MH & T5 OR LED lights

[rsnapp31]

My light fixture just blew out, and i upgraded on a tank so it worked out. Im trying to decide what light to purchase. Between Metal Halide and t5 combo fixture or an LED fixture please help as I need to purchase it ASAP.

[Islander84]

What are you stocking it with

[rsnapp31]

currently have, a bubble tip anemone, scoly, chalices, paly, zoo's, acan's and weso. No sps but im looking into possibly getting some. Arent LED's strong enough for SPS

[thelizardkin]

what size is the tank

[super stooge]

the choice between the two will largely come down to you personal preferances.

MH + T5 systems have the advantage of being tried, tested and proven. Any problem you could have, somebody has likely already had it before you so can advise you how to deal with it. MH's are an established technology and they have been proven to work. the downside is the large amount of power that they drain (higher electric bills), The extra amount of heat they can add to your system (severe enough on some systems to necessitate the addition of a chiller to combat the heat) and regular bulb replacements (every 6-9 months i believe?)

LED's are relatively new technology and are still yet to prove themselves in the eyes of many reefers. There are also just as many people who swear by them however. LED's are likely the way of the future and their technology is advancing extremely rapidly. A good LED system will draw drastically less power than an equivalent MH + T5 fixture. LEDs generate very low levels of heat and also have extremely long bulb lives (50 000+ hours being run at 100% output is the advertised number). Many LED fixtures are also programmable to set the output level of the light so you can either "turn up" or down your lights based on your tanks needs. this can also simulate things like sunrise, mid day, and night. thunderstorms and cloud coverage can also be simulated using a controller. being able to adjust the colour of the light being given off in your tank (6.5k, 10k, 20k etc) to suit your taste is another advantage. Downsides to LED include that they dont look quite as "bright" to the eye as a High powered MH fixture and the fact that they are a relatively new technology in reef lighting so are still being tweaked and refined. Factory made LED fixtures are also slightly expensive at this stage.

Whichever choice you make, you can make either of them work

[rsnapp31]

what do you guys think about this.

Marineland LED Reef Capable 36"- 48" Lighting System

[Chris27]

It's a nice fixture, but not very powerful. I imagine you would need two of those over a tank for them to support some of the light loving corals and nems.

[Glo]

what do you guys think about this.

Marineland LED Reef Capable 36"- 48" Lighting System

they were too weak for reef if you follow their recommendation. you will need two. but then it won't be cheap anymore :lmao:

[mordibv]

It also depends on the depth of the tank for leds .
Optics and emitters play a big role in this . Some will punch deep but with no spread , some spread with so so punch ..etc etc .
Some ones to research would be the new CAD lights unit or
Key Leds , Pacific Sun , AI , Acan lighting, Vertex , evo's ,ecoxotic
I take it from you looking at the ML unit the sky is not the limit for the fixture
One hard fact with led fixtures that have good emitters , dimming , dawn dusk features is this .
They are costly .
IMHO you would be best served with a nice used or new ATI t5 fixture
U can add a led strip like the tru lumen pro ,Vertex strips , RB to get some shimmer and pop.
HTH

[Adam_T]

Still need to know the size of your tank.

[rsnapp31]

72 gallon bowfront , corner drilled with a aqueon # 2 sump, bubble magnus nac6. So am i better getting a MH and t5 combo bc of the LED not being strong enough and the fact that i might need 2. If someone could send me the names of some of the lights you recommend or currently use i would appreciate it as i have to buy a light ASAP..

[mykol]

I'm up against the same question. I just upgraded to a 40gal breeder. I'm very excited about led but the apperance of the fixture is a big factor to me. My concern with an led pendant is covering my entire tank with one pendant. As far as strips and spot lights, I'm not comfortable doing a canopy myself. In the research I've done, I think I'm going hqi/t5 until a baseline standard is found for led. There are just so many different qualities and watts out there, I haven't found a unified standard of par, watts, coverage area.

[Crazy fish eye]

There are way better led lights than the marineland ones. They suck IMO.

[James77]

LED is plenty strong wnough, to the point where people need to acclimate their corals by slowly ramping up the LEDs. But low end fixtures will not give you the intensity you need. The good ones are expensive, but will pay for themselves at least over their life through electric and bulb savings. Having just switched, i can say i like LEDs better than halides as far as heat and appearance. I need to do some tweaking of colors or try another setup. Shimmer is far better with LEDs. If you can swing them or DIY, go LEDs.

[mykol]

are you doing a pendant, or strips attached to a hood? Are there brands i should be leaning towards? I've got a 40gal breeder with a 2" sand bed, so i'm kind of worried about getting too much punch from leds and burning/bleeching stuff.

[rodneyri]

Just installed a vertex illumina a week ago. I like the light output color I have it similar to my old Phoenix mh globes but as above doesn't look as bright but looks great. Too soon to assess impact on corals but am happy with the light

[Saadatski]

I would say these are the following best MH T5 fixtures

Aquaticlife fixture- comes with a timer, two actinic T5's and 4 moonlight LED's, great fixture, one cord

Coralife Aqualight fixture- 4 seperate cords, no timer. 2 MH lights and 2 actinic T5's. also come with 4 moon lights.

i am personally going to buy the Aquaticlife fixture for the purpose it is one cord built in timer. up to you though, big price dif between the two btw.

[mykol]

Saad: when i was looking to go purely T5, i REALLY liked what Aquaticlife had setup with timers and such, but the problem i'm seeing with alot of MH, is the 36" fixtures are 1x150watt or 1x250watt and i'd like to have 2x150watt for better coverage over the entire tank.

[rsnapp31]

I found these let me know what you guys think, Im looking to purchase them probably early tomorrow morning.

Im not sure what im going to do, help me out of this.... if i get the 36" then i can attach it to the hood and cover everything, if i get the 48" it would cover the whole tank probably couldnt do the hood part of it. would the 36" be good for the whole tank it comes up short about 3 inches on both side.

[duoc9119]

My vote is for LEDs. I have run them after getting tired of replacing bulbs. I have a Par 30 on my pico and run a Aqua Illumination Sol Blue over my 40 breeder.

[mykol]

Aqua Illumination Sol Blue over my 40 breeder.

You're able to light your ENTIRE tank with just 1 of these? according to their website, its 12"x5.5". My tank is 36"x18", that just seems a bit awkward. Do you have pics?

[phillkg]

geissman bulbs, icecap ballast and icecap reflectors, case closed.

[mykol]

Personally, I'm looking for a clean sleek pendant or fixture as this sits in my living room. It's also right next to my tv, so the excessive light from a Hung reflector would get on my nerves.