Should I switch to Radion LEDs from MH/T5?

[hatfielj]

Looking for any advice from people with experience switching to LEDs from MH/LED set ups. I currently have a 40 x 26 x 22 SPS dominant tank that is still very young (around 6 months old). I have just finished stocking it with all my favorite SPS frags. So far things have been going pretty good. Right now my color is good, not amazing, and my growth is good, again not amazingly fast. I run a 250 watt DE 14k Pheonix supplemented with 4 24watt T5 actinic bulbs as well as a reefbrite XHO blue LED fixture.
The reason I'm considering switching to Radion Gen 3 Pro is for the obvious savings in electric costs as well as the ease of being able to customize the color output of the fixture and the ease in controlling the light schedule, etc. What I'm also HOPING to gain is better colors and growth, but I would be happy with keeping the same color and growth I have now as well.

I'm thinking I could get away with just one fixture on the tank and use the wide-angle lenses they sell for it. It seems like most people with these fixtures have to dim the power down quite a bit, so i'm thinking as long as I have enough spread with the wide lenses and I place it high enough above the tank, I should be able to get plenty of power for a relatively shallow tank like mine.
My biggest hesitation right now is the fact that things are going fairly well right now and I don't want to screw anything up. Especially since I have so many nice (and expensive) frags growing right now!

Any advice or experience with this kind of switch would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Tradewinds]

I run the Radion Pros, have a mixed reef, and believe they are the right lights for my tank. IMO, different lights have different applications.

If things are going well, why do you want to change to LED?

 

[hatfielj]

Well, mostly for the simplicity of having a single "do it all" light fixture as well as the electricity savings. i'd be going from around 400 watts to less than 170 watts. Plus I really like how easy it is to control and customize the color of the lights without having to change bulbs.

I run the Radion Pros, have a mixed reef, and believe they are the right lights for my tank. IMO, different lights have different applications.

If things are going well, why do you want to change to LED?

 

[Stoneyman]

I created a custom 180 gal reef. Spared no expense. Went with four AI Vega fixtures. After 6 months pf dissapointing growth and lacklust color, i ditched the new school for the old school; ATI T5s 8 bulb 60 inch (and for 1/4 the cost of the vegas). Within a week, colors awaken. Polyp extension everywhere. My docile bubble tip which lost its bubble tip, regained its bubble tip and color. Fish seemed more active. Its mostly an sps reef. The rate of growth went up steeply. I didnf cade fore being in control of the different colors. It was confusing to me for i didnt know if it was the right combo or not. Yeah my electrical bill is a bit higher but not by that much. Both units created the same amount of heat. And every 6 - 9 mon i change out the bulbs (around $170). That cost is a drop in the bucket am i right ? Just my 2 cents. Stick with the halide/t5s.

 

[jackson6745]

If I was to switch to anything but MH/T5 it would be an ATI LED Powermodule.

 

[Pete polyp]

Short answer, no

 

[DSP]

Do it! You will love the Radion no dout about it, I switched from halides to leds(Ai's)then back to halide then I saw what the radion pros can do in person so I ditched the halide for the new gen 3 pro and it is amazing,Just make sure you go radion pro and you will be very happy with the switch, Most people that are disapointed after switching were using vegas, sols, maxspects, kessils and so on, Radion pro is the only led id consider after seeing them compared to others in person.

 

[Vmacisback]

no way man you may very well be disappointed, I know I was. I am an SPS guy and love to watch them grow. I ran radion Pros for 6 months and was disappointed for sure. The controllability was cool with the radions and gave the tank a cool look but it did nothing for my sps. Some colored up but growth was lacking for sure. Some corals didnt react well for me like my forest fire digi and some of my monti's. Most of my acros shifted colors a bit and would bleach if i turned the power up on the light by even 5%. I was confused that I spent so much money on a set of lights that I could only run at 50% power. This also meant that there were dim spots in the tank and some shadows.

Everybody thinks you save all this money on LED's which maybe in the long long run is possible. But the new radions aren't cheap and by the time you get the number of units you need to light your entire tank youve probably spent a lot. I feel like spread of LEDS and overlapping of coverage is what coupld have helped as far as making SPS grow faster but then we are talking about double the units and initial costs. IMHO its so easy to snag a good deal on a used ATI fixture or reflectors and t5s or VHO's which are tried and proven to grow SPS why would you stray from whats proven? By the time you buy all that LED units you need, hanging kits, and wireless compatibility setup, its really going to take some time before you start saving money....and then whos to say if they are going to do what youre trying to acheive. Take it from someone who loves this hobby and especially SPS, go with whats proven and maybe in time say a year or 2 look into LEDs.......but by that time your tank will look so great youll never switch.

 

[TighTT]

no way man you may very well be disappointed, I know I was. I am an SPS guy and love to watch them grow. I ran radion Pros for 6 months and was disappointed for sure. The controllability was cool with the radions and gave the tank a cool look but it did nothing for my sps. Some colored up but growth was lacking for sure. Some corals didnt react well for me like my forest fire digi and some of my monti's. Most of my acros shifted colors a bit and would bleach if i turned the power up on the light by even 5%. I was confused that I spent so much money on a set of lights that I could only run at 50% power. This also meant that there were dim spots in the tank and some shadows.

Everybody thinks you save all this money on LED's which maybe in the long long run is possible. But the new radions aren't cheap and by the time you get the number of units you need to light your entire tank youve probably spent a lot. I feel like spread of LEDS and overlapping of coverage is what coupld have helped as far as making SPS grow faster but then we are talking about double the units and initial costs. IMHO its so easy to snag a good deal on a used ATI fixture or reflectors and t5s or VHO's which are tried and proven to grow SPS why would you stray from whats proven? By the time you buy all that LED units you need, hanging kits, and wireless compatibility setup, its really going to take some time before you start saving money....and then whos to say if they are going to do what youre trying to acheive. Take it from someone who loves this hobby and especially SPS, go with whats proven and maybe in time say a year or 2 look into LEDs.......but by that time your tank will look so great youll never switch.

This.

 

[hatfielj]

Well, it sounds like this will not be an easy decision There are a lot of different opinions and experiences here with LEDs. I've had LEDs on a previous nano tank a few years ago. I was fairly happy with them from what I can remember. They grew my chalice frags and acans great. I didn't have a lot of SPS in that tank but I can't remember having any trouble with them.
I guess at this point I don't want to take a chance of messing anything up. I should probably just plan on starting another tank and use LEDs from the start!

 

[reefsahoy]

I consider myself a successful sps reefer with halide and t5's. Ive since broken down that tank for personal reasons and later started a nano using radion pro. Ive had it now for 7 months and am still struggling to find the right combo of light spectrum, and duration. All my corals were bought with colors and now they are pale almost white with lots of polyp extension. Id like to go back to t5 but the tank is a 18x18 and would look weird with a 24 length t5 over it. Im seriously going to give the tank the rest of the year to adjust and if still no success will make a move to something else. Ive seen many led tanks that look great but not sure why i cant dial mine in and its not because of water Q. Personally, if you want no issues go with tried and true mh/t5 combo or exclusive, but if you want a challenge id say LEDs. Leds can be a crap shoot IMO, you may get it right, but once the corals turn on you it becomes a real challenge because results to a change in light spectrum will take a long time to see making it difficult to adjust

 

[TylerHaworth]

You won't get away with one fixture. You'll spend more money upgrading than you'll save on electricity. You likely won't see better growth or coloration.

 

[Dog Boy Dave]

I was running 6 400 watt halides on my main display. I had to remove them and go with LED's do to heat and power bills. I still run Halides on some parts of my system, in sumps and an attached lagoon. They are all plumbed together. The corals under the halides consistently look better , more color, faster growth under the halides and t5s than they do under the LEDs. I miss my halides and if I could afford the cooling I would change back in a second. I do save a lot of money on electricity. Not just the cost to run the lights but the cost to cool them was significant. My chiller hardly ever runs anymore. My temp swing is about 2 degrees per 24 hours, used to be 7 to 8 per 24 hours. The chiller used to run 24/7. Our bill is 200 dollars less per month with the LEDS.

 

[Reef.ductionist]

Thinking of getting an Anemone?--MH are thought to work best. Getting led in place of my, Its like trading in a Mustang for a corolla.

 

[Reef.ductionist]

Saw this and thought you might find it interesting. It is an article iwhich can be found n the second quarter 2013 edition of Reef Hobbyist Magazine and is written by Joseph Peck about caring for anenomes. In the article he writes, "..we are not yet sure if all types of LED lights provide a broad enough spectrum."
Reef Hobbyist magazine is published quarterly and is free to download.

 

[Gwitness]

I have 3 Radion gen 2s over my 180 and i have been debating on adding 2 t5 bulbs on the front side of the canopy and the back side......would this work pretty well?? If so, do i just buy each bulb and reflector seperate??

 

[marke]

Just an opinion.......don't do it! Mh and t5 are perfect! Nothing can compete with mh, for sps! Yes it cost moire in electric, but I don't think it's as much as you think. I have 3 400 wt mh supplemented with LEDs I had t5's with the mh a couple years ago and regret changing to LEDs. You will probably need two fixtures and won't get the growth and color you can get from mh. What does two fixtures cost compared to the extra electric and bulb replacements. If you want to see better color and growth with your present setup......focus on water quality and test more!

 

[marke]

I have 3 Radion gen 2s over my 180 and i have been debating on adding 2 t5 bulbs on the front side of the canopy and the back side......would this work pretty well?? If so, do i just buy each bulb and reflector seperate??

Yes. Adding t5 will make a significant difference by giving you a broader spectrum. Look into retrofit kits and DIY Hard to help on installation without seeing what's there now.

 

[Pete polyp]

Or buy a cheap fixture and gut it.

 

[Sleeperr34]

If u do dont go rad. I know a few people that did a killed most there corals. And they started out at 40% power. If u do go AI. I got the vegas and have 3 over my 210 and everyone loves it. W-30% red-10% green-10% all 3 blues at 100%. I am planning on getting some t-5 uv lights to finish the spec. Cheaper then changing out a puck. But they fixed that problem with the hydras. I started out at 1/3 what im at now and did a 1 month ramp up all can be done with the wireless controller. I love mine and had 3 250di MH before and it saved me more then i expected in the summer. Saved around 150$ a month. But hurt me in the winter because i have to use me heater more in the winter while my lights kept the tank warm most of the day before. And cost me about 125$ more in the winter. But im in texas to winter is not usually to long here.

Some corals i did notice dont like the leds. I had to move my dunks to the bottom of the tank they just stopped opening up. But I'm getting great growth with my sps.