Metal halide or led
- Thread starter MikeOB
- Start date
Reef_Noob
New member
Very Very tough question to answer.
If you had asked this question maybe 5 years ago everyone wouldv said MH and nothing else but MH.
But now whoa......the situation has really changed....LEDs are being developed daily and new exceptional cost effective systems are coming into the market and the choice and customization is just vast. And oh yea...they can definately be used for SPS no doubt about that now.
I think and i am sure many will agree LED is the future of Reef Tank lighting and they sure have arrived...
But it all comes to personal choice again, some like and will always like MH.
But some will like to experiment and try things different.
I am using only LED lighting for my current tank, i have just started stocking corals and i am planning it to be a SPS dominated tank.
If you had asked this question maybe 5 years ago everyone wouldv said MH and nothing else but MH.
But now whoa......the situation has really changed....LEDs are being developed daily and new exceptional cost effective systems are coming into the market and the choice and customization is just vast. And oh yea...they can definately be used for SPS no doubt about that now.
I think and i am sure many will agree LED is the future of Reef Tank lighting and they sure have arrived...
But it all comes to personal choice again, some like and will always like MH.
But some will like to experiment and try things different.
I am using only LED lighting for my current tank, i have just started stocking corals and i am planning it to be a SPS dominated tank.
Arkayology
Active member
I am waiting a year or two for LEDs to develop a bit further and potentially come down in price. IMO, go with a used MH setup for now. If you have the cash , AI fixtures are the way to go as far as LEDs are concerned.
Indiana Reefin
Garrett
I'm sticking with mh for a couple more years. No. Reason for me to jump on the led band wagon yet. MH will work. Not all led setups will. I'm going to wait for a lower price and more R&D
+1
LEDs aren't as great as they should be yet but I see them being the gold standard in a few years to come with more research. For right now, metal halides for me all the way!
chrishayes
New member
As an electrician, I can assure all of you, LED's are the future for ALL lighting arenas. There is no comparison to LED's in terms on efficiency, color, controlability and size. One of the often overlooked cost savings from using LED is that ALL power transmission becomes downsized by 20%. As typical lighting loads on a commercial or residential structure are around 20-40% of power consumed. When it comes to supplying the circuits neccasary to run typical incandecent lighting you can expect to have 8 60w bulbs on a 15amp circuit. A 20A circuit in a comercial situation will power 30-40 LED fixtures that light the same area so you end up with much smaller numbers of branch circuits, which downsize panel sizes and numbers which require smaller transmission gear which require smaller transformers to feed them.
In a word REVOLUTIONARY!
Now I still run MH on my tanks but that is due to color and cost. I agree with many above that the tech is just not there yet in terms of cost/lumen. Also the lack of UV in many LED colors make for less intense coloration. However, I use LEDs for actinic and night lighting. THere is really no comparing LED to any other form of flourecent lighting. LED is Beautiful in the blue/violet range! The 350ma reefbrite single LED moonlight that I have is quite possibly THE most beautiful light I have ever seen, and im tellin ya, Ive seen EVERY type of light there is or was.
In a word REVOLUTIONARY!
Now I still run MH on my tanks but that is due to color and cost. I agree with many above that the tech is just not there yet in terms of cost/lumen. Also the lack of UV in many LED colors make for less intense coloration. However, I use LEDs for actinic and night lighting. THere is really no comparing LED to any other form of flourecent lighting. LED is Beautiful in the blue/violet range! The 350ma reefbrite single LED moonlight that I have is quite possibly THE most beautiful light I have ever seen, and im tellin ya, Ive seen EVERY type of light there is or was.
power boat jim
Well-known member
It depends on what you think "best " is. MH is far cheaper in the short run and is a much less complex light. LEDs are far more expensive to start with but cost less over time. They dont really ever need bulb replacement. MH is 40-100 bucks a bulb every year. As far as coral color and growth go I have had better coloration with LEDs. Growth rates are about even in my experience.
I also noticed I lose only 1 to 1.5 gallons per day due to evaporation with LEDs vs. 2-2.5 gallons a day with MH. If you decide on MH and dont mind used light and ballasts PM me I have a complete MH set Im not using.
Good luck with your choice.
I also noticed I lose only 1 to 1.5 gallons per day due to evaporation with LEDs vs. 2-2.5 gallons a day with MH. If you decide on MH and dont mind used light and ballasts PM me I have a complete MH set Im not using.
Good luck with your choice.
I currently using T5s which is awesome. So many people on RC are having good results with LED that I'm going for it on my next setup.
Plus, the saving on not having to run a chiller is another plus. For now, the main obsticle for LED is cost. It has proven to work and work extremely well with SPS tanks.
I'm hoping the price would drop but that will not be likely until 2-3 years from now. I say go LED now.
Plus, the saving on not having to run a chiller is another plus. For now, the main obsticle for LED is cost. It has proven to work and work extremely well with SPS tanks.
I'm hoping the price would drop but that will not be likely until 2-3 years from now. I say go LED now.
REEF SMAC
New member
Had LEDs on my DT for 2.5 years. In the beginning they were great. Coral colors were awesome, growth better than the corals under the MHs in the same tank. Minimal heat.
After 2.5 - 3 years they went downhill fast. Bulbs were dying, power sources dying, fans dying. Now that they are 4+ years old I only run them on QT tank. They won't grow anything but mushrooms and chalices. SPS will stay alive but very brown and won't grow. They just don't put out the intense light they did when they were new. Kinda like having 2 year old MH bulbs, they look bright, but all your corals look like crap.
My 4+ year old MH ballasts are still going strong BTW.
LEDs turned out to be a huge waste of money for me personally.
Hopefully with all the new LEDs out now, there are some that will actually last as long as the manufacturers claim they will. LEDs do have some amazing potential.
If they were cheap enough to just throw them away and buy new LED fixtures or bulbs every 2 years they would be great.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to go with.
After 2.5 - 3 years they went downhill fast. Bulbs were dying, power sources dying, fans dying. Now that they are 4+ years old I only run them on QT tank. They won't grow anything but mushrooms and chalices. SPS will stay alive but very brown and won't grow. They just don't put out the intense light they did when they were new. Kinda like having 2 year old MH bulbs, they look bright, but all your corals look like crap.
My 4+ year old MH ballasts are still going strong BTW.
LEDs turned out to be a huge waste of money for me personally.
Hopefully with all the new LEDs out now, there are some that will actually last as long as the manufacturers claim they will. LEDs do have some amazing potential.
If they were cheap enough to just throw them away and buy new LED fixtures or bulbs every 2 years they would be great.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to go with.
power boat jim
Well-known member
Had LEDs on my DT for 2.5 years. In the beginning they were great. Coral colors were awesome, growth better than the corals under the MHs in the same tank. Minimal heat.
After 2.5 - 3 years they went downhill fast. Bulbs were dying, power sources dying, fans dying. Now that they are 4+ years old I only run them on QT tank. They won't grow anything but mushrooms and chalices. SPS will stay alive but very brown and won't grow. They just don't put out the intense light they did when they were new. Kinda like having 2 year old MH bulbs, they look bright, but all your corals look like crap.
My 4+ year old MH ballasts are still going strong BTW.
LEDs turned out to be a huge waste of money for me personally.
Hopefully with all the new LEDs out now, there are some that will actually last as long as the manufacturers claim they will. LEDs do have some amazing potential.
If they were cheap enough to just throw them away and buy new LED fixtures or bulbs every 2 years they would be great.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to go with.
Im hoping that the newer breed of lights will last as long as they claim. If not at least the AI lights are modular and the LEDs are easily replaced. I guess I should keep the MH around just in case.
smalltime
New member
Had LEDs on my DT for 2.5 years. In the beginning they were great. Coral colors were awesome, growth better than the corals under the MHs in the same tank. Minimal heat.
After 2.5 - 3 years they went downhill fast. Bulbs were dying, power sources dying, fans dying. Now that they are 4+ years old I only run them on QT tank. They won't grow anything but mushrooms and chalices. SPS will stay alive but very brown and won't grow. They just don't put out the intense light they did when they were new. Kinda like having 2 year old MH bulbs, they look bright, but all your corals look like crap.
My 4+ year old MH ballasts are still going strong BTW.
LEDs turned out to be a huge waste of money for me personally.
Hopefully with all the new LEDs out now, there are some that will actually last as long as the manufacturers claim they will. LEDs do have some amazing potential.
If they were cheap enough to just throw them away and buy new LED fixtures or bulbs every 2 years they would be great.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to go with.
Anyone else have simlar results?
REEF SMAC
New member
You make an excellent point, and if I ever were to try LEDs again in the future, these are the first things I would consider.
Can you easily replace all the bulbs?
Can you get the bulbs from anyone or only the manufacturer that makes the fixture? (will they still be in business when you need them?)
How much will it cost you to replace all those bulbs?
roberto_lopes
Member
Well, look mine. My reef is on my signature. then tellme what you think.
1fishkeeper
Premium Member
You make an excellent point, and if I ever were to try LEDs again in the future, these are the first things I would consider.
Can you easily replace all the bulbs?
Can you get the bulbs from anyone or only the manufacturer that makes the fixture? (will they still be in business when you need them?)
How much will it cost you to replace all those bulbs?
The LED's are in a 3 LED puck set up. Yes they are very easy to change out. When I called and talked to them about it. They said that you can change all of them out in less then a half hour. And you can order them through anyone that sales the AI line. As for price I dont know If forgot to ask them when I was talking to them. It was one of them cases where that was one of the things that I was going to ask them but forgot. Then later that night when I was in bed it poped up in my head that I forgot to ask them. My mind just isnt what it use to be I guess.
smalltime
New member
I checked out your thread, looks real good but your still at the second year of led's. Why did you change skimmers?
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