Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
- Start date
bhazard451
New member
I would tend to agree. Leds haven't truly matched them yet. Color and growth is starting to get really close though.
Those of us running leds are doing so more for the ability to dim the lights, and have electricity and heat issues. My tank is in a room connected to a 2000W RMS subwoofer amp, and a 1000w receiver. Another 1000w of MH/T5 would be pushing it without tripping a breaker during a movie.
1Sik1500
New member
What are you currently using on your tank? Could we see some pictures of your set up? Bulbs? life? Replacement cost? Tank temperature?
meshwheel
New member
Sik,
One Hamilton 250 watt 14K Metal Halide bulb. In Lumenbright fixture. Tank is a 30 gallon tank, with a chiller. Smallest tank I have ever owned, but wanted cheap due to economic conditions here in So. Cal.
Coral grown is all from small frags. But load is getting to large for this small of a tank. My current build is a custom 65 gallon tank. Trying to decide on lighting!
One Hamilton 250 watt 14K Metal Halide bulb. In Lumenbright fixture. Tank is a 30 gallon tank, with a chiller. Smallest tank I have ever owned, but wanted cheap due to economic conditions here in So. Cal.
Coral grown is all from small frags. But load is getting to large for this small of a tank. My current build is a custom 65 gallon tank. Trying to decide on lighting!
rrasco
Active member
Not when you build it yourself. It's just a matter of building it efficiently.
meshwheel
New member
Here's my new tank. 36x18x25. Still working on the stand. Stand alone is 42 inches tall and will have a granite counter top going around the base of the tank. Stand is plenty beefy and will be secured to the wall. I have 3 tall bar stools that will set in front and sides of tank.
rrasco
Active member
Good growth and good (enough) colors. I do believe I am missing a few peaks on the spectral graph though. I've been mapping out my emitters to see what I should add. As of now, I am leaning towards adding some cyan and violet. Currently, nothing has ever browned out on me, but some things do tend to shift red or green. This could be due to missing wavelengths.
I build my own fixtures and drivers. With the amount of driver information available on this board, it really drives down the price (no pun intended) of the fixture. Being able to build your own controllers helps too; if you desire that.
First image is my current fixture, sans the 4500K because I can't find any spectral information on that, but it should have similar peaks like the 6500K and 10000K, but with a higher peak in the 550nm range; which makes it warmer.
Second image adds cyan (490-520nm) and violet (410-420nm).
Third image adds green (520-532nm) and red (660nm).
You could go even further and add some orange, ambers, or deep reds to cover even more of the spectral range. The higher wavelengths don't penetrate as much as the lower ranges do, so that's important to keep in mind too.
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Robertstock
New member
i have 2 x 250w MH's and T5 bulbs and i love the color. i was thinking about making the switch to LED's but after reading this i'm glad i haven't.
ganjero
saiperchémibatteilcorazon
How high do you have the LB? I have used those reflectors since they came out, I ran 400w and 250Ww MH in different tanks and never used a chiller. I used to run them about 16-18" from the rim of the tank to the bulb and there was no heat transfer at all.
Now that I have my first small tank (34g) I'm trying an AI Sol Blue which I like so far but as everyone knows the reds are not as deep under this lights. I have a chalice that was deep red under Radiums and now it's bright orange.
BTW I have tons of other issues with this tank, running a small tank has been a challenge for me so far. If you could please PM (to keep this thread on track) your maintenance and dosing routine and your equipment, and any tip to run a small tank.
meshwheel
New member
1SIK1500,
Yea, it looks a little washed out for sure. I am lacking in picture taking skills for sure. But it's with a Canon Rebel camera. Just need more practice. Need to work the balance more I am sure.
It's not that blue in person at all. The 14K bulb is awesome! No other supplemental lighting at all. But the 25-ish gallons of water is a real challenge for Acropora!
Quite frankly, it's a PITA!!!! I cannot wait to get my 65 gallon up and running. Will be transfering corals over.
I know what you mean by the burn! Actually, this Lumenbright has been better with the glass shield on it then I expected.
It's a potent little set-up with the fixture for sure. When the bulbs are on sale from Hamilton you get can get them I think for 42.00.
It's puts off some heat, but with the reflector being so darn efficient, it's 18 inches above my water line!!!
Yea, it looks a little washed out for sure. I am lacking in picture taking skills for sure. But it's with a Canon Rebel camera. Just need more practice. Need to work the balance more I am sure.
It's not that blue in person at all. The 14K bulb is awesome! No other supplemental lighting at all. But the 25-ish gallons of water is a real challenge for Acropora!
Quite frankly, it's a PITA!!!! I cannot wait to get my 65 gallon up and running. Will be transfering corals over.
I know what you mean by the burn! Actually, this Lumenbright has been better with the glass shield on it then I expected.
It's a potent little set-up with the fixture for sure. When the bulbs are on sale from Hamilton you get can get them I think for 42.00.
It's puts off some heat, but with the reflector being so darn efficient, it's 18 inches above my water line!!!
rrasco
Active member
I honestly don't know. I would consider the AI Vegas, Maxspect Razors, or the Radion Pros...but I don't like being locked into a design, controller, company, or emitters. For those price points, I could build something a hell of a lot cooler. In fact, I could build an AI Sol with different colors and use their own case for around $250-300.
I don't think I'll ever buy a fixture, I like being able to customize, modify, upgrade, and test my own units. Plus, I like building stuff. Who needs a warranty when you can fix it yourself, for a fraction of the cost and time.
meshwheel
New member
Yes, I know the latest fixtures are getting better for sure. I just looked at a few at Reef Palooza and they where just coming out with the mulit-colored units. Early 2012. They looked like toys to me. But they looked better to me as far as spectrum in the tank.
I know one outfit (Name started with A, out of NY) had their own 10K whites and it looked much better then AI'S 6500 whites they had out at the time. Just my opinion.
Would love to see some of your lights!
Thank you
I know one outfit (Name started with A, out of NY) had their own 10K whites and it looked much better then AI'S 6500 whites they had out at the time. Just my opinion.
Would love to see some of your lights!
Thank you
rrasco
Active member
Build thread for details and many more pics: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159196
This is from back in August, there are acros and plenty of other things in there now.
This is T5 housing I retrofitted for a frag tank. Only 10 emitters. This one actually only has 4 RB, 4 4500K and 2 violet. Just softies and LPS in there, but they've done great. No optics either actually. There are 60 degree on my other fixture.
This is from back in August, there are acros and plenty of other things in there now.
This is T5 housing I retrofitted for a frag tank. Only 10 emitters. This one actually only has 4 RB, 4 4500K and 2 violet. Just softies and LPS in there, but they've done great. No optics either actually. There are 60 degree on my other fixture.
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