open letter - may switch to MH from LED

[johntan]

Let me just start with I have been arguably one of the biggest LED proponents. I have a 20" diy rapid led setup with full spectrum green, red, royalblue, blue, cool whites AND uv. All run by a diy linux controller, web output, the works.

It's about a legit as it can get.

I set up a small 4 gallon pico in my office (two months ago?) with a leftover 150 MH I have as a backup, and the coral pulled from my main tank looks so good I am now jealous of the pico.

Water is the same, rocks are LR pulled from my display, the controller is a clone linux image and the coral is all frags of mother colonies. The husbandry is the same just scaled down, making the only variable here the lights.

I really tried to believe in the LED for over two years but man.. This is kind of killing me, I might just get a 250 14000k for home and call it a day!

This concludes my rant.

 

[jason401]

Lets see some pics

 

[johntan]

I'm going to try to get a pic of the frag and the mother for sure to compare

 

[twiddledog]

I did the same thing..I MH\T5 combo on my 180 and was very happy with growth and color..but I got wrapped up in the LED craze and switched to 3 Vegas with the T5 supplementation from before the change. I gave it a year and went back to original MH\T5 combo. I LOVED the ramp up and down with the LEDs and the ability to control intensities etc. BUT...some corals flourished while other simply dies or growth just stopped. I was very careful with acclimation with a very slow acclimation ramp up but for me...my tank was bever the same as before. My tank is heavy with everything..SPS, LPS, softies and zoas
After a year I went back to MH and my tank is flourishing once again.
Regarding power consumption..for me I did not see much of a savings. there was some but negligible..certainly not enough to warrant being unhappy with my tank. I think heaters stay on much longer which negates any savings from light power savings but that is just my opinion.
I know some reefers LOVE LEDs and they work well for them, but for me...MH\T5 is the tried and true method that WORKS!

 

[higorc]

I have an LED/T5 lit Reef and have no complaints. But I also see people going back to T5s and MHs from LED, I won't argue the reason and 100% believe you could get better colors with a T5 and/or MH setups.

For me it all involves pros and cons of each lighting type. In my case, LED makes the most sense. What ever your decision is, there is no right or wrong... Just what works best in your case and/or situation.


Good luck man
Higor