LED v MH/T5...my decision

[meegwell]

Ive made my decision, placed my order.

Ive been asking questions here, researching, debating, reading all the debates threads, etc...etc... For many months now.

My final choice was basically between the maxspect razor (2 x 120 16k) or the Maristar II (2 x 250hqi + 4 x 54 T5 + LED moonlights).

Both had a sleek cool design which was high on priority for my open top 90 gallon mixed reef.

I wanted both, back and forth for months and it literally came down to the wire.

Price was about the same, in the 800 range ready to go.

ELECTRIC USAGE WAS NOT A CONSIDERATION, the difference being about 500 watts more for the Maristar, at .06 per kw in my state is about 3 cents an hour.

The Maxpect wins hands down in the cool factor and sleekness, along with modern tech features.

The maristar wins in pure comfort of light output and growth ability. I dont think anyone will argue 500w mh plus 200+ w of T5 over a 90 gallon will be able to grow anything and as good as I want from a light spread and coverage perspective.

The reviews and experiences posted on the maxspect gave me comfort in its abilities. I still, until the very end, had minor isses with shadows under the maxspect.

Bottom line is I decided to go with the maxspects, driven by the simple coin flip type of decision that is holiday sales. The Maristar Ii is basically hard to find. The razors were availble on a big site having a 14% discount.

Then, i found out that maxspect demanded they not be included in holiday discounts. That ticked me me off, gave the maristar 2 the slight money edge, so i pulled the trigger. I happily await my 700+ watts of coral popping growth lights...4 geisemann t5 plus 2 phoenix mh....I know I wont second guess light as a source of my potential growth or color issues. Maybe I would have been fine with the razors but now I wont know.

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by meegwell

Ive made my decision, placed my order.

...I know I wont second guess light as a source of my potential growth or color issues.

Ultimately this is what is important and you won't be disappointed in the Maristar, it simply works as it is supposed to.

[deepseadan]

I would have made the same decision. Nice setup. I wish my tank would accommodate a fixture like that.

[James77]

Originally Posted by meegwell

.06 per kw in my state is about 3 cents an hour.

Many people are thinking of running extension cords to your house right now . Is that the rate after all charges? That is sweet!

You'll love teh fixture and the bulbs you picked....enjoy them .

[meegwell]

Originally Posted by James77

Many people are thinking of running extension cords to your house right now . Is that the rate after all charges? That is sweet!

You'll love teh fixture and the bulbs you picked....enjoy them .

Haha!

That is the incremental energy/generation rate. Actually its .06x where x is something. Flat charges are irrelevent in the analysis.


Meegwell

[Michigan Mike]

Lol
You cannot beat mh/t5. Led is cool and can grow coral but nothing looks as good as mh/t5 combo and like you said and Jack quoted, lighting won't be a limiting factor in your tank.
I like the subdued shimmer from my/t5, its not overbearing and distracting like led is.
I do want to give LEDs a shot in the near future, on a small scale.
I'm sure there are a lot of people who think you are wasting a lot of money in upcoming bulb changes and electricity though, to them I say - halides and T5 aren't going anywhere for a long, long time.

[meegwell]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Lol
You cannot beat mh/t5. Led is cool and can grow coral but nothing looks as good as mh/t5 combo and like you said and Jack quoted, lighting won't be a limiting factor in your tank.
I like the subdued shimmer from my/t5, its not overbearing and distracting like led is.
I do want to give LEDs a shot in the near future, on a small scale.
I'm sure there are a lot of people who think you are wasting a lot of money in upcoming bulb changes and electricity though, to them I say - halides and T5 aren't going anywhere for a long, long time.

The fact that i wont be second guessing my lighting is worth the cost of bulbs. Im fortunate that the cost of bulbs every six to nine months is meaningless to me, i spend more on booze, pizza and diapers in a week. No, the diapers are not for me. I have a bunch of kids. That explains the booze.

I know something will go wrong as i put my first corals in. And i want to get into sps sooner rather than later. Im sure I'll still have failures there...but i can rest well knowing its not because of a light issue. Just some user error surely.

This is no crack on the LEDs. I was seriously one sale price cancelation from having to razor 120s instead of this Maristar II. I was sold on both. Understood the pros and cons. My power is cheap and my budget is comfortable. Whats left is that the razors are a lot sweeter looking fixtures...but in the end, speaking from post-choice, im glad my lighting will be top notch as far as power and spread and best of all unquestionably proven to excel above most others in coral growth and color. That, is priceless.

[sirreal63]

You can easily get 14 to 16 months out of the Phoenix and some run them longer.

[Michigan Mike]

Ugh, I thought I had a link for you on hand about bulb life, it was a link using six Phoenix bulbs and how most the par is lost the first 4-6 months then only like 5% more loss from then to a year. After a year the bulbs lose very little output and some bulbs can run a couple years before losing 25% of their output.

[sirreal63]

I have the link but it isn't close at hand, if you want I can send it in the morning.

[Michigan Mike]

I like what your saying about money spent, its so true! Lol
My crown royal, mikes harder black cherry lemonade and smoke habit in one week blows away what I spend on my tank for yearly maintenance.lol

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

I have the link but it isn't close at hand, if you want I can send it in the morning.

Ya, you know what link I'm talking about, man...I just had it!lol

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

I have the link but it isn't close at hand, if you want I can send it in the morning.

Found it, I was close,lol.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

[meegwell]

Great stuff. So there is a proven "burn in" period....then relatively much slower decline. I'm thinking we can buy slightly used bulbs and consider the initial drop off level as the standard at which your species will live. Like buying a "slightly" used car and avoiding the bend-over for driving a new car off the lot? Am I off base?

Regardless, with new bulbs...seems like maybe everybody gets acclimated over the first few months,...then you can drop your fixture a few inches at first and then in intervals to make make up for the slower loss over time.

This may be old news but maybe many folks thought the diminishing light line was linear? That would explain 6-8 months. Another explanation would be sales persons....


Meegwell

[matt888]

The MH/T5 combo is amazing for color and growth. It's proven over and over again. I literally planned my 210 build AROUND a Spectra Geisemann 3x400w / 4x80w T5s after seeing the combo in-person. So many different combinations available. I personally dig the radiums supplemented with a few blue +'s, actinic. Enjoy the new light!

[pherbert]

Originally Posted by meegwell

ELECTRIC USAGE WAS NOT A CONSIDERATION, the difference being about 500 watts more for the Maristar, at .06 per kw in my state is about 3 cents an hour.

In Colorado we are paying 4 cents per kW. With taxes and tariffs, that becomes 11 cents. In the summer it's 50% more, so I figure LEDs will save me at least $200 / year over MH. Pretty soon you're talking real money especially considering bulb replacement, at least to me.

[Alex T.]

There's definitely savings in electrical costs going to LED's, and there are many people that have made them work in their tanks. Until it's well developed and as easy to plug and play as Metal Halide and T5 (with similar expectations in growth and color), it's Radium 400 watters for me. I did a cost analysis of where my break even point would be if I switched to enough LED fixtures to make it work. Even with what I'm spending on electric and bulb replacement, I wouldn't break even for another 7 years. There will probably be something new by then, so why switch now?

Instead of t5 or VHO supplements I went with 3 Kessil a150 Ocean Blues and couldn't be happier. The benefit of halides with the added blue shimmer of the Kessils is a unique look. The problem is getting an accurate picture representation. The Kessils don't seem to have that fake and cold look of LED, which is what made me go with them. I think the dense matrix design in a single pendant creates a very true looking 14k look that is as close to metal halide as I've seen yet. I miss the VHO actinic glow that I use to have with my last set up, but with bulb replacement and the extra electrical consumption it's worth it. Then again, I may just throw them into the mix anyway!

Saving money in this hobby is great if you can do it, but I don't want to use savings as the primary reason for being in an already expensive hobby. I'll save by buying great equipment cheap, but not choose a particular piece of experimental technology simply because the electric meter won't spin as fast.

[grigsy]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Lol
You cannot beat mh/t5. Led is cool and can grow coral but nothing looks as good as mh/t5 combo and like you said and Jack quoted, lighting won't be a limiting factor in your tank.
I like the subdued shimmer from my/t5, its not overbearing and distracting like led is.
I do want to give LEDs a shot in the near future, on a small scale.
I'm sure there are a lot of people who think you are wasting a lot of money in upcoming bulb changes and electricity though, to them I say - halides and T5 aren't going anywhere for a long, long time.

+1

I agree. I am running Metal Halide + T5 right now and I love it.

[chadfarmer]

I spent 2400 on ai sols, than unhappy went spent 1600 on apollos a lot better but some corals arent happy

Now im buying ati fixtures, were did I save any money

Everytime I sold my leds I lost more money, so break even is even further away