LED for a deep tank -- revisiting

[ayaws]

I have a 150XH (48x24x31) which is SPS-dominant and have had good success running 2x 400W MH in reefbrite fixtures on it along with a 1/4hp chiller.

With the lighting cycle and the chiller, I am spending roughly $175/month in energy for just the tank. Calculations are based upon watt draw of MH ballasts + watt draw and run time of chiller. The chiller cycles 6x/day for 35 minutes on average to keep the temp between 77-78.

While I would like to see an ROI on that, I'm not interested in dropping lighting at the expense of coral and clam life.

Anyone seen any new LEDs on a deep tank be successful? I had AI Hydras that did not work well for SPS...

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

I have the same tank, 150XH, and I run Hydra 52's with t-5 supplements. I finally managed to borrow a PAR meter and took some measurements. Here's what I found:

That's LED's only, at MAX daily output:
Whites 35%
Blue and royal blue at 95%
Violet 70%
green and red at 18%
UV at 20%

I've been hit or miss with SPS, sometimes it does well for a while, sometimes it will last a long time. I don't get growth as rapidly as Halides though. If you want to go SPS dominant, I'd stay with your halides.