SPS and LED - Can they be a show stopper?

[seastar]

I am putting together an SPS heavy tank in the near future but want to be energy conscious.

I want to run LEDs but I'm really worried I need HQI or t5 lighting to pull off a top notch SPS tank. Can you please put my mind at ease with some LED SPS tanks?

 

[gashunk]

Following

 

[DracoKat]

following as well!

 

[mannyhernz]

Radions are proven

 

[seastar]

Hoping some people have some photos to share!

 

[Salty1962]

There are many reefers on this forum who use only LEDs for their tanks and have very good success. It depends on what you want from your tank and budget. Halides are hard to beat but the energy and bulb costs are a down side. T5s are a great option for light spread, less heat than halides but again bulb replacement is costly. LEDs are a great option if you want more spectrum control, there are no bulbs to replace, energy cost is way down and heat isn't a problem. I personally run a hybrid of Radions and T5s and really like the light spread and shadowing is at a minimum. Hope this helps.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I'm with salty1962. Mix any led with any t5 combo. BOOOM.
Just knowing the led and just knowing the t5 will tell you combining them is the best of both worlds. Or as I like to say. BOOOM.

You would really only have to run the t5 for two to four hours a day. I.e. A 200 to 300 par increase at peak for short duration.

 

[justingraham]

There are many reefers on this forum who use only LEDs for their tanks and have very good success. It depends on what you want from your tank and budget. Halides are hard to beat but the energy and bulb costs are a down side. T5s are a great option for light spread, less heat than halides but again bulb replacement is costly. LEDs are a great option if you want more spectrum control, there are no bulbs to replace, energy cost is way down and heat isn't a problem. I personally run a hybrid of Radions and T5s and really like the light spread and shadowing is at a minimum. Hope this helps.

Can I see ur hybrid set up please??

 

[seastar]

Can I see ur hybrid set up please??

I was about to quote and ask the same. Obviously we all see those amazing tanks we aspire to full of crazy colors. That is what I would really love to achieve - sadly I also love the cleanliness of a tiny LED fixture. This morning I almost am ready to throw in the towel and cave to adding t5's, but on an automated pulley system to get them out of the way once the SPS have had their golden rays for the day.

 

[seastar]

I'm with salty1962. Mix any led with any t5 combo. BOOOM.
Just knowing the led and just knowing the t5 will tell you combining them is the best of both worlds. Or as I like to say. BOOOM.

You would really only have to run the t5 for two to four hours a day. I.e. A 200 to 300 par increase at peak for short duration.

That's kind of the direction I am leaning now (unless some people would care to share some incredible looking results they've achieved over LED's by themselves!!!) - As I just mentioned above maybe I'll lover the lights over the system for a few hours and raise them up.

Benefit: kind of a cool/geeky/tech project all in one.

 

[JFrar]

ya i would say t5 +led will get you everything you could ever want for your corals(its what i would like to do)...however just led is still a good option(this is all i run)...and i have a majority sps tank

 

[Squamosa]

Just knowing the led and just knowing the t5 will tell you combining them is the best of both worlds. Or as I like to say. BOOOM.

All this negative talk on other threads about 'pop' when we should really be talking about 'BOOOM'

But seriously, here's a shot of my system under Radion Gen 3 Pro's and 4 x 54W T5 supplements!

Excuse the dirty glass

 

[JMacedo]

Solely Hydra52s here...

 

[seastar]

All this negative talk on other threads about 'pop' when we should really be talking about 'BOOOM'

But seriously, here's a shot of my system under Radion Gen 3 Pro's and 4 x 54W T5 supplements!

Excuse the dirty glass

I wish I could like that 5 times! Beautiful tanks there! How long do you run the t5's a day?

 

[Squamosa]

How long do you run the t5's a day?

Eight hours all on/day

 

[seastar]

@JMacedo Beautiful piece of the Reef there! That is solely achieved (with regaurds to lighting) running 6 Hydra 52's and now t5 supplementation? Really, really nice.

 

[JMacedo]

@JMacedo Beautiful piece of the Reef there! That is solely achieved running 6 LED's and now t5 supplementation? Really, really nice.

Thank you very much. No T5's. I have been running solely Hydra52 for two and a half years now.

 

[Brew12]

Thank you very much. No T5's. I have been running solely Hydra52 for two and a half years now.

Wow, that is amazing!

I find this topic so confusing. I see so many comments that say LED's aren't enough. Then I see a ton of comments saying that LED's being set too brightly washes out corals. My brain can't comprehend how both could be possible yet I see it in thread after thread.

I am trying to convince myself that the difference in opinion has to do with the depth of the tank but even that doesn't seem to always hold true.

 

[hart24601]

Can see the links in my sig for some LED only growth and colors.

 

[JMacedo]

Wow, that is amazing!

I find this topic so confusing. I see so many comments that say LED's aren't enough. Then I see a ton of comments saying that LED's being set too brightly washes out corals. My brain can't comprehend how both could be possible yet I see it in thread after thread.

I am trying to convince myself that the difference in opinion has to do with the depth of the tank but even that doesn't seem to always hold true.

This is the same tank in 2013 running under the older Hydra modules before I upgrade to Hydra52. In 2015 the tank suffered a crash due to chiller failure, that's why it looks so different now.