No matter what you choose, you will need nearly the same wattage of either for the same results. If people are happy with a 75W panel, then a 70W MH could have done the same thing. When Dr. Joshi did his speech at MACNA at 2015 his #1 takeaway is that there is no electrical savings - a tank that truly NEEDS 400W of halides will NEED 400W of panels too. Arguing that a tank NEEDS 400W of either is another topic.
IMO, heat is coming to LED panels soon. Just a people argued and were mostly proven wrong that coral don't need UV that they were getting in other light sources, IR will be the next revelation. Then, the panels will heat up your tank too.
That is highly dependent on what corals are being kept as well as the dimensions of the aquarium in question. For example, I replaced 150W's of MH (Phoenix 14K) and 96W's of T5 with a single 160W LED light (Maxspect Razor), and the LED is not running at peak ever, maxing out at 75% (120W's) for 4 hours (and I prefer the color from the Maxspect). Now, the aquariums (actually 2 set up similarly) are not filled with SPS, but the numerous LPS, soft corals and anemones still need sufficient lighting (especially my
S. gigantea). This is an example of the opposite of the "one size fits all" argument for MH, and you are oversimplifying the anecdotal evidence proferred by Dr. Joshi, and failing to take into account the dimensions of his system and what he is trying to keep.
Also, I highly doubt infrared heat is the secret to success with MH - that would only apply to shallow water species, since radiant heat doesn't penetrate deeper waters.
BTW - I live in Colorado where humidity is regularly under 25% even in the summer months (evaporation is a very powerful thing), the heat of ANYTHING (lights and pumps) is a welcome addition since about 65% of my tank costs are to heat. Heat is easily managed IMO and not as big of a deal as most people make it unless you have a really small room or really small tank and then it is a big deal.
OK, so we are back to anecdotal examples like mine above, but what about those in Texas or Florida? Heat is easily managed, as long as one is willing to greatly increase evaporation rates to accomplish the necessary cooling. I am not - I keep my aquariums covered to reduce evaporation, especially in the winter.
They were not all that great to begin with. I was, am and will be a huge supporter of MH for my SPS tanks and I was never all that thrilled with CV stuff compared to the rest of the market. There was enough of a demand that Phoenix 14K got made again after being discontinued. M80 ballasts too. This statement is pretty misleading without context.
Hamilton will show you different numbers and trends.
I see no need to denigrate CoralVue's offerings just to further your argument, and it isn't like Chris came into this thread stating anything outrageous, and he was far from being misleading. His company sells both, which is not something you can attribute to Hamilton, which only sells MH, except for a single fixture (that I rarely see, if ever, used). Also, I seem to recall CoralVue carrying Abyzz, Elos, Icecap, Giesemann, and Radium - not exactly considered substandard brands.
A 300 watt heater cycling on and off or staying on a lot longer really adds to the electricity. My point was simply that is often overlooked in this discussion.
The OP was asking about coral growth and heat - I replied to both in different sections. He wasn't asking about any particular companies sales.
You seem to be bothered that I replied. I am not looking to argue - just simply chime in with my opinion. Have a good new year.
I actually wasn't bothered by your responses, but just wanted to be clear as to the various points being made, which typically are cherry-picked by those wishing to make their point, not that you did so. I did feel that dismissing Chris's point was unnecessary though.
Happy New Year to you as well!
