Anyone miss MH lighting?

  • Thread starter Thread starter GeoSquid
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I miss the look of metal halide. Anyone revert back to them after LEDs? If so, what do you think or why not?
Nope. Have switched 100% on 3 systems to leds.
My first led system and an old halide tank. This 18" nano cube convinced to convert all systems to led. Halide guy for many years prior.
My old 120 halide system for comparison.

20220926_094430.jpg
20220106_131923.jpg
 
I’ll miss glitter lines, but the ability to control the spectrum and the intensity while using less electricity seems a good trade off to me.
 
Yes, I miss the shimmer as well. Any leds creating that affect?
Kessils produce a really good shimmer.
Red Sea Reefled's put out a fair shimmer.
I was contemplating going back to halides, but the lack of quality bulbs nixed that.
I am going to give plasma a try very soon. I'm a fan of a more full spectrum/natural sunlight look and my anemones prefer that spectrum too.
 
Kessils produce a really good shimmer.
Red Sea Reefled's put out a fair shimmer.
I was contemplating going back to halides, but the lack of quality bulbs nixed that.
I am going to give plasma a try very soon. I'm a fan of a more full spectrum/natural sunlight look and my anemones prefer that spectrum too.
Plasma?
 
At times I do miss them. I miss my 250 HQI pendants I used to run and my 400's. I dont miss the heat and energy bill though..
 
Nice! You think better growth with LEDs or is it more the look you like? I've had nice growth from both lighting systems.
With the proper led system color and growth are pretty equal, imo.
I like the ramp up/down of leds.
Being able to adjust spectrum to your liking is a plus.

Halides are awesome! I think leds will only get better.

On my current 9 month old 150 I added 3 Orphek OR4 uv/v bars.
Just like we added actinic bulbs back in the day. The new bars are equal to 2 T5's each.
This system has 20 whites per 50 for 40 total. These are at 30% white 20% red, green, and 80% blues uv with the bars at 100%.
At 100% white it looks like my past halide system but par would be 500+ on the rocks. Currently it is 300-350.
20250113_105405.jpg
 
Last edited:
Kessils produce a really good shimmer.
Red Sea Reefled's put out a fair shimmer.
I was contemplating going back to halides, but the lack of quality bulbs nixed that.
I am going to give plasma a try very soon. I'm a fan of a more full spectrum/natural sunlight look and my anemones prefer that spectrum too.
There are still quality bulbs available. Radiums,Ushio,and Reefbrite.
 

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