T5's, LED or metal halides for SPS color and growth???

[Scoobysnack77]

I had radiums for several years. Now with my new setup I'm researching LEDs but I hear that comment that the colors look artificial all too often.

I really loved my radiums but it's got me worried about the LED's color and their cost factor.
IMO The colors under radiums were absolutely amazing.

what kind of ballast were you running with your radiums? magnetic HQI? or just the newer electronic ones?

 

[Urchinhead]

Honestly SS77 if shimmer is a lower priority than good growth and color in the corals and it were me... I would skip both LED and MH and go with an ATI Sunpower of the appropriate length and with 6 or 8 bulbs. You will save an amazing amount of money on the fixture and still be putting out 250+ PAR/PUR on the sand bed without any shadowing and without anywhere near the heat of MH. This assumes a normal depth tank with the light 10-15" above the water. If you are going deep as in over 24" then LED or MH Spotlights are the only option.

If Shimmer is a equal priority and/or an aesthetic desire then put a couple of inexpensive PAR38's or low power MH units on the tank to add it in. Much better than blowing several grand on a LED T5 combo or a mass of LED fixtures in my book.

For the record the answers you will get here for the most part will be anecdotal as well as subjective not empirical and objective including my own. In other words biased and skewed to our own experiences and motivations including a desire (conscious or subconscious) to validate our own decisions in terms of lighting we use.

There are some publicly available scientific or close to scientific studies on LEDs as well as other forms of lighting including one I came across looking at LED vs. LEP (P for plasma) that was interesting and intellectually honest in the presentation of their findings you may want to Google for if interested.

All that said... Ultimately you are going to have to make a decision after weighing the information provided. You already have experience with a top end LED system so perhaps adding that in as a data point is worth thinking about.

Edit: I am not trying to blow you off just to be as honest as I can regarding the information I am giving you.

 

[Scoobysnack77]

Honestly SS77 if shimmer is a lower priority than good growth and color in the corals and it were me... I would skip both LED and MH and go with an ATI Sunpower of the appropriate length and with 6 or 8 bulbs. You will save an amazing amount of money on the fixture and still be putting out 250+ PAR/PUR on the sand bed without any shadowing and without anywhere near the heat of MH. This assumes a normal depth tank with the light 10-15" above the water. If you are going deep as in over 24" then LED or MH Spotlights are the only option.

If Shimmer is a equal priority and/or an aesthetic desire then put a couple of inexpensive PAR38's or low power MH units on the tank to add it in. Much better than blowing several grand on a LED T5 combo or a mass of LED fixtures in my book.

For the record the answers you will get here for the most part will be anecdotal as well as subjective not empirical and objective including my own. In other words biased and skewed to our own experiences and motivations including a desire (conscious or subconscious) to validate our own decisions in terms of lighting we use.

There are some publicly available scientific or close to scientific studies on LEDs as well as other forms of lighting including one I came across looking at LED vs. LEP (P for plasma) that was interesting and intellectually honest in the presentation of their findings you may want to Google for if interested.

All that said... Ultimately you are going to have to make a decision after weighing the information provided. You already have experience with a top end LED system so perhaps adding that in as a data point is worth thinking about.

Edit: I am not trying to blow you off just to be as honest as I can regarding the information I am giving you.

thank you so much for your input i do love t5's but I'm upgrading to a 125 or 150 gallon tank soon. will the t5's handle the depth?

 

[Urchinhead]

How deep is the tank?

 

[m3lacoste]

I have the Hamilton Cebu fixture with (2) 250 Radiums and (4) 80w Geismann T5 on my 125 just got it about a month ago. I have the radiums running off an M80 Bluewave 7 (also have a Bluewave 3 or PFO ballast to run the middle halide) however, I don't run the Radium in the middle since I don't have any corals directly below that area.

 

[Scoobysnack77]

How deep is the tank?

I'm pretty sure its 24 inches deep

 

[Urchinhead]

Then you will be fine with T5

 

[jda]

It appears that you have experience and have also seen enough with your own eyes and are going about this the right way for you. I think you will end up fine with whatever you choose. Just buy good stuff - it is worth it. It is too bad that Quality MH and T5 stuff is not super cheap used anymore like it was a year or two ago.

 

[Zacktosterone]

I'm buying a new car soon. Should I buy Michelin or Pirelli tires ?

It's just as subjective as will be the answers you'll get.

Well actually you should buy Michelin.... Sorry I sell cars for a living lol

 

[mcfa2403]

Don't know if this will help or not, but since I am starting with kessil and looking to supplement with either halide or t5 (looking for same endpoint as you but from the other side). The kessils grow coral well enough but the issue I have with them is that reds in SPS and some LPS (acans in particular) seem to fade to more of an orange and pinks tend to become dull. What is great about them is you do get a metal halide like shimmer and when tuned in to the right color greens, golds, and oranges will pop (and before changing colors, pinks and reds) will pop as much as any other fixture.

My plan is likely to be adding two 175 watt halides (16" shallow reef) to supplement my 2 kessils (4' tank) because even though all my corals have good growth I have just not been happy with the color. If I do this I plan to turn my kessils to almost straight blue and use a 14k halide bulb.

My other thought is to add t5 (my canopy I'm having built will be wall mounted, suspended and only 42" long, tank is rimless so I'm not as thrilled about t5) probably 8 bulbs using retrofit. This way I could stagger the t5's around the kessils and have full color control (having wide color control from both fixtures would be nice) and would still get the shimmer (kessil shimmer is really hard to match).

3 Kessil a360W with your two 250 watt halides would be a good start on a 6' tank (I'm assuming the 150 and 125 would both be 6'). It would not be difficult to add another halide fixture later on if needed. 3 Kessils with the controller will run you 1300. However, if you go t5 instead of led by the time you purchase fixtures and 2 sets of bulbs at one year in you are likely at the same cost.

Just my 2 cents

 

[mordibv]

I would email or send a PM to Coralvue via the sponsor's thread since they are the new Geisemann Distributor for a Spectra , Infinity , or Dimtec t5 unit .
T5's will make u miss the shimmer and if the tank is well maintained the SPS will become more pastel looking . If that's what you are looking for .
I saw this unit and even though it wasn"t very popular or cool looking .It is on sale and definitely will get you the colors,growth etc that you want plus moon etc .
https://www.reefspecialty.com/lumen-bright-t5-led-all-in-one-fixture

 

[forddna]

What would you use over a cube that is 44" inside diameter and 35" deep (but will probably have a 5" sand bed)?

I plan to place my corals according to light needs, so I don't have to have SPS worthy PAR at the bottom.

I would prefer metal halide options..

 

[Mrclayakasins]

I just got 3 kessil 360w pucks to replace my old Mht5 mix 3 150watt de 20k and 4 96w t5, the LEDs that kessil use are without a dought intense, with apex fusion and the controller they ramp any way you want so easy look amazing even outside the tank the foot print is very small, my mix tank is doing very well with them after 2 months, but they are no Mh that is for sure but I like the trade off for my ramp and colour cycle

 

[BigCountry74]

i would stick with what your running, MH for growth and LED for color. just my .02

if its not broken, do not fix it