Am I the only one underwhelmed by the results of all three LED fixtures? The par spread and penetration seems really subpar compared to T5 fixtures.
Based on Par readings taken 12" below the waterline and fixtures hung 6" over the water, seems like you should be having some trouble keeping clams and sps on the sand bed.
I recently went from dual 250 W Phoenix 14K SE's powered by an HQI ballast and a pair of 95 w VHO Actinic's to a pair of Radions over my 120 SPS/Anemone reef.
The dimensions of my tank are 48x24x24.
The tank is BB, and it houses SPS corals on all levels, a pair of H.magnifica anemones, and a single S.tapeteum anemone and various fish.
I've had the H.magnifica for almost 6.5 years now and its split for me which is why I have two. This anemone(s) has been the biggest indicator of light and flow in my system. When the light is not bright enough, (IE swapped from XM 10k DE's on Icecap ballasts, to Hamilton 14K's on Icecap ballasts), it began to move around in search of light. When I went from XM DE's on Icecaps to XM 10K SE's on the HQI, the anemone began to shrink down and reduce its surface area.
When I switched from the XM 10K's to the Phoenix 14K's, the anemone didnt move at all.
I switched to the Radions almost 2 months ago. They are set at 12K, (all LED's at 100%) at 80% intensity level.
The anemone(s) havent moved.....at all.
I'm seeing some acro's at the very bottom of my tank darkening up just a little bit. I expect that to change when I increase the intensity up to 100% in the following year.
I've used T5's and the only advantage to them IMO, is that they have a smaller foot print and use slightly less energy than MH's to run. The bulb replacement cost is almost a wash since you're replacing more of them at the same time.
Eventually, given the cost of electricity, T5's will be less expensive than MH's. However, quality T5 set ups that will give you the best performance will easily cost more than a good MH set up, so you're already starting at a disadvantage.
LED's are thinner than T5's allowing significantly more options for mounting, use significantly less electricity than either MH's or T5's and last significantly longer than either. With a 10 hour photoperiod, you should get 13.3 years of use out of LED's. With a 12 hour photoperiod you should get 10.7 years of use out of the LED's.
The Radion's use 143 watts to run including the fan, (According to those who have tested it with a Kill A Watt meter). IME, a single Radion will replace a single 250 MH fixture. In switching from a pair of 250 W SE MH's and a pair of 95w VHO's, (190 watts total VHO), to a pair of Radions, I've gone from 690 watts of lighting over my 120 gallon reef to 286 watts of lighting. I'm using almost 2.5 times LESS electricity, and I no longer need to spend $170.00 yearly in replacing bulbs.
For me, the Radion's are absolutely worth it. I just purchased a Kessil A350W from Jeremy at Premium for my frag tank, (as in it came today and I havent even hooked it up yet), so I honestly dont have experiance with other brands or makes of LED lights.
I know several people locally who are hard core SPS keepers who were running LOTS of MH's and have gone AI's for lighting and are completely happy with the results in growth. I spoke with Jeremy over the phone and he personally liked the appearance of the Vertex over the tanks as it most closely resembled a MH.
Whichever of these three a person decides to go with, I dont think they'll be disappointed.
LED's work quite well at growing SPS, clams and anemones, and they are here to stay.
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