do people still consider buying Metal Halight for their new setup ?
- Thread starter FishNooB
- Start date
stingythingy45
Well-Known Member
LEDs will never have the shimmer that halides do.
But,hopefully LEDs will drop in price and then I might consider it for my next set up.
But,hopefully LEDs will drop in price and then I might consider it for my next set up.
niftyjosh
Non-member
Lol what fixtures have you been looking at?
stingythingy45
Well-Known Member
Why are you saying LEDs have as much shimmer as halides?
I've looked at LEDs over frag tanks at LFS.
aim a powerhead at the waters surface... any light will shimmer.
@fishnoob, the price for bulb replacement on a 6 bulb t5 unit in a few years alone pays for a LED unit and halides have good PAR but create alot of heat and suck up electricity. just some things to keep in mind.
new2saltyfish
Non-member
my l.e.d's def have shimmer like the halides did...but that may just be mine i'm not sure. I custom made mine...i switched cause of the energy efficiency and i dropped a good $100 a month on energy bills. I like the L.e.Ds but am debating switching back just because i'm not sure if the growth is the same...but they're alright.
stingythingy45
Well-Known Member
It's all about the singe light point.Like the sun.
Not an array of single light points like LED.
I like the look of my halides with 2 T5 actinics for color.
Not saying LEDs are not the future.Just saying I can aford to go broke to save money in the long run.
If that was so,I'd buy a Chev, Volt.lol
delta
Impatient Reefer
just curious as to how many halides you were running and watt wattage the were vs how long you ran them a day?
mnavick
Well-Known Member
Me too.
I'm running 3-250w on Lumatek ballasts 6hrs a day (Actinic supplement 8hrs) and my eletricity bill is about $15-$25 a month for just the lights.
I had a 600w MH grow light trying to overwinter my hot peppers, which failed, and after shutting that down I saw maybe a $10 less a month savings.
Turbosnail
Non-member
I love my halides always have.
dz6t
Acro Garden, BRS Sponsor
Halide is not that expensive to run as many people think. For me, the cost of heating the water is way more than the cost of halides.
A watt is a watt, no matter it is halide or LED or heaters.
Actually, if you have a basement sump, the cost of electricity to move water 9 feet up is quite a bit.
I will stick to halide for many years while keep an eye on the long term result from LED on coral growth.
A watt is a watt, no matter it is halide or LED or heaters.
Actually, if you have a basement sump, the cost of electricity to move water 9 feet up is quite a bit.
I will stick to halide for many years while keep an eye on the long term result from LED on coral growth.
new2saltyfish
Non-member
It was 3x250's from 12pm-6pm...maybe it wasn't $100...I still live at home and don't pay the bill LOL but parents told me it was $100 extra...of course they don't like the money the hobby costs so i'm sure they exaggerated LOL
delta
Impatient Reefer
So at .21/KWH(over estimating) you would be at $28.74/mo
sorry T-5 was argued to be a huge saving as well, but Like Dong said a watt, is a watt, is a watt.
Not sure how you are saving 100/mo but it is not on lighting but we won't tell your SO your LED lights are not saving you thousands a yr.
I would love to save a ton of money not really going to happen with LEDs and I do see a lot of potential with LED. But the technology has a long way to go and for me it is just not there yet. Most likely the future for all of us though once the value and standards are in place
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HuuTa
Non-member
i have to say that led does save u money.not in the thousands.got my bill recently and my electricity gone down about $30 this month compare to to the last month i had my mh with t5.so for the led,they seem to grow softies and lps great but as far as sps goes,they do grow sps but not as fast as mh.my setsosa grew about 2 inch for the last 2 months i have mh on it.since the switch to led,it only grew 1 inch.i only run the led at 55%.don't want to raise it much more for fear that it might bleach my sps out.and yes the led gives shimmer just like the mh does.the led i run is the radion
frank180reef
Well-Known Member
I dont doubt that u saved money with ur LEDs if they draw less power, but keep in mind part of the reason your electric bill dropped a tad was due to the longer sunlight days
Reefless me
Knucklehead
I love my tried and true halides. I have seen some who have made the switch to LED, also citing energy savings and heat as the primary reasoning. But after the switch the corals never did quite as well as they had under the halides. For me I'd rather suffer the expense of the electric bill and the heat to see optimal growth rates than, instead of trying to save a few bucks only to see my corals suffer. JMHO
HuuTa
Non-member
i could't care less about the energy saving.the main reason i bought the led was the heat facter.when i have mh,the temp would swing about 4 degree through out the day.with the led,about 1 degree.now if they could only make mh without the heat issues,i'll go back to it in a heart beat.
