Metal halide vs LED

bennerkla · 06/30/2016, 10:39 AM

Hi all,

I have been out of the hobby for about 10 years, but I went to a LFS the other day and noticed many of the tanks had LED lights instead of MH lighting. My question is: is this the new norm? Do SPS thrive under LED just like they did until MH? I assume it would save a tremendous amount on electricity and space, no need for fan, etc. I feel very out of the loop!

Thanks.

toothybugs · 06/30/2016, 11:02 AM

Each has a very passionate following. A lot of people are doing LED/T5 systems for SPS, or straight T5. But some strongly feel that halide is still king (myself included) and use LED or T5 for supplemental lighting, since the dimmability of LED is a very nice feature or the lower intensity of 1-2 pairs of T5 bulbs. Personally I use my halides for my "daytime sun" with a few hours of LED before and after.

bennerkla · 06/30/2016, 11:35 AM

Thanks. How does the "shimmer effect" compare? My preference years ago was MH>T5 in almost all ways.

Japsican · 06/30/2016, 11:46 AM

LED's allow you to adjust intensity and spectrum and also offer a ton of other control options...although this may be a huge plus for a lot of people, this was somewhat of a burden for me since I was constantly fiddling with my LED settings and could never just set it and forget it. This and the coverage are the main reasons I recently bought a new MH/T5 fixture. The plug and play/set it and forget it aspect of the MH/T5 is very appealing to me. I was lured in with all of the bells and whistles of the LED's, but now I'm over it.

Plenty of people running LED's with excellent results! Just too many variables...I more of a KISS person I guess.

You will get excellent shimmer with LED's, this is why a lot of people will supplement their T5's with LED's.

hann1bal · 06/30/2016, 11:50 AM

I agree with the post above. T5's with supplemental LED's.

LED's give a look that can't be duplicated but I think there something to be said from having good T5 bulbs. My corals love them atleast.

Greybeard · 06/30/2016, 11:56 AM

I've got an aquaticlife Halo over my cube. Shimmer looks great, no 'disco ball' effect, coral coloration is excellent, better than it was under the 3x 400w 20k radium halides I had on my old tank a decade back. Heat transfer just isn't a problem, no bulbs to replace, light weight, compact, lower electrical usage... I like the form factor... I just really like the light.

And I'm thinking of swapping it for 8x 24" T5 or a 250w DE halide pendant.

1st issue: Shading. It's a single pinpoint light source. Shading is already happening, even with a tank full of small frags. Given time and growth, it's only going to get worse.

2nd issue: Growth rates. Color on my corals is excellent. The $5 brown acro frag I bought to see how it'd like my tank conditions is now a brilliant green, but it hasn't grown more than an inch in 9 months. Leptoseris frags are still georgous both the green and the orange, and have tripled in size, but I'd have expected them to cover several square inches by now. LPS seem to be doing very well, but that's not the main reason for this tank.

marinelife · 06/30/2016, 11:59 AM

Nothing but LEDs over my SPS Tank, love them and would never change back to MHs. I have been running them for 6 years now. Tank temp is steady and the room temp is nice now and the electric bill is way lower.

happyhourhero · 06/30/2016, 12:02 PM

I have two upper end black box LED (SB Reef Lights) on my 65 and get great growth and coloration. It is a good option if you do not want to break the bank. While it's not mind blowing and other people probably do better, here is from Jan 11th to a couple of days ago. The bottom picture is from the day I switched lights.

Mortie31 · 06/30/2016, 01:18 PM

Having read thousands of posts on this subject, I believe LEDs have come a long way, and I've used them for over 6 years now, however I think you need to buy probably twice as many units as the manufacturers recommend, to avoid shading and give good quality light spread. I will also suggest that if electricity was cheap, and heat could be removed efficiently most people would probably still go for MH/ T5 combo, but for a lot of us around he world it isn't.

bennerkla · 06/30/2016, 02:31 PM

Thanks for the advice. It looks like the Aquaticlife Halo is a decent option. Is this actually quality? I remember the old 12/24g "Nanocubes" that were designed as an all-in-one package but were complete garbage.

What is the highest quality LED light system for, say, a 10-25g tank?

Thanks again.

ca1ore · 06/30/2016, 02:49 PM

I've grown SPS with MH, and killed it with MH. I've grown SPS with LED, and killed it with LED. So many factors that affect color, growth, etc., it seems silly to ascribe it all to the lights.

Greybeard · 06/30/2016, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennerkla

It looks like the Aquaticlife Halo is a decent option. Is this actually quality?

The Halo is made by a Chinese company, Tiaojaou, I think is how you spell it... don't ask me to pronounce it

Aquaticlife is the US distributor. Quality seems excellent to me. The case is plastic, but well designed, nicely assembled, and sturdy. The built in timers, while not as feature rich as some controllers, is stable, functional, and gives me all that I need. The mount arm (sold separately) is excellent. The little cooling fan is nearly silent.

I've had mine nearly a year, and aside from shading issues common to any single pinpoint light source, and growth rates a little slower that I'd like, I can't say anything bad about it.

karimwassef · 06/30/2016, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ca1ore

I've grown SPS with MH, and killed it with MH. I've grown SPS with LED, and killed it with LED. So many factors that affect color, growth, etc., it seems silly to ascribe it all to the lights.

Simon sez it right

bennerkla · 07/01/2016, 06:54 AM

Thanks for all the feedback.

smatter · 07/01/2016, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennerkla

Thanks for the advice. It looks like the Aquaticlife Halo is a decent option. Is this actually quality? I remember the old 12/24g "Nanocubes" that were designed as an all-in-one package but were complete garbage.

What is the highest quality LED light system for, say, a 10-25g tank?

Thanks again.

I like my Nanobox Duo plus M over my 15g.

Ebisan · 07/01/2016, 11:40 AM

I've had 2x 175W MHs since 2007. Wanted to lower my electric bill and not have to change bulbs every year, I decided to switch to 2x AI Hydra 52s HD+. I will install them this weekend. You may want to also consider an AI Hydra 26.

06/30/2016, 10:39 AM	#1
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Metal halide vs LED Hi all, I have been out of the hobby for about 10 years, but I went to a LFS the other day and noticed many of the tanks had LED lights instead of MH lighting. My question is: is this the new norm? Do SPS thrive under LED just like they did until MH? I assume it would save a tremendous amount on electricity and space, no need for fan, etc. I feel very out of the loop! Thanks. __________________ -Ben

06/30/2016, 11:35 AM	#3
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks. How does the "shimmer effect" compare? My preference years ago was MH>T5 in almost all ways. __________________ -Ben

06/30/2016, 11:59 AM	#7
marinelife Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Union, Ohio, USA Posts: 6,590	Nothing but LEDs over my SPS Tank, love them and would never change back to MHs. I have been running them for 6 years now. Tank temp is steady and the room temp is nice now and the electric bill is way lower. __________________ I'm a SaltGeek are You? All LED since 2010. Current Tank Info: 375 Gallon Reef with siporax, all LED lighting, and Red Dragon 3 and Abyzz A200 on 2 closed loops.

06/30/2016, 12:02 PM	#8
happyhourhero Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Pensacola, FL Posts: 383	I have two upper end black box LED (SB Reef Lights) on my 65 and get great growth and coloration. It is a good option if you do not want to break the bank. While it's not mind blowing and other people probably do better, here is from Jan 11th to a couple of days ago. The bottom picture is from the day I switched lights. __________________ Zack Current Tank Info: 65 gal mixed reef.

06/30/2016, 02:31 PM	#10
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks for the advice. It looks like the Aquaticlife Halo is a decent option. Is this actually quality? I remember the old 12/24g "Nanocubes" that were designed as an all-in-one package but were complete garbage. What is the highest quality LED light system for, say, a 10-25g tank? Thanks again. __________________ -Ben

06/30/2016, 11:02 AM	#2
toothybugs In Memoriam Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: The smallest county in Illinois Posts: 1,986	Each has a very passionate following. A lot of people are doing LED/T5 systems for SPS, or straight T5. But some strongly feel that halide is still king (myself included) and use LED or T5 for supplemental lighting, since the dimmability of LED is a very nice feature or the lower intensity of 1-2 pairs of T5 bulbs. Personally I use my halides for my "daytime sun" with a few hours of LED before and after.

06/30/2016, 11:46 AM	#4
Japsican Beans&Rice Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Corona, CA Posts: 341	LED's allow you to adjust intensity and spectrum and also offer a ton of other control options...although this may be a huge plus for a lot of people, this was somewhat of a burden for me since I was constantly fiddling with my LED settings and could never just set it and forget it. This and the coverage are the main reasons I recently bought a new MH/T5 fixture. The plug and play/set it and forget it aspect of the MH/T5 is very appealing to me. I was lured in with all of the bells and whistles of the LED's, but now I'm over it. Plenty of people running LED's with excellent results! Just too many variables...I more of a KISS person I guess. You will get excellent shimmer with LED's, this is why a lot of people will supplement their T5's with LED's.

06/30/2016, 11:50 AM	#5
hann1bal Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 223	I agree with the post above. T5's with supplemental LED's. LED's give a look that can't be duplicated but I think there something to be said from having good T5 bulbs. My corals love them atleast.

06/30/2016, 11:56 AM	#6
Greybeard Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Buffalo, MO Posts: 651	I've got an aquaticlife Halo over my cube. Shimmer looks great, no 'disco ball' effect, coral coloration is excellent, better than it was under the 3x 400w 20k radium halides I had on my old tank a decade back. Heat transfer just isn't a problem, no bulbs to replace, light weight, compact, lower electrical usage... I like the form factor... I just really like the light. And I'm thinking of swapping it for 8x 24" T5 or a 250w DE halide pendant. 1st issue: Shading. It's a single pinpoint light source. Shading is already happening, even with a tank full of small frags. Given time and growth, it's only going to get worse. 2nd issue: Growth rates. Color on my corals is excellent. The $5 brown acro frag I bought to see how it'd like my tank conditions is now a brilliant green, but it hasn't grown more than an inch in 9 months. Leptoseris frags are still georgous both the green and the orange, and have tripled in size, but I'd have expected them to cover several square inches by now. LPS seem to be doing very well, but that's not the main reason for this tank.

06/30/2016, 01:18 PM	#9
Mortie31 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Uttoxeter, U.K. Posts: 97	Having read thousands of posts on this subject, I believe LEDs have come a long way, and I've used them for over 6 years now, however I think you need to buy probably twice as many units as the manufacturers recommend, to avoid shading and give good quality light spread. I will also suggest that if electricity was cheap, and heat could be removed efficiently most people would probably still go for MH/ T5 combo, but for a lot of us around he world it isn't.

06/30/2016, 02:49 PM	#11
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	I've grown SPS with MH, and killed it with MH. I've grown SPS with LED, and killed it with LED. So many factors that affect color, growth, etc., it seems silly to ascribe it all to the lights. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

07/01/2016, 06:54 AM	#14
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks for all the feedback. __________________ -Ben

07/01/2016, 11:40 AM	#16
Ebisan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,141	I've had 2x 175W MHs since 2007. Wanted to lower my electric bill and not have to change bulbs every year, I decided to switch to 2x AI Hydra 52s HD+. I will install them this weekend. You may want to also consider an AI Hydra 26.