Ok so some you you guys know what my setup it’s a mixed lps/sps,I’m getting ready to need new bulbs for my mh&vho so do I spend the money on new bulbs or is there somthing else that works better?im not asking about color or kelvin of mh bulbs but somthing (better).is led really all the hype?as an only light source? Are t5 better?
I like the led lights as no need to change the bulbs every year. I would go with a dimmable unit so u can set to the color you like. If ever out my way I have leds over all me tanks you can see if you like them. I also have many units in stock.
I have seen tanks with led,that’s not my concern,my question is what offers better light for growth?if I do get led I will buy dimmable as I see not point to not buy dimmable except for budget reasons. What unit are you using and why?
I stock the same lights as seen on e bay from China. 55 three watt led 35 royal blue 20 14k white. I use them cause the cost is low and they work great. I get the same color up and growth on these leds as I get from a 250w mh using a bluewave 7 ballast. I have a 60" frag tank and is lit by a 250w mh a 24" t5 and one led fixture
Sps and Lps under all lights and all look good .
Can you put up some info on these lights?
What info are you looking for? I am waiting for a par meter so I can get numbers under all lights on the same tank
Name of the co?model you use?price?
They are no name led lights they only get a name from the company that re sells them in the us as they all come out of the same factory in China. Kinda like fancy named corals they all come from a wholesaler than jason fox tyree so on and so on put fancy names to them. A lot of members on dvrc have them from me and post great reviews. Each dimmable fixture is $174.99
“The best” depends on how you define it. LEDs will be “the best” for your electric bill. LEDs will make your colors look better on most of your corals instantly, but they may lose color with in a weeks time. I do NOT believe LEDs will beat the growth of other lighting.
For shallow tanks like a 75 or shorter I like T5s and LEDs. For deeper tanks MH and LEDs.
Unfortunately there is no clear cut best. You have to compromise somewhere. For my personal tanks and many of the tanks I set up for clients I use half and half, to save a bit of electric. Get a natural sunrise/sunset. And still maintain color and growth.
If you run a shop and don’t care much about long term growth and color, LEDs may be the way to go(but you have to be cautious with corals being imported from dimmly lit holding facilities.
All in my opinion.
If you are thinking of going LED here is are some good articles, these are from a LED vendor so some info may be bias but I think they provide good info in easy to understand format.
Orpheks tips for buying an LED fixture
Jon glad you commented,if you have a customer that is setting up a mixed lps/sps what do you use and why?
I’ll give my opinion just because I’ve had just about every light out there. I like my LEDs I have now and everything seems to be growing well including the clams, I will say and agree with Jon on the color I have sps that I purchased that we’re one color but have changed and that may be due to a lack of a certain spectrum that the LEDs give off even though I have 2 420 vho’s .
My personal opinion is my 3 250 watt Phoinix 15k and Vho suppliment is the best combination however doing away with thoses 3 MH my electric bill has came down $200.
The MH and vho set up I have is very similar to what Tim Reagle has over his personal tank so if your electric bill is not a factor stick with your MH if your tring to cut down look into LEDs.
And a note not all LEDs are the same even if it’s a Cree doesn’t mean its the best.
Wow. Is that a 200 cut in your electric bill monthly or annually?
Almost $200 a month Matt.
Went from little over $500 to a little over $300
I took the 3 big MHs down on the big tank and one small MH over the little tank down.
Wow! I run three 250 MHs and 4 80 watt t5 HOs. My electric bill is about 200-250 a month! I have been conemplating going to LEDs so many options I don’t know what to decide.
If you have time DIY LEDs are the way to go Matt. Or fixtures at reasonable price now a days.
I worked on a tank with THE first generation of LEDs sold for marine aquariums and after it’s failure I waited a long time to dabble with LEDs with my own aquariums. I have been playing with them for a couple years now and still can’t say what is the best.
I am experimenting with a new LED strip that came out about a week ago. I have head it for over a month and it still sits in a corner of my basement. I would feel bad promoting it until I have seen it over one of my personal tanks for a couple of months. That being said I already have some over a couple of clients tanks and may install some in the basement later this week.
I would recommend replacing your T5 bulbs now(slowly) and hold off on the MH for a while if you can. What type of bulbs are you using and how long have them been running? If the MH are less then 12 months they still have some usable life in them. If the T5s are 10 months old start swapping them now. Is all of your bulbs retro or built into a single fixture?
Hopefully the LEDs I am experimenting would be a good option to replace the MH and penetrate well into the aquarium.
Well like Craig I have 2-175w and1-250w mh and 2-72"vho,I am using eBay bulbs and they were bought at Xmas.i also just had an almost 500$ electric bill,I just ordered a new hvac system for the house to make my ac a little bigger and more efficient and the lights are the next step but I don’t want to harm the creatures in my tank. This topic was started because I am on the fence about buying new bulbs(good bulbs)as I’m not really a big fan of the eBay bulbs.
Good reflectors too?
If that was the case y didn’t it have them Tim?