Led and halide

[andrew]

would like to answer a question based on observations and opinions. Not implementing to cost or heat and other factors into this, but which is better for coral growth and color of coral. LED? HALIDE? Led is bright and good, but im not quite sure. I heard halide uses more UV radiation, that causes coral to put up intense colors as a sunscreen to protect its tissue. Id like to know what you guys think is good just for coloration and looks and the health of the coral as its over all look. Good growth with both. Maybe better with halide?
Might be better with LED?

 

[andrew]

anyone?

 

[Boogie]

I would wager to say halide only because of tried and true for many years. LED is still changing. Halide seems to have reached its maturity as far as technology goes.

 

[hurrafreak]

The problem with this question is that, like Boogie said, LED's are still in their infancy on reef tanks. Their still changing and evolving to be the best lights they can be. I think at this point there can/will be no real answer, mostly conjecture and peoples' preference on what they like most.

 

[Boogie]

Or most recently spent money on.... I like leds (blush)

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[andrew]

yeh

 

[Cake_Boss]

I'm going back to MH from LED. I love the color of the LEDs, but I want the tried and true ways of the MH with SPS and clams

 

[newtoreef]

truly in my opinion i think halides are better cuz they use a gas that heats up and starts producing energy aka light just as our sun does and it also produces a multitude of wavelengths of different types of light a wide spectrum to say so one day leds will be able to do so aswell but that is yet to come. i have grown peppers of all sorts for the last 4 years and i tryed out leds and halides side to side and the leds do well but the halides just blow them out of the water yield wise aka growth and spicyness that is because halides produce way more UV thus strengthening the plant as it matures. so that has been my study and i also found that corals growth is just like plant they work off the N-P-K scale to feed but also eat meat . ppl make i have seen ppl with .25ppm nitrite .25ppm nitrate and about 450ppm calcium and about 1340ppm mag have zoas grow 10 heads a month and have other corals grow u to half inch to one inch a month but the only thing is that corals are closer to hydroponic growth of plants not soil soil you can dump in nutrients and not have any effect but hydro they will die in one day if the ppm is off by 50 or too much of one nutrient. so taking that into mind halides rock the market atm but some day leds will replace that but not yet

 

[andrew]

yeh i thinking of getting the leds out and going to MH. was thinking 20k x2 250 watts XM's, Ushios for a 150 gallon tank. Does any one have any experience with these light as a matter of growth and color on the corals?

 

[tlsrcs]

any one getting rid of there leds should let me know i want to switch from my 2x250w MH to some LEDS. Can also trade partial..

 

[chrislorentz]

MH's, LED's are just not there yet.

 

[that0neguy1126]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but not all MH's put out UV. I thought only the HQI did, and you put up a UV filter anyway.
MH put's out a much wider spectrum of visible light however, where LED only put out a very narrow spectrum.

I am getting excellent growth and coral color with my LEDs.

The thing with MH is the use is very specific, so there is not much development of the technology.
LED's on the other hand are used everywhere and in everything. This makes the technology evolve and become better faster. But like any widely used product, there are cheaply made ones out there, which probably do not give the results people are looking for when they switch.

I don't think there is any doubt that LED's are the way of the future. Some people are just nervous to make the switch, especially with the technology changing so fast.

There are some really good articles available that detail exactly how both technologies work, and the pros/cons of each. And how the 2 related when it comes to uses in marine aquaria.

 

[that0neguy1126]

LED's are still in their infancy on reef tanks.

At what point are they no longer in their infancy? I have seen tanks that have been running LED's since 2002. They got real popular in 2008 though.

 

[chrislorentz]

Derek key words in your statement are " Led's are the way of the FUTURE"

 

[that0neguy1126]

they use a gas that heats up and starts producing energy aka light just as our sun does

This is actually untrue about how light is produced. The light from our Sun is produced the same way a MH produces light, the same way an LED does, and anything else that emits a light. Photon's are photons, and there is no difference between them other then the speed they vibrate at. Now how the Photon is produced is completly different, and is no where near the same between the sun, MH, and LED.

 

[that0neguy1126]

Derek key words in your statement are " Led's are the way of the FUTURE"

Bad phrase I guess. It's the same as saying "Free corals Tomorrow" and when you come back the next day, it still says tomorrow.
If people had never tried something new, we would still be sitting here with a bunch of softy tanks full of leathers.

 

[KhensuRa]

You can add UV leds to any build if you wanted. If you want you can come over and see my tank. It is run on LEDS and I get killer color on my LPS, SPS, and Zoas. I have never kept a clam but I am sure I could with no issue. The one thing that is nice about LEDs is you can really tune them to get the color you want for very cheap. I tried the UV leds on my tank and did not notice any difference in color, so I replaced them with normal blues. I was kind of thinking about trying them again, when I upgrade drivers.

 

[andrew]

tlrs im going to eventually upgrade my tank to a 125 or 150 gallon. im thinking of getting rid of my leds and going to MH, some reason i just like the look of the halides, just seems more natural to me. Ive gotten SPS growth and great bright colors under my leds right now, but if your every wanting to trade your fixtures and ballasts for my leds that are about 7 months old with another 9 years to go i might want to. I have a 120 watt and a 240 watt. Payed like $600 total. What fixture and ballast do you have for the halides now?

 

[tlsrcs]

its a aqua medic 2x250w and 2x54w T5. remote balast it does or will veery soon need new bulbs. are your LEDs dimable?

 

[andrew]

no there not forgot to also say there 14k. Would you be interested at all.