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

[kien]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Or you like better coral colors..

[somewherebeyondthesea]

I have MH's in one Tank and LED's in the other and it goes without saying you get what you pay for. Many of the cheap LED lighting out there is absolute garbage especially for coral color and growth.

It wasn't until I started experimenting with different colored LED bar lights, that the colors were arguably better than my MH setup. I had just a white with blue setup initially, but when I added a blue bar and a magenta bar, more of the coral colors started to "pop"!

Again, strictly an opinion

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by somewherebeyondthesea

Again, strictly an opinion

I suppose. But I've seen AI tanks, Radion tanks, Vertex tanks. None of them have what I would consider MH quality corals, and by corals I'm referring to SPS. Maybe it's different for other types, I know my LPS look the same or better. So I guess my opinion is solely based on SPS tanks.

[somewherebeyondthesea]

Originally Posted by kien

oh boy, here we go!!



:-)

I know right?
I've been wanting to start this poll for a while...

It's fun to watch the Canreef Trolls go toe-to-toe

Plus I think we all will learn something from this one

[pinkreef]

I use MH and HO power compact actinics
upside the colours are pretty and i have enough light for most creatures
downside is the heat produced
my hydro bill went up about 20.00 per month maybe when i switched
from t5s and power compacts.

[Parker]

I used T5's on my 75 gallon and liked them better than the MH's I'm using now but not the frequent bulb change outs . Now that I'm rebuilding I'm looking at the possibility of changing out the MH's to LED for the power savings and to reduce the amount of heat released into the room.

[sphelps]

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.

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....

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by kien

or you simply do not like how LEDs look :-)

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

[Aquattro]

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....

If it had been more economical for me to install a HRV unit, I would have stayed with MH, even if someone gave me Mitras, which, by the way, I don't really like.

[Madmak]

I used to like watching Black and White TVs when that's all I had...