No love for MH?

[kschweer]

Hey guys. This thread is starting to get out of hand. The personal attacks, arguments, taunting and general hostility needs to stop. If it doesn’t thread bans will be issued. If that doesn’t help the thread is at risk of being closed.

Let’s get back to discussing metal halide lighting...

 

[MnFish1]

My old reef under t5 :) I thought I knew what I was doing in the hobby ;) I used fans on this one too :)

Thats a nice tank

 

[Perry]

Thats a nice tank

That was my 3rd successful full sps reef in 14 years at the sps game. I used t5s when many said no way, impossible, lol. Back then it was halide t5 debates, much more heated than this one, lol. I simply posted a pic of my, at the time, 75 gallon sps, bb, reef under 6 tubes. I heard crickets, lol. That is why I posted my last sps reef, I sort of know what I am doing. My current setup is by far my biggest challenge yet, and until, and ONLY until I added halide, have I seen this reef take off. Emotions and egos aside, proof is in the pudding. Lol, and quite frankly, lightning is only a part of success in the hobby. One day I will put more provoked thought towards LED lighting, I am certain there are comparable options to achieving great results :) Given the biological challenges of running a mixed reef successfully, I am also using an AIO setup, which presents other challenges, lighting at this point needs to be plug and play, and proven.
Cheers

 

[Bpb]

Any of you guys taken par readings of the hamilton 10k 14k and 20k? I’ve happened upon a pair of lumenbrite reflectors and hamilton magnetic ballasts (m59 I believe). Curious if anyone has any par comparisons of those bulbs.

 

[DSC reef]

I believe there is a thread with a comparison of the new Hamilton 20k along side with a radium. Have to do some digging but it was a good read.

 

[leepink23]

I have 1 of my bulbs, Giesemann 17500 k mega chrome that has a constant flickering, I have switched it to the opposite halide and the flickering follows the bulb, will this burn in after 100 hours or should I get a replacement? The other bulb flickers at start then is perfect.

 

[Bpb]

I believe there is a thread with a comparison of the new Hamilton 20k along side with a radium. Have to do some digging but it was a good read.

Yeah I’ve seen those comparisons. Just wondering how they compare in horsepower. I know the classic train of thought is lower kelvin bulbs have higher par but that’s not a perfect science because the radium smokes many lower kelvin bulbs

 

[DSC reef]

Very true. Were looking forward to radiums on M80's soon

 

[A. grandis]

Well you did increase wattage (roughly 50w or 17% increase) and went from a very blue to blue centric spectrum..
Says more about the t5's than anything else..
I assume you had the Kessils set at 100% intensity?

Your Led was barely 1/3 of the total lighting..

Well, if you get LEDs at 100% at the same wattage of any say halide or T5s you will probably burn the corals and not get anything good out of it as we know. LEDs shouldn't be running high in many cases. Remember the physics thing you were talking about earlier?

Besides... as I've been posting for years here, halides/ T5s/ LEDs all have different properties of quality. They are different and therefore have to be used accordingly.
Halides have great UV, IR and the spectrum is way "richier" and uniform (like the sun!) than any LED system I know. That is the quality of each different source. To compare LEDs and halides is almost like comparing LEDs to a little sun at home.
T5s have a great uniform spread and embrace the tank like a blanket. Used with halides will give you a boost as a blanket over your system.
LEDs will give you some light. Photons are produced in a different form and offered in a different pattern with a unidirectional matter. You need to know that is a limitation.
When you get the right fixture and wattage of a halide system for your tank you will get the astonishing results others are getting.

 

[jda]

Lower K bulbs have more PAR because they have more red, yellow, green and also a ton of blue and violet. This is just always going to be the case.

Here is XM 10k against a 20k Radium. Not only is the XM super high in blue and UV, it is higher everywhere else too. This is why it was one of the best bulbs of all time. The UV really made corals pop too.

 

[Bpb]

Lower K bulbs have more PAR because they have more red, yellow, green and also a ton of blue and violet. This is just always going to be the case.

Here is XM 10k against a 20k Radium. Not only is the XM super high in blue and UV, it is higher everywhere else too. This is why it was one of the best bulbs of all time. The UV really made corals pop too.

I used those for roughly one year, overdriven on m80 ballasts which was bright like mid day outside in the summer in the south. Downside was that they would not always start reliably which taught me the importance of matching ballasts correctly. I hated coming home to a dark tank or just one light running.

 

[Bpb]

Main reason for considering the switch is I’m unable to get more par out of my ati fixture. I can’t lower it any due to the canopy (canopy is non negotiable). Most my acros are in the 200-300 range and I feel like my colors and growth would improve if I could get in the 400-500 range for most of them. I’d be able to put the halides a little closer to the water, just wondering if the 20k hammys would give enough par and spread. Or if I’d be better served doing 10 or 14k. Would likely add some blue LEDs front and back so I could enjoy the tank late at night

 

[jda]

The new 20k Hammy is the same look as a 20k Radium, but made to be run on regular 250w ballasts... less output, but it is also less power.

Spread depends on the reflector... and the size of the tank.

 

[Bpb]

The new 20k Hammy is the same look as a 20k Radium, but made to be run on regular 250w ballasts... less output, but it is also less power.

Spread depends on the reflector... and the size of the tank.

48”x18”dx24”h. 2 Lumenbrite mini 15” octagon. End to end top to bottom sps

 

[Jay Norris]

Well, if you get LEDs at 100% at the same wattage of any say halide or T5s you will probably burn the corals and not get anything good out of it as we know. LEDs shouldn't be running high in many cases. Remember the physics thing you were talking about earlier?

Besides... as I've been posting for years here, halides/ T5s/ LEDs all have different properties of quality. They are different and therefore have to be used accordingly.
Halides have great UV, IR and the spectrum is way "richier" and uniform (like the sun!) than any LED system I know. That is the quality of each different source. To compare LEDs and halides is almost like comparing LEDs to a little sun at home.
T5s have a great uniform spread and embrace the tank like a blanket. Used with halides will give you a boost as a blanket over your system.
LEDs will give you some light. Photons are produced in a different form and offered in a different pattern with a unidirectional matter. You need to know that is a limitation.
When you get the right fixture and wattage of a halide system for your tank you will get the astonishing results others are getting.

 

[Jay Norris]

Hi, have you ever tried the Mitra LX 7206 lights? I would not make a statement like the light uniformity until trying the Mitras.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Hi, have you ever tried the Mitra LX 7206 lights? I would not make a statement like the light uniformity until trying the Mitras.

It may appear distributed very evenly. It is just science that leds have holes in the spectrum.

 

[A. grandis]

Hi, have you ever tried the Mitra LX 7206 lights? I would not make a statement like the light uniformity until trying the Mitras.

Hi, what about the rest of my statements?
Does your German fixture produces and delivers more spectrum ends and uniformity, including the UV, than any halide in the market? No.
Have you tried halides to be able to compare?
Have you tried T5s yet?
See... PAR, distribution, spectrum, intensity work together.

If you tried halides and T5s before and prefer your LEDs, then it comes to a preference.
What everyone else is finding using their halides are better growth and better color. Those are facts in their opinion.

If you guys try to defend your LEDs, and we keep trying to defend our halides this way this thread will be repetitive and boring.
It's about the results and what you like. Everyone is different.

 

[Bpb]

These threads are the reef version of a political debate on social media. Nobody’s mind will EVER be changed despite any evidence or argument for either side. Just the way it is.

 

[oreo54]

It may appear distributed very evenly. It is just science that leds have holes in the spectrum.

They all have "holes"...

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/5/aafeature