LED Reef light or marine spectrum metal halide?

[PoseidonsReef]

Looking for suggestion on which is better , an led reef light with full control over spectrum and brightness or a marine metal halide bulb?
Also what are some good settings to start with on the led

 

[mcarroll]

Maybe it depends on your exact circumstance and tastes (why you're looking at halide to begin with) but I think I'd be hard pressed NOT to recommend the LED option.

Just be sure to select enough strips so you have an adequate amount of light.

(I say this as someone who started on halides and never stopped liking them.....LED's just make too much sense to keep running halides IMO.....and most folks', apparently.)

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

However, I think you'll definitely need a stronger LED than that one though if you plan to grow corals.

 

[fish_collector]

I wouldn't use either one of those, and I'm fairly confident the community would agree. MH is awesome but good bulbs are getting harder to find. LEDs are mainstream now and grow corals wonderfully. However if the MH bulbs of 20 years ago were still available, I'd be using them right now.

 

[Bruttall]

What size tank? a 46watt LED will not grow much of anything aside from a little algae unless your tank is only 3 inches deep.

 

[PoseidonsReef]

What size tank? a 46watt LED will not grow much of anything aside from a little algae unless your tank is only 3 inches deep.

90 gallon

 

[PoseidonsReef]

However, I think you'll definitely need a stronger LED than that one though if you plan to grow corals.

Idk its supposed to be pretty good , if i have to ill switch to the metal halide i have a fixture and ballast and the bulbs are fairly cheap

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What strength is that MH bulb, how many watts? MH lights follow the 3-5 watts per gallon rule, so you need at least 270 watts of MH for that size tank.

That fluval light is only 46 watts, it won't grow anything in a 90 gallon tank, you need above 200 watts IMO

 

[vlangel]

I really love my ReefBreeder Photon and it has worked well with both my 24" high 56g tank and my current 75g tank.

 

[56longroof]

Halides. Always halides. But those bulbs are trash. For a 90 gallon I'd reccomend 2 250 14k Aquabright bulbs.

 

[Fish Fan]

90 gallon

Idk its supposed to be pretty good , if i have to ill switch to the metal halide i have a fixture and ballast and the bulbs are fairly cheap

I'm happy you're getting into saltwater and getting a tank setup!. However, I wouldn't suggest either of those two options, there's much better options. Maybe let us know what your budget is and we can offer some help?

Halides. Always halides. But those bulbs are trash. For a 90 gallon I'd reccomend 2 250 14k Aquabright bulbs.

^This. I love halides too, though I no longer used them, and likely never will again just because LEDS are so mainstream now. Years ago, I had a dual 150 watt (300 watt total) halide fixture over a 36" 65 gallon. For a 48" 90 gallon you'd absolutely want to go with two 250 watt (500 watts total) halides over that tank, and that's a lot of energy to pay for, a lot of draw on the circuit, a lot of heat you have to deal with. Keep in mind, the ballasts draw energy too, so your total draw will actually be more than 500 watts.

Nothing shimmers like a halide, but LED is just far easier these days, especially if you're just starting out. There is a danger of overlighting with powerful LEDs, but but a PAR meter can help with that, or other R2R members may be able to tell you what light settings they use on their tanks for a given light(s) fixture.

That Fluval LED is not well liked here on R2R, take a look at lights from Noopsyche, NiCrew or possibly Hygger if you're on a budget. EcoTech Radions if you have the cheese for those. I personally like Kessils, which are sort of middle of the road, but they have a nice shimmer, similar to a metal halide.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[PPBlimpy]

that LED wont do anything on a 90G

the LED vs MH debate will never end. i prefer MH and have been longing to go back to them for a long time. I am also a set it and forget it type of guy

I am planning on trying the new 315W ceramic halides with a 10K bulb. This is the only bulb available for the new ceramic metal halides above 6500. i would prefer a 12k or 14K.

I want to compare to my current LED to these halides. If i like them I will use my current led as supplemental lighting.

for a 90G tank i would look into two noopsyche k7s , nicrew 150W, rl90s, radion xr30s. list goes on

 

[PoseidonsReef]

that LED wont do anything on a 90G

the LED vs MH debate will never end. i prefer MH and have been longing to go back to them for a long time. I am also a set it and forget it type of guy

I am planning on trying the new 315W ceramic halides with a 10K bulb. This is the only bulb available for the new ceramic metal halides above 6500. i would prefer a 12k or 14K.

I want to compare to my current LED to these halides. If i like them I will use my current led as supplemental lighting.

for a 90G tank i would look into two noopsyche k7s , nicrew 150W, rl90s, radion xr30s. list goes on

Im kinda really trying to avoid paying $700 on a new light setup , i already have a fixture and ballast so if i have to go the MH route a bulb is only going to run me $50. I just paid $250 for the LED and seen a few good reviews on it. Guess worse case i can run both and increase my par with the metal halide and get that nice blue glow with the LED

 

[PPBlimpy]

you can pick up 2 noopsyche k7s for under $400

return that LED if you paid $250... i see it goes for that much but not worth it. if you have to keep it then use it for supplemental lighting.

you will need 2 MH for a 4' 90G tank

 

[PoseidonsReef]

What strength is that MH bulb, how many watts? MH lights follow the 3-5 watts per gallon rule, so you need at least 270 watts of MH for that size tank.

That fluval light is only 46 watts, it won't grow anything in a 90 gallon tank, you need above 200 watts IMO

Metal halide is 400w, so how about if i run both MH and LED to get both depth and preferes colour?

 

[PPBlimpy]

what reflector do you plan to run with the MH, the hard part is getting the spread over 4 ft. with the right reflector it could work but you are mounting the bulb 20+" off the water and need a reflector that will do a 120* spread. using both would work

 

[PoseidonsReef]

you can pick up 2 noopsyche k7s for under $400

return that LED if you paid $250

Would it still be useful to farm coral in a 8" deep growing tray, i want to get into farming anyway and keep a healthy population of corals as backups incase the tank crashes

 

[PPBlimpy]

Could be completely useable there but still not ideal. would have to keep corals fairly centered under that light in my opinion keeping the light only 2-4 inches above the water.

also depends on type of corals

 

[PoseidonsReef]

what reflector do you plan to run with the MH, the hard part is getting the spread over 4 ft. with the right reflector it could work but you are mounting the bulb 20+" off the water and need a reflector that will do a 120* spread. using both would work

I lost the reflectore during a move so ill have to go pick up another one

 

[Fish Fan]

Im kinda really trying to avoid paying $700 on a new light setup , i already have a fixture and ballast so if i have to go the MH route a bulb is only going to run me $50. I just paid $250 for the LED and seen a few good reviews on it. Guess worse case i can run both and increase my par with the metal halide and get that nice blue glow with the LED

I feel you as I'm a budget reefer myself. You don't need to spend $700 on lighting, but I really think there's better options for your money. What kind of halide fixture do you have? Is it safe to run above a saltwater tank? It typically needs to be protected from salt spray, and ducted for heat control. A 400 watt halide gets smoking hot!

Metal halide is 400w, so how about if i run both MH and LED to get both depth and preferes colour?

You can't light a 48" tank with only one light, the light simply doesn't speed out that far, that's why you need two lights on this tank. Your money would be much better spent on a couple of Noopsyche K7 Pros, and you'd save a ton of money on electricity in th long run too.

I hope that helps!