Neptune Aquatics

metal halides vs. LEDs

raffc

raffc

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I have been visiting some of the LFS on the Peninsula about the set up for my new tank (120 to 180 gallons or so). In my old tank (running 5-10 years ago), I used 400 watt 20K Kelvin MH lamps supplemented with 2 VHO actinic fluorescents. In my discussions at one of the stores, I was told that LEDs were not adequate for growth and especially for maintenance of bright color in Acropora and similar corals. Is that the general feeling of the group? Does anyone have experience changing from MH to LED on a tank with colorful Acroporas? If so, did the color change to dull or brown over time? If the LEDs maintained color and growth, what LEDs did you use? I like the idea of LEDs as a way of decreasing cost of electricity and perhaps eliminating the chiller, but will only use them if they are as good as MH. My experience with MH was good, although I did not like replacing the lamps every 6 months. (I have tried to look at previous posts about lighting, but the LED field is changing so rapidly, I thought a new post on MH vs. LED would be timely).
Thanks.
Corey
 
I believe that will depend on how deep your tank will be. I have 120 (4x2x) that I have been thinking about changing too (running 250 MH 20k now). If you always run a combination of LED and MH. I replaced my supplementle T5s with LED so far and they look ok.
 
Have had nothing but LED's on my tank for about 6 months. (Kessil A350's and Maxspect G2 110's). Half the tank has had the maxspects on it for a year. I am super impressed with growth and coloration of all my coral. I have Plating monti's, encrusting monti's, several Acropora, deepwater acro, millipora, stylophora, torte's, tenious, Several different Birds nest coral. All have good color and growth.

Problems with the coral that I have had......have all been because of fluctuating parameters. When I have the water right, the coral responds very well. The LED's are amazing.

At the moment my only complaint about LED's is simply the overall color of the tank. I do like the look of MH. I love the shimmer on the LED's, but the tank get's a fairly blue hue. I am going to be adding some color supplimentation so I can play with the color of the tank a bit more. The other bonus of LED is the feeling of the tank being in HIGH DEF. Maybe I am the only one who gets that feeling, but it really makes things look sharp and clear. I don't think you should fear the LED. The energy savings and heat issues are also pretty sweet.

Of coarse, if you do decide to go LED you have the insane task of having to choose what kind of LED's! LOL! Good luck!
 
Have you had a chance to see the Neptune Aquatics DT? It's all AI Sol Blue lit. I'm just a newbie, but the colors look great to me.

Being able to (potentially) skip a chiller, no bulb replacement, lower electricity use and the controlability (a real word??) make them seem like a real winner.
 
I think the whole "LEDs can't grow" myths come about because some people believe the marketing hype of early LED makers. Usually something along the lines of "this 50 watts worth LEDs is the same as a 400W MH" and if you take that for what it is, then yeah you're going to horrible results.

Also depends upon what color combo of LEDs you use, there's a huge range in what you can get and you simply take at face value "oh this is a 20kK MH color" then you might in fact get different results simply because the spectra is different.

Also LEDs have advanced dramatically over the past 5-10 years as far as output, so if you had LEDs 5 years ago, they probably are not anywhere close to intensity as they are today.
 
I've researched LEDs and read a bunch of technical data as well as people's documentation on using both LED & halides simultaneously or separately and it seems the consensus says only the most modern and specific design LED's have caught up and this was determined through technical observation via par readings and output spectrograms as well as real world comparisons, but it's important to note that this was not realized without only the most modern available LED technology as well as correct configuration. Configuration seems to be the tougher egg to crack as of late, mostly because of designer's varied opinions.
 
I have never used MH's on my tank, so I can't speak to the difference. But I have had a DIY LED fixture over my 30 gallon for the last year and everything in my tank has great color. I have several acros and other SPS that have been growing great and have nice vibrant color. I think you can have just as nice color under LEDs, you just have to get the right fixture and the right combo of LED colors. Of course, LEDs and MHs will look a bit different and a lot of it is just personal preference in how you like your light to look. I'm super happy with LEDs though and would definitely recommend them to everyone.
 
I've converted from MH to LEDs about a 1+ yr ago and have been happy, mainly with the cost savings. I'm more of an LPS person but i've had success with a couple of Acros and multiple encrusting montis, althought i've also 'cooked' a few montis by putting them too high under the LEDs. the LEDs i've used include Evolution, Kessel 350w and AI Vega. All have been fine with my SPS. I'm considering going all AI Vega color, mainly due to the countability and color variations possible. They're a little costly, but nothing compared to what I used to spend on electricity & bulbs using MHs.
 
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