Only people I see ditching LED are those that opted for cheap units that don't have the technology to replicate T5 or MH.

You get what you pay for with technology. Its a shame as we are seeing these people fall out of love with LED for the totally wrong reasons, and why it is so important to invest in something that ultimately will pay off.

Disco ball fixtures and spot lighting LED's are going to never be a win factor in the long term.

The cheaper fixtures are giving the LED industry a bad name and that really is a shame.

Without getting all commercial, I believe there are only two fixtures out there that can actually do what an LED is supposed to do.

I did a write up on this on RC on a similar thread.

When you make the investment it pays off! Proven!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5491/1...4d5f2d48_b.jpg

Michael, to be fair to all LEDs, I didn't much care for the Mitras either :). Sure, they're probably a bit better than AI or Radions, but still not up to speed with MH or, as I'm seeing now, even T5.
I love many features of LED, and my coral was amazing even under the cheapo AI's, but I can get more amazing out of a different light source.
This will always be a topic where people disagree and defend their preferred technology, so everyone should just use what works best for their tank. Right now, I'm really liking the T5 colors.

I will be the honest 100% not just because we distribute them, you are the first ever anywhere to say that about the Mitras, Thats truly not a defense comment but fact.

Here is one sample
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...mitras&page=43

But not to take this off track, my guess is it just was not dialed in.

Its not about colour either it is also about the health of the corals, thats where cheaper LED fixtures long term let people down and they revert back

100% agree :)

pay more attn to the forums. It people like myself with radion and mitras and hydras that are switching to t5 or halides.

Myself ran the led train for two years and ime color and growth are no where near led.

So please tell me how a $1200 mitras pays off compared to a $400 halide. Fact is halides are "proven". Fact is that led has been taking off with yet more advance on the way. One day I believe that they will be at par with t5 or halides but not just yet.
I think also the producers are also seeing this. If not the power module probably would have not Ben released
The trend that I am seeing is distributors backing what they sell and the most expensive ones at that. It hard for you as a distributor to support a item that you know longer carry.

$999 to be precise ;)

The mitras has been shown many times to equal both the power and the growth of a MH, furthermore you have infinite adjustments to the spectra without having to change a bulb, (as you do of course with other full spectrum LED`s Like Radion another fine fixture)you also have the ability to properly dim the fixture with the built in (only available on Mitras) Linear dimming technology, no thats not the same as digital dimming.

Then of course there is the electrical power saving.

As for tanks under mitras

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...wpost&t=101801

The Mitras was specifically designed to take on MH and T5 in one fixture, this is what you pay for.

But I dont want this to be Mitras Vs all of a sudden, as Aquattro said there will be fans in both camps, all i will say is if you are going to take the leap into LED then spend the money and it will pay you back, try and do it on the cheap, I do not see that it will.

Before I jump back into led I think I'll wait a year or two to see what advancements come. I'm sure the manufacturer still hold some tricks up their sleeves

:lol: Lets not get to the power saving and cost benefit returns. Steve did his calculation with electricity savings and I did the cost benefit returns a lot of time over here so I will start pasting them to prove that particular line is just a false advertisement (to some degree) :razz: Wondering why? With halides, your heater runs less; with LED, your heater runs more and the total consumption gets quite close to each other Steve did the calculation few months back in a similar thread ;) And about bulb replacement and electricity savings and the initial investment....it would take almost 5 years or more depending on the high end fixture to get even with MH/T5HO. Raise your hands who has been using the same "commercial" fixture for even the last 2/3 years atleast! :smile: DIY fixtures are a whole new horizon and I won't get there.

About "cheap" fixtures. Like Nick already mentioned, people with all forms of LEDs are moving away, be it AI, be it Radion, be it mitra. Infact, I have seen more happy faces using evergrow LEDs than a radion pro. Come on their power factor for the power supply is around 0.6! That's the crapiest AC-DC converter; even a 10 year old with basic knowledge of capacitor and inductor would be able to pull out a AC-DC converter close to 1!

And about mitras. I won't say anything :) I love the ability of that fixture; GHL knows how to utilize LED on reefs - that's for sure. But I hate the packaging. Fishes don't wear sunglasses! Get realistic...maybe that's holding me back from getting it? Oh wait...its the $1000 price tag = almost 7 years of my bulb replacement. Damn!

My only thought to that is, with this sort of technology there will always be advances, it comes down to when you or the next person feels most comfortable taking that leap.

My original point can be summed up as thus, and a short version of my post on RC. If you did not get what you hoped out of LED, this does not mean all LED`s will fail you, the most likely reason is the technology that was not employed into the fixture that you invested in, so my point is, spend as much as you can and you will more than likely get what you hoped for.

There is no argument to be made for saying higher priced fixtures are just profiteering, look through the forums, where do you see most the success stories? There is no market left in this industry for overpriced non worthy items, manufacturers now have to sell at bare minimums to even bring their product to market. So if it is more expensive you can be sure it is due to the cost of manufacturing that fixture.

My closing statement is - Don't put all LED's in the same basket if the one you tried failed you, invest in the ones that have the proven technology to deliver.