LED, T5 or Hybrid?

[Davy Jones]

Here is the scoop. I managed to pick up a few additional light sources for a deal that I couldnt walk away from. Even though I have good lighting. But since I like to tinker, now I am considering replacing my lights with one of the other options. So, here is the basic information:

Tank- IM SR-80 (48x 19x 16h display) going for mixed reef favoring anemones/lps rather than sps.
Light choices: 2x GHL Mitras Lx7 (Current lights)
Giesemann Matrixx II Dimtech 8 bulb T5 (48")
Giesemann Aurora T5/LED Hybrid (4 54w T5 Bulbs, 3 88W LED Clusters)

Right now I am thinking either the matrixx or the mitras's as it is not SPS dominant so I feel the Aurora will be a tad overkill.. But I am interested in opinions!

 

[KJoFan]

Here is the scoop. I managed to pick up a few additional light sources for a deal that I couldnt walk away from. Even though I have good lighting. But since I like to tinker, now I am considering replacing my lights with one of the other options. So, here is the basic information:

Tank- IM SR-80 (48x 19x 16h display) going for mixed reef favoring anemones/lps rather than sps.
Light choices: 2x GHL Mitras Lx7 (Current lights)
Giesemann Matrixx II Dimtech 8 bulb T5 (48")
Giesemann Aurora T5/LED Hybrid (4 54w T5 Bulbs, 3 88W LED Clusters)

Right now I am thinking either the matrixx or the mitras's as it is not SPS dominant so I feel the Aurora will be a tad overkill.. But I am interested in opinions!

Hmm....wonder where you picked those fixtures up at?

I'm going to vote for the Mitras because that's what I have over my sps dominant tank and have zero complaints up to this point. I do agree that Aurora will probably be overkill, for the dims of that tank you could have probably gotten by with the 36" version rather than the 48" and wouldn't have been quite as much overkill. T5 of course is tried and true, but you will lose the shimmer and it will look flatter and you'll have the added cost of bulb replacement. You know all this already but I honestly think the Mitras are a very solid choice for led fixtures and a bit overlooked in the hobby overall as a popular choice.

 

[KJoFan]

That said, I picked up one of the Auroras for my upcoming sps frag/growout tank.

 

[Davy Jones]

Hmm....wonder where you picked those fixtures up at?

I'm going to vote for the Mitras because that's what I have over my sps dominant tank and have zero complaints up to this point. I do agree that Aurora will probably be overkill, for the dims of that tank you could have probably gotten by with the 36" version rather than the 48" and wouldn't have been quite as much overkill. T5 of course is tried and true, but you will lose the shimmer and it will look flatter and you'll have the added cost of bulb replacement. You know all this already but I honestly think the Mitras are a very solid choice for led fixtures and a bit overlooked in the hobby overall as a popular choice.

That said, I picked up one of the Auroras for my upcoming sps frag/growout tank.

Shhhhh!!!

Yeah, the Mitras really are awesome. Thats the thing that bothers me, all of these lights are great options that will grow coral no problem.

 

[PDR]

+1 - Giesemann Aurora T5/LED Hybrid (4 54w T5 Bulbs, 3 88W LED Clusters)

 

[hart24601]

You can try each out and see what one you like better if you have the lights already! I am not a fan of how t5 looks alone, so I wouldn't use those, and if not trying to grow 2ft wide acro colonies I wouldn't do the mix of leds and t5. Heck even if doing all acro I might stick with the GHL depending on how the tank looks.

 

[Davy Jones]

You can try each out and see what one you like better if you have the lights already! I am not a fan of how t5 looks alone, so I wouldn't use those, and if not trying to grow 2ft wide acro colonies I wouldn't do the mix of leds and t5. Heck even if doing all acro I might stick with the GHL depending on how the tank looks.

Thought of doing that, but I would have to buy 8 t5 bulbs to really test stuff out, and dont think I want to go that route just to see what it looks like lol The Mitras's are doing great and the mounting option looks really nice as well. I really shouldnt tinker. but its hard not to wonder with them all sitting in my basement lol

 

[Davy Jones]

+1 - Giesemann Aurora T5/LED Hybrid (4 54w T5 Bulbs, 3 88W LED Clusters)

I feel like this light would Cook anything that goes in the tank. I dont have access to a par meter or anything, however my experience with lights like this would put the fixture at over 400 par on the sandbed with LED's in the 60% range. Unless it is significantly weaker than similar offerings by other companies

 

[hart24601]

Ha! Yea ok, I understand that, I assumed they had bulbs.

I feel ya on wanting to tinker... I catch myself browsing and have to tell myself "Stop it! There is no reason you are shopping!" and that isn't with equipment just sitting in the basement, haha.

Those GHL with the multi clusters are pretty awesome though and with the nice mounting I wouldn't really consider those other lights as upgrades for LPS/nem tank especially if you also take into account how the tank looks in the room. The Aurora while a nice fixture, I don't think looks all that great. Especially if you have to hang it lower for the T5 spillover and lose the top down view. Do you sit near the tank? Spillover with T5 sucks if the light isn't quite low and hits your eyes if near a sofa or chair.

 

[KJoFan]

I feel like this light would Cook anything that goes in the tank. I dont have access to a par meter or anything, however my experience with lights like this would put the fixture at over 400 par on the sandbed with LED's in the 60% range. Unless it is significantly weaker than similar offerings by other companies

The bit of research I did on the Aurora seemed to reveal it actually has lower par than one might expect. Perhaps because the led panels lack lenses?

Not trying to sway you of course, just sharing what I read a bit of.

 

[Davy Jones]

The bit of research I did on the Aurora seemed to reveal it actually has lower par than one might expect. Perhaps because the led panels lack lenses?

Not trying to sway you of course, just sharing what I read a bit of.

I appreciate the info! Maybe I'll play with them, hopefully someone locally has old t5 bulbs I can buy to test out and look at feel and color

 

[Water Dog]

Because the Aurora’s LEDs do not use lenses, the par reading are reduced, relative to other lensed LED Hybrid offerings. But that may be advantageous in your situation because of the fairly shallow 16” depth of your tank. Coverage wise, the Aurora seems to be the best option for your tank IMO. However, because of your livestock choices, I’d stick with your current lights, the Mitras. Don’t discount the convenience of not having a fixture cover the entire area of the top of your tank for maintenance purposes. I’m not a fan of the Giesemann T5 only fixtures. While the fixture itself is aesthetically pleasing, their lack of active bulb cooling is detrimental to the par output and lifespan of the T5 bulbs.

 

[HairyGary]

Hmm....wonder where you picked those fixtures up at?

I'm going to vote for the Mitras because that's what I have over my sps dominant tank and have zero complaints up to this point. I do agree that Aurora will probably be overkill, for the dims of that tank you could have probably gotten by with the 36" version rather than the 48" and wouldn't have been quite as much overkill. T5 of course is tried and true, but you will lose the shimmer and it will look flatter and you'll have the added cost of bulb replacement. You know all this already but I honestly think the Mitras are a very solid choice for led fixtures and a bit overlooked in the hobby overall as a popular choice.

HAHA!

I'd stick with what you have. Great for what you plan for in the IM 80 and if you do decide to add sticks, no problem.

Bummed I missed the Friday and Saturday festivities

 

[KJoFan]

Because the Aurora’s LEDs do not use lenses, the par reading are reduced, relative to other lensed LED Hybrid offerings. But that may be advantageous in your situation because of the fairly shallow 16” depth of your tank. Coverage wise, the Aurora seems to be the best option for your tank IMO. However, because of your livestock choices, I’d stick with your current lights, the Mitras. Don’t discount the convenience of not having a fixture cover the entire area of the top of your tank for maintenance purposes. I’m not a fan of the Giesemann T5 only fixtures. While the fixture itself is aesthetically pleasing, their lack of active bulb cooling is detrimental to the par output and lifespan of the T5 bulbs.

Agree. This is also why I think for my purposes (48x24x12 tank for growout/frags only) the 36" Aurora will work just fine. The lower par will work for my shallow depth and I don't need to intensely light the ends, as those will be a good place to grow out the non sps stuff.

I'd really opt to stay the course with the Mitras if I were you.

 

[Davy Jones]

Because the Aurora’s LEDs do not use lenses, the par reading are reduced, relative to other lensed LED Hybrid offerings. But that may be advantageous in your situation because of the fairly shallow 16” depth of your tank. Coverage wise, the Aurora seems to be the best option for your tank IMO. However, because of your livestock choices, I’d stick with your current lights, the Mitras. Don’t discount the convenience of not having a fixture cover the entire area of the top of your tank for maintenance purposes. I’m not a fan of the Giesemann T5 only fixtures. While the fixture itself is aesthetically pleasing, their lack of active bulb cooling is detrimental to the par output and lifespan of the T5 bulbs.

Thanks for the input! I will likely stick with the mitras as I hadn't considered the headache of having a lighting solution in the way of basic tank tasks. I can always switch to one of the other fixtures in the future. I plan on hanging on to them for a bit and maybe doing a frag tank someday

 

[Davy Jones]

Agree. This is also why I think for my purposes (48x24x12 tank for growout/frags only) the 36" Aurora will work just fine. The lower par will work for my shallow depth and I don't need to intensely light the ends, as those will be a good place to grow out the non sps stuff.

I'd really opt to stay the course with the Mitras if I were you.

What light project are you running? I just edited the Reef rocker one, and made another to copy the spa ab+ program but still not sure if these are any good. That is the one nice thing about t5, you know exactly what works

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

On my new build which is a 425 I am using four mitras x7 they are amazing lights. I need them because of how long and tall my tank is, (96 long 30 wide and 34 tall). I would use the current marine pros (60 degree lens version ) on this as well but they are only 72 inch long. My 240 that is also 34 tall my current marine pros are just amazing and grow clams and sps like crazy.

But with all the leds our there I believe from the research I have done and been able to analyze the mitras are above anything led wise out there. Plus they are fairly simple to use and they are not as expensive as the super name branded ones. Good luck in your quest for lights

Sincerely
Sarah

 

[KJoFan]

What light project are you running? I just edited the Reef rocker one, and made another to copy the spa ab+ program but still not sure if these are any good. That is the one nice thing about t5, you know exactly what works

I think I'm using a project that....Marco? posted in the GHL Facebook group not too long ago. Prior to that I was using the ReefRocker one. I don't see a huge difference in the two and try to just leave it alone because tinkering with LEDs is one of their downfalls I think.

 

[KJoFan]

I'm also running four of them on my 150g (60x24x24) and maxing the project at 65% using acclimation mode because running it at full power was too much for my sps frags.

 

[Davy Jones]

I think I'm using a project that....Marco? posted in the GHL Facebook group not too long ago. Prior to that I was using the ReefRocker one. I don't see a huge difference in the two and try to just leave it alone because tinkering with LEDs is one of their downfalls I think.

I have been good for the last 7 months or so but definitely got the itch to tinker when I set up this new tank and upped my peak settings. However, now that I finally have the second mitras up instead of the kessilss I may have to bring that back down so the overlap doesn't fry my frags up top