LEDs vs Metal halides.

kien · #1 01-10-2013, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevyjaxon

Thanks Subman, never thought of that, Led quality.... once you buy them your pretty much stuck with whatever lumens and kelvins the bulbs put out. unlike Mh or T5s you really cant change the bulbs, well i guess you could but not really feasible Id imagine.

on the contrary. Subman is very qualified to tell you that swapping out LEDs is quite easy.

chaoticbliss · #2 01-10-2013, 10:51 PM

I have a 3' Vertex Illumina 260 and love it! I also have 5 extra LED pads installed, 3 reds and 2 UV's. the customization available on these units is amazing. The fact that it doesn't heat my tank everyday or require fans to keep temps stable is great. It even calculates my monthly costs to operate and with the program I have running its about $7.50 a month!! Also there is no need to run the LED's at full strength either. My whites run max 40%, blue and royal blue around 70% peak and reds fluctuate through the day to help create a sun rise/set. UV runs around 50% throughout the day and is also used at night with the blues following a realistic moon cycle.

gobytron · #3 01-10-2013, 11:20 PM

You can get dimmable MH...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CdJS_9Sy0

subman · #4 01-10-2013, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gobytron

You can get dimmable MH...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CdJS_9Sy0

Holy grow op batman!

lastlight · #5 01-11-2013, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gobytron

You can get dimmable MH...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CdJS_9Sy0

according to the description and what we're seeing that's not true dimming but your typical select-a-watt ballast where it has multiple power settings.

For true dimming the only one i know of that's readily available is the Sfiligoi ACLS system.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/3reef-ra...goi-47867.html

And regarding shimmer, my tiny Kessil a150 LED has more shimmer than my 250w halides had! Fixtures using many separate 3w chips don't produce the same shimmer as the cannon style pendant though.

subman · #6 01-10-2013, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

on the contrary. Subman is very qualified to tell you that swapping out LEDs is quite easy.

Lol and expensive!

Jewel · #7 01-10-2013, 11:31 PM

I don't think you can beat MH, Imagine 2 400 watt MH over a 200 GL, wow but I just can't do it why, Costs, Heat, Glare, I have 2 Maxspect Razors over my 150 and They don't make a difference to the Fish that's for sure. The Corals seem to be happy, nice and bright, But what I enjoy is the Lack of heat, Lower energy cost, No difference in spectrum for awhile and they were affordable.

I hear people say you can have SPS with LED, that's a crock sure you can, They are bright.

Aquattro · #8 01-10-2013, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewel

I hear people say you can have SPS with LED, that's a crock sure you can, They are bright.

Should that say "can't"?

Jewel · #9 01-10-2013, 11:35 PM

oops you got me, LED is where it's at, For now anyway

Midway · #10 01-11-2013, 06:09 PM

Pretty happy with my SOLS though. Used to run a huge MH fixture over my 240 Gals. that I got from another member here. MH used to run freaking HOT all the time, the fans that I installed on it were freaking LOUD too, well my fault for buying cheap fans but anyhow, I did the switch to LEDs and MAN, what a difference in costs, temp, noise, etc, etc, etc. At the beginning my corals had to go through an acclimation period. In about a month or so, all my corals were happy once again. Fish? they didn't even notice I think. For the control you can have on these LEDs units and the all other features they have, it was worth the change for sure.