Back to T5's for this guy...

[Lonelyreef]

Orphek and kessils are some of the best all the other colors they put in there orange,green,red really i know its full spectrum but all you really need is warm, cool, and neutral white plus the blue and thats full spectrum. Those whites cover a broad range of color

 

[FX CharityCorals Verified Sponsor]

I run T5 and slowly adding reefbrite supplemental light at the shop. I service a lot of tanks and hands down my t5 tanks look better and healthier than the LED tanks. From day one of LEDs I have not recommended them. If you ask me there is too much controllability on a lot of these fixtures for most people to understand what they are doing. My other gripe was LED does not give off UV. Yes there are uv LEDs but you won't get a tan working under your lights like you do with halides. Corals are found in the tropics where the sun is most intense their colors are their sunscreen. T5 for life. Ill pay a little more for bulb replacement and electricity because I know I won't fry or color shift my corals which costs me more than what I would save with LEDs

 

[Lonelyreef]

Is it just me or doesn't it seem like that all these companies talking about full spectrum are just blowing smoke. We see the sun as being white when it's at its highest point or more of a yellow orange I guess. When we see a rainbow we see those colors broken down through reflection to make the Rred orange yellow green blue indigo violet. We don't see those colors normally when we look at the sun or just see them everywhere we go otherwise it would be like a nonstop rave. That's why an led will never be superior to a t5 or mh they have that same look with the white and the array of colors. There is no man made reflector that will ever be able to blend a man made light source to beat mh or t5 which actually have natural reaction occurring in the bulbs we just force them to happen. It makes it a much more natural light source.

The only LEDs like I said earlier to me that are even close are ones like orphek and kessils. Which is why more aquariums use these lights than any other. If radion pros and ai are so great how come they aren't lighting up national aquariums coral areas like orpheks and kessils are. Most still use mh. If its good enough for people that make its there life work to study the creatures we keep its good enuff for me. The scientists, test subjects, and companies make a good amount of money on conning us to believe there newer technology is gunna be the best thing yet but I have yet to see hard facts that prove the effectiveness of LEDs on anything more then billboards and lightbulbs.

I'm sure LEDs will work but there never gunna give you the growth color and consistency of mh or t5.

 

[NanaReefer]

Seem's your decision is based mainly on looks. I personally think the first FTS looks much better then the second. Also a clams mantel looks much different top down no matter what light they're under. Again top down pic versus not on the Wellso. Not great comparisons IMO.

 

[DSP]

I agree I don't care for the lavender look that those put out, I wish more people would try out some real leds before making the switch back to t5s or halides(I didn't at first) !Lol. But if it came down to evergrows vs t5 I would go t5 all day so I think u made a great choice and it's cool u got a good deal! Radion pro is the only led i would buy because Iv seen what others can and can't do, The pros are just amazing, Sanjay made the switch to radion pros so thats something in itself haha, I switched from halide to ai sol myself and wasn't happy at all So I went back to halide then after seeing what the radon pros can do in person I decided to make the switch back and I'm very very happy I did, Goodluck your tank is awesome either way man.

 

[CountrySideCoral]

How can you say the first FTS looks better? It looks like it has spotlights on it. T5s give one consistent color across the tank and for those who say but you don't have shimmer. I'm sorry but I didn't invest $3,000+ into my tank for shimmer I did it because we get to have a pocket size piece of the most biologically diverse habitat in the world in our man-cave/living room/bedroom/etc. Run whatever lighting you want but as long as metal halides and T5s are made for aquariums that is what I will use.

I am also one who traded my LEDs in for the vastly superior t5s.

 

[DSP]

You can always add a couple reefbrites for shimmer to.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

What leds are you working with?

I was using a 48" Ecoxotic Panorama Pro for a while and held some LPS and SPS. I just upgraded to AI Hydra's.

 

[CountrySideCoral]

You can always add a couple reefbrites for shimmer to.

I didn't get into this hobby for a shimmering tank. No offense but I enjoy collecting and growing coral as well as adding the occasional fish.


75 Euphyllia Dominated Reef Tank - D.O.B. - September 2, 2008

 

[DSP]

I didn't get into this hobby for a shimmering tank. No offense but I enjoy collecting and growing coral as well as adding the occasional fish.


75 Euphyllia Dominated Reef Tank - D.O.B. - September 2, 2008

My Comment was intended for the op because he said he will miss the shimmer, There's shimmering on a natural reef so why not have it over our tanks it looks great and is easy to add to any lighting setup Lol.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I just find it funny how a person like say sanjay switches to radion pros and all the sudden 20 yrs of reefn is wrong. Leds are still new technology theres little to no evidence that green orange or yellow leds have any benefit to your corals. They may in fact be detrimental to corals. Im all for new technology but there arent as many tanks lit by leds as t5 or halides. The simple fact that a halide makes your tank look brighter and more natural without burning your corals should be enough for everyone. My friend bought 3 radion pros and loves the system the controllability but says his tank isnt as bright and if he turns the lights up to high he will burn his corals. Who wants to take that chance with what they love. Not me and seems like many others as well

 

[Zoacoral]

Its tought to beat the reliable ATI sunpowers. I am a big fan of them. I had tried LED's before AI Vega's and I didnt like them so I switched back to my ATI.. Than the new Radions came out and I switched to the new Radion Gen 3 pro's.. I must say, I am much happier with this light that I was the ATI.. Much better colors and much better growth... Can't go wrong with the ATI though.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I have a dimmable 8 bulb ati and its almost to much for my tank

 

[DSP]

I just find it funny how a person like say sanjay switches to radion pros and all the sudden 20 yrs of reefn is wrong. Leds are still new technology theres little to no evidence that green orange or yellow leds have any benefit to your corals. They may in fact be detrimental to corals. Im all for new technology but there arent as many tanks lit by leds as t5 or halides. The simple fact that a halide makes your tank look brighter and more natural without burning your corals should be enough for everyone. My friend bought 3 radion pros and loves the system the controllability but says his tank isnt as bright and if he turns the lights up to high he will burn his corals. Who wants to take that chance with what they love. Not me and seems like many others as well

I can't find anywhere that someone said 20 years of Reefing is wrong just because sanjay switched lol, I must admit a guy that studies lighting like him def makes me even happier I switched to radions though.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I agree his a smart man and has earned his reputation i guess i just dont understand the reasoning behind him making the switch id love to read up on thay

 

[NeverlosT]

At this point if I were to try LED again, Id go Radion Pro. It is the only light that I have seen good results with reliably. Yes, there are some others like reef breeders or radiance that have a lot of LED colors, but I've just seen more success under Radion.

Wasnt there just an article that articulated issues with red light over reefs, something about the red light causing the corals to reduce their ability to harness light since the perceived light strength due to the large presence of the red spectrum was so high? There was just a study on this... was rather compelling about the benefits of NOT running red LED's... ill try to find it...

For me there is a lot of question and I spent the last year, a full year of reefing, getting sub-par growth and color under vegas. I am no newb either. A year is a lot of growth to miss out on...

 

[trido]

It's amazing to me how this thread so quickly turned into the typical LED's suck, LED's dont grow coral as well etc, etc. thread. Ive ran all three kinds of lights over the last eight years and have had challenges with all three kinds.

Photography being an issue with LED's? Have you considered turning up your white spectrum a little bit for your photo shoot? Take a look at my tank thread and you might find some pretty darned good photography.........With 100% LED.

Your corals arent growing as well? Are you positive your lighting is the issue? Did you have a crappy LED fixture? Did you have the intensities and colors set right?


I know everyone has their preference. I just get real tired of so many people stating for fact that LED's cant or wont grow corals. I've been using them for three years on three different tanks and have had great success. Maybe the difference for me is that I don't need my tank to look like a 50K spectrum. 12-14K is more nautural. I run my whites at the same percentage as my blues or real close to it. Not 60% blue 20% white like I see so often.


EDIT: I figured out why I get worked up about threads like this. It Seems reefers quit using the terms "IMO" and "IME". You know. In My Opinion, or In My Experience. Instead everyone states "These are by far the best" and leave out the "For Me" part. It comes off sounding like your saying this is the best for everyone. Think about it.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I think we all are speaking from experience and opinions at least i am. Thats the best part of the hobby so many different options and ways to make things happen

 

[zwulfke]

it definitely can be a matter of opinion with any lighting but, also there is lacking in all of the options. As we look at T5s there is options on bulbs and how you can configure them for optimal performance. given the time the have been out think of the low grade bulbs and manufactures and then look ate new LEDs you will find the same thing. I have a background in audio and video engineering so I can decipher and understand the spectrum of what the tank needs. I found wit some t5s they can lack in some areas also same with leds and halides. I found a few lights LED worth trying based on the output I have one on order waiting but using t5 for now and though they are nice visually I feel they also lack the intensity needed. I have asked lots of questions did a ton of research and found the good and the bad making a sound decision. There is a good to the LEDS and yet can be bad but, knowing what is needed to run them and what settings are going to do the best job helps to tune them in to what is needed. I do find the T5s and other bulbs used do have a on or off and that is it easy cant screw it up no tweaking needed and it is pleasing to the eye more often then the LEDs. I see nothing wrong with going back to the T5s and that is a decision based on what he had and what he wants. I am sure as the technology becomes more fine tuned it will be better at plug and play along with the understanding of how to use them. I look at this as this hobby did you all have the chemicals years ago to keep your tanks running smooth? was it not way harder to keep salt than fresh and now it is almost as easy as fresh because of the understanding of how it acts and works. I am sure LEDs will come the same way and for now some may feel to wait and stay with something proven over a new technology that is killing the tank or makes it look unpleasant.

 

[jackson6745]

There is an obvious flaw in LED lighting. Many users, including myself (radion g2), have experienced burning and color fading under LED. I'm not sure if it's a damaging spectrum or maybe from many hot spots from multi point sources. I would like to see these issues addressed more, or at the very least, acknowledged by more successful hobbyists, and it should be a priority for light manufactures.