If that's my thread you are referring to remember the point is to show that Radions can grow coral as well as Radiums.There is a thread running with an experiment. We'll see...
All other people that I spoke around the world told me the halides are the best.
Many coral farmers and professionals went back to their MH/T5s... so.. you keep thinking whatever you want.
I gave credit to LEDs, but went back fast!! No comparison. 90% of my friends went back to their T5s...
You're right! I don't like LEDs. It's ridiculous the differences of shape and shades. No mater what.
Any kind of LED fixture in the US market isn't even close to a good T5 spread. Period. MHs... billion times better...
Even to keep zoanthids only.
Everyone that actually had experiences with all the lights know the differences and it comes down to personal preferences of liking the:
1) Disco.
2) The supposed saved money with electricity.
3) Those computer/wifi features that people think only LEDs can provide.
Go ask Sanjay... ask him privately... Ask people who really cares about the corals, not the money.
I do respect all of the LED people, but you guys just can't come in a thread like this and try to push your disco visions.
But you know what? I get it! You don't like MHs/T5s.
This is so great!
There are so many MH lovers coming with their experiences and tips.
I found good info here!
Hi BoomCorals:
I'm not an expert in any way, so this will be only what I've seen and read.
And I have no MHs at home for more than 15 years, so...
I decided to answer your PM here so people could also correct me if I'm wrong, or maybe others would add to my suggestions...
I would avoid the Current USA fixture though and the SE Cayman Sun. I also would think you should get the best you could afford now, so you wouldn't have to change anything in the near future, or have a so so experience with the halides. Besides, as a professional, it's an investment for your business.
I would think that you didn't think about saving when you got your LEDs to your systems, so the same should be applied with MHs. Quality is more important in the long run.
The Current USA isn't the best quality system you can offer and the SE Cayman, as Jeremy Luke posted (see BRS video below), has an awkward distribution because of the position of the center of the bulb that normally fits towards the side of the fixture instead in the very center, so the spread is compromised that way. I don't like the so called HQI (DE) fixtures because of the risk of braking the ceramic ends (they show that in the video below too). That is known since the 90's. They do a great job reflecting though, with superb PAR. I also like to have the outer jacket of the SE bulbs made of UV absorbing glass, besides the lens to protect the bulb, so SE bulbs/fixture is what I like.
The Cebu comes ready to use and it's not that expensive. Besides the T5s will give you the best combination to grow your corals because you can have the halides for like 6 hours and the T5s for 8 hours a day. All in one package!
You can use Radiums 20K with 2 ATI Blue Plus on the extremes and 2 ATI Coral Plus close to the halide bulbs in that fixture. But will that spread the light like the Lumen Bright or the Cozumel Sun?
In your case, because the corals will be ~6" below the water surface, and the tank is 4' X 2', I would definitely get the Coral Vue Lumen Bright or the Cozumel Sun for it's uniformity in distribution.
The Lumen Bright has adjustable socket and is 16" X 16" and the Cozumel Sun gives also a great spread and it's 20 X20. That way, the light will be well distributed. Quality, quality, quality!
I personally like DE bulbs and would get Radium with 2 X Lumen Bright or 2 X Cozumel Sun reflector with the LuXcore ballasts.
Cozumel Sun:
OR Lumen Bright:
LuXcore ballast:
Here is the video for you:
Hope that helps!
Aloha,
Grandis.
I tossed a Hydra 52 HD running at 15% on a Nuvo 20 and you right great for a small tank. Checkout the hurricane build on my signature. Pretty cool looking.I am in agreement with everyone here in re: to going MH and T5. I switched back to halides on one of my tanks, with AI Hydra 26's to tweak the color of the tank to what I like, but that can be done just as well with T5's. I was surprised at how well the corals did when I switched back to halides. It wasn't overnight like everything in reef keeping, but it was noticeable after a month, and by 6 months, corals were growing like weeds. I'm running Reef Brite Reef Tech pendants with 250W 14K bulbs, and in retrospect, would have gone with the 20K Radiums, just because I love the color of those bulbs, and the Reef Brite pendant really lives up to its' advertising about running cool; I can put my hand on the top of the fixture after running it all day and it's warm but doesn't burn. The bulbs are hot of course, so whatever fixture you get, I'd recommend getting a fan you can mount on the sump to help cool the water temp. You'll be incredibly happy that you switched to halides as primary light source, because they just work. T5's, same thing. I love LED's, but don't ever use them as primary source, only to adjust the color of the tank to my liking. My other tank is running ATI T5's, with LED supplementation.
I don't think I'll ever go back to just LED's, unless I have a pico tank at work or something. I can't recommend halides and T5's enough. Light spillage is not an issue, and that can also be corrected with some DIY additions to the reflector.
Have fun and watch your corals fall in love with you!
That's exactly what I did and it worked out great, until hurricane Irma killed the tank that is
He did already
Yeah, I heard the Giesemann 20K is spectacular too. Many people like it..
As well? Meaning just like?
Yeah, and many other too...
Do you really wanna know?
That's great!
Yup, if people really want Radiums then SE Mogul base is the only way to go. If you don't plan on running radiums then get the 250w DE for sure. They are almost comparable in most applications to 400W SE bulbs which really only come into their own when scaling for coverage of very large tank footprints. I love the 14k phoenix 250wDE. Kind of like a 250w Radium run on an M80 ballast in terms of visual output- very crisp, blue light. If you want the most true actinic violet/UV color and pop IMO the XM 20k 250W DEs are phenomenal, but quite a bit lower on PAR and lifespan than the Phoenix in my experience.
It's very uncomfortable when someone thinks that I'm trying to go around with LED hate/jokes or whatever, so I had tell 'em already how I think. Hope that doesn't screw up here!He did already
Did you experience differences between all those bulbs in regards to loss of PAR by the time you changed them?
Sorry, he asked me! ;WideyedSpeaking of propaganda...that's the word I was just looking for!
Hokey smokes, man! Do you own a mercury mine or something? You realize that everyone in this thread is already sold, right??
I guess it's an obsession inducing hobby for all of us, eh?
Man, I've been working hard and this is the only short time I have to participate and learn here. This is just amazing.We love everyone!! I was just behind a few days on this thread and had gotten caught up. As a result I had seen several of these posts in a short frame of time and since this was never a "vs thread" so I guess they stood out more than normal....I couldn't help to observe on it after you applied the term propaganda.
