Thinking of down grading to metal halide…?

[Nooonan]

I’m struggling with a new macro project and can’t help but think it’s related to LED lighting. I’ve never gotten it right in the past no matter how much I love LED for coral.

I am honestly thinking of trying a fixture like an old school Coralife MH fixture.. I have had huge success in the past with both coral and macro and temperatures not all that much of a concern.

MH 36" Metal Halide T5 Aquarium Light Reef Marine Coral 406W LED Leg 250W Bulb 19962630361 | eBay

This MH + T5 36” is THE reefer’s light. Separate power cords for MH and T5. Multiple power switches for different functions. 1x MH 250W 15000K. 5x Power Switch (2x MH, 2x T5, 1x LED, 1x Fan). 4x Power Cord (1x MH, 1x T5, 1x LED, 1x Fan).

www.ebay.com

Anyone ever feel this way about LED and Macro? I know some reefers are able to do it with full spectrum LED, but I can’t.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I’m sorry but metal Halides is not a down grade from LED, it’s an upgrade.

 

[dwair]

To start with, I wouldn't call it "downgrade". Many successful reefs still today with MH and most swear by it. Tried and true, just like T5's.

As far as LED, I've learned at least in my experience, it matters which fixture you have and if you can find settings for them. For example I've got an AI Hydra 32 over my tank right now and just look up BRS Youtube videos that have done investigates and they literally give you all the information for all the sliders of each spectrum and what percentages they should be at and a pretty educated guess where your par is going to be in relation to that.

With that being said if you are determined to buy a new fixture. MH is great and its set it and forget it, but please remember to account for the heat, most people who've never had MH don't know about that. MH puts out ALOT of heat. I had them on my old 180g and while I loved them, I ended up spending about $500 on a chiller. Could have bought a new light for that

 

[Nooonan]

To start with, I wouldn't call it "downgrade". Many successful reefs still today with MH and most swear by it. Tried and true, just like T5's.

As far as LED, I've learned at least in my experience, it matters which fixture you have and if you can find settings for them. For example I've got an AI Hydra 32 over my tank right now and just look up BRS Youtube videos that have done investigates and they literally give you all the information for all the sliders of each spectrum and what percentages they should be at and a pretty educated guess where your par is going to be in relation to that.

With that being said if you are determined to buy a new fixture. MH is great and its set it and forget it, but please remember to account for the heat, most people who've never had MH don't know about that. MH puts out ALOT of heat. I had them on my old 180g and while I loved them, I ended up spending about $500 on a chiller. Could have bought a new light for that

Thanks for the input!

I should mention that my realization is not untested. I've been keep macro algae since the late 90's, simply because I have always been fascinated by any type of aquatic plant. I got lucky because it just so happens that macros provided a great habitat for seahorses and pipefish which is what I was breeding at the time. I probably would not realized my "fascination" with algae if it weren't for seahorses and pipefish as my other passion is coral. It is definitely possible to care for both coral and macro-algae together, but I try to limit macros in my coral tanks to prevent any algae from taking up prime real estate for coral and future growth.

I've managed an online store that sells coral for years. My time experimenting with coral growth has really allowed me to understand PAR and spectrum. I've gone as far as test the PAR and spectrum of various lights that are great for algae growth to try and replicate this with various LEDs for optimal macro algae growth. No matter what I can't get my macros to flourish like I can under metal halide.

 

[ClownWrangler]

Macros do horribly under blue dominant reef LEDs, but flourish under fresh water planted tank white LEDs. They need the full spectrum unlike corals. And yes, MH is a downgrade in terms of efficiency, but if you are not worried about that or the extra heat then it will work fine. Newer full spectrum white CREE LEDS don't differ all that much in spectrum output to MH bulbs but are more efficient, which makes MH obsolete. But some in the hobby are slow to pickup on the advances in technology. Look at Tigahboy's tanks. He is the guru of macro tanks and only uses LEDs

If you have tried freshwater planted tank LEDS and are not growing macro well. You are doing something else wrong. Sorry to say. MH would be overkill. It will turn your red macros orange. I even had to turn down my planted tank LEDs as they were a bit too much at full power.


This is a very informative video on macro tank lighting. I recommend you subscribe to his channel. He is a member here at R2R.