I think thats a matter of opinion. It seems to be almost 50/50 for led and T5. Im just speaking from my personal preference, but compared to my leds Im just not getting the same colour as i had before. I won't deny the growth with T5 is great. I just really don't like the lack of options and control, as well as spectrum. Since swapping to T5 all my zoas that were crazy coloured have faded drastically. My sps seems to love the T5. But with the LED everything seemed brighter and happier as a whole in my tank. Just my personal preference though. Opinions are like a**holes, everybody's got one.:mrgreen:

I guess my opinion and observations are limited strictly to SPS. I've never kept zoas or other colorful LPS. I found growth the same with LED vs T5, but color tones of SPS display better with T5. In Rich's tank, it wasn't a matter of opinion at all, one piece in particular was a solid color under LED, about 5 different tones under the T5. I found, with the same piece, I got the same results when going to T5. Yes, I miss some of the function of LED, although spectrum isn't one of them. Once set, I left it at a color I found pleasing. Dimming would be a nice feature to have back though.
All that being said, if I could, I would go back to MH if I could manage the evaporation :)

Yea I can't argue with that, but it could also be certain corals in particular do better under T5 or LED. It seems every tank I see has varied results. Iv deff seen some impressive tanks on both types of lighting. If the price of the hybrids wasn't so insane that would deff be the route I would go.

If I were to do it all over, I would go that route. Hell, that's what I spent on AI's anyway! If only I could figure out a way to deal with humidity without spending a big bag of money...lol

Yea I guess depending how many ai's you need I guess it almost works out the same. This is definitely a "you gotta pay to play" kinda hobby

LED vs T5s
 

I'm convinced that lighting preference has more to do with an individual's eyes and their color perception. As you know, this can vary greatly with people to the point where some are nearly color blind and don't know it.

With my LEDs, I use the natural mode setting, which uses the full spectrum. I have had people over and looking at my corals, and some couldn't tell the color difference between some SPS, and were even mixing up some green and red hues, which are so different to me... That was very telling to me.

But with my LEDs, I can change the colors to pretty well anything I want with my spectrum control settings (and by time of day). And am quite sure can duplicate any T5 bulb combo, too.

So, I really don't understand why some people are so against LEDs. Perhaps some are not as good. But I sure like my Radions. And can't argue with the SPS growth I am getting.

I think T5's will soon disappear from the marketplace, just like incandescent did quite some time ago. LEDs just have too many advantages, and the price keeps dropping.

+1

Yes, agreed. In my case, LEDs bother my eyes. I get the same "tired eyes" feeling when I watch a 3D movie at the theater or if I wear cheap sunglasses.

I do like the options of led but until I can get a mitras for the price of my halide set up I'm happy

I think some people need to give it a rest, not every thread about lighting needs to become a LED vs whatever thread. Seriously not even close to what the thread is about yet here we are. The first post asks about 6 and 8 bulb T5 fixtures for an SPS tank and the last post talks about how LEDs hurt your eyes... I don't even know where to go from here, oh wait I know...

For an SPS tank 8 bulbs is obviously better than 6 but 6 won't be that limiting either. If you're looking for a used fixture then take your time and look for both, if you find a great deal on a 6 bulb fixture it might be worth while going that route and upgrading later if you find yourself limited as resealing it might not yield a huge loss. With T5s you also have the option of using a canopy and retrofit T5 kits (or just buying the parts separately) that way you can add to it anytime.