Metal Halides vs. T5's vs. LED's vs. Ecofriendly Bulbs Which is better?

[Carrera75]

Originally Posted by sphelps

The only reason not to use LED is financial.

That can't be the only reason. I use a MH/T5 combo and I am super content with this fixture that I see no need to switch to LED. Oh, and I should mention that I have seen a few set ups that use LED lighting and I have not been impressed, so this is not just about money. I have the cash for it and I chose my current MH/T5 fixture over any LED fixture.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Carrera75

That can't be the only reason. I use a MH/T5 combo and I am super content with this fixture that I see no need to switch to LED. Oh, and I should mention that I have seen a few set ups that use LED lighting and I have not been impressed, so this is not just about money. I have the cash for it and I chose my current MH/T5 fixture over any LED fixture.

Correct. I had MH, switched for humidity reasons, and the MH was a better light. It has a few negatives for sure, but for coral growth and color, as well as the overall look of the tank, I prefer MH.

[somewherebeyondthesea]

How cool would it be to have OLED? imagine the possibilities!

[Baldy]

I don't really think I would say steves display tank at red coral in Edmonton looks too bad and he's using leds. The spectrum issue is catching up, but the manufacturers are letting us DIY people test everything out for them. The manufactured units are a ways behind the DIY crowd except maybe for the mitra.

And I think it speaks for itself that led outnumber mh by almost 3:1 in this vote so far

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Baldy

And I think it speaks for itself that led outnumber mh by almost 3:1 in this vote so far

Although, while I have to vote LED as that is what I use, I do think MH is a better light source for my needs.
I don't think anyone, including me has said that LED tanks don't look good, they sure do. I don't think I've seen a bad LED tank. I'm just saying that while my tank is still nice, it was nicer with my MH. Maybe not noticeably, but I still see the difference.
For my current needs, the benefits of LED outweigh the slight difference MH made, and I'll stick with LED. In fact I just ordered one more for my frag tank.

But, if I had more money than I could count, and built my dream tank with appropriate ventilation and cooling, I would go with MH lighting.

[sphelps]

It goes the other way as well, while many vote for T5s and Halide I would wager most of these users would prefer to run some kind of LED if it was financially feasible. On the other hand the amount of people running LEDs that would switch back are probably pretty scarce. Personally if you're a light snob like me the sols are not the right LEDs to use. I've never liked the color or effect from them and the full spectrum fixtures available today are significantly better for color. Anyone that's used them both will likely agree. So brad while you seem to suggest the sols are only slightly worse than your previous halides that would also suggest if you had full spectrum fixtures you might be back on par or better. But of course I know you don't like them

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by sphelps

It goes the other way as well, while many vote for T5s and Halide I would wager most of these users would prefer to run some kind of LED if it was financially feasible. On the other hand the amount of people running LEDs that would switch back are probably pretty scarce. Personally if you're a light snob like me the sols are not the right LEDs to use. I've never liked the color or effect from them and the full spectrum fixtures available today are significantly better for color. Anyone that's used them both will likely agree.

I think the financial comments make you a snob, not your choice in lights

I think the SOLs are great. If were making a LED purchase all over again, I would choose them again. I think they compare well to the Radion at a lot less money, and I didn't personally like the light on the Mitras. Vertex is nice, but not worth the cost for my needs.
Don't get me wrong, LED are nice, and have tons of great features that MH don't, but for pure light quality and the effects of that light on SPS corals, that I have personally viewed, MH is a superior light source. Does that make it an all around better light? No, probably not.

[Northvan]

We are thinking of switching from Hamilton tech MH/T5 2X250 with Geismann 14000k, to Kessil 350's, running on a drilled 90 gallon, but we don't yet have an opinion on which is better, since we havent tried it yet. We are running 2x150 M/H on our 72 gall bowfront, and it is underlit. Might switch both. I ran LED on a small quarantine tank & liked it alot. We would LOVE to see someone elses tank with Kessils or something similar before we put out the cash. And/or hear opinions from people who have tried or seen both.
On a side note, our first salt tank was T5's only, and I liked the colour they gave, but hubby wanted the ripple effect of M/H.

[Aquattro]

The Kessil is a really nice light. I like how close the diodes are, really limits any color separation. Not sure how many you'd need on a 4' tank, guess it depends on what's in it.

[Bryan_k47]

I have 2 Gen 1 Radions on my 90 and they perform great
I've never used MH so I can't say which is better
I have T5's over a recently set up frag tank and they are boring as **** lol