T5/LED hybrid build

[SuperPro]

I don't care what u say about LED being tried and true they actually aren't. How come you see so many SPS guys going back to t5s or halides? Cause the results with led **ck. Go to the for sale forum and see how many people are selling AI Sol's and Radion's. I'll stick with my t5/mh combo and my corals will look better than yours, that's a fact.

 

[mixer911]

I don't care what u say about LED being tried and true they actually aren't. How come you see so many SPS guys going back to t5s or halides? Cause the results with led **ck. Go to the for sale forum and see how many people are selling AI Sol's and Radion's. I'll stick with my t5/mh combo and my corals will look better than yours, that's a fact.

I couldn't agree more. After some testing I have done over the past year and a half, I have concluded the LEDs are great for supplemental lighting, shimmer and to give the blues some pop. But real growth happens better with MH or T5s.

 

[mixer911]

First off, I must say that I really do like the craftsmanship in this build. For asthetics, it's a great job. Unfortunately, It's a stupid idea. If a friend of mine came up to me and started talking about a t5/led hybrid I would laugh thinking it were a joke. T5 and LED together is no more "hybrid" than a dog and tapeworms.

I am interested in knowing what reasons you had for thinking this was a good idea though. I understand that there are MH/T5 combos but the whole point to that is to increase the light output above what the MH can put out on it's own as well as add the option to have an actinic lighting cycle. T5 have a broader light spectrum but with LED you can use combos of reds, blues, purples, turquis, cool whites, neutral whites, warm whites, etc to fill in spectrums and bring out all the colors of your tank while setting all the colors and brightness to match your needs.

There may still be some people that argue that LEDs have some disadvantages but it's a moot arguement. A year ago, LEDs were still fairly new and just starting to get a real establishment above a lot of tanks, today LEDs are tried, they are tested, and they are true. LEDs are to lighting what a Vortech is to Powerheads.

And where is the pictures of your tank with the "tried and true" led setup? :blah:

 

[mrcoffee]

Well I personally think this setup rocks. I have been planning on doing a T5 LED combo but it never occurred to me to set the LED's in the fixture like this. I do think this turned out incredible. How is the tank. Are you going to get a new stand or attempt to support your present one?

 

[ToXIc]

i strapped up the current stand reinforced it some and is in the process of getting a new tank and stand..

i will however go with a metal stand not just because of the issue i had but also it takes up less space.. i.e. 1.5"x1.5" bar stock vs 2"x4" or 2"x6"


i need to quit being lazy and take some good pics..

 

[Bishop]

And where is the pictures of your tank with the "tried and true" led setup? :blah:

Right here. My tank isn't really that old and all my coral came from small frags. There are also much more advanced LED than what I have. My coral don't get fed much either. I'm definitely liking my LED's far more than the dual 150W metal halides I had over my 36g tank. The Metal Halides were far better than the T5 I had over it too.

 

[ToXIc]

please remove that 1st pic.. its verry inapproate.....

 

[Bishop]

I couldn't agree more. After some testing I have done over the past year and a half, I have concluded the LEDs are great for supplemental lighting, shimmer and to give the blues some pop. But real growth happens better with MH or T5s.

I like you, you present good arguement even if it's not much on detail. I do agree that t5 and MH produce a better growth. They offer a higher spectrum of lighting. LED are more specific on spectrum. MH or T5 compared to a LED setup such as mine, which only consist of neutral white and blue, is going to offer more growing spectrum. For instance, Certain parts or types of chlorophyll produce best under aqua or turquoise lighting. If an LED setup does not include turquoise lighting then this is a spectrum that it is missing out on. But personally, I don't think I got any more growth when I was using MH as well as feeding the tank a healthy diet opposed to LED and only feeding my fish some pellets.

I'd more understand a MH and LED build due to both offering great shimmer as well as great lighting. Only beef I have ever had with MH is the price of bulbs and the price of running the juice.

 

[Bishop]

The duncan is one of my first corals. Got it as a single head almost 2 years ago. The Acan was a small 3 head frag about 21 months ago.

 

[ToXIc]

Bishop.
BTW after seeing your tank I understand your original post


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[Bishop]

Well put, cause I have no idea what you mean by that. Not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

 

[Dowtish]

So your "tried and true" statement is not actually based on your tank, since you say yourself that it isnt that old. And also, most of us here in this thread that have shared their opinions are basing their thoughts and experience on growing SPS. Anyone can grow softies and LPS with any kind of light.

My main thoughts on LED still and will remain the same. No one has ran an all LED setup for more than maybe 3-4 years on an SPS dominate tank. And all the claims that LED's have cannot be stated as fact simply based on time alone.

 

[mixer911]

Right here. My tank isn't really that old and all my coral came from small frags. There are also much more advanced LED than what I have. My coral don't get fed much either. I'm definitely liking my LED's far more than the dual 150W metal halides I had over my 36g tank. The Metal Halides were far better than the T5 I had over it too.

Your tank looks very nice. But you have all LPS and softies. My comments were strictly for sps. LPS will do fine with LEDs. But your tank is not something that I would even slightly consider a "tried & true" led setup by any means. I have ran every type of lighting available to the aquarist over the past 15 yrs. I was an early adopter of leds and did a lot of testing with them. Its not just about the color spectrum of the leds, its also about directional lighting. If you had sps you would understand.

Here is an old photo of my 300 gallon mixed reef under 400w radiums. These colonies are 10-12" wide. Started from small 3-4" colonies 6 months prior. I've never had growth like that with leds. Even after 1.5 yrs.

 

[Bishop]

So your "tried and true" statement is not actually based on your tank, since you say yourself that it isnt that old. And also, most of us here in this thread that have shared their opinions are basing their thoughts and experience on growing SPS. Anyone can grow softies and LPS with any kind of light.

My main thoughts on LED still and will remain the same. No one has ran an all LED setup for more than maybe 3-4 years on an SPS dominate tank. And all the claims that LED's have cannot be stated as fact simply based on time alone.

I'm all for hearing arguement. If your opinions differ from my opinions then I at least want to know why. If your knowledge differs from mine then together we learn something new. However, denial of LEDs because noone has used them on a SPS tank dominant tank for 3-4 years is slightly unfair since High Power LEDs barely existed 3 years ago. We are not burning witches here. We are talking about modern lighting.

 

[Bishop]

Your tank looks very nice. But you have all LPS and softies. My comments were strictly for sps. LPS will do fine with LEDs. But your tank is not something that I would even slightly consider a "tried & true" led setup by any means. I have ran every type of lighting available to the aquarist over the past 15 yrs. I was an early adopter of leds and did a lot of testing with them. Its not just about the color spectrum of the leds, its also about directional lighting. If you had sps you would understand.

Here is an old photo of my 300 gallon mixed reef under 400w radiums. These colonies are 10-12" wide. Started from small 3-4" colonies 6 months prior. I've never had growth like that with leds. Even after 1.5 yrs.

If those were under T5 then I would bow before you and that's just the way it is. 400w MH's speak for themselves and anyone that even knows what a MH is will be forced to listen. I cant help but wonder what my SPS would look like if it were grown under 400w of LED. What I can say however is that under a potential 98w of MH that have never been fully powered, my only SPS has trippled in size in the 6 months that I have had it. I just wish it wasn't so **** small when I got it. You know how it is though. Someone is willing to sell a frag, that don't mean they are willing to sell a big one.

 

[gmoney243]

I don't care what u say about LED being tried and true they actually aren't. How come you see so many SPS guys going back to t5s or halides? Cause the results with led **ck. Go to the for sale forum and see how many people are selling AI Sol's and Radion's. I'll stick with my t5/mh combo and my corals will look better than yours, that's a fact.

Using this argument vortech pumps must suck also since I see more of those for sell and people going back to tunze than any other equipment. Just saying. Your corals may look slightly better but the money I save to me doesn't make MH worth using and personally I wouldn't be able to afford all the bulb changes and extra electricity so I would be forced to have a much smaller tank. I'm not saying LED are the best all around. But for me they are.

And for those who don't understand a led/t5 combo its because you haven't used or seen it. LED aren't perfect neither are t5 or MH. Combos are by far the best over any single option.


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[gmoney243]

I cant help but wonder what my SPS would look like if it were grown under 400w of LED.

If u replaced a 400w MH with 400w of LED your corals would be toasted. So growth would be 0.



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[mixer911]

If those were under T5 then I would bow before you and that's just the way it is. 400w MH's speak for themselves and anyone that even knows what a MH is will be forced to listen. I cant help but wonder what my SPS would look like if it were grown under 400w of LED. What I can say however is that under a potential 98w of MH that have never been fully powered, my only SPS has trippled in size in the 6 months that I have had it. I just wish it wasn't so **** small when I got it. You know how it is though. Someone is willing to sell a frag, that don't mean they are willing to sell a big one.

I'm not even sure what this means. In one sentence you are all for T5's then another MH and another LEDs. 400w of LED and 400w of MH are not even comparable with each other. As Gmoney said, you would probably fry your corals with 400w of LED concentrated into one area like the MH does. This is what I dont think you understand in the difference in lighting, watt for watt is not the same.

 

[Dowtish]

I'm all for hearing argument. If your opinions differ from my opinions then I at least want to know why. If your knowledge differs from mine then together we learn something new. However, denial of LEDs because noone has used them on a SPS tank dominant tank for 3-4 years is slightly unfair since High Power LEDs barely existed 3 years ago. We are not burning witches here. We are talking about modern lighting.

So from everything I have read here, it obvious you have no idea what you are talking about. You have contradicted yourself many times, in a desperate effort to not actually acknowledge my first response, which you never actually responded to.

I'm not trying to argue about your setup or LED only fixtures at this point. Because all this has basically ruined this amazing build thread. I hope you might learn that if you had actually read the entire thread, you would have seen all of the great points of interest in combining T5 and dimmable and controllable LED's. And that your initial post saying this was stupid and laughable would be an embarrassment to yourself, given the fact that you have no true knowledge about LED's given the comments that have followed.

 

[Bishop]

Sorry If i made you mad. Its just a debate. As for your first response, Im sorry but I actually missed it.
I did understand the reasoning behind adding Led to tha T5 and honestly like the thought behind it. The first and foremost issues i have with it is that it is taking a great long term light and combining it with lights that need regular replacement as well as the issue of combining a soft, difused light with a crisp shimmer inducing light.

I could really see this working out better if it were a MH and LED combo