These lights are done for good....or are they?

[DeeFromBrooklyn]

Could it be that very good, very productive aquarium lighting types are done for good or were they done a long time ago?

Yep I'm talking about Metal Halide Lighting and T5 Lighting. LED has firmly taken it's foothold and most of the share in the reef aquarium lighting market. But what about for you? Are you still hanging on to your favorite lights that seem to be going the way of the dinosaur?

1. Have you ever used Metal Halide and T5 Lighting on a reef tank?

2. Do you currently have a tank running MH or T5 lights?

I've been in this hobby long enough to remember when LED first hit the market as well all the naysayers who said that they wouldn't work!

3. Do you remember the discussion about LED and about how there wasn't proof that they would work?

@Julian Sprung still has 2 400-watt 14K metal halides on his tank and running them for 12 hours per day

T5s and metal halide still have their place in the reef hobby. The Spectrum and no hassle ability to cover a wide area in most tanks make them super effective

 

[jda]

Of course they make exceptions - don't let the fact that they always have, and still do, matter at all. Babies under incandescent lamps in ICU have to die? No more medical treatments? Animals at zoos have to die too? (sense the hyperbole) Specialty lighting is a drop in the bucket of general lighting. Besides, the best thing that BRS is good at is to convince hobbyists that they are looking out for you more than themselves - if you are not taking what they say with a grain of salt, then I suggest that you do. I have no doubt that some LED vendor told him that, but they also have said that corals are collected from areas where only blue light penetrates even though it is nearly impossible to get there with scuba and without a James Cameron submarine - they are looking out for their own best interests. These laws always have been and, even to this day, for general lighting ONLY.

 

[chaoticreefer]

I only said what Ryan said on his BRS video. He claimed a vendor (in the bobby) told him that. If it's true or not, I do not know. If what Ryan said is true though, it makes sense. If a country bans the material that are in fluorescent tube lighting which includes T5 for environmental reasons, they are not going to make exceptions for specialties or hobbies. Again, if what he said is true. I have no idea if it is or isn't.

Even if they do make an exception to the rule, what will happen when the bulbs becomes less common over the whole population? What will happen to that specialty bulb's price? The price will phase them out automatically while they look like they had compromised.

 

[rgrimaldi123]

I was just told by an online store that ATI is discontinuing the Sunpower. What are they replacing it with?

 

[Bpb]

I was just told by an online store that ATI is discontinuing the Sunpower. What are they replacing it with?

I would be surprised if that is accurate

 

[van7271]

IMHO I think there will always be people who will call themselves purist and still want to use MH or t5 but ledS can’t do anything but get better and as far as efficiency and longevity they can’t be beat.

 

[rgrimaldi123]

I would be surprised if that is accurate

I ordered a 4x39 non dim Sunpower and was told ATI does not have anymore and I could only get the 6x39. This came from not one but two online stores.

 

[rgrimaldi123]

Maybe just the 4 bulb is being phased out.

 

[Matthijs]

I think many of you guys should try out the ATI Straton, next level LED. The light it emits looks alot like T5. I had LED-T5 hybrid before but with the stratons there is absolutely no need to add T5.
I don't like the shimmer and shadowing most of the LED fixtures emits on the market and the corals neither..

Grtz,
Matthijs

 

[shwareefer]

I think many of you guys should try out the ATI Straton, next level LED. The light it emits looks alot like T5. I had LED-T5 hybrid before but with the stratons there is absolutely no need to add T5.
I don't like the shimmer and shadowing most of the LED fixtures emits on the market and the corals neither..

Grtz,
Matthijs

Looks alot like a Philips Coral Care with a sleeker heat sink. Surprised I never heard of this light.

 

[MtlReef25]

Still use MH and T5 over my 135g reef SPS only. 2 x 250w and 4 T5. NO need to upgrade to the next ''better generation'' or to use a light diffuser or whatever. Electricity here is cheap and in winter it even helps to heat the basement!
Tried LED before on a smaller tank. It did work for sure. It grew corals pretty well but I was not satisfied with the general lightning of my tank. When I got a bigger tank I knew MH and T5 combo was the best for me. As long as I will be able to buy lamps and replacement parts I will stick to them.

No need to try to find the right balance of light. It's just plug and watch it grow.

 

[2BIGTANKS]

Could it be that very good, very productive aquarium lighting types are done for good or were they done a long time ago?

Yep I'm talking about Metal Halide Lighting and T5 Lighting. LED has firmly taken it's foothold and most of the share in the reef aquarium lighting market. But what about for you? Are you still hanging on to your favorite lights that seem to be going the way of the dinosaur?

1. Have you ever used Metal Halide and T5 Lighting on a reef tank?

2. Do you currently have a tank running MH or T5 lights?

I've been in this hobby long enough to remember when LED first hit the market as well all the naysayers who said that they wouldn't work!

3. Do you remember the discussion about LED and about how there wasn't proof that they would work?

@Julian Sprung still has 2 400-watt 14K metal halides on his tank and running them for 12 hours per day

Could it be that very good, very productive aquarium lighting types are done for good or were they done a long time ago?

Yep I'm talking about Metal Halide Lighting and T5 Lighting. LED has firmly taken it's foothold and most of the share in the reef aquarium lighting market. But what about for you? Are you still hanging on to your favorite lights that seem to be going the way of the dinosaur?

1. Have you ever used Metal Halide and T5 Lighting on a reef tank?

2. Do you currently have a tank running MH or T5 lights?

I've been in this hobby long enough to remember when LED first hit the market as well all the naysayers who said that they wouldn't work!

3. Do you remember the discussion about LED and about how there wasn't proof that they would work?

@Julian Sprung still has 2 400-watt 14K metal halides on his tank and running them for 12 hours per day

I hope they I are not done, I just bought a used Hamilton sun 4 foot light fixture which has 2 MH and 4 T5, it’s in great shape. Picked it up for 150$ on Craig’s list. I’ll be turning it on for 3 hours a day but will be using my 3 kessil the rest of the time.

 

[Matthijs]

Looks alot like a Philips Coral Care with a sleeker heat sink. Surprised I never heard of this light.

Not really actually, the straton has a bigger surface (40x40cm LED surface), uses 2 times more LED's (153 pieces) resulting in a very diffused light like T5.
It allso has a power output of 230w instead of 170w.
Allso the interface is well more developed then the PCC.

Grtz,
Matthijs

 

[jda]

All of the German stuff has been suffering from the tariffs on EU goods lately. These products are mostly still made and sold in Europe and won't be here in large numbers again until the tariffs are gone. This is affecting Japanese equipment too. Giesemann, ATI, Panworld, BlueLine, etc. have not stopped being made, just not imported in totality right now. You can always call/write to the company in their home country and order one and have it shipped, but that might be quite expensive.

I had an exchange student that we have who lives in Hanover get me a 24" Giesemann Spectra and DHL it to me... it was reasonable. They are still made even though they show discontinued on all of the US websites.

 

[vetteguy53081]

1. Have you ever used Metal Halide and T5 Lighting on a reef tank?

Ive had two different 72" MH/T5 combos and one 84" combo and they are effective as a combo for coral color and growth. Yes the MH bulbs ran hot but are still availble and actually allowed me to keep thermostat down in the winter.

2. Do you currently have a tank running MH or T5 lights?

I sold my last one last fall to active R2R member and his pics remind me of the nice color production these lights produced.

3. Do you remember the discussion about LED and about how there wasn't proof that they would work?

I remember not only the discussion, but to think , one of the hottest lightds were the Marineland LED with a timer and it was the hottest talk of the industry. I cant believe I bought two of them and told myself " Im going to grow coral like crazy" !! It was more like I WAS CRAZY FOR THINKING THAT !

 

[MabuyaQ]

1: yes to both
2: yes to both
3: certainly and for what it is worth it MH is soon on its way out due to economies of scale and T5 will go the same way some years in the future.

 

[stephj03]

Not really actually, the straton has a bigger surface (40x40cm LED surface), uses 2 times more LED's (153 pieces) resulting in a very diffused light like T5.
It allso has a power output of 230w instead of 170w.
Allso the interface is well more developed then the PCC.

Grtz,
Matthijs

IMO this is the progression LED has to make to live up to the marketing.....

Add wattage and add footprint to achieve spread and blend.

And it is clearly the trend (see Radion G5, coral care, ATI, Orphek) in order to serve the larger tanks that are trending.

If I'm an LED purist all I see in that is more LED awesomeness vs a light that basically draws as much electricity as a 250w MH and a lot more heat than a G3 Radion when used at a density of 1/ft on an Acropora tank.

 

[ThRoewer]

Could it be that very good, very productive aquarium lighting types are done for good or were they done a long time ago?

Yep I'm talking about Metal Halide Lighting and T5 Lighting. LED has firmly taken it's foothold and most of the share in the reef aquarium lighting market. But what about for you? Are you still hanging on to your favorite lights that seem to be going the way of the dinosaur?

1. Have you ever used Metal Halide and T5 Lighting on a reef tank?

2. Do you currently have a tank running MH or T5 lights?

I've been in this hobby long enough to remember when LED first hit the market as well all the naysayers who said that they wouldn't work!

3. Do you remember the discussion about LED and about how there wasn't proof that they would work?

@Julian Sprung still has 2 400-watt 14K metal halides on his tank and running them for 12 hours per day

I have used it all.
These days energy consumption is a big issue for me as I'm limited to 16 Amps in the garage - for soon about 40+ tanks! So LED is pretty much my only option.

Whether metal halides and T5s go away for good is not so much a question of what is used in the hobby but rather up to the general demand. And there it looks pretty dire for metal halides and T5s LEDs are taking over everywhere.
Sooner rather than later it will be hard to get anything that isn't LED.

 

[Z-man]

Just bought a new combo from Premium Aquatics for a new build. Took the top off a BioCube and have a 150 w halide with two XHO Reefbrite blues. Looks awesome!!

 

[Lasse]

​

I do not know about metal halides. I think they will eventually phase out. T5's at least according to BRS are already being banned in some countries in Europe for environmental reasons of making and disposing of the bulbs. Ryan also went on to claim that a vendor told him they think the rest of the EU wil follow. If that does happen it will likely eventually happen else where including the US. So T5's could be seeing their last years.

This is not true - T 5 is not banned in EU or any EU country I know of and there is either no time scale for that, yet. T 8 is phased out, compact fluorescent lamps are phased out, some halogen lamps are phased out. MH:s are not phased out as I know but there is demand of efficiency on them. No of the lamps that is phased out are forbidden to use - only forbidden to import and to sell them. You can still use Edison lamps (banned since 2009) if you have but not sell them.

These lamps are phased out

​

Sincerely Lasse