Halide vs. LED vs. T5! Which do you prefer and why?

[Audiofile18]

i have used t5 and led, but with metal halide my corals seem to do so much better.

+1......

 

[schooncw]

Went from Halide to T5 and considering LED

 

[AquariGod]

I love the look of T5's and LEDs, combined. LEDs give the shimmer and customization, T5's give the coverage and a good base color.

 

[Eckolancer]

The new kessils are giving me coloration like the t5s.

 

[TheReefKeeper]

Good colors you have a 400W Radium and two 4 T5's and 2 Blue RB on this tank? Wow I need to lower my light how may inches is that and you have any heat issues?
Looks good!!!

400w 20k Radium, 4 T5's, and 2 blue LED reefbrites running on my system. I can honestly say that I have the best lighting available in reef keeping (far from most expensive). Spectrum, intensity, and coverage is excellent. Running a single halide over a large cube is surprisingly efficient as well.

Not the best pic but you can get an idea of coverage and the bright appearance.
IMG_0859 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

 

[nature786]

I like my halide & led for actinics combination.
If I find the fixture I want.
It would definitely be t5 & Halide.
Can't get the same growth from anything else but Halides personally.

 

[kidtango]

I have used 2 GHL Mitras and now back to two 4-bulb 80W ATI fixtures with two kessils in the middle between the two ATI fixtures. I get the best color, spectrum, control, no heat issue (I don't run a chiller or fan and I live in Houston, TX), and how I can forgot the shimmer! haha.. The Kessils A360W has the best shimmer I can find for LEDs. It out shines my Mitras by far and the Mitras has very wide/even spread than the Radions.

The corals are loving the lights for sure and I am very in love with them also. Happy corals = happy reefer.

 

[Reefkeepr1986]

I used to use Halides but to save money I have moved to LEDs and I am happy with them and so is my corals all hard and softies!!

 

[Reefkeepr1986]

 

[JDM213]

First time trying LEDs 2 radions over my 90gallon

 

[jackson6745]

Good colors you have a 400W Radium and two 4 T5's and 2 Blue RB on this tank? Wow I need to lower my light how may inches is that and you have any heat issues?
Looks good!!!

Thanks. Yep 400w radium, 4xt5, 2xreefbrites on this 32x32 cube. The halide itself is about 12" from the water surface. It looks like the fixture is lower because it slopes down in the front and back.

 

[d2mini]

I've tried pretty much everything over the years and I prefer MH supplemented with T5 for overall coral health and color.
I've done LED long term and for SPS I'm not a fan at this time in their development. The tank is too dim, the corals are bald underneath from poor light spread, they exhibit odd growth patters probably due to the same issue, and I've found that some sps just don't color up or grow nearly as well as MH. Where-as EVERYTHING seems to like MH. Maybe some colors are different or you prefer some color under LED, but looking at the tank overall I find it does MUCH better under MH/T5. MH gives you the point light source with shimmer and proven spectrums with no guesswork. Just buy a bulb, throw it up there and watch your coral grow. The T5 give you the dawn dusk and ability to make any tweaks you might want with color. I might even try VHO instead of T5 at some point since that is really supposed to be the holy grail of actinic supplementation. I have also thought about adding some Reefbright strips to my MH/T5 fixture since its an easy add-on but not sure if its going to gain me much.

I've found the positive far outweigh the negatives of heat/electricity (I'm not in a tiered area) and have also found that savings touted by the manufacturers is not nearly as much as they would have us believe.


Here's my tank under MH/T5...

 

[Reef Junky150]

I've run mh vho t5 and led

I am stuck on my led's. Look great, great growth and color, no longer running a chiller and a/c isn't working it's but off anymore. I kept my mh setup in case I wanted to switch back but am currently looking into selling them. I'm pleased with the led's so much I will never switch back.

Background info, I ran mh/vho for 7 years mh/t5 for 3 and been running led for just over a year now.

 

[s2nhle]

I am running led now and will add 4 ati t5 bulbs by this christmas and new year break.

 

[GHill762]

currently running LED (reefbreeders) but I'm about to add 2 T5's to it as soon as the ups guy stops by :rockon:

 

[fishmommy]

Been running Mitras LEDs for a year and am switching to MH with T5 next weekend.

 

[mrcoffee2]

Been running Mitras LEDs for a year and am switching to MH with T5 next weekend.

Cant wait to see how they turn out!

 

[LILBUDDHA]

My next lighting will be a t5 /led hybrid unit. I think it gives a great combination of efficiency,colors and coral growth . I would prefer the hybrid to be heavy on the t5 side or with equal t5/led at a minimum . It will be interesting to see the new PacSun hybrid and the Geisemann Aurora hybrid in action next year.

 

[Eckolancer]

Leds for look, long term cost, and coloration.
My tank kessils

Buddies tank DIY

Kessils on friends

 

[hatfielj]

I use all three and I'm very happy with the results. If I could do anything different I'd probably do more blue T5s