T5 HO Versus LED

chelltom · Feb 3, 2016

I would imagine this topic has come up before but I would appreciate some feedback.

The first reef setup I had about 5 years ago had a really nice look and corals grew like crazy it has a 4 bulb t5 setup on a 36 inch tank .

The tank I am currently running has a Led setup.

I don't know if its just fond memories of the past but I find myself remembering things being nicer with the t5 setup . Nicer look faster coral growth .. am i just being nostalgic ? Now considering going back to t5's

Feedback and thoughts appreciated

cdness · Feb 3, 2016

I had the same exact personal experience as you to be 100% honest...

I started with a 75G 4 lamp TEK fixture and things were amazing. Growth, color, etc...

Swapped to a 6 lamp IC660 overdriven setup and things still looked good, but something was "off"

When I upgraded to my 125G, I swapped to 4 ft of the IC660 and 2 ft of LED (Evolution 120W no lenses) and both sides were great. I now have a 3xApollo LED dimmable setup with lenses. I see recession, and all sorts of stuff going wrong. More cyano, less algae, more recession, color was good, but die off was significant...

I am in the process of adding 2 6' T-5 lamps to the setup. Hopefully it helps a bit.

mfinn · Feb 3, 2016

I converted both my tanks to Radions.
I have decent growth and I love the colors.
But on my 50 gallon tank, while the lps and sps grew, my zoanthids just didn't seem to grow at all.
I figured it was that I had the leds at too high of intensity. So I tried shading them. Hiding them under other corals and rock over hangs.
But nothing really seemed to work.
So I bought a ATI t5 fixture for the 50 and took out most of the lps and sps and concentrated on mostly zoanthids.
After about 3 months I started seeing growth like I use to get before leds.
5 months in and I'm really happy with T5's over that tank.

So, I guess it would really depend on what corals you want to keep.

I have no plans on switching out my Radions over my 233, but will keep the T5's over the 50.

chelltom · Feb 3, 2016

I like your 50 so would having anemones under a t5 be a problem ?

mfinn · Feb 3, 2016

chelltom said:
I like your 50 so would having anemones under a t5 be a problem ?

I have not had anemones with T5's, but I'm sure it would be no problem.

mcarroll · Feb 3, 2016

There are lots of possible differences between your old tank and new to account for your feelings - #T5/LED and nostalgia are only two factors.

But while we're on [HASHTAG]#lighting[/HASHTAG]...

A major factor that usually gets overlooked when changing lighting is the differences in intensity that will exist. It's practically impossible to judge brightness between tanks like this.

If you don't have any kind of meter, start with a [HASHTAG]#lux[/HASHTAG] meter app for your smartphone and get it now.

It should be free and will be good enough to start with. Just be careful with your phone around your tank!

In the long run, getting a $15 handheld lux meter (google for the model #: LX-1010B) is much more practical and still economical.

I currently use a lux meter for doing any lighting setup or change and recommend everyone else do the same. (A [HASHTAG]#par[/HASHTAG] meter will do, but is apparently too expensive for most people.)

I'm curious if @cdness (and lots of others, myself included) would have better experiences making changes if they were doing something/anything better than guessing at the setup of their lights (or worse looking online for setups to mimic)?

It's well known (in science journals, at least), even if it's surprising, that moving corals to deeper-water [HASHTAG]#lighting[/HASHTAG] environments can be a significant cause of mortality - too little light. Even in the hobby we also know that too much light can be a bad thing. Yet almost nobody uses a meter to see how much light they are currently applying or how much they are changing their light levels.

@mfinn I suspect your zoa's would have been the odd-ball in the tank in having a preference for a shallow-water environment. LED's "naturally" emulate a deeper-water environment due to the prominence of blue - even in the white LED's.

I'm guessing since I don't know what bulbs you run, but based on what "most people do" your T5's probably replicated something closer to a coastal or estuarian lighting environment:

MikeyAl · Feb 4, 2016

mfinn said:
I have not had anemones with T5's, but I'm sure it would be no problem.

I run T5 and have ritteri and a BTA. No problems. I prefer T5s. I have seen better coral growth than when I was using LEDs

chelltom · Feb 4, 2016

what fixture do you have

MikeyAl · Feb 4, 2016

I currently have a wave point. Some time ago I bought an Odyssea and got lots of feedback that it wasn't a good fixture. I simply replaced the balasts and put in ATI bulbs- worked great on a budget. Someone here broke down their tank and had the wave point for super cheap so I bought it. Honestly haven't seen a lot of difference.

chelltom · Feb 4, 2016

what did you do with the odyssea

MikeyAl · Feb 4, 2016

Gave it away. Very inexpensive at www.aquatraders.com.
I would recommend if you go that route to replace balasts and stock bulbs.
Also acclimate your tank to the new lights. You can find recommendations for procedures all over Internet - same for replacing balasts.

chelltom · Feb 4, 2016

cool thanks for the info

SunnyX · Feb 4, 2016

I thought about trying LED but I don't want to bother with adjusting and measuring light output. With MH and T5 I can set it and forget it. I get even coverage and know that unless I have a cracked bulb lighting will not be the cause of any issues that may arise. There are just too many variables with LED.

mcarroll · Feb 4, 2016

SunnyX said:
I thought about trying LED but I don't want to bother with adjusting and measuring light output. With MH and T5 I can set it and forget it. I get even coverage and know that unless I have a cracked bulb lighting will not be the cause of any issues that may arise. There are just too many variables with LED.

You'll have better (more consistent) results and be better able to help others with lighting in the future - regardless of their lighting tech - if you're working with a meter instead of any other way. Considering a meter costs as little as $0.00 I can't think of any good reasons not to use one.

LED T5 and halide are all equally set and forget if you do it this way. And if you don't want any adjustments to mess with, build or buy an LED fixture similar to mine that's based on gu10 bulbs....it turns on and off.....that's it.