I guess the challenge comes in when you try to find the necessary parts to switch back.
So, the 160W 16K R420rs with A350Ws supplementing don't seem to be cutting it. Certainly nothing like the old 250W halides used to, at least. Yeh, there's some "glitter lines", but the "look" and "feel" is a bit acerbic, sterile even, as opposed to what the 14K halides used to produce. Heck, with Actinic VHO supplements, the colors would jump out under halides.
Some of the corals do well with the LEDs. Heck, I'm growing milles and other acros at 27"...but the clams (even a small T. squamosa) aren't putting on new shell worth a Grand Hoover. Some SPS corals are alive and colored up, but haven't grown significantly or noticeably in over four months, while others have grown multiples of inches (and need to be fragged soon). And then there's the hazards of "spotlighting" or hotspots from LED arrays, and yes, some of the corals have bleached (but are recovering, still, after nearly 10 months).
So, I start looking around for metal halide equipment. Hmm. "Discontinued" seems to pop up quite frequently, and nothing I find seems to be able to fit into a 36 X 72 canopy (yes, it's a 300DD aquarium) without having to break out a jig saw and/or hang from the ceiling. A simple, 250W HQI setup I can mount in a well-ventilated canopy is all I ask. I'm certainly not afraid of building one, but come on, do I have to revisit '87 when I put together (literally riveted the sheet metal and assembled my own magnetic ballasts) my first halide setup?
So, how about this. LED manufacturers, please give me what I had with my 250W metal halide at least - now that I've dropped this much change on the table - the "punch" to reach the bottom of a 30" water column with enough of the spread and correct PUR to encourage light-hungry invertebrate growth such as clams and high-light acropora, stylophora, and the like. I don't want an exorbitantly priced spotlight covering an area 3" in diameter; to try and cover about 2,500 square inches of bottom would be insanely expensive...if it reaches that far. Nor do I want satisfactory PUR (for T. maxima and crocea) only in the upper 8"-12" of water in said 30" column.
How can you demonstrate you've accomplished this goal? Easy - prove it with side-by-side comparisons of spectrum charts, PAR graphs and PUR graphs across an array of the most popular metal halides in the hobby. Show us how deep your systems can truly push usable PAR in the form of PUR, what the spread is like, and how they compare directly with all of the major brands of metal halide and how they compare with nature at various depths. All the info in one place, at one time, to make decision making very easy that yours is the best product.
What really bothers me is I'm posting this after building a system with 3 160W R420rs, 4 A350Ws and 1 A360WE, and I'm still not satisfied I'm getting the best results nor providing the best environment possible for the reef I'm keeping.
After this rant (and profuse apologies), any good sources for said halide parts and accessories these days? Any good ideas for a reflector for a canopy installation? It appears most if not all of the normal suspects have very little or none to offer, and I'm a little frustrated.
So, the 160W 16K R420rs with A350Ws supplementing don't seem to be cutting it. Certainly nothing like the old 250W halides used to, at least. Yeh, there's some "glitter lines", but the "look" and "feel" is a bit acerbic, sterile even, as opposed to what the 14K halides used to produce. Heck, with Actinic VHO supplements, the colors would jump out under halides.
Some of the corals do well with the LEDs. Heck, I'm growing milles and other acros at 27"...but the clams (even a small T. squamosa) aren't putting on new shell worth a Grand Hoover. Some SPS corals are alive and colored up, but haven't grown significantly or noticeably in over four months, while others have grown multiples of inches (and need to be fragged soon). And then there's the hazards of "spotlighting" or hotspots from LED arrays, and yes, some of the corals have bleached (but are recovering, still, after nearly 10 months).
So, I start looking around for metal halide equipment. Hmm. "Discontinued" seems to pop up quite frequently, and nothing I find seems to be able to fit into a 36 X 72 canopy (yes, it's a 300DD aquarium) without having to break out a jig saw and/or hang from the ceiling. A simple, 250W HQI setup I can mount in a well-ventilated canopy is all I ask. I'm certainly not afraid of building one, but come on, do I have to revisit '87 when I put together (literally riveted the sheet metal and assembled my own magnetic ballasts) my first halide setup?
So, how about this. LED manufacturers, please give me what I had with my 250W metal halide at least - now that I've dropped this much change on the table - the "punch" to reach the bottom of a 30" water column with enough of the spread and correct PUR to encourage light-hungry invertebrate growth such as clams and high-light acropora, stylophora, and the like. I don't want an exorbitantly priced spotlight covering an area 3" in diameter; to try and cover about 2,500 square inches of bottom would be insanely expensive...if it reaches that far. Nor do I want satisfactory PUR (for T. maxima and crocea) only in the upper 8"-12" of water in said 30" column.
How can you demonstrate you've accomplished this goal? Easy - prove it with side-by-side comparisons of spectrum charts, PAR graphs and PUR graphs across an array of the most popular metal halides in the hobby. Show us how deep your systems can truly push usable PAR in the form of PUR, what the spread is like, and how they compare directly with all of the major brands of metal halide and how they compare with nature at various depths. All the info in one place, at one time, to make decision making very easy that yours is the best product.
What really bothers me is I'm posting this after building a system with 3 160W R420rs, 4 A350Ws and 1 A360WE, and I'm still not satisfied I'm getting the best results nor providing the best environment possible for the reef I'm keeping.
After this rant (and profuse apologies), any good sources for said halide parts and accessories these days? Any good ideas for a reflector for a canopy installation? It appears most if not all of the normal suspects have very little or none to offer, and I'm a little frustrated.
, a clam. Want to get back in with some Lobos, Torch, hammers, again think I'm going to say away from SPS. 
