Metal Halides - Back to the Future?

Superlightman · Aug 15, 2021

pigmo said:
Without being tooooo specific, in general most all the US old school acros we have liked the MH.

However, some Aussie imports did not like it, surprise! We got great growth on hyacinthus and stags tho. (But I don't like stags at all.) Shortcakes not really. Coloration, well, were nowhere as nice as under Radions. We even hung another Radion G4, all blues at 100% to supplement, next to the MH, and even that didn't work to pull interesting coloration. We lowered the lights so PAR eventually got way past 1000, but still no interesting colors! By interesting I mean killer. Just normal is not good enough lol.

And with this 250W radium 20k, our electricity went up almost $100 month!

So we actually took the MH down after about 9 months, because definitely we have way more new school acros, and NO WAY do we appreciate acros looking so dull under 'whites.' Plus Socal is so hot, we couldn't take the heat. In the end for us, it was not worth it.

So I have a satisfactory answer now, and my brother @jzw agrees -- are LEDs the chicken or the egg -- they're definitely the egg that makes many chickens!

;Clown ;Clown ;Clown

I think 20k are not the best for coloration and growth, I got in the past way better resuls with halides + t5 than thr radion 5g actually
check the color you can get with halides and there is no filter in this video:

X-37B · Aug 15, 2021

Here's my 120 with 2 250 watt 14k's and 1 blue plus, 1 blue sky OR3's.
Im liking the addition of the OR3's.
Very true colors with excellent growth so far.

Superlightman · Aug 15, 2021

90's reefer said:
Here's my 120 with 2 250 watt 14k's and 1 blue plus, 1 blue sky OR3's.
Im liking the addition of the OR3's.
Very true colors with excellent growth so far.

in the ramp up and down, are the bar enough alone?

X-37B · Aug 15, 2021

Superlightman said:
in the ramp up and down, are the bar enough alone?

Theirs no ramp up or down, just on/off.
OR3's come on 1/2 hour before and off 1/2 after MH's.
The 2 bars are plenty strong/bright on their own.

Forty-Two · Aug 17, 2021

90's reefer said:
Theirs no ramp up or down, just on/off.
OR3's come on 1/2 hour before and off 1/2 after MH's.
The 2 bars are plenty strong/bright on their own.

That’s the problem IMO - if it had control
and could do ramp up/down etc this would probably be my first choice - MH and Orphek bars

X-37B · Aug 17, 2021

Forty-Two said:
That’s the problem IMO - if it had control
and could do ramp up/down etc this would probably be my first choice - MH and Orphek bars

Ramp up/down is overrated but its your choice. I have not used ramp up/down in 30+ years and never had an issue.

acropora4u · Aug 18, 2021

i run 2 x 250w MH and 4x80w T5 with 1 x radion G5 xr30 pro in between the halides...awesome!

Superlightman · Aug 19, 2021

deansreef said:
i run 2 x 250w MH and 4x80w T5 with 1 x radion G5 xr30 pro in between the halides...awesome!

can you show a picture, you not coock the halides between

nereefpat · Aug 19, 2021

90's reefer said:
Im liking the addition of the OR3's.

Can you tell they are running while the halides are on?

X-37B · Aug 19, 2021

nereefpat said:
Can you tell they are running while the halides are on?

Yes you can tell the difference.
Pic 1 off
Pic 2 on
Both with ice cap lens.

Forty-Two · Aug 20, 2021

Right now Im thinking of going with 2X Giesmann Spectra's (hung length-wise), and 3 Reefi Duo Extreme's - one of which hung width wise (in the centre) and two others hung length wise (on either ends). Something like the below.

I found out the canopy they are building is open at the top so Im less concerned about heat. This way I can ramp up and ramp down the LED's and still get the power of the MH's. Not sure if I would use 400W or 240W on the Giessman's.

Thoughts?

djf91 · Aug 20, 2021

Forty-Two said:
Right now Im thinking of going with 2X Giesmann Spectra's (hung length-wise), and 3 Reefi Duo Extreme's - one of which hung width wise (in the centre) and two others hung length wise (on either ends). Something like the below.

I found out the canopy they are building is open at the top so Im less concerned about heat. This way I can ramp up and ramp down the LED's and still get the power of the MH's. Not sure if I would use 400W or 240W on the Giessman's.

Thoughts?

What size is your tank?

I have 4x400 watt Radiums over a 72”x54”x30” foot print, and it looks perfect.

Excuse the the shakiness in the video. I was rolling around in a chair haha.

DesertReefT4r · Aug 21, 2021

Saw this thread has popped back up. I ended up changing out my 2 250w MHs with 2 of the Hydra 32 HDs when they came out. Its been about 2 years and in my case LED wins hands down. Coral color is best I have ever had, growth is great and the look of the light in the reef is what I wanted. I just wish I could have afforded Radions.

Forty-Two · Aug 21, 2021

djf91 said:
What size is your tank?

I have 4x400 watt Radiums over a 72”x54”x30” foot print, and it looks perfect.

Excuse the the shakiness in the video. I was rolling around in a chair haha.

The tank is 72X30x24(h)

the MH’s look nice as does the rock work!

Forty-Two · Aug 21, 2021

DesertReefT4r said:
Saw this thread has popped back up. I ended up changing out my 2 250w MHs with 2 of the Hydra 32 HDs when they came out. Its been about 2 years and in my case LED wins hands down. Coral color is best I have ever had, growth is great and the look of the light in the reef is what I wanted. I just wish I could have afforded Radions.

This is interesting feedback - what size is the tank?

Superlightman · Aug 22, 2021

I just switch back from a hybrid fixture with radion 5g xr30& xr15 to halides.
Leds give you nice colours during the blue light from ramps up and down that I agree but daytime they are way less bright than good halides (depends on how much kelvin) ,you not have the nice shimmer, coral growth but much less than halides, and they are way more sensible.I had what is probably considered one of the best light on the market, but I was not happy with , coverage is also way more bad even with the diffuser. I end up buying twice the amount of LEDs than recommended and I still not get the appropriate coverage, and when corals are big, they die inside because of shadowing.
I just switch back two days ago and some corals react already with more polyps extension and are bigger.Led works, but there is something that halides have what they don't in my experience that corals likes more, but what??
day time now my tank is more pleasant to look than before and with halides + the appropriate t5 It looks in term if colours 90% what it was with led + better brightness and shimmer. Just a bit less pop.
But what I miss is the ramp up and down morning and evening, so I have to figure a way to use the radion for the morning or evening or add led bar same orphek or reefbrite. If someone has an Idea how I could fix the radions with the giesemann infinity it would be nice.

Snoopy 67 · Aug 22, 2021

Halide bulbs are getting harder to find these days.

Forty-Two · Aug 22, 2021

Halide bulbs are getting harder to find these days.

That’s what I hear. I’ve looked at many different combinations and options to get what I’m looking for.

origianally I was going to go with Orpheks but the shimmer is a problem, and it’s a very intense light. Then I considered MH’s, Reefi’s, and some mix in if Kessil a500x.
Now I’m wondering if going a500x with reefbrites is a better way to go.

While many users like the Or3’s - some research has indicated they are more of a spotlight/laser effect.

Anyhoo this combo might get me the ramp up and ramp down I want plus the MH shimmer/Color.
Good lighting is a tough one.