Best lighting on the market? Is there one?

landlubber

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"best" threads are so convoluted with defensiveness of purchase and anecdotal "proof" that its impossible to get anything productive going.
i had an 8 bulb ati t5 it grew coral but annually also shrunk my wallet $300 on bulbs. switched to radions g5's and have been very happy with the change.
are either the best? i don't know but both are good.
 

nereefpat

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i had an 8 bulb ati t5 it grew coral but annually also shrunk my wallet $300 on bulbs. switched to radions g5's and have been very happy with the change.
are either the best? i don't know but both are good.
You were spending $37.50 per bulb? And changing them once a year?
The biggest ATI Blue+ bulb is 24.95 when it's not on sale, and you don't have to change them every 12 months.

I'm curious what length of 8 bulb fixture it was, and how many Radions (and XR15 or 30) you needed to replace them.
 

landlubber

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You were spending $37.50 per bulb? And changing them once a year?
The biggest ATI Blue+ bulb is 24.95 when it's not on sale, and you don't have to change them every 12 months.

I'm curious what length of 8 bulb fixture it was, and how many Radions (and XR15 or 30) you needed to replace them.
i'm a Canadian and our dollar is on average .20 less valuable than USD. Some probably made it to 15 months but in general it is a required chore if you want the most out of the fixture and i found it particularly annoying.
mine was the 8x54w so the 4 foot bulbs.
 

A. grandis

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"best" threads are so convoluted with defensiveness of purchase and anecdotal "proof" that its impossible to get anything productive going.
i had an 8 bulb ati t5 it grew coral but annually also shrunk my wallet $300 on bulbs. switched to radions g5's and have been very happy with the change.
are either the best? i don't know but both are good.
It's all about the results! ANY light will be good if you are satisfied. Dr. Sanjay is apperantely "happy" with his G4s, but he will tell you what he misses about his old halides. And everyone will look for something different.
 

nereefpat

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i'm a Canadian and our dollar is on average .20 less valuable than USD. Some probably made it to 15 months but in general it is a required chore if you want the most out of the fixture and i found it particularly annoying.
mine was the 8x54w so the 4 foot bulbs.
How many and what model of Radions to replace that?
 

ReeferBean

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I have used MH, T5, and while they may be better in terms of coral growth, the advantages of LED on a larger system far outweigh the pros of those light sources. At least for me. They grow coral and there aren't any lamps to change. You can focus on other aspects of maintaining your reef.
 

A. grandis

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In this new video, the "father of reef LEDs" tell us how much he likes metal halides and why: spectrum an needs for the corals! Nevertheless he also gives some insight on a new exiting LED hardware for those who like them. Enjoy the video!
 

nereefpat

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Lots of people do like the look of LEDs, and they also like certain features, such as ramping and changing spectrum.

But the argument to buy Radions or Kessils or whatever because you get tired of spending money on T5 or Halide bulbs doesn't make any mathematical sense. 2 Radion XR30s costs 1680 US dollars. You could replace the bulbs in a 6 or 8 bulb T5 fixture every 12 months for 9-12 years before you broke even on that, if the LED fixtures last that long.
 

oreo54

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Lots of people do like the look of LEDs, and they also like certain features, such as ramping and changing spectrum.

But the argument to buy Radions or Kessils or whatever because you get tired of spending money on T5 or Halide bulbs doesn't make any mathematical sense. 2 Radion XR30s costs 1680 US dollars. You could replace the bulbs in a 6 or 8 bulb T5 fixture every 12 months for 9-12 years before you broke even on that, if the LED fixtures last that long.
Forgot the convience factor.
Changing flourescent, halides, halogens, even incandsecents is a pia for some.
;)
 

landlubber

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Lots of people do like the look of LEDs, and they also like certain features, such as ramping and changing spectrum.

But the argument to buy Radions or Kessils or whatever because you get tired of spending money on T5 or Halide bulbs doesn't make any mathematical sense. 2 Radion XR30s costs 1680 US dollars. You could replace the bulbs in a 6 or 8 bulb T5 fixture every 12 months for 9-12 years before you broke even on that, if the LED fixtures last that long.

Forgot the convience factor.
Changing flourescent, halides, halogens, even incandsecents is a pia for some.
;)
not to mention what is aesthetic appeal worth to you?
i used multiple different combinations of t5 and none of them came even close to the first time i saw the shimmer and color of my fish and coral under the radions.
even with the reefbrite strip i used for actinic my preference is still the look of the G5's.
 

nereefpat

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not to mention what is aesthetic appeal worth to you?
i used multiple different combinations of t5 and none of them came even close to the first time i saw the shimmer and color of my fish and coral under the radions.
even with the reefbrite strip i used for actinic my preference is still the look of the G5's.
I did mention that, in my first sentence below:

Lots of people do like the look of LEDs, and they also like certain features, such as ramping and changing spectrum.
 

fcmatt

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You were spending $37.50 per bulb? And changing them once a year?
The biggest ATI Blue+ bulb is 24.95 when it's not on sale, and you don't have to change them every 12 months.

I'm curious what length of 8 bulb fixture it was, and how many Radions (and XR15 or 30) you needed to replace them.

Back in the day I think the hot shot stick reefers recommended changing them every 6-8 months actually. Naturally I push mine longer then that but I also change them out about every year when I remember to. I think par loss was the main complaint after 6-8 months. But I could be wrong. But I def remember advice like that. They swapped them out pretty quick and it was always in the math/cost calculation when comparing to LED. That was the downfall of T5 in many ways when you did the math like that. Once you get the bulbs into the 12 month range it is not so bad.

My issue with LED is that I rarely see people discussing their 10 year old LEDs. They keep buying them again and again. My T5 fixture has to be almost 15 years old now. Only replaced the fans inside it and of course bulbs. It sat unused for a while during a house move though.
 

sde1500

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the "father of reef LEDs" tell us how much he likes metal halides and why: spectrum an needs for the corals!
He's still a big advocate for metal halides, and why? Because he knows what that broad spectrum means when it comes corals. Literally the only thing he said. Considering it was brought up in response to a question over LED channels being left off, I'd look at his answer more as advocating for the simplicity of halides. Plug in, turn on, and you have a spectrum good for your corals. LEDs with the 2-6+ channels of color allow for more customization of look, but this doesn't mean it is better, or worse, for the corals.

Its interesting that people who advocate for LEDs in this thread can be called cultists, but only those people. Not someone that comes into any thread on lighting sharing the same youtube videos, offering the same opinions repeated as fact, using the same appeal to authority fallacy, but only the authority before they switched to LED because then they are mistaken. I legit don't know how many times I've seen the reference to that one yellow porites as 'proof' LED bad. There isn't some conspiracy by retailers to not sell halides, halides just aren't selling well. On that point, why is it conspiratorial for BRS to push LEDs, not halides, because they want to make a profit? But then coral sellers, who theoretically want to make a profit selling corals, use LED and the conspiracy you push there is that they are just in league with LED manufacturers. Any paper on light is dismissed, and anecdotes offered as a response. Off hand suggestions that halide/T5 users somehow care more for the health of the corals. But LED users are cultist...

Light is light. T5 and Halide have the advantage of easy replaceability, new bulbs every 8-12 months and the fixture likely can chug along for decades. My 5 year old LED fixture just lost its 3 moonlights. I could replace them, but soldering new LEDs in isn't exactly my strong suit. But at 5 years old, and something like 18k hours on, its still running strong. The new LED panels coming out, Coral Care and ATI Stratton seem absolutely top notch. Good coverage, avoiding the issue that puck style deals with, good color blending, and control/form factor for sure. LED/T5 hybrid I'd say is likely to be the "best" but that is such a subjective thing to ask, at this point I'm sure OP is really regretting having asked.
 

happyhourhero

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He's still a big advocate for metal halides, and why? Because he knows what that broad spectrum means when it comes corals. Literally the only thing he said. Considering it was brought up in response to a question over LED channels being left off, I'd look at his answer more as advocating for the simplicity of halides. Plug in, turn on, and you have a spectrum good for your corals. LEDs with the 2-6+ channels of color allow for more customization of look, but this doesn't mean it is better, or worse, for the corals.

Its interesting that people who advocate for LEDs in this thread can be called cultists, but only those people. Not someone that comes into any thread on lighting sharing the same youtube videos, offering the same opinions repeated as fact, using the same appeal to authority fallacy, but only the authority before they switched to LED because then they are mistaken. I legit don't know how many times I've seen the reference to that one yellow porites as 'proof' LED bad. There isn't some conspiracy by retailers to not sell halides, halides just aren't selling well. On that point, why is it conspiratorial for BRS to push LEDs, not halides, because they want to make a profit? But then coral sellers, who theoretically want to make a profit selling corals, use LED and the conspiracy you push there is that they are just in league with LED manufacturers. Any paper on light is dismissed, and anecdotes offered as a response. Off hand suggestions that halide/T5 users somehow care more for the health of the corals. But LED users are cultist...

Light is light. T5 and Halide have the advantage of easy replaceability, new bulbs every 8-12 months and the fixture likely can chug along for decades. My 5 year old LED fixture just lost its 3 moonlights. I could replace them, but soldering new LEDs in isn't exactly my strong suit. But at 5 years old, and something like 18k hours on, its still running strong. The new LED panels coming out, Coral Care and ATI Stratton seem absolutely top notch. Good coverage, avoiding the issue that puck style deals with, good color blending, and control/form factor for sure. LED/T5 hybrid I'd say is likely to be the "best" but that is such a subjective thing to ask, at this point I'm sure OP is really regretting having asked.
It’s the same schtick year after year. Always the same. I’ve never seen someone who’s identity is so intwined with a light type.
 

X-37B

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He's still a big advocate for metal halides, and why? Because he knows what that broad spectrum means when it comes corals. Literally the only thing he said. Considering it was brought up in response to a question over LED channels being left off, I'd look at his answer more as advocating for the simplicity of halides. Plug in, turn on, and you have a spectrum good for your corals. LEDs with the 2-6+ channels of color allow for more customization of look, but this doesn't mean it is better, or worse, for the corals.

Its interesting that people who advocate for LEDs in this thread can be called cultists, but only those people. Not someone that comes into any thread on lighting sharing the same youtube videos, offering the same opinions repeated as fact, using the same appeal to authority fallacy, but only the authority before they switched to LED because then they are mistaken. I legit don't know how many times I've seen the reference to that one yellow porites as 'proof' LED bad. There isn't some conspiracy by retailers to not sell halides, halides just aren't selling well. On that point, why is it conspiratorial for BRS to push LEDs, not halides, because they want to make a profit? But then coral sellers, who theoretically want to make a profit selling corals, use LED and the conspiracy you push there is that they are just in league with LED manufacturers. Any paper on light is dismissed, and anecdotes offered as a response. Off hand suggestions that halide/T5 users somehow care more for the health of the corals. But LED users are cultist...

Light is light. T5 and Halide have the advantage of easy replaceability, new bulbs every 8-12 months and the fixture likely can chug along for decades. My 5 year old LED fixture just lost its 3 moonlights. I could replace them, but soldering new LEDs in isn't exactly my strong suit. But at 5 years old, and something like 18k hours on, its still running strong. The new LED panels coming out, Coral Care and ATI Stratton seem absolutely top notch. Good coverage, avoiding the issue that puck style deals with, good color blending, and control/form factor for sure. LED/T5 hybrid I'd say is likely to be the "best" but that is such a subjective thing to ask, at this point I'm sure OP is really regretting having asked.
I am a Halide guy from the 80-90's.
I still run them and have run leds only in the past.
All my local lfs and friends run leds.
Some of the systems are very impressive.

I am going to setup another frag system before my upgrade and it will be powered by OR3 light bars only.

I run one OR3 blue plus on my 120 for 9hrs now to, lol, suplement my 8hrs of 14K Halides.

The OR3's throw some serious quality light.
Leds will only get better in the years to come.
 

Mixing lighting technologies: Do you use multiple types of lighting for your reef?

  • I currently use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 9 52.9%
  • I have used multiple types of lighting for my reef in the past.

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • I haven’t used multiple types of lighting for my reef, but I plan to in the future.

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • I have no plans to use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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