Pros vs Cons: Metal Halide VS LED Lighting

[marinelife]

30" tall tank with LEDs, PAR Readings are 500 - 550 in the middle of the tank with SPS corals.

Reasons I switched over 4 years ago was the MHs made the tank hot. I had to run a noising chiller to keep the tank cool.
The room was so hot that you could not even sit in it, This is our living room so it sucked being in there.
My electric bill was pushing close to $450 in the summer because of the 3 400w lights, chiller, and the air conditioning running all day.
Spending $75 -$100 on each bulb every 8 months or so.

I built my own LEDs and have only had to spend $30 so far on them in the 4 years. I had a driver go out after a bad storm and had one blue LED that went out.
The electric bill is now only around $250 a month in the summer. We can enjoy our living room again and the noise from the chiller is gone.
The last 4 years I have not had to replace the MH's bulbs the 6 times I would have if I kept them (3 bulbs times 6 x $75-$100 each big con to MHs)

Corals are growing as they did with MHs. Coral color for me is way better with the LEDs

 

[NanaReefer]

Went from 3yrs using T5HO to 180w LED's. Transferred all corals from under T5's to LED's. Acclimated very slowly.

3wks under T5HO

4wks under LED's.

 

[Boa1277]

I went backwards, I started with a 8 Bulb T-5 and switched to Radion Pros, Decided I missed the colors my T-5 gave and the Radions did not so I decided to try a Hybrid Pacific Sun Pandora. After 1 yr I could never get the colors even close to my original T-5 so I pulled the trigger on a 3 bulb 400 Watt Radium Hamilton Cebu Sun with 4 80watt T-5 to supplement. I hate to say this but it is not even close. My tank is SPS dominant and the Halide fixture absolutely hands down give me the best colors. I got good growth with LED but poor colors. I got good colors on T-5 and decent growth but never the range of colors my Radiums are popping right now. This is my experience over the last 4yrs and it has not been cheap. I diddnt buy cheap LED OR T-5.

 

[Elegance Coral]

At work, I deal with LED's. I've dealt with several different brand, over several years. I'm not impressed with any of them. I've seen way to many people spend four figures on LED lights only to have them break down in six months. Half the LED's we have over our coral tanks aren't working right, and we have a stack of broken down LED fixtures in the back. At home, I run MH's. I can bring home ugly little sticks from the shop, place them under my Radiums, and watch them turn into beautifully colored corals. I can take bright colored frags from my tank, place them under the LED's at work, and watch them turn into ugly little sticks.

Every new light technology that comes out gets compared to MH's. It's always the same argument. "If I pack enough of these new lights on top of my tank they'll work just as well as one MH." Personally, with thousands invested in coral, I'd rather use the lights that set the bar. Not those that are struggling to be as good as the lights that set the bar. There's a reason everyone wants to compare themselves to MH's.

Yes, MH's cost me a little more to run. I've done the math and changing one MH to LED's would save me somewhere around twenty bucks a month, in electricity and bulb replacement. That's IF the LED doesn't break down. So, the question for me is simple. Is it worth giving up the reliability and performance of MH's to save myself twenty bucks a month? IMHO, when there are thousands of dollars in corals at stake, the answer is, NO. I'll spend the twenty bucks. I blow twenty buck a month in much worse ways. At least I don't have to worry about my corals getting the proper light, or the shading that comes along with LED's, or if all of my LED's are going to come on like they should. All I have to do is watch my bright colored sticks grow like weeds and spend my twenty bucks.

 

[ws6kid]

It is all about what you consider success. LED will keep lots of corals alive and happy. So will T5 and MH. In the wild, healthy animals are typically brown

So, is success for you keeping animals alive and healthy? Is it doing so with a minimal energy footprint? LED will give you success keeping good color. Is it having colors that will make people only dream about having a tank like yours without concern for the cost? Metal halide will not lose in that battle.

The other thing about premade LEDs is the light output may be more focused generating higher PAR at lower points, but you need 2 of most fixtures to accomplish lighting the same amount of space in the tank as a single metal halide. I noticed a lot of heavily shaded caves in my tank with the LED trying to use less, but the tops of the rocks were getting hammered with light. The 360 degree output of a halide with the reflector make it much more even lighting throughout a larger space.

So if you consider on a 120g 4' tank, you would need 4 LED units to have as much light spread/coverage as 2 halides and you look at the cost of each...

(2) Reflectors $130 ea, (2) Radium Bulbs $90 ea, Dual Ballast $350 - $790 up front (you could of course buy used and save a bunch)

OR

(4) Radion Pros - $749 each - $2996 up front

OR

(4) Full Spectrum Affordable Brand 16" Fixtures - $319 each - $1276 up front

So if your halides are about $20 more a month for energy and $90 each bulb per year, that is a monthly difference of $35 per month.

If you go with the full spectrum affordable fixtures, you will recoup the difference in costs after 14 months. If you go with the premium LED, you will break even after 5 years.

Likely, you will not keep the lights for 5 years. It is in the reef keepers blood to want something more

What does all of this mean? If heat is not an issue for you and you want to best looking coral around, buy halides. There is no learning how to adjust spectrums and worrying about intensity. Turn it on for 7 hours a day and you will surely be happy with the right water conditions

If you want the newest tech, have a need for low heat offput, and like changing your lighting spectrum every day or having lightning, or just want to be a little more green, get LEDs.

All types of lighting have been used with success. Decide what your goal is and don't let all of the crazy internet hype into your brain.

 

[Boa1277]

I agree with both of the above posts!