halides or not

Salty Dog · Mar 4, 2013

Hello,

some of you might know Im building a 500g display, total water volume 1000g. I built an addition on my house to except this large tank. 60X48X34.
This reef tank will mostly stock sps type corals. I was planning on 4- 400w halides with a luminary reflector, t-5 actinics and maybe a lunar accent. Im just not sure about LED lighting and f they have the output needed to keep spa health. Any nfo is valued.

Zack · Mar 4, 2013

Leds will grow sps fine, too many people use them with good results for anyone to claim the won't grow sps.
Now with all the different colors leds out there the trick is finding the right spectrum you want to get the best color.
I have a led fixture with cool whites and royal blue only and it was doing great with growth but it would change the color a bit on my sps, still bright but just a little different than the color when I got it from vendor where it was being grown under halides. So now I use a radium on my display and leds on frag tank.

Otter_rs · Mar 4, 2013

Have you considered going with 2x 1000wt halides instead of 4x 400wt? This is what I have on my 500gl. And they work great. Sps grows like Crazy! The initial cost of hardware will be cheaper. I get my halide set ups from a local hydroponic shop for cheap. Just as good as the aquarium brands and they have much better reflector cooling options.

Brent \><{{{{*>
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Otter_rs · Mar 4, 2013

You can probably get away with one 1000wt depending on your aqua scape.

Brent \><{{{{*>
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Reefing Madness · Mar 4, 2013

If you went with the LEDs, you'd have to look for a higher wattage unit to get it to your depth. I'd stick with the Halides. There is a LED color rendering spot unit out there you can get in 30w to 50w range, you would need an aweful of them to cover your tank, but they would work as well if not better than the Halides. Its all in what you want to spend at that point.

Salty Dog · Mar 4, 2013

1000w seem like over kill, but Not sure. I do like the idea of led's but it seems like a lot of trial by error to get it right. I have a reef tank now that will be broken down when the new tank is up and cycled, it use's 4- 250 halides,VHO comvvo and did great. So confused on which way to go. Led lighting is a great way to go but I need to be sure before I pull the trigger, just a costly deal

Otter_rs · Mar 4, 2013

Salty Dog said:
1000w seem like over kill, but Not sure. I do like the idea of led's but it seems like a lot of trial by error to get it right. I have a reef tank now that will be broken down when the new tank is up and cycled, it use's 4- 250 halides,VHO comvvo and did great. So confused on which way to go. Led lighting is a great way to go but I need to be sure before I pull the trigger, just a costly deal

1x 1000wt would have the same power usage as the 4x 250wt. And it will save you on bulb replacement. It will also allow for far superior light penetration in such a deep tank. 2x 1000wt would only be 200wt more total than the 4x 400wt you mentioned earlier and half the bulbs. In my experience, it is definitely not overkill.

Brent \><{{{{*>
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Salty Dog · Mar 4, 2013

Something to look in to for sure. 1000w easy to find, ballasts ,bulbs ect?

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EpicWin · Mar 4, 2013

Advantages of led
Shimmer effect
Less power consumption
Bulb replacement cost low
Less heat!--- big advantage for me
Colors pop more

Advantages of halides

Low initial cost and more even distribution of cost over time

Colors on all corals will be great
-LEDs can be difficult for some chalices and Lps as well as zoos

For your size tank u are looking at 2000$ minimum for LEDs. If u go this route definitely consider DIY. It's not as difficult as it seems to do ur own LEDs.

Otter_rs · Mar 4, 2013

Salty Dog said:
Something to look in to for sure. 1000w easy to find, ballasts ,bulbs ect?

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Very easy. You can get a quality ballast, and reflector for less than $300 and bulbs range between $60 and $130 depending on what you want. You can get switchable ballasts too, so if 1000 watts is too much switch it down to 400 watts. you can also get dimmable ballasts now that run a 1000wt bulb at different percentages, using less power and prolonging the life of the bulb. If LEDs will cost you $2000, then how long would you have to run them to make up the cost difference? I would guess that it would take you years to make up the difference.

Brent \><{{{{*>
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that novice guy · Mar 4, 2013

Just pouring an idea out their what about an 100w exotic LED pendant i know they use them to light shark tanks at public aquariums i will try to find the link

that novice guy · Mar 4, 2013

http://www.ecoxotic.com/120-watt-cannon-led.html sorry its 120w

Reefing Madness · Mar 4, 2013

You'd have to have major blue supps in there, or are you planning on getting the 10k and the 453blues? Man, that thing looks like it could burn a hole through your tank.