power boat jim
Well-known member
They say that but I have found the lights work better and stay cleaner, higher off the water.
Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
- Start date
They say that but I have found the lights work better and stay cleaner, higher off the water.
Aquatron
Refugium pat.#D414,242
MHs to LEDs to MH Combo
MHs to LEDs to MH Combo
For the last 15 years my tanks have always been on the large side with 300 gallon and 750 gallon reef's. So lighting for me has always been MH with VHOs and a skylight on my 750 because of depth. On this build of 300 gallons I now feel with two years of reading, asking questions, and buying early made LEDs(then selling before using) that I have the perfect set up now
Center section of my 8' tank will be a 36" dual 250 watt Cebu w/4 t5s/Radiums(mogul base) powered by a new(found on eBay) Blue Wave 7 ballast. Then on each side of the Cebu fixture is a Orphek V2 LED fixture.
I would of never thought I would spend close to $ 3,000.00 on aquarium lighting but now I can't wait until my build is finished so I can see my tank shine As an old school...er I believe I will always run some MHs(grown to many nice corals with them and like the look) but having done my research for me Orphek LEDs, T5s, and MHs mogul base/radiums combo is the killer way to go. :thumbsup:
MHs to LEDs to MH Combo
For the last 15 years my tanks have always been on the large side with 300 gallon and 750 gallon reef's. So lighting for me has always been MH with VHOs and a skylight on my 750 because of depth. On this build of 300 gallons I now feel with two years of reading, asking questions, and buying early made LEDs(then selling before using) that I have the perfect set up now
Center section of my 8' tank will be a 36" dual 250 watt Cebu w/4 t5s/Radiums(mogul base) powered by a new(found on eBay) Blue Wave 7 ballast. Then on each side of the Cebu fixture is a Orphek V2 LED fixture.
I would of never thought I would spend close to $ 3,000.00 on aquarium lighting but now I can't wait until my build is finished so I can see my tank shine
As an old school...er I believe I will always run some MHs(grown to many nice corals with them and like the look) but having done my research for me Orphek LEDs, T5s, and MHs mogul base/radiums combo is the killer way to go. :thumbsup:
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
that does coincide with certain states legalizing the growing of *other* things that also like MH lighting. :bdaysmile:
or so i've heard...
meshwheel
New member
power boat jim,
Following along with your testing! Sounds like the only thing your getting more of so far with the halide is higher temps and electrical usage!
My Reefbreeders fixture is great so far!!! I love it! I cannot believe i am getting this growth with around 80-90 watts of light. And at only 4 hours a day! The other 8 is sunrise/sunset.
Mine is 10 inches off the surface of the water, AND my tank top is completely covered with 1/2 acrylic! I keep my covers on and love it! stays nice and clean on top. I am getting coralline algae growth now EVERYWHERE!!!!
Once I hit the correct amount of light, everything just took off! I have found PAR numbers from led's need to be much much lower then PAR numbers from metal halides! Thats my experience anyways............
Following along with your testing! Sounds like the only thing your getting more of so far with the halide is higher temps and electrical usage!
My Reefbreeders fixture is great so far!!! I love it! I cannot believe i am getting this growth with around 80-90 watts of light. And at only 4 hours a day! The other 8 is sunrise/sunset.
Mine is 10 inches off the surface of the water, AND my tank top is completely covered with 1/2 acrylic! I keep my covers on and love it! stays nice and clean on top. I am getting coralline algae growth now EVERYWHERE!!!!
Once I hit the correct amount of light, everything just took off! I have found PAR numbers from led's need to be much much lower then PAR numbers from metal halides! Thats my experience anyways............
Bpb
New member
Pics or it didn't happen
power boat jim
Well-known member
Thats true to a point. I needed the temp increase with the way the weather was anyway. Its also true there has not been the fast miracle 2 week color up of every coral that needed it as a large number of people have claimed. I will keep one MH running with my problem child corals under it and see how it goes over time.
Aqualund
New member
Oh lookie there.
It's funny you mention that my tomato clown bit me this week.... Mean sucker.
Mikefromaz
New member
BonsaiNut
Premium Member
This thread is bankrupt
(1) It was started 18 months ago, which with LED technology means a full tech generation in the past.
(2) The question is not IF you will move to LED's, but WHEN. You might have loved your old big tube SONY television, but try to buy one today I don't doubt that eventually metal halides will go the way of the 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Remember - aquarium usage is a tiny segment of the industry. Once industrial users move away from metal halides, you will see producers moving out of the segment, prices skyrocketing, and selection falling dramatically.
However... are LED's there NOW?? I can't really say. I think prices need to drop about 50%, at which point there will be a price advantage versus other lighting technologies. Right now one of the biggest problems in my opinion is people "cheating" on their LED's because they can't afford to pay for the proper fixtures - and the proper NUMBER of fixtures to light their tanks. Seems to me like the people who dump big bucks into the right quantity and quality of fixtures get good results today...
(1) It was started 18 months ago, which with LED technology means a full tech generation in the past.
(2) The question is not IF you will move to LED's, but WHEN. You might have loved your old big tube SONY television, but try to buy one today
I don't doubt that eventually metal halides will go the way of the 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Remember - aquarium usage is a tiny segment of the industry. Once industrial users move away from metal halides, you will see producers moving out of the segment, prices skyrocketing, and selection falling dramatically.However... are LED's there NOW?? I can't really say. I think prices need to drop about 50%, at which point there will be a price advantage versus other lighting technologies. Right now one of the biggest problems in my opinion is people "cheating" on their LED's because they can't afford to pay for the proper fixtures - and the proper NUMBER of fixtures to light their tanks. Seems to me like the people who dump big bucks into the right quantity and quality of fixtures get good results today...
This thread is bankrupt
(1) It was started 18 months ago, which with LED technology means a full tech generation in the past.
(2) The question is not IF you will move to LED's, but WHEN. You might have loved your old big tube SONY television, but try to buy one today
However... are LED's there NOW?? I can't really say. I think prices need to drop about 50%, at which point there will be a price advantage versus other lighting technologies. Right now one of the biggest problems in my opinion is people "cheating" on their LED's because they can't afford to pay for the proper fixtures - and the proper NUMBER of fixtures to light their tanks. Seems to me like the people who dump big bucks into the right quantity and quality of fixtures get good results today...
Led for sure is here now but yes, the price is still a little high if you are going with a good high end setup. I don't think the problem lies with the technology but rather with the producers. They stubbornly refuse to accept that not everyone is as interested in LED technology as they are. We just want a stupid lamp that works. Many people who are interested also lack the knowledge to make these complex setups work properly.
I don't need to control my lights on my Ipad, I need them to grow corals that look good. If you can have great results with a Radium MH without using your smartphone there is no reason you can not do the same with LED. Kessil is coming my way but I am still not totally happy about how the tank of a friend looks with them (360's).
I just want to hang it, adjust the intensity, put it on a timer and have it look like your old MH/T5 combo..... that's it! If you would like to give me 2 (TWO! not 15) channels to dim them for dusk/dawn or a similar built in effect that would be nice too.
I honestly don't think there is much to improve upon in light quality in a MH/T5 setup. All that LED brings is convenience and ease of use....except most producers are hellbent on making it more inconvenient and complicated.
Btw, I have a Sony tube TV and I still love it...
power boat jim
Well-known member
I honestly don't think there is much to improve upon in light quality in a MH/T5 setup. All that LED brings is convenience and ease of use....except most producers are hellbent on making it more inconvenient and complicated.
Btw, I have a Sony tube TV and I still love it...
You know the old saying if it aint broke give it to an engineer, they will add components till it is.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
"I honestly don't think there is much to improve upon in light quality in a MH/T5 setup. All that LED brings is convenience and ease of use....except most producers are hellbent on making it more inconvenient and complicated."
LED also brings lower power consumption, less heat and a sleeker look than bulky MH systems.
Inconvenience and complication is due to the fact that they are deisgned by engineers for engineers.
Don't get me wrong, I have been running MH for two weeks while my Illumina is being repaired and upgraded (shipped out yesterday, coming back) and I will miss them.
But I bet my light bill will reflect the MH usage.
"Btw, I have a Sony tube TV and I still love it..."
We have two old tube TVs one Toshiba and one JVC.
Still love ours too....
LED also brings lower power consumption, less heat and a sleeker look than bulky MH systems.
Inconvenience and complication is due to the fact that they are deisgned by engineers for engineers.
Don't get me wrong, I have been running MH for two weeks while my Illumina is being repaired and upgraded (shipped out yesterday, coming back) and I will miss them.
But I bet my light bill will reflect the MH usage.
"Btw, I have a Sony tube TV and I still love it..."
We have two old tube TVs one Toshiba and one JVC.
Still love ours too....
Mikefromaz
New member
The one thing that reefers and LED manufactures have both greatly ignored is verifiable data on how much and what frequency should be employed based on water depth and therefore animals to be serviced. Until the advent and now increasing diversity, all we basically had was a choice of how bright and whatever fixed spectrum was available. The key word being fixed. All the discussion whether the lights are MH, T5, PC etc. Now that almost infinite adjustability with LEDS it is time (if they are smart) for manufacturers to step up and provide their customers charts with viable data showing WHICH combos of light are best targeted for animals by frequency/depth/PAR. It shouldn't be that hard, it just takes a heads up sales crew to convince their bosses of the $$$ advantages of taking the mystery away.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
Well said! ^^^^
I agree 100%
I agree 100%
d2mini
Premium Member
IMO, this is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest problem with some LED fixtures, namely the most expensive ones.
There is data out there that shows great growth and color with X mh bulb paired with X ballast. You buy it and you know what you are getting. With LED, it's completely up to the end user to come up with a spectrum that will do what they want, and then on top of that, the spectrum is changing all day long, along with intensity. I think any issues with growth and color are just because the coral are all so dang confused! :crazy1: :lol: Plus the simple fact that most of us have no idea what we are doing and going by aesthetics alone.
acesq
Premium Member
That right there is the hammer hitting the nail squarely on the head! It's not whether LED's can produce the spectrum and intensity of light necessary to compete with MH, it's how to do it!! I'd like to see the manufacturers of LED units set up their own test tanks and publish their results with instructions on exactly how to set up their units to produce the results they claim you can get.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
Amen brother!
JPMagyar
New member
. . . The question is not IF you will move to LED's, but WHEN. You might have loved your old big tube SONY television, but try to buy one today
Remember this is the internet, a hobby, not personal, and only one old dudes opinion . . .
I was trying to come up with a bet that we could both verify like there will be more metal halide tanks in the future than there are now or there will be fewer LED tanks in the future as a percentage of reef aquariums but I couldn't think of something funny and good so I'll just have to state my case.
I have tried numerous LEDs at home the most recent being my hybrid disaster. I also have a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and way back when in the days when dinosaurs walked the Earth I actually worked on designing microchips using "doping" which involved understanding the nano technology of P-N junctions. I will tell you here and now that LED light will never replace "full spectrum" light sources created by burning gases. The simple physics of how LEDs produce light prohibits there ever being a "full spectrum" LED. Add to that a host of other issues associated withLED light and you will understand why NOT ONE SINGLE MAJOR GREENHOUSE in the WHOLE WORLD except for some crazy Dutch that use LEDs to make roses more red is using LEDs. They do not grow plants or zooxanthellea "correctly". Can they make things grow? Yes. Can they do it the same as full spectrum light? No. Just look at the increasing number of experiments showing how some LED light is damaging to certain corals or certain zooxanthellea.
LEDs will NEVER replace the current full spectrum light sources. There may be other technology that will, but LEDs are NOT it. For people interested in growing plants and corals of all varieties correctly the defects of LED lighting make their use impossible.
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Or even better, remove the options all together.
Some of us remember how you could ask someone about their lights and you would usually get one of three answers as to how they look, 12k, 16k or 20k. What is so impossible about just making a full spectrum led in those three options for looks.
How many of us are actually interested in (or capable of) programming a light fixture. In my experience this would be a very small percentage but I am of course only talking about friends and what I see on forums and such.
I don't get why near 100% of good LED reef light producers are only making lights for what must be a niche market.
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