do people still consider buying Metal Halight for their new setup ?

[johntan]

subjective fact - my tank looks way better running cree leds than it did under MH and T5.
objective fact - leds let you do things MH can't, you don't need a separate rig for actinics with LEDs, and if you have a controller you can dial in that perfect level, do a smooth sunrise, cloudy days, etc. My leds are on overdrive to 400w MH brightness, and I still should get 5 years out of them easy. My big issue with MH and T5 is replacing the bulb so often gah!

 

[s_kelley]

Love my halides just put a new 400w radium and new reflector on the 92new corner

 

[stingythingy45]

I just got two new 14k Ushio 250 watt DEs. for my tank yesterday.
Heat is not an issue with me as I have a basement sump and the exta heat from the halides is welcome.
Hoping to see a jump in growth from using Phoenix 14k,very blue bulbs.

 

[mnavick]

Hoping to see a jump in growth from using Phoenix 14k,very blue bulbs.

Bob,

Will have to start a thread after a few months with the bulb change. I've used Phoenix 14K 250w DE for years and would love to the see if there is a difference with the coral growth.

 

[dcforester1]

i could't care less about the energy saving.the main reason i bought the led was the heat facter.when i have mh,the temp would swing about 4 degree through out the day.with the led,about 1 degree.now if they could only make mh without the heat issues,i'll go back to it in a heart beat.

Same here, I was sick of running a chiller to keep my tank cool in the fall/winter. I think part of the issue was having a n acrylic tank and a small opening in the top for evaporation???? Either way my tank stays so much cooler

 

[SteveDola]

If I were to set up a new tank with area to accomodate radium bulbs in good reflectors with actinics I would choose that over any other lighting. Ive seen many LED setups in person and online but have yet to see ones that even come close to radiums. In fact I went to T5s after running AIs for 6mths because it wasnt my taste. Everything seems so dim and blue washed under LEDs. Its funny I keep seeing all these posts about how MH+T5 is dead but I see a lot of for sale threads selling LEDs. To each their own, if you like LEDs then great just dont try and condem other alternatives which are proven to adeptly grow corals and obtain great colors.

 

[HuuTa]

i don't think anybody's trying to condem mh or t5.one of my tank i run t5 on it.everybody is just stating their reason and their experience.as i said before,i think mh grows sps better then Led.it's just the temp swing for me which is why i switch to led from mh

 

[gweston]

I have a halide over my current tank, and the upgrade tank has 3x halides(lumatek250hqi) + 4T5's(IC660). I use LED for moonlight only for now. I suspect I will eventually get LED's, but I am in no rush. I like the look of the halides. It isn't quite as expensive to run them as I use budget plusrite bulbs. The bulbs work quite well, but if I had an SPS dominant tank, I'd likely grab a higher end bulbs. The 4x supplemental T5's are on an IC660, so I can get extra PAR there too. But yeah, it bumps up the electric bill.

 

[labnjab]

I switched to LED last September and will never go back to metal halide. The main reason for the switch was the heat, plus i had 2 ballast blow at the same time and it was time to change the bulbs. I live in a 2nd story apartment and it stays hot, all year and the halides were only makeing it worse.

Our tanks are sps dominated and we saw no change in growth, color, or shimmer when switching to led and we were using 250 watt phoenix 14000k bulbs. Dont get me wrong, i loved the halides, but didnt like the heat or the expense of changeing bulbs on 3 fixtures every 10 months.

Sent from my Sony Xperia Play using tapatalk.

 

[Cjtabares]

Can't say which is better since I have never ran either. I will be using LEDs on my tank I am setting up now and think they have promise. I can dim the LEDs so hopefully I can find a good color.

This guy seems to get pretty good growth with his LEDs. Still can't say it will be good for long term, but seems real good over the 2 years.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2136083

 

[Alex]

I'm in the process of switching over to LEDs. Right now I'm running 2x250w in Lumenbright reflectors with VHO actinics. (soon to be for sale ) New LEDs are coming next week. I did a lot of research and I think the idea that LED doesn't grow SPS well has been debunked. There are just to many examples of tanks with great color and growth out there now.

This one is my favorite.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2029329&highlight=brazil


I went with the radions from Echotech. They will work with my MP40 wirelessly and the ability to have a real sunrise sunset and dial in the exact colors I want. My wife was happy that I wouldn't need a large hood over my tank anymore.

The big thing for me was not having to deal with bulb changes and everything that went along with them. The electricy and heat benefits are a bonus.

 

[mchartier]

I actually want to see more development in plasma lighting, single point source with a great spectrum range, and adjustable color.

I have been running AI lights on my sons tank since November and I will give it at least a year before I make any conclusions of how well they work.

 

[SteveDola]

i don't think anybody's trying to condem mh or t5.one of my tank i run t5 on it.everybody is just stating their reason and their experience.as i said before,i think mh grows sps better then Led.it's just the temp swing for me which is why i switch to led from mh

The title of this thread is "do people still consider buying mh for a new setup " if that doesn't sound condemning then I don't know what does. From the title it sounds like my is a dead technology.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G

 

[Reefless me]

I'm hearing alot of temperature issues being raised here. The fact is, in the real world, on a wild reef, fluctuations in temp and salinity are the only things guaranteed. Some of us are so caught up in stability being the order of the day it borders on OCD.

In the natural world temps can and do swing +4 degrees depending on the time of day and season. On a shallow reef the sun heats the sand on the shore which in turn makes it to the reef itself raisng temps.Conversley the same happens at night with cooling. Of course your going to need a chiller if you are trying to keep your tank at 77 degrees in July. But corals can and do thrive and survive at tmps well above that.

As far as i'm concerned temp swings are a non-argument until they creep up over 85 degrees. Even then, as long as its not for an extended period of time it doesnt't worry me.

I've never needed a chiller in the 20+ years i've been reefing, and never had a tank crash from heat, so long as my home is air conditioned at a temp where I'm comfortable. I also vent my lighting canopy to the nearest window using 4 inch computer fan some dryer vent line and a removable panel that sits in the window frame.

 

[Alex]

If you aren't running a chiller and no central air those summer days can be scary.

 

[HuuTa]

The title of this thread is "do people still consider buying mh for a new setup " if that doesn't sound condemning then I don't know what does. From the title it sounds like my is a dead technology.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G

no it doesn't sound condemming to to me.if the title is "why would anybody consider MH for their new set up over led" then that's condemming.not trying to start a arguement here.everybody can do what they feel works best for them.i'm done with this issue

 

[zle]

I have been using T5 the last 2 years and want to upgrade to one of those LED modules (AI led or Radion) when I have enough money.
I am not going to give any thoughts on Metal halide. let it rest in peace.

 

[dz6t]

If you aren't running a chiller and no central air those summer days can be scary.

I took care of it by a $250 window AC from Sears. The coral was happy and so was I.
Now all my corals are in the basement, I actually need the heat from the halide to warm up the water last summer.

 

[dz6t]

... Metal halide. let it rest in peace.

It is funny that I remember when t-5 were all the rage back several years ago, people said the same thing to halide.

 

[Reefless me]

It is funny that I remember when t-5 were all the rage back several years ago, people said the same thing to halide.

When the push was on to switch to T5's, VHO was the format that seemed to be getting abandoned. For the life of me I couldnt figure out why. To equal the wattage of a VHO you need 3 T5's. With the cost of T5 bulbs being about the same as vhos and needing 3 to one to equal the wattage, for me it wasn't cost effective. I know the lumen output from T5's are supposed to be high, I just couldn't reconcile the added expense of replacing extra bulbs and end caps. Especially since there was a question of shortened lifespan issues when being driven fron Ice Cap ballasts.