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

[kien]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I don't buy it, you'd use them if you could justify the cost

Honestly, I don't really need any justification for buying anything in this hobby. The hobby is one luxury purchase after another and to me you just can't justify luxury purchases.

As for the lights themselves, no, if someone gave me 3 mitras today I would likely sell them if my current MH+T5 wasn't broken. If my Halide fixture was broken I would consider using the Mitras but would first look for a replacement MH+T5 fixture.

It really boils down to personal preference does it not? It's like arguing which apple is better, a Macintosh apple or Gala apple. If someone prefers Macintosh apples you can't tell them that they are wrong, or that they would prefer Gala apples if they were cheaper ?

[Carrera75]

Originally Posted by sphelps

So if someone gave you a few GHL mitras you wouldn't use them? Doesn't matter if you have the money or not, take that right out of the equation. If you had the option to run as many of whatever LED fixture you wanted, would you still stick with your halides? Doubtful....

I think my previous reply already answered this. LED lighting is not for me simply because I don't like them, and no, I would not change my current set up even if somebody gave me a GHL Mitras for free. Different strokes for different folks ........get it?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Carrera75

Different strokes for different folks ........get it?

And the MH people have nicer SPS -lol

[kien]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

And the MH people have nicer SPS -lol

That's a different topic, and I dare you to open it!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by kien

That's a different topic, and I dare you to open it!

It's just fact. Again, SPS color is also a matter of opinion. BTW, gala is better.

[mrhasan]

Lemme put some kerosene in the fire:

"LED is just a trend! Period!"

[kien]

but let's face it, we are at a great time in this hobby where there are a butt load of options for just about every aspect of this hobby from filtration, salt, supplementation to lighting. They all work. There are fabulous tanks using all the various LED/T5/Halide units out there. There are tonnes of people who love their LED/T5/Halide fixtures. Everyone has different needs, tastes and preferences. In my opinion, the answer to the thread question, "which is better" is, the light fixture that you like. What you like is defined by a set of criteria which only you know. That is unless you're the type of person who prefers that other people tell you what you should and should not like :-)

[globaldesigns]

I like my Hamilton Belize MH/T5HO... I don't find the heat generated by any MH a concern, nor the overall cost to operate, and it just works. Bulbs are not costly either overall.

However, I am seeing many LED's for sale, seen may units at LFS with defective fans, lights, etc... I don't have this problem with MH, so I just stick with it for now, future you never know.

[Proteus]

I use a radion in my tank and I do like it. BUT I do consider going back to mh as I really don't like some of the color loss. The only thing that stopped me so far is spike in temp and evaporation. I used geissmenn 21k and loved them

[somewherebeyondthesea]

Another thing to add to LED lore I've discovered is that many of them may need controllers to vary their output.

I've overheard many reefers using 100% light intensity instead of dialing it down to say 30% off the hop...and I wonder if this is contributing to color loss?