I have been thinking of doing a heads up lighting comparison setting up 3 identical tanks. All the equipment would be the same and all tanks plumbed into the same system. Because frags are so readily available, I think I could get 3 frags of the same coral, placing one in each tank. I would track the growth and success of each tank. Any thoughts?
LED vs T5 vs Halide
- Thread starter Lowenbrau
- Start date
I honestly think MH and T-5 bulbs are on the way out. Properly constructed, LEDs provide the ability to control spectrum and intensity, last years longer, so there's no need to replace bulbs every 9 months to maintain spectral quality/intensity, put out much less heat, and are less costly to operate. You'd be helping to advance the hobby by concentrating on which combinations of LEDs (white, royal blue, blue, violet, etc.) produce the best results.
Have to post so I can monitor. Researching lighting now, and trying to figure out what to use. At the end of the day my tank is deep and I want lighting that will support whatever direction I want to go. I like a bluer look but MH just don't seem to really get corals, frags and poly's pop and flores like I have seen with some of these guys' leds. But I don't think LEDS can reach the bottom and support life for clams or annens. So I would love to see your side by side compare. I saw a 20k Mh 400w yesterday at elite reef over a frag tank. They supplemented with a led strip. The corals still did not pop like I have seen in others. Time to go black light supplemtal? 
I don't find this to be totally true. What I mean is that there's ALWAYS going to be different forms of lighting. It doesn't matter if one person thinks something is great and the next best thing, someone is ALWAYS going to hate it. I don't think there will ever be a time when we all as hobbyists are using the same type of lighting. It's also easier for me to pay the small amount for T5 bulbs every nine months than to come up with the amount of money I need to light a 210 gallon and 29 gallon tank. I can spend ~$150 every year, but not the thousand(s) needed for LEDs.
Led's are only as blue as you want them to be. I would never get an LED fixture that was not dimmable. It is SOOOO nice to be able to change the color of your tank in an instant. I don't think there is anything out there (yet) that can beat LED's for versatility. Color and growth are good under them as well.