Are Metal Halides Making a Comeback?

Elegance Coral

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People keep saying you have to change MH bulbs every year. Now to be honest, I have run cheap bulbs that did shift in spectrum and intensity in a short period of time, but I've had much better luck with better bulbs.
I was running two 400w radiums in large luminarc reflectors over my 4' 200 gallon. They were the only lights on the tank, and they ran 12 hours a day. After more than two years, I figured I should change bulbs. All my corals still had great color and large white growth tips. I ordered two new bulbs. One came in broken, so I changed the good one. I was excited to see the new radium color because surely my old bulbs had shifted in color to some degree. With a brand new bulb on one side, and the old bulb on the other, I asked my friends if they could tell a difference in the two sides. With a room full of people, no one could tell a difference.
If the human eye can't tell the difference, and my corals can't seem to tell a difference, then why change bulbs every year? I know people say the light can change and not be detectable by the human eye, but my corals seemed unaffected too.
. A friend of mine purchased a 400w radium at the same time that I purchased my original two bulbs. About 4 years later, he asked for one of my used bulbs that ran 2+ years. His bulb had lost intensity, but it was on a FO tank, so not a big deal. He swapped bulbs and said his tank looks great again.
I now change bulbs when I have a reason to. Not because people that sell bulbs want me to replace it every year. The radiums I'm running now are probably 2 years old and still going strong.
 

aabjones888

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I love my halides. I feel it's just eaiser to hook up and just go with it. If had a lot of different LEDs and have always went back to my halides. I've had kessil, radon pros, cheap box LEDs, mvava's and reef rites. I just feel like there always something missing with the less. My personal opinion tho.
 

Squamosa

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I feel it's just eaiser to hook up and just go with it.

I can tell you after sitting next to my tank with a laptop connected to the 'cloud' while I try and make a minor adjustment to my Radions that took 2 hours, I've been tempted to break out the old bulbs and reflectors.....o_O
 

sump_dweller

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Just my 2 cents...

After long research I have found that almost all tanks where yellow acros stayed yellow are illuminated with metal halides.
 

BoneXriffic

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20160718_124518.jpg
just sayin.
 

120reefkeeper

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I'm in the belief also that all tech works.

I currently run halides and T-5's . With that being said the reason why I haven't switched over to led's is because I know myself all to well. Lol .
It seems like led's are still in the early stages to me. Someone's always coming out with the latest and greatest tech. Now mind you this technology is not cheap. With all the constant changes , upgrades etc etc... I would find myself buying and selling my lights constantly . So I've decided to stick with the tried and true halide/t-5 combo for now. That is until the market has somewhat settled and all of the great people out there has tested and proven or disproven so and so's led's work or don't work. I'm not much for being a guinea pig.

What do I believe the future holds?? I can see led's being refined a lot more and I also see combo lights being the future led/t-5 . I believe they compliment each other well and provide each other with what the other may lack.

I also believe there is a future for halide combos... Halide/t-5... Halide / led... Again this maybe a niche market now but I see it expanding a little over the next couple of years.

Why do I think that?? Well you have old school guys like me, new folks who just aren't that tech savvy for led's , and for those that feel dejected with there led experience. Some people I've talked with just never got the hang of led's or they bought some crappy ones , or they fried there corals and now they've gotten a bad taste in there mouth .

All in all its about what you want to keep, how much you want to spend , how tech savvy you are or are not.

Please take all of this with a grain of salt , this is just my take on the current situation and where I believe we are headed.

Cheers! Happy reefing!!



Let me bring this back forward....

I'd like to add a little to my previous comments.

I also believe that some of the manufacturers that have made strides to continue using MH but have made them more efficient etc, should be commended. MH work and when you couple that with some advanced technology via better ballast etc now you've got something. I can only say that I hope this trend continues and that someone can make a bulb that runs cooler and doesn't pump heat into a tank.... That's my dream ! [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

The heat is the only part of MH I don't like.
 

Kungpaoshizi

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