Metal Halide or Ecotech Radions

[HurricaneSystem]

Sadly though, I already am using bad quality LED pendants so I am desperate for some nicer coloration. Here are my reasons for not going with either:

MH-rimless tank; heat generation; chiller probably will be needed due to my current tanks temperature of 78-80; electricity cost

Radions(or any other LED system)-may or may not be good for coral health; if I buy them and they don't work well, i will need to switch to MH's making the cost through the roof!

Your LED fixtures are the Chinese versions. I just picked one of these up at my LFS and my corals responded very, very well. I have the 3W version, where it sounds like you have the 1W (per LED) version. However, I don't think that is why you are getting bad coloration. I would check your water parameters. These LED pendants put off great PAR and are also very intense. I don't think you will see any difference if you switch.

I suspect you have something else going on. Flow, water parameters, etc.

 

[vbsaltydog]

There are tanks that have been using LED's for years now. How is that still beta testing?

Beta testing a product that claims 50k hours with no degradation takes 50k hours. Are these people running PAR/PUR/Spectrum analysis and reporting their results? There is a difference between someone using a technology and it being scientifically tested to support product claims.

I am not saying that LEDs are bad. I am just saying that I will let the early adopters sort out the good, the bad, and the ugly and when the market settles on an end result, then I may buy. Right now, there is a new and improved LED design every few months and that means that the kinks are still being worked out. Full spectrum (RGB) vs white/blue being a prime example.

 

[antbreon]

been running mh for years..heat is huge..because of this ..i disagree with the cost factor as for power .the light vs heat..heat is power but not light .. ...then running the chiller and my ac to get it back down ..my the guy at my lfs just converted from 3 hailides to led..saw a 100 drop in power bill i am in the process i have some led and still a hailide ..as soon as the heat sinks are available i am switching..

 

[HurricaneSystem]

antbreon,

I took off a WavePoint 4 bulb, T5 (54W a piece bulbs) and installed LED's. The fixture is 1200w all total. My power bill dropped that much if not more. You can think of how much a 1200w microwave dims the power a bit when you turn it on. Now just think of running that for 10-13 hours a day, every day.

 

[vbsaltydog]

been running mh for years..heat is huge..because of this ..i disagree with the cost factor as for power .the light vs heat..heat is power but not light .. ...then running the chiller and my ac to get it back down ..my the guy at my lfs just converted from 3 hailides to led..saw a 100 drop in power bill i am in the process i have some led and still a hailide ..as soon as the heat sinks are available i am switching..

How close are your MH to the WL? Are they in a closed canopy? What are you doing for ventilation? My temp only changes 1 or 2 degrees at the most from the middle of the day when the MH are running full bore and at night when there is only LED moonlight.

I have the MH 12" over the WL and I have two 5" DC fans blowing on the sump. Evaporation is a cooling catalyst.

 

[ganjero]

antbreon,

I took off a WavePoint 4 bulb, T5 (54W a piece bulbs) and installed LED's. The fixture is 1200w all total. My power bill dropped that much if not more. You can think of how much a 1200w microwave dims the power a bit when you turn it on. Now just think of running that for 10-13 hours a day, every day.

1200w total? what fixture are you talking about?

 

[vbsaltydog]

antbreon,

I took off a WavePoint 4 bulb, T5 (54W a piece bulbs) and installed LED's. The fixture is 1200w all total. My power bill dropped that much if not more. You can think of how much a 1200w microwave dims the power a bit when you turn it on. Now just think of running that for 10-13 hours a day, every day.

4x54 = 216w

Are you saying that you went from 216w of T5 to 1200w of LED?
and your power bill dropped?

 

[antbreon]

it is about 14 inches above the water..this tank it is enclosed on 3 sides..and a cabinet on the 1 end ..in the top of the cabinet i have a bathroom exhaust fan in the top venting to the attic..pulling all the heat out..well most of it..my last tank it was open ..like all the rimless ones but i didnt like the light blinding 'me every time i went up to the tank or sat in the chair across from it.. this one divides 2 rooms..and is built in..i have mine controlled as much as i can ..but IMO led is the way to go..if you have to change things out..

this used to be my screed in porch ...still building it in this pic but you get the idea

 

[reefergeorge]

IMO the radion is two year old led tech with a bunch of worthless gimmick modes.

I love my leds, but there are better fixtures out there. I went the diy route.

 

[antbreon]

LED watts aren't really the same..they are so much more efficient..like comparing incandescent light to florescent..the amount of light they put out to wattage ratio apples to oranges..

energy doesnt go away it only changes form ..light ..and heat are both forms of energy...more light less / heat is being generated buy the led technology..

 

[vbsaltydog]

Two more things worth mentioning.

If you plan to do any tank photography, think twice before going to LED as LED does not photograph well.

If you haven't seen LED setups in person, make sure that you do before going that route. I find that when LEDs are dialed in to make corals "pop", the entire tank looks very unnatural/artificial.

 

[vbsaltydog]

LED watts aren't really the same..they are so much more efficient..like comparing incandescent light to florescent..the amount of light they put out to wattage ratio apples to oranges..

energy doesnt go away it only changes form ..light ..and heat are both forms of energy...more light less / heat is being generated buy the led technology..

This is why 60 3w leds driven at 2w are roughly equivalent to 2x250w MH

120w led ~ 500w MH

Nobody is arguing that LEDs are more efficient at power / heat but there are other factors at play. There are many reasons to use one technology over the other. Each individual should weigh these factors and get what is right for themselves.

As much as I like Ecotech, I wold not get radions unless I had wireless Vortechs so the lights could play with the pumps.

 

[NikeLV]

Your LED fixtures are the Chinese versions. I just picked one of these up at my LFS and my corals responded very, very well. I have the 3W version, where it sounds like you have the 1W (per LED) version. However, I don't think that is why you are getting bad coloration. I would check your water parameters. These LED pendants put off great PAR and are also very intense. I don't think you will see any difference if you switch.

I suspect you have something else going on. Flow, water parameters, etc.

Yes, I did once believe it was my water parameters so I got the RED SEA foundation test kit and API for nitrate/phosphate. CA-440 ALK-8 MAG-1300 NITR-0 PHOS-0. I run carbon and a phosban reactor to keep nitrate and phosphate low.

I bought an ORA red planet from MAX last week and immediately after placing it under my tank lights, the color looked faded and pale. My current LED pendants only have 2 colors - White & Blue 50-50 bulbs. So I am searching for an ultimate light fixture for best coloration and growth.

IMHO I do prefer the Radion's due to its lower power consumption and heat generation, but I am more interested in what the light fixture, ET Radions or MH, can offer my coral's color and growth.

 

[Deckoz2302]

Probably gonna get flamed cause my post count is two, including this post(from a diff forum)

LED's are amazing however NO fixture on the market provides the perfect spectrum - DIY is the best. I currently run

5000k XML-T6
380nm Ultra Violet
410-420nm True Violet
445nm Royal Blue
465nm Cool Blue
495nm Turquoise
660nm Deep Red

Where most fixtures only provide 3000k or 5000k White and Royal blue with little to no control over the spectrum...Currently the only way to go and be effective is DIY if you are to choose LED

 

[vbsaltydog]

Probably gonna get flamed cause my post count is two, including this post(from a diff forum)

LED's are amazing however NO fixture on the market provides the perfect spectrum - DIY is the best. I currently run

5000k XML-T6
380nm Ultra Violet
410-420nm True Violet
445nm Royal Blue
465nm Cool Blue
495nm Turquoise
660nm Deep Red

Where most fixtures only provide 3000k or 5000k White and Royal blue with little to no control over the spectrum...Currently the only way to go and be effective is DIY if you are to choose LED

This is where the radion excels. Since it is RGB, the three primary colors can create any color. Its up to you to dial it in to the spectrum that you like. By dialing red, blue, and green separately, you can create virtually any color.

 

[tinman11]

led

led

Well I got 3 radions over my 150 10 inches above the water and lots of sps and a couple of clams I ramp them to 75% for 2 hours the tank is 30 inches deep day starts @ 6 am and ends @ 7 pm been 6 months and growth is good even use the cloud feature to give them a break.... works for me!

 

[Deckoz2302]

While being able to create any color with RGB your not actually providing that spectrum just our interpretation of the blend of light. Hence the reason for the specific nanometer of LED's added.

 

[James77]

LED watts aren't really the same..they are so much more efficient..like comparing incandescent light to florescent..the amount of light they put out to wattage ratio apples to oranges..

energy doesnt go away it only changes form ..light ..and heat are both forms of energy...more light less / heat is being generated buy the led technology..

It all goes back to heat in the end, unless that light is going on forever?

But LEDs do impart less heat since less watts are usually needed. They also irradiate no heat, adn direct more of it into the tank.

 

[vbsaltydog]

The OP has said that they are not worried about heat or electricity consumption at this point. They just want to know which technology is better for coral coloring and growth. To that question, the best results that I have seen have come from 20k radiums. I have never had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of radiums vs radions so I have to advise based on what I have seen over the years.

 

[James77]

To that question, the best results that I have seen have come from 20k radiums. I have never had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of radiums vs radions so I have to advise based on what I have seen over the years.

I agree fully with that. Radiums, especially on the HQI magnetic ballasts are pretty tough to beat.