d2mini
Premium Member
Very nice. What fixtures are those?
Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides
- Thread starter Goldcoastreefs
- Start date
Very nice. What fixtures are those?
maidia
New member
Geissemann Infinity and DIY LEDs strips.
Mael
New member
I made the switch from T5 to LED about a year ago and love it, no plans going back at all, run it over 3 tanks and love the color and growth of my coral(mixed reef).
That said, I have nothing against MH or T5(except maybe extra heat from MH), I feel they can also grow great coral and make it look beautiful as well. In the end I dont think there is truly a wrong answer to light now that LEd tech has come as far as it has and it no longer ridiculously expensive(anyone get a fully programmable full spectrum unit for under $200) and it really comes down to personal choice and setup requirements.
As an example I had been keeping track of the TOTM tanks and the last 14-15 winners broke down like this....
T5: 6
MH: 6
LED: 5
(only one counted in multiple categories was hedgedrew who really used an even mix of all 3 light types)
That is a pretty even spread of light sources for the TOTM systems a lot of us like to drool over and aspire to. Which makes it come down to, all types can and will work, it depends on what You Want to use and what is feesable with your system as far as room for lighting and heat issues.
Only anecdotal item I noticed was that the majority of people using MH supplement with LEd or T5. Very few people running LED feel the need to supplement with another light source. This does not really mean anything in the end, but I find it interesting most MH users feel the neeed to supplement to get the spectrum they want, where todays full spectrum LEDs dont seem to need help on that front.
My 2.3 cents.
That said, I have nothing against MH or T5(except maybe extra heat from MH), I feel they can also grow great coral and make it look beautiful as well. In the end I dont think there is truly a wrong answer to light now that LEd tech has come as far as it has and it no longer ridiculously expensive(anyone get a fully programmable full spectrum unit for under $200) and it really comes down to personal choice and setup requirements.
As an example I had been keeping track of the TOTM tanks and the last 14-15 winners broke down like this....
T5: 6
MH: 6
LED: 5
(only one counted in multiple categories was hedgedrew who really used an even mix of all 3 light types)
That is a pretty even spread of light sources for the TOTM systems a lot of us like to drool over and aspire to. Which makes it come down to, all types can and will work, it depends on what You Want to use and what is feesable with your system as far as room for lighting and heat issues.
Only anecdotal item I noticed was that the majority of people using MH supplement with LEd or T5. Very few people running LED feel the need to supplement with another light source. This does not really mean anything in the end, but I find it interesting most MH users feel the neeed to supplement to get the spectrum they want, where todays full spectrum LEDs dont seem to need help on that front.
My 2.3 cents.
I think the supplementation has more to do with the fact that intensity is not adjustable on the mh. I like my tank to be lit most of the day but I can't run mh for 12-14 hours. So I supplement with led so I can still observe my tank without cooking my tank.
overexposed
Acroholic
Yep that's the same reason I supplement with VHO. So I can run the mh for 8 hours but still enjoy viewing the tank for about 12.
maidia
New member
+1..:twitch:
d2mini
Premium Member
I think this is a good example.
Here we have a nice looking sps tank where it's obvious that sps are growing.
BUT.... if we were to put mh/t5 over it, i think we'd see some positive changes.
1) Less shadowing under your sps, which will improve color and PE in those areas.
2) Different growth patterns. The sps will be getting light from more angles. A lot of sps in led tanks tend to have a straggly look, whereas that same coral in a mh/t5 tank has a tighter growth pattern.
3) Stronger/thicker branches
4) Some improved color. Natural color, not the color you see when your blue leds are on. But when you do put your blue leds on, it should still be pretty wild.
None of these are directed specifically at this tank, it's too hard to see some of those details.
But just in general, those are the kinds of things where one can see improvement and why some of us were not happy with LED.
My point is that when you see some of us complain about LED, it's usually not that they CAN'T grow coral, it's just not to the level we want or are used to. The points I listed above may not be important to you or not enough to overcome any disadvantages you may see with mh/t5 like power consumption or heat. That's perfectly fine. And I can see why someone who only knows LED would be perfectly happy with those results and make a statement like, "i have led and my sps are growing well". For me personally, I strive to have the healthiest, best looking coral possible. In many ways I have a long way to go, but I try my best. And if that means dealing with some extra challenges/costs, it's worth it... to me. Everyone has different priorities when it comes to the hobby and life in general and we have to decided what's best for ourselves and our families.
I hope this tank continues to thrive and would love to see updated pics a year from now.
maidia
New member
I think this is a good example.
Here we have a nice looking sps tank where it's obvious that sps are growing.
BUT.... if we were to put mh/t5 over it, i think we'd see some positive changes.
1) Less shadowing under your sps, which will improve color and PE in those areas.
2) Different growth patterns. The sps will be getting light from more angles. A lot of sps in led tanks tend to have a straggly look, whereas that same coral in a mh/t5 tank has a tighter growth pattern.
3) Stronger/thicker branches
4) Some improved color. Natural color, not the color you see when your blue leds are on. But when you do put your blue leds on, it should still be pretty wild.
None of these are directed specifically at this tank, it's too hard to see some of those details.
But just in general, those are the kinds of things where one can see improvement and why some of us were not happy with LED.
My point is that when you see some of us complain about LED, it's usually not that they CAN'T grow coral, it's just not to the level we want or are used to. The points I listed above may not be important to you or not enough to overcome any disadvantages you may see with mh/t5 like power consumption or heat. That's perfectly fine. And I can see why someone who only knows LED would be perfectly happy with those results and make a statement like, "i have led and my sps are growing well". For me personally, I strive to have the healthiest, best looking coral possible. In many ways I have a long way to go, but I try my best. And if that means dealing with some extra challenges/costs, it's worth it... to me. Everyone has different priorities when it comes to the hobby and life in general and we have to decided what's best for ourselves and our families.
I hope this tank continues to thrive and would love to see updated pics a year from now.
I am totally agree with you, I still like LEDs but the color are not really true to my eyes untill I saw a friend tank under MH/T5..Color look nice and real, that why I try MH/T5 now. Leds are just for a little more blue because I can't find a DE metal halide bulbs with good blue color..
I did see some improvement on my SPS PE unde MH/T5..
I currently supplement with led. I'm very curious about vho. The tanks with mh/vho have always been the best looking to me. What bulbs do you run? How many? What ballast? Feel free to pm if u would rather.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
First off, thank you very much for posting pics of your tank to show what results you are experiencing, and your tank looks very nice, the color is greatMy 120 tank under all DIY leds..love it but want to try MH, T5 and LED for the 80 deep blue
. Many times people post on this thread about their amazing results but have never posted a picture to the site so how are we to know?Back to your tank- can you tell us some details about how you set up your DIY LED system? The best examples seem to use a larger number of emitters to spread out the light and hit the corals from many angles. Do you use lenses? What color LEDs?
maidia
New member
First off, thank you very much for posting pics of your tank to show what results you are experiencing, and your tank looks very nice, the color is great
Back to your tank- can you tell us some details about how you set up your DIY LED system? The best examples seem to use a larger number of emitters to spread out the light and hit the corals from many angles. Do you use lenses? What color LEDs?
This thread talk about switch back to MH..so can't say any much about LED but OP please forgive me a little to say some about my DIY LEDs.
All my LEDs are China made..Most of them are Bridglux 3w chips..186 total chips 20white, 4red, 4green and the rest are blue..on aluminum u channel (from Home Depot)..All driver are non-dimmable about (China made also) 10 of them. That's all..white on for 6 hours and the rest around 8.5 hours.
That tank is now took down all SPS and moved to the 80DB with MH/T5 and supplement with 2 Cree Led strips.
My 2 cents, LEDs are good but color not true like MH/T5 (I am not talking about highend LED fixture like Radion or some else). Grow is average compare to my friend MH/T5 tank which is fast grow..LEDs good for LPS and softies which pop up nice color.
So go with your taste and liking. I love all LEDs, MH and T5..
Wazzel
New member
My 120 tank under all DIY leds..love it but want to try MH, T5 and LED for the 80 deep blue
Nice tank. Who cares the light system. Obviously you know what you are doing.
kalgra
New member
If any one is interested I did some research and found some industrial suppliers that sell the parts needed to build the exact same S51 430w HPS (son agro) ballast that PFO used in their "400W HQI 4.55A" ballasts that so many people loved using with the 400w Radium.
As many of you know those old PFO ballasts are hard to come by these days and those that are selling them often want way too much for a ballast that's at least 7-8 years old with a very limited number of days left. If anyone is interested in knowing more about this feel free to PM me. If there enough interest perhaps Ill do a separate thread on it.
As many of you know those old PFO ballasts are hard to come by these days and those that are selling them often want way too much for a ballast that's at least 7-8 years old with a very limited number of days left. If anyone is interested in knowing more about this feel free to PM me. If there enough interest perhaps Ill do a separate thread on it.
Yup, nothing beats the Iwasaki's for growth, but they are just so darn ugly without running heavy and I mean heavy amounts of Actinics to supplement. In the day I used to use 4 Actinic 03 VHO's on a Icecap ballast with lot's of carbon to remove any organics to reduce yellowing. Was a decent amount of white looking light.
overexposed
Acroholic
I am using two 72 inch UVL Super Actinics on an Icecap 660 ballast. They don't do much to change the colour of the tank when the 400 watt bulbs are burning, but they do a great job of lighting the tank when the MH lights are turned off.
I may add a few strips of royal blue LEDs down the road to get more pop when the halides are on.
I love the black light look you get from royal blue LEDs, but not as much as I love the improved coral growth that MH provides. Mixing all 3 types of light is imo the best way to go if you can: MH growth, tube bulb coverage and that psychedelic LED POP!
shred5
Premium Member
Really why are hybrid fixtures becoming so popular then? with t-5 supplementing the leds.
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Wazzel
New member
The most common reason stated is to help with coverage issues.
DavidinGA
Active member
For the vast majority I feel leds as the primary and T5's supplementing is the best setup for any tank.
I think mh is still better for a hard core sps tank, but when you take into account the pro's/con's of each option led+t5 is the best compromised choice for the masses wanting to keep sps.
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