No love for MH?

Would you ever use Metal Halide lighting again?

  • Yes I use MH lighting now

    Votes: 264 20.5%
  • Yes maybe in the future

    Votes: 319 24.7%
  • No I would not

    Votes: 679 52.7%
  • Other (please xplain in the thread)

    Votes: 27 2.1%

  • Total voters
    1,289

X-37B

Fight The Good Fight
View Badges
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
9,141
Reaction score
15,873
Location
The Outer Limits
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For stags I have a purple stag.
It was blue in the tank it came from.
It was a 2" frag when I put it in.
A blue stag that is more green and purple now.
A blue matrix x 2.
The darker green one has blue tips and is an old school surf and turf.
A green slimer colony that based for a year now and is finaly going upward.
My foxface nibbles on the tips now and I may have to remove. It wont be easy.
A couple of other unknown wild ones.
The one on the bottom near the orange goniapora is a wild stag that has shown some amazing growth since the Halides have gone online.
Here is a pic.
20210206_185047.jpg
 

PBnJOnWheat

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2019
Messages
1,185
Reaction score
1,539
Location
Charlotte
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It may grow better but with the money saved on the electricity bills you can likely buy bigger frags. Make up for that growth time in cost IMO. LED GANG WYA
 

PBnJOnWheat

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2019
Messages
1,185
Reaction score
1,539
Location
Charlotte
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Why don’t we just use the sun, like have your tank in the wall or something where sunlight breaches or outside? I guess the outdoor temperature would be an issue among other things but if it’s about the best quality of light why do we try to bring it indoors instead of try to develop tanks outdoors?
 

A. grandis

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
4,700
Reaction score
3,395
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It may grow better but with the money saved on the electricity bills you can likely buy bigger frags. Make up for that growth time in cost IMO. LED GANG WYA
With the growth speed under halides (which is actually the speed they grow in the ocean) you can frag and sell, and still enjoy the corals growing healthy with the colony formation they supposed to have.
 

A. grandis

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
4,700
Reaction score
3,395
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Why don’t we just use the sun, like have your tank in the wall or something where sunlight breaches or outside? I guess the outdoor temperature would be an issue among other things but if it’s about the best quality of light why do we try to bring it indoors instead of try to develop tanks outdoors?
You can, if the place you live allows you too. But because most of us will use close systems (aquariums), we would need a more serious temperature control if we choose the sun. With halides we can control temperature easier and we still have the option to have a bluer spectrum, like the 10K, 14K or even the 20K for those who like more blue.
 

A. grandis

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
4,700
Reaction score
3,395
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For stags I have a purple stag.
It was blue in the tank it came from.
It was a 2" frag when I put it in.
A blue stag that is more green and purple now.
A blue matrix x 2.
The darker green one has blue tips and is an old school surf and turf.
A green slimer colony that based for a year now and is finaly going upward.
My foxface nibbles on the tips now and I may have to remove. It wont be easy.
A couple of other unknown wild ones.
The one on the bottom near the orange goniapora is a wild stag that has shown some amazing growth since the Halides have gone online.
Here is a pic.
20210206_185047.jpg
Love them! You're doing great!!!!!
 

X-37B

Fight The Good Fight
View Badges
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
9,141
Reaction score
15,873
Location
The Outer Limits
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It may grow better but with the money saved on the electricity bills you can likely buy bigger frags. Make up for that growth time in cost IMO. LED GANG WYA
Age old myth that keeps people from trying Halides, imo.
Running 2 250 watt mh 8hrs a day does not cost much at all.
After all the money people spend on reefing the cost is minimal at best.
All my friends run leds and have awesome tanks.
All my corals have been grown from frags.
I enjoy the growing journey and my tank is comming up on 21 months now.
Peace brother run what works for you I do.
 

Bronx19

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
270
Reaction score
184
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It may grow better but with the money saved on the electricity bills you can likely buy bigger frags. Make up for that growth time in cost IMO. LED GANG WYA
You saving nothing with LED. You only recoup the upfront price difference after 7-8 years, at which point you buy the latest LED again.
 

polyppal

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2018
Messages
3,151
Reaction score
6,216
Location
Denver
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
9035164A-546F-4044-B0E8-53EC8731E052.gif

MH vs LED like is like comparing an old 80s nitrous V8 drag racer to a modern turbo one... They’re both work, but the modern one is much more energy/cost efficient in the long run...

I almost went with MH on my new system, but ended up returning the halide kit and doing a T5s/Reefbrite thing instead. The halides are just too bulky, hot, and energy inefficient for me (and I wasn’t impressed with the famous Radium color)
 
Last edited:

X-37B

Fight The Good Fight
View Badges
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
9,141
Reaction score
15,873
Location
The Outer Limits
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
With the growth speed under halides (which is actually the speed they grow in the ocean) you can frag and sell, and still enjoy the corals growing healthy with the colony formation they supposed to have.
I actualy have a skylignt that shines on my frag tank.
It lignts it up before the Halide comes.
Has great shimmer.
You would need a few and it would be interesting to implement if you lived in an area that could support it.
 

PBnJOnWheat

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2019
Messages
1,185
Reaction score
1,539
Location
Charlotte
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Age old myth that keeps people from trying Halides, imo.
Running 2 250 watt mh 8hrs a day does not cost much at all.
After all the money people spend on reefing the cost is minimal at best.
All my friends run leds and have awesome tanks.
All my corals have been grown from frags.
I enjoy the growing journey and my tank is comming up on 21 months now.
Peace brother run what works for you I do.
So running halides is just as energy efficient as LED’s?
 

Caring for your picky eaters: What do you feed your finicky fish?

  • Live foods

    Votes: 14 28.0%
  • Frozen meaty foods

    Votes: 41 82.0%
  • Soft pellets

    Votes: 7 14.0%
  • Masstick (or comparable)

    Votes: 3 6.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 4.0%
Back
Top