Getting back into the hobby: LED vs LED/T5....what's changed?

[Epic Aquaculture]

Did you compensate for the loss of par?
What was the difference in results btw?

Yes, We adjusted the Radions up to the PAR numbers that we had with both which was around 500 PAR at the top. Colors faded on many corals, growth slowed (determined by Alk uptake reduction as well as visual observation) and shading became much more obvious on the corals. We did like the shimmer though

 

[Hooz]

Yes, We adjusted the Radions up to the PAR numbers that we had with both which was around 500 PAR at the top. Colors faded on many corals, growth slowed (determined by Alk uptake reduction as well as visual observation) and shading became much more obvious on the corals. We did like the shimmer though

I've always run more lights than I "needed to" because I hate shadows, but I think this kind of anecdotal evidence points to coverage in general more than some magical T5 bulb in particular. T5s are the king of coverage, period. LEDs are getting there, though.

 

[oreo54]

Yes, We adjusted the Radions up to the PAR numbers that we had with both which was around 500 PAR at the top. Colors faded on many corals, growth slowed (determined by Alk uptake reduction as well as visual observation) and shading became much more obvious on the corals. We did like the shimmer though

Thanks, too many don't post the conditions.
One could speculate on many changed factors ..from "pur" differences, to stronger focus in spots and even adj. to spectrum differences.
There is a school of thought that one would still need to acclimate heavily. Not saying you did or didn't btw.


BUT it is what it was....
Again thanks.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Yes, We adjusted the Radions up to the PAR numbers that we had with both which was around 500 PAR at the top. Colors faded on many corals, growth slowed (determined by Alk uptake reduction as well as visual observation) and shading became much more obvious on the corals. We did like the shimmer though

To be fair unless you added more radions to compensate for the loss of spread and not just cranked up the intensity we are kind of comparing apples to oranges.
How the light is delivered is an important factor as well, not just the intensity.
Adding additional fixtures and decreasing the intensity somewhat would probably be a more fair comparison.

I’ve been a die hard T5 fan for the longest time. Went from T8’s to halides to halides and T5’s. Tried an all led setup years back and hated it and went back to a hybrid setup with T5’s and leds to get the best of both worlds.
I’m a firm believer in that for a wall to wall sps tank you need to cover the whole thing in light to get the best long term results.
I don’t think it matters overly much how that’s done but I never find an attractive solution that didn’t entailed a heap of cords.

I was given the opportunity to trial the Aurora v12 from giesemann, replacing my 1100w led/T5 hybrid and I’m very impressed with the results so far. I think this kind of “hybrid” fixture is the future as it gives you both the benefits of T5’s and the punch of focused pucks.
I made a video about it if anyone’s interested in the fixture. It’s not on the US market as of yet but from what I understand it should be arriving soon.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Thanks, too many don't post the conditions.
One could speculate on many changed factors ..from "pur" differences, to stronger focus in spots and even adj. to spectrum differences.
There is a school of thought that one would still need to acclimate heavily. Not saying you did or didn't btw.


BUT it is what it was....
Again thanks.

We did a 30 day acclimation on the Radions increasing the intensity from 65% to 80%. I'm sure there are quite a few factors that had an effect. We did it to see if we could reduce power consumption and still get the same results. I wish it would have happened because it would save a lot of money on power and bulb replacement. The tank thet we did this on is our 460 gallon DT. There are 16 39" T-5's over it and 8 Radion XR30 and 4 Radion XR15 over a 84" x 42" footprint. Here's a pic of the light rack so you can see the layout.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

To be fair unless you added more radions to compensate for the loss of spread and not just cranked up the intensity we are kind of comparing apples to oranges.
How the light is delivered is an important factor as well, not just the intensity.
Adding additional fixtures and decreasing the intensity somewhat would probably be a more fair comparison.

I’ve been a die hard T5 fan for the longest time. Went from T8’s to halides to halides and T5’s. Tried an all led setup years back and hated it and went back to a hybrid setup with T5’s and leds to get the best of both worlds.
I’m a firm believer in that for a wall to wall sps tank you need to cover the whole thing in light to get the best long term results.
I don’t think it matters overly much how that’s done but I never find an attractive solution that didn’t entailed a heap of cords.

I was given the opportunity to trial the Aurora v12 from giesemann, replacing my 1100w led/T5 hybrid and I’m very impressed with the results so far. I think this kind of “hybrid” fixture is the future as it gives you both the benefits of T5’s and the punch of focused pucks.
I made a video about it if anyone’s interested in the fixture. It’s not on the US market as of yet but from what I understand it should be arriving soon.

I agree that it's definitely not a perfect experiment. As you can see from this pic, we really couldn't add more LED's. There are 8 Radion XR30's and 4 Radion XR15's over a 84" x 42" footprint.

 

[Jubei2006]

I use GHL mitras LX7s over my reef 7ftx4ftx30inches deep. Been up for almost 2 years and things seem to be growing well. Have thought about using a hybrid setup, just unsure about cable management at this point (4 side viewable walk around tank). Only issue I have with T5s is the lack of shimmer. I lived in the carribean for 2.5 years and snorkeled about every weekend, the shimmer on the reef was absolutely one of the best aspects of the entire experience.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I agree that it's definitely not a perfect experiment. As you can see from this pic, we really couldn't add more LED's. There are 8 Radion XR30's and 4 Radion XR15's over a 84" x 42" footprint.

Now that’s a baller setup right there! Should grow corals like weeds. Perfect example of proper implementation of lighting over an sps tank in my opinion.
Yeah, not unless you completely got rid of the fixtures for the T5’s.
I could definitely see the spacing between the radions to be a contributing factor in shadowing and the issues with hotspots when trying to compensate with increased intensity.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Go t5 or metal halide

 

[jmichaelh7]

Now that’s a baller setup right there! Should grow corals like weeds. Perfect example of proper implementation of lighting over an sps tank in my opinion.
Yeah, not unless you completely got rid of the fixtures for the T5’s.
I could definitely see the spacing between the radions to be a contributing factor in shadowing and the issues with hotspots when trying to compensate with increased intensity.

That setup runs good too