kidkaos520
New member
Opinions, views, pros, cons, what brands are better, how many, what colors for what growth? lets hear it
t-5 vd led
- Thread starter kidkaos520
- Start date
brettinteriors
New member
I have personally only seen led's used on shallow tanks that dont need a lot of light output. Led's are many times the cost of t5's. The ones I have seen as stand alone lighting are in the thousand plus range. I use an 8 bulb t5 and I couldn't be happier. I have lps,sps, and softies. My lfs also uses all 8bulb t5 units. In my t5 I use 3 10000k, 1 purple plus, and 4 super blue. My coral and fish glow and my coraline is nice and purple.
Pros: Cooler than t5 although t5's are not too hot. No replacement of bulbs thus savings there. Light and thin.
If you want to have coral or inverts with high light needs I would talk to see if it is do-able.
Pros: Cooler than t5 although t5's are not too hot. No replacement of bulbs thus savings there. Light and thin.
If you want to have coral or inverts with high light needs I would talk to see if it is do-able.
Last edited:
sillygoose
New member
I have an old Solaris and my softies, LPS, and SPS growth has been phenomenal at times. Of course, my SPS are in the top half of my 24" tank. When our growth was cookin' I lost some color so I had to cool it down.
I have been having chemistry issues so things don't look as good right now, but light has not been a problem. In my limited experience, I would recommend LEDs hands down. That being said, I wish I could afford a nifty new one. I'm sure new generation stuff is very cool.
I have been having chemistry issues so things don't look as good right now, but light has not been a problem. In my limited experience, I would recommend LEDs hands down. That being said, I wish I could afford a nifty new one. I'm sure new generation stuff is very cool.
TucsonWhoDat
New member
LEDs are pretty much it now. In fact most LED systems still use the 3w led but up to 10w is commonly available now. They even have 200 w cannons. The reef culture show tank is 100% LED lit and has SPS. Tank is over 30 inches deep. He is using about a dozen 50w cannons. Cost is coming down as well I plan to make DIY LED fixtures for my 80 LPS tank, the 34 red sea max and the new 120 SPS tank for under 500. Few heat sinks, fans, dimmable controllers and the LEDs themselves.
victornator333
New member
Ive used both. I definitely like both also haha. LEDs definitely have the power to grow sps well and burn some lps if used improperly. T5s have the color flexibility and are a proven source of efficient light.
The coloration of the corals is DIFFERENT. Some may its not as good as T5 or MH but im gonna say its just DIFFERENT. If you go all LEDs, I highly recommend a higher ratio of blue bulbs to white bulbs, bc that will help the coloration look more "traditional"
If it were me, and I could build the ideal fixture, I would go LEDs using a couple T5 bulbs to supplement the coloration.
The coloration of the corals is DIFFERENT. Some may its not as good as T5 or MH but im gonna say its just DIFFERENT. If you go all LEDs, I highly recommend a higher ratio of blue bulbs to white bulbs, bc that will help the coloration look more "traditional"
If it were me, and I could build the ideal fixture, I would go LEDs using a couple T5 bulbs to supplement the coloration.
xpertrifle
New member
I have the True Lumen Pro LED. There is a thread about it, with some pics. I use only the LED's.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2016102
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2016102
brettinteriors
New member
Wow, the led's have come down in price.
kidkaos520
New member
From the looks of the pics I think leds would look good on my illuminata
kidkaos520
New member
It's up and cycling as we speak.....vortec is making a funny noise but all I need is a light and I'm ready to keep my reef hand strong
itsmateo
New member
NICE!:beer:
Something to consider about LED....You can only adjust the color so much. Once you build it or buy it for example using blue and white LED's, you can only make your light more blue or more white.
T5's come in many colors and you can change colors as simply as changing a light bulb. I had a solaris and went to MH's and really like the color control alot more.
T5's come in many colors and you can change colors as simply as changing a light bulb. I had a solaris and went to MH's and really like the color control alot more.
kidkaos520
New member
Are there not different variants of led lights etc... blue white red?
kidkaos520
New member
So I guess blue and white is pretty much the the only colors worthwhile?
TucsonWhoDat
New member
they have all spectrums of LEDs but only one I know of that added UV to it so far. Solaris trid the green LEDS but not purple, red, etc......I think an issue with color is not much experimentation thus far, I will buy a few odd colors when I get my LEDS to play around.
kidkaos520
New member
That's what I wanted to do....set up a small tank and play around with led colors to learn and not spend a butt load
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