After 4+ years of LED I'm going back to halide

I think the real issue is most people aren't putting enough led lights over their tanks. I feel to run a 6x2x2 foot tank you need 6 lights to really do the job. Maybe that's changed with the newer fixtures but I doubt it.

I think you are good with 14 hydras paul.
 
I'm psyched you found a better lighting setup. Using the radiant heat from MH is the best reason to use them. Who can say you haven't given LEDs a fair shake after 4 years?
 
Looks great.

I think the real issue is most people aren't putting enough led lights over their tanks. I feel to run a 6x2x2 foot tank you need 6 lights to really do the job. Maybe that's changed with the newer fixtures but I doubt it.

I think you are good with 14 hydras paul.

I agree, the cluster/puck style lights make it where you need more fixtures to get proper coverage.
 
Man am I happy with the lights. After running carbon for a while and filter floss. My water is starting to clear up.

On a side note when poking around in the fish room I noticed the room lights we're put up with very substandard wiring. They split it out of the box so they only ran hot to the single pole switch in the wall while running neutral directly to the lights so it was all unsheathed and running in some very weird patterns. But I found it unsettling, there was even a place where the drilled through a beam but the hole was too small and when they forced the wiring through it ripped up the plastic coating and some bare copper was exposed. So I spent the day return wiring all the lights. My fish tank is on two 20 amp dedicated circuit so none of that was affected. But still a little scary what people did back in the day (I'm guessing late 60s early 70s)
 
Man am I happy with the lights. After running carbon for a while and filter floss. My water is starting to clear up.

On a side note when poking around in the fish room I noticed the room lights we're put up with very substandard wiring. They split it out of the box so they only ran hot to the single pole switch in the wall while running neutral directly to the lights so it was all unsheathed and running in some very weird patterns. But I found it unsettling, there was even a place where the drilled through a beam but the hole was too small and when they forced the wiring through it ripped up the plastic coating and some bare copper was exposed. So I spent the day return wiring all the lights. My fish tank is on two 20 amp dedicated circuit so none of that was affected. But still a little scary what people did back in the day (I'm guessing late 60s early 70s)

I found a similar crap shoot when I moved into my new house (circa 1946). They put it up quick for soldiers returning from WW2 (1945) so things were overlooked. While it's built like a tank (all puns intended) some things were so foolishly looked over. Even when the house caught fire in 1996 and was revamped they did stupid things. I had to redo so much wiring, beams, etc. When I first moved in I couldn't even hang things on the wall because between each stud was a nest or loose wires for each outlet, each switch, each light. My stud finder was going bezerk over all the wires! Glad you found all that before it was too late!
 
I can't decide which bulb and I NEED to buy today or tomorrow as ri is going to start charging sales tax on online purchases February 1st

Not trying to follow you around on the boards today, just happened that way. the last MH bulb i was running was Hamilton 14k, i loved the color but keep in mind it was also supplemented by t5's ( aqua blue special and 420/460 nm actinic). I switched over to LED and am having some of the similar issues, heaters running constantly to keep up ect. Also as much as i love the functionality and smaller space requirements of the LED lights the overall growth and health of my tank just isn't the same and have been tossing around switching back to MH for that very reason.
 
Did a power outage test and the lights didn't come back on thought it was hysteresis from the apex program. But to test that I plugged something else in the recepticle. It worked.

Do lumatek and sls galaxy ballasts have a built in feature that keeps them from firing until the bulb is cooled for protection?
 
Right...but is it built into the ballast? Hysterisis in the apex doesn't seem to apply when dealing with a power outage
 
The restart for a MH bulb is built into the lamp not the ballast. there is a thin bi-metal strip inside the lamp that breaks the connection of the electrode like a conventional electric heat thermostat. on larger MH bulbs like 1000w ones its really easy to see.
 
I had a conversation with Carl (runs a maintenance business) down at sea creatures today. He said he was talking to the guy at Hamilton Technologies and they are noticing an increase in metal halide bulb sales because a lot of people are returning to mh.
 
It's Been warmer out then last billing cycle so if you have electric heat or hot water heater that could be why. If not then it's because your heaters came on less. How are the corals looking after thirty days? Color and growth?
 
I know there a million reasons. Also it stays light later so I'm turning all the lights at 430.
 
Updates Chris? I'm super curious about this, and honestly most of the crap I read online is in one ear out the other. But I know you so if your having better success then it will go in one ear and maybe stay in the middle somewhere in there. But I have been seriously thinking about trying mh. I have led now and my tank before this was t5. Maybe I should of got one of those duel 150w units at the auction for my frag tank to test radions/t5 on display and mh/t5 on frag tank. Same sump so it would be apples to apples
 
Anything i post will be completely anecdotal. and I also I want to say I intentionally allowed Alk to drop from 10 to 9. ok disclaimer aside.

1. there is a growth explosion. there are a few coral (mostly acropora) that had been pretty much living mostly pieces i managed to save after my crash. they were maybe 3 inch pieces. they have pretty much done nothing except encrusted a bit. but in the last month well i'll post some pictures in a minute. but i'll need to switch gadgets.

2. many pieces have significantly changed color. most notable is a piece of forest fire Digi (montipora digitata). it had lost all its green and looked pretty boring. the old growth has returned to a plae green while the new growth is a bright green. 2nd is a purple stylophora which had grown ok under the led/t5 combo. has now developed a green and yellow undertone. a scripps acropora (acropora micropthalma) was pretty much dull brown is now pale green with bright green polyps. and has developed 5 branches from the single stick that was there for months.
 
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