. Mine is a dual system, either one can provide enough light to run the tank. I can now choose, as the seasons permit, which one takes over the dominent role.
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I am doing the same thing. 2 AI Primes and a 150w MH on my 56g
 
power boat jim said:
I dont know why it has to be a "one or the other" debate. I have been using both MH and LED for a while now and it works very well. I like having the best of both worlds. Mine is a dual system, either one can provide enough light to run the tank. I can now choose, as the seasons permit, which one takes over the dominent role.
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I don't know that many (if any) people on here would say that LED alone is "THE BEST", or any single light source for that matter. I am a past MH guy. My only complaint with MH is the heat. For those with the room and ability to deal with the heat, I still think that MH is an amazing light source. I, for one, have my tank sitting in the middle of the family room floor, so I have no way of handling the heat.

I personally have not had good success with T5's, the one and only time I tried them, I had 8 bulbs over a 50g cube and the results were far less than stellar. This in no way means that it is a bad light source, it's just my experience.

This leaves me with only one viable light source for my reef, LED. I have had good success with LED's in the past, however I NEVER conformed to the LED "rules" either. All of my LED builds has been TREMENDOUSLY over built. My first had 24 x 3W Cree's over a 3g Pico. My second (and most successful so far) had 90 x 3W Epistar LED's over a 34 gallon cube. Now I have 456 x 3W Cree's, with NO lenses, over our 300. That is roughly equivalent to 11 Radions.

I personally think that the LED clusters are the answer to the LED riddle. The problem is that manufacturers are still charging a premium for something that only covers 1/2 of what they claim. I also think that too much attention is given to optics for said LED's. Running them without optics eliminates MANY of complaints that people have concerning LED's (though this may be due to the increased number of LED's needed when running without optics). Again, this is just my opinion.

Will LED's replace MH and T5? Maybe, but I strongly doubt it. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. There is NO PERFECT LIGHT SOURCE (except the sun, of course).:lol2: Use what works for you and your tank! If you are happy, and your tank inhabitants are happy, then who cares what others think about it.
 
Big E said:
I'm going to assume you've never run a T5 tank, because this is simply not true.
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I have had a 4 bulb ATI Powermodule and I still have an 8 bulb Sunpower. I run Radions over my DT and am about to supplement those with a 2 bulb T5 kit. I run a Radium over my frag tank.

It's absolutely true. I ran multiple bulb combos and have yet to see colors from T5s like that from LED or even the Radium. It comes down to spectrum and T5 spectrums, while nice in their own right come out looking pastel. No disrespect to that tank either, its one of the best I've seen, but the colors are pale and he is even now supplementing with LED. In fact there are a lot of people who use T5 or MH and supplement with LED for that reason. They want to see more fluorescence.
 
yifan917 said:
Has anyone tried T5, MH, and LED combo? I am thinking of making a fixture like this on my new tank. I am thinking of using old school reflectors for the MH, and LED pendants like the Kessil A360 http://www.kessil.com/aquarium/Saltwater_A360.php , plus some T5s......

Overkill? :lolspin:
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I think you can't go wrong.

Check out d2mini's light build. Cebu Sun with BML strips.

If and when I setup a new DT I will look at the Geismann Infinity with Radions.
 
Johnseye said:
I have had a 4 bulb ATI Powermodule and I still have an 8 bulb Sunpower. I run Radions over my DT and am about to supplement those with a 2 bulb T5 kit. I run a Radium over my frag tank.


It's absolutely true. I ran multiple bulb combos and have yet to see colors from T5s like that from LED or even the Radium. It comes down to spectrum and T5 spectrums, while nice in their own right come out looking pastel. No disrespect to that tank either, its one of the best I've seen, but the colors are pale and he is even now supplementing with LED. In fact there are a lot of people who use T5 or MH and supplement with LED for that reason. They want to see more fluorescence.
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I've been running a T5 only setup for 5 years and I don't have pastel colors like lunar's tank. He chooses to run a pastel color like system......it has nothing to do with the T5 lighting causing this.

I'm specifically addressing your "pastel" comments as being false.

left%20side%20scape_zpsq9iqbsrv.jpg


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2197142&page=12

There are hundreds of T5 tanks all over the web that don't have pastel colors.
 
Big E said:
I've been running a T5 only setup for 5 years and I don't have pastel colors like lunar's tank. He chooses to run a pastel color like system......it has nothing to do with the T5 lighting causing this.

I'm specifically addressing your "pastel" comments as being false.

There are hundreds of T5 tanks all over the web that don't have pastel colors.
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No offense, but they look pastel to me. Why bother with supplemental LED otherwise?
 
Johnseye said:
No offense, but they look pastel to me. Why bother with supplemental LED otherwise?
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I must disagree with you here. As you all know, I am an LED advocate, but I can always appreciate good looking tanks and corals. While there may be a couple of corals in Big E's tank that have pastel colors, most are not. That Cali Tort looks just like the one in my, LED only, system.

Your comment sounds suspiciously like you are now simply trying to stand behind your previous "pastel" statement, no matter what evidence is shown. We have all seen T5 lit tanks, and most do not have that primarily "pastel" look to them.
 
My tank, T5 only:

FullTank012515_zpsc7165f49.jpg


I happen to like lighter colors, but I end up with rich color under T5, not pastel. I see the "I don't like the Zeo pastel color" statements from people all the time, in my experience most of the time the critic can't criticize the growth or success of the tank so they talk about how the corals "don't look natural". Light colored corals are more a function of very low nutrients than light source.
 
lpsouth1978 said:
I must disagree with you here. As you all know, I am an LED advocate, but I can always appreciate good looking tanks and corals. While there may be a couple of corals in Big E's tank that have pastel colors, most are not. That Cali Tort looks just like the one in my, LED only, system.

Your comment sounds suspiciously like you are now simply trying to stand behind your previous "pastel" statement, no matter what evidence is shown. We have all seen T5 lit tanks, and most do not have that primarily "pastel" look to them.
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I will agree the last picture shown is less pastel and has more bolder colors, especially the cali tort. I am speaking in general about T5 lighting. There are exceptions under every situation. Big E himself even admitted that Lunar's tank was pastel looking.

My comments are meant to compare most of the tanks I've seen under T5 lighting to MH 20k or specific LED spectrums. I also think corals displayed under 10-14k look more washed out than higher kelvin spectrums. They offer better growth but don't fluoresce as much. It really has more to do with the spectrum than the type of light. T5s need more blue or actinic to hit the higher measurement on the kelvin scale.

I would like to know what bulb combo Big E used in that picture.
 
Johnseye said:
...I also think corals displayed under 10-14k look more washed out than higher kelvin spectrums. They offer better growth but don't fluoresce as much. It really has more to do with the spectrum than the type of light. T5s need more blue or actinic to hit the higher measurement on the kelvin scale.
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It is a well known fact that 20K causes corals to fluoresce more than 10 or 14k. IMO 20K looks less realistic than lower kelvin ratings. If you have ever been scuba diving then you know that corals in their natural environment don't have nearly the colors we see in our tanks. The exception being when diving with lights to illuminate the corals and bring out those colors.

I personally prefer a 14K look and try to emulate that in my tank. I also have some Pastel colors in my tank, a pink milliopora, and a light blue bushy coral of some sort. There is much more that comes into play with colors than just lights. It is a combo of params, nutrients, light, etc...
 
lpsouth1978 said:
It is a well known fact that 20K causes corals to fluoresce more than 10 or 14k. IMO 20K looks less realistic than lower kelvin ratings. If you have ever been scuba diving then you know that corals in their natural environment don't have nearly the colors we see in our tanks. The exception being when diving with lights to illuminate the corals and bring out those colors.

I personally prefer a 14K look and try to emulate that in my tank. I also have some Pastel colors in my tank, a pink milliopora, and a light blue bushy coral of some sort. There is much more that comes into play with colors than just lights. It is a combo of params, nutrients, light, etc...
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Exactly my point. Yes I dive around the world, and take underwater photos & videos. I'm well aware of the colors in the ocean.

To each their own. I find the defensive stance surrounding T5s humorous given the brutal attacks on LED and the grandstanding of MH but...to each their own. I like them all, just some better than others. :beer:
 
Absolutely would have to pry my halides from my hands, but I don't care to see them on. In fact, my lighting schedule keeps halides off when I'm home, and the weekend completely. I use the T5s and 2 blue reefbrites at those times for CRAZY pop. That's why I seek out the more colorful coral, to see it pop. Like discussed, we all have our preference, but all lighting technologies work, and work WELL!
 
Agreed!

Actinics in the evening for viewing pleasure.


MH in the day time for that single, point source, sun like boost for coral growth and health.
 
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