Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides

[rtparty]

I've had my 3 AI Sols for almost 1 1/2 yrs (2 white & 1 blue module) I have a true mixed reef and everything is happy & everything grows. I think a lot of people like to blame their lighting because its easy when the culprit is something else. Also, I've had exactly zero issues, I plugged them in, programmed the appropriate lighting schedule and they just run ....

No one is saying they don't grow corals. They just don't grow all of them really, really well like MH or T5s. Nor do they produce the same coloration.

I know LEDs are hard to photo but I've still not seen an LED tank compete with a MH or T5 tank. People keep claiming it but I haven't seen it. I follow many of the LED threads as well. Especially in the SPS forum.

 

[meshwheel]

MarlinHooker,
I totally agree with that statement! Its just as much a game with everything else! Water quality, water chemistry, food amounts, flow etc.
What I hear and see people doing is stripping their tank water of everything! People get obsessed with trying to get their water so clean the animals suffer. There is virtually no nutrients in the tank for them to extract and feed off of.
Bottom line is this hobby takes patience and experience.

 

[Sk8r]

It's easy to focus on the last change you made as the one that's giving trouble, but do try looking at nutrient levels if you're doing anything but SPS. You CAN overkill on cleaning: a little phosphate fuels useful algae which fuel copepods, which nourish dragonets and other life, etc; and lps like 'rich' water and don't mind some particulate in it.

OTOH, this lighting thing is still very new and the very edge of the bleeding edge: everything you learn may be new and is worth considering in the information pool: I think we're finding out a lot real fast, and it's worth careful consideration for somebody putting their toe into the pool. I have one led and one mh, and I'm a lot happier with the mh in terms of my understanding it and understanding where to position things; but the LED will, I'm convinced, develop in very interesting ways.

 

[power boat jim]

Can we see some pics? Growth shots? Very interested as I have never seen an AI Sol setup that looked good IMHO.

Try this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/113444252@N02/

 

[Spyderturbo007]

No.
If MHs are done correctly they will add no heat.
What size tank do you have?

I have a 55g.

I went from a 54w x 4 bulb T5HO to a Pacific Sun Hyperion S (2 x 145w).

 

[Fredfish]

I'm sure most of you have seen tdb320reef's thread. He has/had LEDs and added Radiums into the mix for color. I think he ended up dimming his white LEDs to about 10%.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22125178&postcount=124

I spent some time looking at his pictures just before he changed and the last update. I can't say I see any difference in the colour of his corals after the change. Tank looks good under both sets of lights to me.

 

[JPMagyar]

If you have tried two proven light sources and have not been successful with either it might not be the lights. Using the leds alone should make for a very nice result. Using T5s yield very nice results. Using the two together should yield outstanding results.

+1

He is posting elsewhere and clearly the problem is NOT the lights, but I'm not sure that he is open to an honest evaluation because he is very upset.

 

[semperfi102582]

Switching back to my 250 w radium from an AI Hydra. Borrowed it from a friend and the led light was dull and browned out most of my corals. Some even started to die.

 

[mhucasey]

Can we see some pics? Growth shots? Very interested as I have never seen an AI Sol setup that looked good IMHO.

+ 1 on this. If someone doesn't post pics of what they are claiming I tend to look through their posts or build thread. I want to see what their tank looks like and see for myself if what they say is true. It's amazing how much people exaggerate "great growth and color!" or "I love LEDs, never going back" and they have had them one or two weeks and have 2 brown corals in the tank.

Really people, the internet is a great tool to share information especially when you are truthful about what you have experienced. If you like the look of your LEDs and wouldn't switch at this point, thats fine. If you feel like your growth or color is great, awesome - show a picture please. A picture will help others decide which way to go. People here are understanding of the limitations of cell phone cameras.

I switched from LEDs to T5s and I feel like my color exploded after the switch. My growth has been up and down due to some nutrient issues but its really dialed in right now and coral growth is good. This is what the tank looked like yesterday(standard too blue cellphone pic disclaimer):

 

[grigsy]

Switching back to my 250 w radium from an AI Hydra. Borrowed it from a friend and the led light was dull and browned out most of my corals. Some even started to die.

I believe it.

I switched out one of my two Cayman Sun 250 Watt HQI pendants a few years ago for an AI SOL.

After 6 months of the using the AI SOL, my coral growth was noticeably better under the metal halide side. It was a big difference.

Yet, almost all LED manufacturers always claim their LED light is just like a 250 watt metal halide.

They aren't!

 

[Spyderturbo007]

+1

He is posting elsewhere and clearly the problem is NOT the lights, but I'm not sure that he is open to an honest evaluation because he is very upset.

Excuse me? You couldn't be more wrong if you posted in a Volkswagon Forum.

Where in the world are you coming up with the assumption that I'm closed minded about resolving the issues facing my tank? Can you show me any instance where I failed to give each persons' advice objective consideration?

I have a 6 page thread focusing on everything but the lights. I've explored options ranging from:

• Temperature
• Nitrate Dosing
• Feeding Habits
• GFO usage
• GAC usage
• Possible Live rock or Sand contamintion
• PolyFilters
• Cuprisorb
• Test kit verification using Certified Reference Materials
• Laboratory analysis using ICP
• Refractometer calibration using two different standards
• pH probe calibrations
• RO/DI unit upgrades
• and on, and on.....

Where in that list do you find me blaming the lights? I've attempted to rule out every other variable possible and have now turned to the lighting.

Would you be nice enough to tell me how it "clearly" isn't the lights? I would be ecstatic to determine the actual cause of my problem and have been open to all suggestions. I'm not sure where you are getting the information on which to base your assumptions, but you are "clearly" misinformed.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Don't feel bad turbo, there are lots of "holier than thou" types on here that love to make snap judgements based on little or no real evidence.
Just the nature of the beast I guess. We have to take the bad with the good.

 

[Magickiwi]

Don't feel bad turbo, there are lots of "holier than thou" types on here that love to make snap judgements based on little or no real evidence.
Just the nature of the beast I guess. We have to take the bad with the good.

Speaking of holier than thou. Weren't you done posting on this thread? I don't think it's very nice to promise something and then not follow through on it.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Who asked you?
From this point forward I will simply ignore posts from you.
Like I said, I don't want to make the Mods mad, and you seem to be trying to provoke me into doing so.
You have zero useful information to offer, so I will simply ignore you going forward.

 

[meshwheel]

Lmao!!!!!!!! Bahhhhahhhhhh, baahahahahahahah..........

 

[Magickiwi]

Who asked you?
From this point forward I will simply ignore posts from you.
Like I said, I don't want to make the Mods mad, and you seem to be trying to provoke me into doing so.
You have zero useful information to offer, so I will simply ignore you going forward.

I don't really think you have much to add to the conversation either so your proposal will work out great for both of us. It's like trying to have a conversation around a 12yr old with a chip on his shoulder.

Mhucasey: You say your color exploded when you switched to T5 from LED. Were you using LEDs you could control the color blend on or were they one color like the Kessils? Just curious if maybe the T5's are providing a more flattering color blend.

 

[rsaha]

I have a 6 page thread focusing on everything but the lights. I've explored options ranging from:

• Temperature
• Nitrate Dosing
• Feeding Habits
• GFO usage
• GAC usage
• Possible Live rock or Sand contamintion
• PolyFilters
• Cuprisorb
• Test kit verification using Certified Reference Materials
• Laboratory analysis using ICP
• Refractometer calibration using two different standards
• pH probe calibrations
• RO/DI unit upgrades
• and on, and on.....

I looked for your thread but couldn't find it. Not that it's likely that I can help but I'd like to try. Could you point me to it?

 

[BrianD]

The next person who makes a personal attack/comment receives a 3 month timeout. I don't care who hit who first. Let's act a little more maturely, shall we?

Thread readers, please report the post immediately if my warning is ignored.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Since Proline has agreed to make my Illumina fully functional or replace it,
when I get it back from them I will give it a few weeks (If I don't fall immediately in love with the way my tank looks under my old halide system) to make sure the LEDs are the reason for my decline in coralline algae and stunted coral growth.
If it is my admitted lack of husbandry that was the cause I will keep the Illumina. I really don't like the thought of going back to 1200 + watts spinning my electric meter for 12 hours a day if I can achieve the look and growth I want with LEDs.
If it is in fact the LEDs causing the problem the Illumina will have to go.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

I looked for your thread but couldn't find it. Not that it's likely that I can help but I'd like to try. Could you point me to it?

Absolutely. I would love other opinions. My thread started out because I wanted to try dosing Nitrate because I thought I was out of options. A few of the wiser guys/gals stepped in and offered some additional suggestions. I'm in the process of a "wait and see what happens" right now, but would value anyones' input.

It's a long read.....