New bulbs or switch to LED's

[cjrudy]

Its that time of year for me to change my T5 bulbs and I am wondering if its time for me to take the plunge and switch to LED's. New bulbs run about $125 and for literally a few hundred more I can get some DIY LED's.


I have been researching for months and may settle on the Rapid LED kit.


Any thoughts ?

 

[impur]

As someone who just switched back to T5 from LED, i'm going to say stick with T5. You just missed the 4th of July sales though

 

[ezane]

i would run both. and cut the hours on the t5 so they last longer.

 

[Reefing Madness]

If you've got the cash, ya gotta go LEDs. Just remember to get a dimmable unit, so you don't kill all your corals in the first day.

 

[cjrudy]

Ugh...............thanks for all the input, lot's of opinions out there, still can't decide. Don't really want to spend the money but yet I could definitely swing it. Still not totally convinced LED's are it, and definitely don't want to sacrifice any of my SPS.

 

[mike007]

Leds will pay for themselves with lower energy cost and expensive bulb changes. Also you can grow a variety of corals with them and your water will stay cooler.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Ugh...............thanks for all the input, lot's of opinions out there, still can't decide. Don't really want to spend the money but yet I could definitely swing it. Still not totally convinced LED's are it, and definitely don't want to sacrifice any of my SPS.

Hey I'm all in with ya, I still run 250w Halides. =)

 

[NanaReefer]

I've got mixed feelings about switching too. I spend about $80 a year on new T5's...a decent LED unit with timer/dimmer and I'm looking at $400+ easy. To me that's 4yrs of T5's.
So I've decided that until they come down on the prices on LED's which to me are CRAZY, I'll stick with my T5's.


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[Reef Pets]

Get new bulbs.

 

[dorky]

just gotta think long terms think about how many bulbs you have to replace every six months not only that dealing with heats in the water and the bills. i know that led is expensive to start but a lot cheaper in the long run. you will be surprise how much $$ u save by switching to led

 

[Singlefin]

What size is your tank? There's a few companies out there now that make good fixtures for almost less than DIY. Reef breeders is coming out with a new fixture that looks pretty good. LEDs definitely can grow sps. There's crappy led fixtures out there that people haven't been happy with. You get what you pay for.

 

[cjrudy]

Tanks 90 gallon SPS dominant, been up for almost three years and doing great. Most of my SPS are in the mid to upper portion of the tank and have done well under T5's. Guess I'm looking at LED's for the same reasons as everyone else. No more bulbs to buy, cooler, the ability to run them off my controller and lots of possibilities with the DIY fixtures.

 

[bucksfan1976]

You know the saying if it isnt broke dont fix it. If you are having great success then I wouldnt switch.

 

[aslmx]

I just wished I could make my mind up too. $240 a year for mh bulbs is getting old. But I'm scared leds won't grow sps. Somebody wanna convince me

 

[cjrudy]

Yep, I'm scared either they wont grow or they'll burn up. I have been surprised how well my SPS have done under a six bulb T5 lamp.

I looked back through some pictures and found that my SPS doubled and tripled in size over the past year, almost all just frags when I started.

 

[cota472]

I just got a 90g full tank setup used and they had a 48" Coralife 2x150w MH and 2x36" PC fixture. The bulbs in it are 9months old and dont look as bright as I would expect, so definitely looking at replacing bulbs at the least. I am looking at easily $175 in new bulbs, I started talking to a guy in my local reef club, he has a SPS dominated 360g with LEDs and has setup multiple configurations for other members. We are building a custom full spectrum LED setup that will be capable of SPS, clams and anything else I might want to put in the tank. It will all be setup with digital controllers so I can set the maximum brightness and timers. All together it will run me maybe $600 but I can turn off and sell the big fixture and most likely the chiller as well.

 

[ntime60]

This is a question I've been thinking about.

When I bought my 90g setup, an AquaticLife 48" T5 came with it. The system was approx 3 months old when I bought it and that means the age is roughly 7-8 months old. Reading Aquatic Life user guide that say the lamps should last between 12-18 months. But what I read on various forums suggest 8-12 months is more realistic. So by that I am at or nearing time to change the bulbs.

I figure the cost to replace the lamps is about 1/4 - 1/3 of what it costs to go with LED. Does LED provide enough of a difference to justify the added cost?

I know lighting is one of those hot button topics, but I'm curious to know if LEDs are worth the cost of the T5 system. I'm still relatively new to the hobby and what experience I have is 20+ years old. Back in the day you ran Florescent or MH and most of the serious reefers swear by MH. So from my point of view LED is an unknown, but what I'm reading is interesting. I'd really prefer some real world experience on the subject.

 

[cjrudy]

Thanks again for all the input, I decided to stand pat and order new bulbs. I think what really made my decision was looking through pictures and see how well my SPS have done over that past year.

 

[goodtimes]

If your happy with your colors and growth that's a good choice. I switched back to t5 from led for color reasons.

 

[cjrudy]

If your happy with your colors and growth that's a good choice. I switched back to t5 from led for color reasons.

Yes the one thing I miss with T5's is the shimmer like I see on tanks with LED's or Halides. The only problem with adding an LED strip is I have read T5's will most likely wash out any shimmer.