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am i wasting my time with LED's? (1 Viewer)

salmonizer

salmonizer

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Joined
Mar 13, 2011
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662
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Prior Lake
hey guys. i keep hearing that T5 is the way to go. that LED's are not as strong and dont grow corals as well. if this is true what makes this so and am i wasting my time with the 2 boost LED par 30s im running??

for those that are using LED's what are you growing and how sucessful have you been?
 
go on youtube and search "Ricket's Reef" on his 90g he went with LEDs (If I remember correctly) and worked very well. I think a lot of people really don't have much experience with them (kind of like what you mentioned to me).
Don't know why but it seems right now everyone is getting rid of their LEDs or thinking of doing so...
 
LED's are alot more sleek and efficient, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that MH do in-fact grow coral the fastest.However theres alot of downsides to this, MH's produce an insane amount of heat, they also consume an insane amount of energy, making ur energy bill go up, the bulbs need to be replaced alot also.

T5's are the inbetween, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that they get the best color out of T5's. T5's dont produce that much heat and dont draw as much energy as MH's, Bulb life is a bit longer.

Led's, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that Led's are the most "sleekest" and most energy effective choice. They draw very low amounts of power while bursting out alot of output. They tend to have decent color in corals but do not allow corals to grow as fast as MH's do.
 
I have only just gotten started with LED's, but I am supremely happy with them thus far. As long as you have nice ones, you should do well. Combination lighting is always nicer, too.
 
Jace said:
LED's are alot more sleek and efficient, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that MH do in-fact grow coral the fastest.However theres alot of downsides to this, MH's produce an insane amount of heat, they also consume an insane amount of energy, making ur energy bill go up, the bulbs need to be replaced alot also.

T5's are the inbetween, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that they get the best color out of T5's. T5's dont produce that much heat and dont draw as much energy as MH's, Bulb life is a bit longer.

Led's, Most reefers acknowledge the fact that Led's are the most "sleekest" and most energy effective choice. They draw very low amounts of power while bursting out alot of output. They tend to have decent color in corals but do not allow corals to grow as fast as MH's do.
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good comparison +1
 
My personal experience:

MH's give you a more true color for SPS and great growth. However I would have to say LED's give better growth than MH's.

The only way I would recommend LED's to a customer is ones that are controllable. With LED's you have to be able to control not only the color but actual output of the fixture. This gives you the color your seeking and the growth.

I ran a 250w MH on my 60 cube at my store and now run a Radion and the LED has far more growth than the MH did.

As for T5 vs LED I would recommend LED over T5 for just a couple simple reasons:
Bulbs add up alot with T5 when you have to replace them about every 10 months.
Less energy used with LED's vs T5 and the cost of a good T5 fixture will be very close to the same as a Decent LED fixture.

Fore example on cost difference: (Lighting for a 40 breeder)

Maxspect Razor 160w LED Fixture: Total Price $490

Best T5 fixture for the money.
T5 TEK Light Fixture 4 bulb: $326 (with bulbs)
T5 TEK Light Fixture 6 bulb: $399 (with bulbs)

Obviously when you look at the end result the LED fixtures make more sense...

Hope this helps any questions PM or call.

Garrett
 
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Fragtastic Reef said:
My personal experience:

MH's give you a more true color for SPS and great growth. However I would have to say LED's give better growth than MH's.

The only way I would recommend LED's to a customer is ones that are controllable. With LED's you have to be able to control not only the color but actual output of the fixture. This gives you the color your seeking and the growth.

I ran a 250w MH on my 60 cube at my store and now run a Radion and the LED has far more growth than the MH did.

As for T5 vs LED I would recommend LED over T5 for just a couple simple reasons:
Bulbs add up alot with T5 when you have to replace them about every 10 months.
Less energy used with LED's vs T5 and the cost of a good T5 fixture will be very close to the same as a Decent LED fixture.

Fore example on cost difference: (Lighting for a 40 breeder)

Maxspect Razor 160w LED Fixture: Total Price $490

Best T5 fixture for the money.
T5 TEK Light Fixture 4 bulb: $326 (with bulbs)
T5 TEK Light Fixture 6 bulb: $399 (with bulbs)

Obviously when you look at the end result the LED fixtures make more sense...

Hope this helps any questions PM or call.

Garrett
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thanks garrett. you are always such a big help!
 
I just being honest! I will be setting up the New Luxary Aquariums by Reef Octopus at my store and putting a Razor over the top of that also. Will be very sweet setup when its done! I cant wait!!

Not sure if you have seen the Razor LED in person yet but its an amazing LED fixture for the price. I personally like them alot.
 
Fragtastic Reef said:
I just being honest! I will be setting up the New Luxary Aquariums by Reef Octopus at my store and putting a Razor over the top of that also. Will be very sweet setup when its done! I cant wait!!

Not sure if you have seen the Razor LED in person yet but its an amazing LED fixture for the price. I personally like them alot.
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let me guess you stock those in your store? :kackle:
 
I've got no experience with Par30s but of aquarium lighting they might get the job done but probably aren't the best either. I wouldn't judge all LED based on experience with PAR30s.

There are lots of LEDs systems out there for all budgets. Plenty of LEDs out there that can produce high intensities. I think the key ( Garrett already mentioned ) is having the most flexablity with controlling. The more control of the overall spectrum & intensity you have the greater chance of finding just the right fit for your system and coral selection. Downside though the more controlablity can make it a challenge to find that right combination. It took more over 7 months to finally get where I wanted to be.

If you go with a commercial LEDs, your always best off going with mainstream that has an already good track record established. That's not easy to do ( myself included ) as you have a tendency to want to try the newest thing. But with potentially thousands in livestock on the line, may want to leave the testing to others.
 
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David Grigor said:
I've got no experience with Par30s but of aquarium lighting they might get the job done but probably aren't the best either. I wouldn't judge all LED based on experience with PAR30s.

There are lots of LEDs systems out there for all budgets. Plenty of LEDs out there that can produce high intensities. I think the key ( Garrett already mentioned ) is having the most flexablity with controlling. The more control of the overall spectrum & intensity you have the greater chance of finding just the right fit for your system and coral selection. Downside though the more controlablity can make it a challenge to find that right combination. It took more over 7 months to finally get where I wanted to be.

If you go with a commercial LEDs, your always best off going with mainstream that has an already good track record established. That's not easy to do ( myself included ) as you have a tendency to want to try the newest thing. But with potentially thousands in livestock on the line, may want to leave the testing to others.
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well im not testing. ive had my system up and running for a few weeks now, just keep hearing that LEDs are worthless for growing corals. they way i have my lights seem to have a good spectrum. its only a 29 bio so its not like i have a 33L or something huge
 
Few weeks ago I picked up the Maxspect Razor 160w LED Fixture. Very impressed. My corals love em.
 
There are so many variables to everything in this hobby that you will eventually learn to take it for what it is when you hear stuff like that.

There can be lots and lots of reasons ( many could be user error ) as to why people tried LEDs and fail or do not meet expectation. If you happy with what you have and are getting good results then it really doesn't matter what others say.

Ryan got his Ecotech Radions about the same time as me. We both had initial issues and didn't get it right day one. He gave up and sold his right away, I stuck with it and got all the issues figured out over a 7 months period. So you ask him he would probably say LEDs stink but not really totally fair. That example is probably how most of LED lighting talks end up and why you get different answers. They can and will work but may take some trial and error and work to get there. Perhaps some are just more comfortable switching back to something they know works for them ( which is perfectly fine ).
 
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3-4 weeks is also hard to judge, when I was over the other day while you were at work and the one light turned on it looked good, get your box built tin both and take pictures. And next month take a picture to compare. Also write down polyps on your zoas the amount and then see what they're at then as well.
 
I like my LEDs. I use LEDs on my BioCube, and my father has them on his BioCubes and 75 gallon. He has had a lot of growth with them. The leather coral that he has has been growing and splitting like mad, along with his zoas, birds nest, muchrooms and many other corals. After I put in LEDs on my BioCube, the color on my nem has been much more vibrant and my button corals seem to love it, my cloves on the other hand not so much. But I have had these in for about 4 months now and all my corals seem incredibly happy (except for the cloves that don't seem to be spreading as much as before, but that doesn't really bother me anyway). My father has had his over the 75 for over a year (I can't remember how long exactly though). But we do have ones that can adjust percentages of blue and white light, so that was really helpful. Its really what is you prefer. I know that the initial cost of LEDs are high, but then they last much longer than other light bulbs, so it can save you money in the long run as you aren't replacing them once or twice a year. But if you think about it, how many people have a tank up for many, many years (and yes, I know some of you out there have), but a lot of people are down-sizing or up-sizing(?) their tanks and moving things around all the time.

Also, one other nice thing is that with LEDs you get the nice shimmer effect of the water from the surface which you don't really get with any other light. I know that this is not as important, but it is something that I really like about the LEDs. Haha.

Just remember that everyone has their own opinions and their own way of doing things. Do what you want and what makes you happy. =).
 
thanks for all the info. the boost led lights im running between the two have 6 blues and 4 whites. have both lights running without the hanging box ( just strung the other fixture up ) and i love love love the shimmer. one of the reasons why i got the LED's in the first place. i can honestly say i did not do my homework on LEDs or T5s before i got into the hobby. i just got a really good deal on the lights and powerheads so i bought it all. biggest downfall to my lights is they are not dimmable :( im going to keep running my LEDs in hopes that i can zero in one a good height and spectrum. i know im not going to see a huge differenece in my corals right away i just wanted to know if i was wasting my time and should get rid of these and pick up a decent T5 fixture.
 
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