Halides vs LED

Reef breeders.. Love the fixture and color but just couldn't tune it in with my corals. Maybe cus my tank is a fifty breeder because it's shallow. But I also like being able to change out bulbs. I can't already notice a temp difference though, leds were way cooler.

 

For me it comes down to "Show me the money".

Yup Jerry's tank looks fantastic under LED as does BioCube, Thatgrimguy, evolved....

I want images of tanks established for months under led.

You know what they say about a picture speaking a thousand words.

MH team, but I love the look of the hybrid fixtures (combination T5, MH and LED) and results as well of LED used for supplemental lighting.

 

I voted both. I have recently gone back to MH from LEDs. There is nothing wrong with LEDs, but the Halides fit my budget better.

 

The only advantages I see for LED are enrgy efficiency and temp. IME, LEDs just don't color up SPS corals the way a MH can. I'm not saying you can't create an awesome colorful tank with LED. I am just saying the with all things being equal you can get much better SPS colors out of a metal halide. Many here in So Cal have disagreed with me at first but I always put them to the test. The best way to see the true difference is to see what the corals look like under common light. I can always accomplish this at frag swaps.

Take the most beautiful LED raised SPS coral and place it in a MH tank and it just looks good.

Next take the most beautiful MH raised SPS coral and place it in a MH tank and it looks insane.

When people come over to see my tank you can sure bet the supplemental LED is on becasue the tank looks unreal. That is not to say that the tank doesn't already look fantastic under MH only. IMO, LED allows you to see more color but does not create more color.

 

Heres a my hybrid led/t5 fixture that works very well on a 40g breeder. I'll post some livestock pictures when I have updated ones.
http://imageshack.us/a/img222/9450/1017121643.jpg

 

I know many people who are using LED's right now and none of them have any intention on going back to MH. I'm just curious as to what brought you to this conclusion and your motivation for doing so. I personally use MH right now but have the full intention of going to LED for a few reasons:
1. They last quite some time. They have been around long enough to prove this now.
2. Temp isn't an issue with them. I'm not going to be running a 1/2 HP chiller because of my light.
3. Par vs. Wattage - 216 watt's of light hitting almost 200 par at 60 inches is mind boggling to me but these are the reports I'm getting.
4. Control of the temperature. The ability to control your light temperature makes me smile.

I hate to get this debate started all over again but this goes back to MH or T5 or MH vs. Power Compact (yes that was a hot topic a few years ago).

 

Although the LED might last a long time, the power supplies usually don’t

Metal halide tanks can be run without a chiller if done properly. Mine is.

Not to me, it’s about focusing the light. Testing methods vary so PAR numbers are hard to compare if they are not used using a standardized method. The more important issue is hat was the spread.

Yet all the companies are still looking to emulate the Radium MH output.

Well, it’s started now!

 

Not another debate, lol. I have had great results with LEDs, and a lot of the local reefers around me have used mh for years, and had great results with that as well. I am for LEDs, but what these debates usually boil down to is personal preference, and that is up to you.

 

My honest opinion, I feel MH is the tried and true pick for lighting (T5 also is great). LED is still too early to tell & its customization may also be its downfall IMO.

I speak from my direct experience going from a 250w MH set-up of a Lumenmax 2 pendant with a 250w Radium bulb to a single Ecotech Radion G1 fixture.

My tank is a 30x30x18 shallow cube. Both fixtures lit the space well, coverage was good. I have a mixed reef, mainly LPS, softies, a few SPS here and there.

With my single halide I grew my LPS, few SPS, softies, clam, nems very nicely, color was gorgeous, my params rarely fluctuated so everything thrived as it should. I never had the question "is everything happy, is everything getting enough light" unless there was as direct issue with the coral not caused by lighting.

After maybe a year with the MH, I saw the Radion was coming out and I jumped at the chance to invest in a good company and new tech that everyone seemed to be raving about.

When I switched over to my Radion everything seemed great initially, I acclimated everything properly, had no problems with bleaching, everything seemed fine, which was good.

About a month or two later things started going downhill.

My RBTA's which I've had for a year or more, which had always thrived, never moved, began moving around the tank. They began stretching for the light, looking almost like Toadstools, had never seen them do that before, and their color started to dull. They were always up near the surface of the water, high up. I tried adjusting my spectrum, running the graph at 100%, etc. Nothing helped them, I eventually had to get rid of all 3 of them, they became too much of a threat to the tank. I loved those nems I'm still kinda pissed about having to lose them.

I also had a gigantic xenia/pom pom colony that I believe got completely wiped out in the process of me tinkering with spectrums to save the RBTA's and this was a massive colony, another bummer.

My tank just became inconsistent with its growth, extension, things just seemed off. There was no consistency to this, so this cycle began of "oh this coral isn't happy, lets change the graph, oh this coral isn't happy now either, lets change the graph, and on and on".

A handful of other things happened but to summarize how I feel about LED's is that they need more time under their belt. Some do great with them, some do not. MH has a more historically proven spread of positive feedback/experience/results behind it. I feel like there is something lacking in LEDs that eventually shows itself a few months down the line. I felt in my exp that they were great at sustaining some corals but they didn't grow nearly as fast as with MH. Same with my Maxima clam, it looks good under the Radion but I have seen little growth to it. There's too many variables with graphs, etc, certain graphs will benefit SPS, but it will piss off my softies, some will be great for LPS/softies but my SPS will brown out, etc, etc, etc.

LED fanatics may discount my exp and say I should have done this or that but I felt that I approached LEDs with some knowledge and used them responsibly and followed directions to achieve success with them. I chose a high-end fixture and did what they told me to achieve the power/performance of a 250w MH. I wanted to love this Radion but it just doesn't quite cut the mustard for me.

I am going back to my original 250w set-up and not looking back. Although I lose out in some areas like heat, blinding light overhang (for my poor daughter ), and the cost of bulb replacment, I still feel it is the most secure route for my tank/corals. You can't argue with years and years of positive results.

Just my 2 cents from direct experience with both techs

 

I've just read an article today in a magazine about what was better between all types.



LED Lights on Reef Tanks are simply awesome, colour control is easy. The benefits of LED Lights on a reef tank overwhelmingly out weigh the advantages of Metal Halide or T5 lights.
The following is a list of advantages LEDs have in reef lighting over Metal Halide or T5 lighting

A, Energy Efficient:

LEDs are the most cost effective way to light your aquarium.LEDs use about 1/2 to 1/3 the electricity of standard aquarium lights. LEDs are rated for 50,000 hours. After that they will produce 75% of their original light. 50,000 hours is 11.41years at 12 hours a day at full power after that who knows how much longer they will last. The 60 LED fixture has the same PAR as a 400 watt MH Radium and less than 200 watts.

B, Low heat generation:

LEDs do generate some heat but nowhere the amount of a Metal Halide or T5. They do produce a very high spot heat and need a quality heatsink to last long. We highly recommend and only provide heatsinsks from Heatsink USA as their heatsinks have the proper mass and surface area to keep the LEDs cool. A simple pair of Cool Tron Fans will on this heatsink will keep your fixture temp around 90 Degrees Fahrenheit.

C, Shimmering Effect:

The Shimmering Effect of LEDs is outstanding. Corbins Exotic Pets in Buffalo Grove Illinois uses LEDs for this effect and the results trump any available reef lighting.

D, About Safety:

LEDs are low voltage and much safer than a 400 watt MH.

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And another interesting read would be here Lighting Article