How the heck can anyone be happy with leds?

[Joseph Pagnotta]

Not good for my mental health to read through yet another LED thread - did anyone actually make a new and interesting point, or was it just a flock of parrots?

The Topic was How can anyone be happy with Led's. So that solicited comments about liking Led's. As far as your mental Health, they Have a Pill For That

 

[erk]

I like the T5/LED combo. For my current tank, I modded a T5 fixture and have 2 Lumia 5.2 LED pucks and 6 T5s. This reduces shimmer, but the shimmer isn't all that bad to begin with. I ran LED alone on my first tank and it worked great. The only reason I didn't grow coral very well was because I was still learning. I stay away from MH because it doesn't have the same flexibility or efficiency of LEDs. Also add that MH is going obsolete in favor of LED for industrial/commercial applications. I imagine it will be very difficult to find MH bulbs or equipment in <10yrs.

 

[120reefkeeper]

Still a Halide / T-5 user.

 

[Dancingmad]

I used led and mh on different tanks. We all like the disco. Late at night when my wife and puppies are asleep we bust out the glow sticks and turn on the EDM - its time to party.

 

[happyhourhero]

I used led and mh on different tanks. We all like the disco. Late at night when my wife and puppies are asleep we bust out the glow sticks and turn on the EDM - its time to party.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

It's idiots like this who will then ask for help on why their fish are so stressed or leaping from their tanks. Can't believe people are still so immature.

 

[happyhourhero]

It's idiots like this who will then ask for help on why their fish are so stressed or leaping from their tanks. Can't believe people are still so immature.

Please tell me you are trolling. That is from a world class coral vendor having a little fun.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Sorry don't know what trolling means.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I ask this because of one simple factor when compared with a MH: the shimmer.

The fact that the light comes from tens of sources distributed over a wide area creates a light pattern that looks almost epileptic fit inducing. This also happens with more recent fixtures that manage to reduce discoball effect.

I had an old maxspect fixture that had 2 x 30watts led chips and its shimmer was comparable to a MH (with some good will).

All later fixtures from maxspect abandoned these higher power chips. I still have a 160w Razor and that's the main reason I'm not happy with it and I will not pull the trigger on their newest model, the Ethereal.

The thing that surprises me is that I hardly hear anyone complaining about the epileptic fit inducing look of almost all of current led fixtures, with the exception of Kessils, which are only common in the US.

The only reason that keeps me from going back to MH is their lack of possibility of ramping up/down.

Back in the day the 3 x 400 watt Radium MH, 2 x 250 watt 10K XMs with 6 110 watt VHOs and Two 100 watt 50/50s lit my tank...I did not mind the bulb replacement but the heat and electricity coupled with an AC 24/7 made LEDs Easy...

I started with DIY and now we do High End DIY along with the Made in USA Sirius XTC LED Fixture...

The Goal was to replecate what was replaced and I cannot be happier as on my 570 Gal 7 Sirius XTCs replaced 3 400 watt Radiums, 2 250 Watt 10K XM, and 8 110 watt VHOs...I use close to 1/2 the electricity and no heat...

As far as shimmer I dont know as its hard to look back...My current shimmer is sweet and colour along with intensity is better.

I always say if its not broke do not fix it but if its too expensive try an better solution...

I've studied Chinese LEDs and will not trust them with my home reef...As very few use UL listed or CE components and are not Class II electrical for safety... For the record did have a clam splash a MH and that was bad but it did not cause a fire... Though Close...

LEDs have come a long way and Ecotech offers an ok 250 watt MH replacement...There are a lot more options now and given the difficulty of finding 110 watt VHO Bulbs LEDs and our XTC are a viable solution to replacing MH Bulbs...

Bill

 

[GraniteReefer]

Love LED + T5 combo, currently run a kessil an ai prime and 2 ati T5 bulbs. I feel like it is worth mentioning all the responses have been mostly by reefers with larger sized tanks and one of the best advancements in LED was being able to illuminate much smaller aquariums in an efficient manner, with all these giant tanks I can see why buying enough LED fixtures could leave one upset.

 

[Philip Chin]

I love my LED, and would never go back to mh. I believe it is better in every way.

 

[ohiojeffsreef]

Here is part of all of this that seems to get left out, the EPA. It is their goal to switch the entire country away from gas filled lighting to LED. Eventually LED is going to be the only choice, and it is why all our new tanks have them. I knew at some point I was going to have to figure them out, and I see no reason to wait.

 

[Julian Bastidas]

Mine were not dimmable and it burned almost all of my mushrooms and other corals that did not like the change

 

[ohiojeffsreef]

you know, going from one to the other seems to take time. I lost stuff going from MH or T5 to LED, but if they hung on and made the adjustment then they took off.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Mine were not dimmable and it burned almost all of my mushrooms and other corals that did not like the change

Just like a car you get what you pay for...

Any LED Solution to a MH & T5 replacement should offer full control and the ability to simulate a natural sunrise and sunset with a moon phase option...

Not to mention the same intensity as a 400 watt MH + 110 VHO for intensity...

Bill

 

[ohiojeffsreef]

I am using the original Reef Breeders lights. They have no timer, but are dimmable on both the blue and multi colored sides. I run the blue at 100% and the others range from 20-50% depending on what corals are in the tank. What I noticed is that any coral I got from someone doing MH is that for a time they went brown. It took some of them several months to color back up. Now we have everything from Garf to Red Dragon. From this point on any new tank will be LED's. They work, and in time they will be the only option any of us has.

 

[reeferbuddy215]

Yeah I have a 6' long 125 so I have 3 led lighting units and sadly it causes shaded spots in the shape of a V but it's not to noticeable and I just put my lps colonies in the shaded area, but I do miss that shimmer I got off my old MH unit.

 

[reeferbuddy215]

I do plan to add some T5's to my led as I know it makes sps pop.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

My 72x36x30 has great shimmer and with the lights 16" off the water I have no shaded areas other than under rocks and ledges like natural sunlight...

The latest 410-420nm Semi P2nU LED over a couple years is a more cost effective option than T5 Actinic...T5 Actinic is still more viable than MH but still produces heat, cannot be dimmed and proper bulb replacement gets expensive...

Bill

 

[ocboat]

The latest 410-420nm Semi P2nU LED over a couple years is a more cost effective option than T5 Actinic...T5 Actinic is still more viable than MH but still produces heat, cannot be dimmed and proper bulb replacement gets expensive...

I'm not sure I understand this part. What do you mean by T5 Actinic is still more viable than MH - what are you comparing? MH bulbs produce a much broader spectrum than T5 actinic bulbs, also there are ballasts that can dim any T5 bulb. I have used all three lighting sources and currently use T5 on my main tank and LED on my two smaller tanks but would use MH + T5 on my cube tank if I could find a fixture with the coverage and looks that I like.