Switching from LED to Metal Halide

[3mm3]

To the halides or T5s?

The halide study I read was in Advanced Aquarist or Reefkeeping Magazine and I couldn't find it all morning. Basically they took 4 new bulbs and (4) 1 year old bulbs and tracked them monthly for a year. I want to say there was less than a 10% PAR drop from months 6 to 24. Some think that's a lot but for me it's not worth changing bulbs over.

As for the T5s, Ryan posted that in the T5 cooling thread and said they will have a video in the future going over it. Maybe he can chime in here? @Ryanbrs

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

 

[A. grandis]

I change my Radiums every year and 14K Phoenix every other year on Valentines day. If you were at my house the week before and then the week after, you would never be able to tell the difference. The cost of replacing these sooner would no problem for me, so know that money has nothing to do with why I run them this long. When I overdrove XM/Hammy 10K on M80 (awesome output and color) and Radium 20K on 400W HQI, then it was 9 months and I absolutely could tell a difference in color when I put the new bulbs on.

Of the 22-25 guys that I know that run high end Acropora tanks like mine, only two of them use LEDs are primary and both do not use any name brand. 7 or 8 are back to T5/Radiums from Radions. 10K, 15K Ushio and 20K Radiums with some T5s or Reefbrites are the most used - I am somewhat in the minority with 14K Phoenix HQI. I know really, really well that what I am into is a more a niche than mainstream, but please be cautious when commenting about market share - nobody truly knows anything about this and it varies drastically from niche to niche. FWIW - I go into about 30 homes a week and see a few dozen reef tanks a year - the VAST majority have some GPS, mushrooms and run years-old T5s or PC that they got at Petco and would never think about even looking at a message board.

Hummm... Thanks!
Any reason why you are using the 14K Phoenix HQI?
I'm just curious and trying to learn something here.
Thanks for sharing!
Grandis.

 

[A. grandis]

FWIW - When I ran MH I ran Coral Vue 12K Reeflux first then moved to Radium and then finishing up with Phoenix 14K SE. Radium, CV, and Phoenix averaged 18 months dropping 10%. I did have one Radium go 24+ months, and one that dropped 10% at 12 months. When fellow reefers came over they could not tell the difference between the Phoenix SE and the Radium lamps side by side or the difference between a new lamp and the 24 month lamp. Only by using a meter could the difference be shown. When I switched to all LED my benefits where the fact I could now install glass tops slowing my evaporation down from 10+ gallons a week on my 300 to 2 on my 180. In the many years of keeping MH I had to replace my AC fan motor twice at $500 a pop, the AC tech blamed the aquarium. The biggest benefit was the clean look versus the big bulky look of the MH pendants that stood 8" off of the top of the tank(see below). Electrical savings ? None! In the summer I would cut my MH halides back to 3 to 4 Hours a day with two BML leds running at 9 hours a day, in the winter MH ran 8 to 9 hours using them as heaters as well. Now I run 4 BML Leds at 8 to 9 hours everyday and now have to add a heater in

the winter. Coral growth still about the same, my caps and bird nest did grow faster under MH, everything else about the same.

You guys measure PAR to decide by the numbers if the MHs need to change?
And I guess also spectrum by eye?

No difference when you went to LEDs from MHs in regards to electricity? Cause if not the chiller, the heater...
Many say the same thing.
Grandis.

 

[A. grandis]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

Thanks very much!
Grandis.

 

[mcarroll]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

Cool.

The thing that jumps out is that the object was not to assess bulbs, but to assess their ballasts and their total lighting setup. (Otherwise they needed to test multiple types of ballast too.)

You have to get to the discussion section to see why/how he justifies some of the conclusions he draws earlier.

There's also no indication that bulbs last like has been mentioned in our thread and bulb changes are some kind of myth.

The bulbs in his setup showed a wear of around 20% at six months and close to the same at one year.

The bigger concern is definitely the amount of light increase when you change to new bulbs more than it's the long....slow...drop to 78%. I wouldn't suggest to anyone who's planning a light increase to bump it up ~15,000 lux (~300 PAR) in one day....that's what these numbers would have translated to on my system.

(Again I wish I'd had my meter back when I was running halides to have some measurements from then! All I have now is a very used set of 150w Radiums to take sterile measurements from....not on a tank or anything...and Radium doesn't even make my bulbs anymore. )

 

[alton]

You guys measure PAR to decide by the numbers if the MHs need to change?
And I guess also spectrum by eye?

No difference when you went to LEDs from MHs in regards to electricity? Cause if not the chiller, the heater...
Many say the same thing.
Grandis.

At first all I had was a foot candle meter, then when my club was given a Par Meter I used that. Never had use for a chiller, my house ac was set to 76 to 77 and my tank temp was at 77 to 78. I used external return pumps so that helped a bunch on keeping the tank temp cool. Only running MH for 3 to 4 hours there was not a lot of heating going on plus having pendants versus canopy also helped. The picture I posted was two 6' BML set at 80% using 160 watts for both along with 750w of MH. As far as spectrum I am sure there may have been a difference between new and old, just not enough so your eyes could tell.

 

[acropora4u]

Switching out radion gen 3 for a Reefbrite Mh/led hybrid.

 

[TheHarold]

Switching out radion gen 3 for a Reefbrite Mh/led hybrid.

Good reason to revive a 2 year old thread, lol.

 

[Greybeard]

Mr. Oldskool here... Just swapped my T5's for a pair of Kessel AP700's.


Never can tell

 

[acropora4u]

Why not. What’s old is new again, wonder if others are thinking of doing the same

 

[CNDReef]

250w Reefbrite over my biocube after doing 2 different LEDs and t5’s
Back to what worked and it’s working

 

[acropora4u]

250w Reefbrite over my biocube after doing 2 different LEDs and t5’s
Back to what worked and it’s working

That’s what I’m talking about

 

[BoomCorals]

Excellent growth, color and natural look. What's not to love about halides... oh yeah heat and electricity. I run 4 250 watt and one 400. They work incredible, but summer time heat is my least favorite part.

 

[acropora4u]

Excellent growth, color and natural look. What's not to love about halides... oh yeah heat and electricity. I run 4 250 watt and one 400. They work incredible, but summer time heat is my least favorite part.

Well, my tank is small (24x24x12) and the single 150w halide will run for only 3 hrs per day and the leds for 12. so looking forward to see what my sps will do

 

[biecacka]

Dean,
Did you sell your big cube?


Corey

 

[acropora4u]

Dean,
Did you sell your big cube?


Corey

no man, this light is for 30g cube

 

[biecacka]

I know. I thought you got rid of your other one too. Was gonna say “why?.?.?”

Corey

 

[AZRipp]

Halides simply work, and work well. Truly hated giving them up.

 

[acropora4u]

I know. I thought you got rid of your other one too. Was gonna say “why?.?.?”

Corey

No way, its up and kickin...photon V2s on that

 

[biecacka]

How do you like the V2s?
What size. I considered them on my tank as well as the orpheks. But can’t pull the trigger to rid myself of my halides!

Corey