LED vs. metal Halide
- Thread starter PDXreefer
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SFish
New member
This is good to know, I just have no idea what percentages to choose and duration.. One good thing is that with MH, you just turn them on!done.
To start with you probably want to barrow a Par meter if u can. The down side to set it and forget it is lack of control. Any of these 3 systems will work but you have to ask your self what's important to me.
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Ron Reefman
Active member
And with the MH do you get 150 watts, 175 watts, 250 watts, 400 watts? And they can damage corals just like leds can. Don't kid yourself. But being in the Great Northwest, it's probably cool enough most of the time that the extra heat in the house isn't a huge issue... but then there is extra heat in the tank! Oh, that means a chiller, and they ain't cheap. There are real pluses and minuses to all 3 systems.
TheOtherDB
New member
That's fraggin' awesome!
TheOtherDB
New member
I thought this was interesting:
https://www.mge.com/saving-energy/home/lighting/lumens-comparison.htm
https://www.mge.com/saving-energy/home/lighting/lumens-comparison.htm
SFish
New member
monkeysee1
Member
I had T5's before I got my Current Orbit strip. My Softies, clam, feather dusters, AND believe it or not, my torch and hammer were doing great. Now with my LEDs, everything was withered away. Water quality was fine. That wasn't the issue. It was the lighting.
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whosurcaddie
New member
That light is advertised for reef tanks but only has .25 watt led's. Its not a reef led its a fowlr led. I wish companies would stop advertising these things as reef lights because they just don't have the power.
Buy a couple Galaxy Hydro's and get back into reefing.
whosurcaddie
New member
I love the look of halides nothing looks like a halide, not even the Kessil. The energy savings and the control of the color on LED's keep me from going back.
SFish
New member
0.25W is really weak. You can tell just by looking at the light and the price that it's not a good light for a reef tank. In reality it's probably less than 0.25W per LED from my understanding. A quick way to check is: (total watts / number of LEDs) so 18/72=0.25w per LED. When you see a lot of LEDs like that most of the time it's a dead give away that the LEDs are weak. Lets compare that to a Hydra 26
(90/26=3.46W) so you can see that other light is junk.
(90/26=3.46W) so you can see that other light is junk.
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Hanger22reefing
New member
I like leds better
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
TheOtherDB
New member
I think that it is confusing to use watts as a reference to luminescence. It [watts] worked for the old days, but in today's technology, lumins per watt is what counts. LEDs can't beat metal halides with that yard stick yet, but I remain hopeful that some day they will. Meanwhile, the pluses of LEDs outweigh the minuses for me ...
BigEZ77
New member
I'm growing an LPS dominated tank with some shrooms and montis with no issues under 1 Kessil A160WE. No disrespect, but it must be water params...or, don't know anything about your light, so it might be a cheapy that you can't count on.
SFish
New member
I think that it is confusing to use watts as a reference to luminescence. It [watts] worked for the old days, but in today's technology, lumins per watt is what counts. LEDs can't beat metal halides with that yard stick yet, but I remain hopeful that some day they will. Meanwhile, the pluses of LEDs outweigh the minuses for me ...
That's funny because when building my ATS I was told to look for 1W to 3W LEDs. I'm sure there is a similar rough guide line for DT LEDs. As far LEDs not being far better then MH I disagree. While MH will work it has the most disadvantages of all 3 systems. The only thing MH do better then LEDs is spread light out but in a few years that may not be the case any more and that problem can be over come by placement of things.
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rtparty
Raise The Reef!
What may be a disadvantage to one, is an advantage to others.
Common myths about MH:
Myth: Bulbs need to be replaced every 9-12 months
Reality: Many studies and tests have proven good bulbs can go 18 to 24 months with little drop in PAR and little spectral shift
Myth: Heat is unmanageable and need expensive chillers
Reality: Some people can use all the heat they can get. Either they get the heat from the light or a heater. A simple fan or two can reduce heat by quite a bit
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