Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board - how many went from led back to t5

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- - how many went from led back to t5 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=102743)

Quote:

Originally Posted by waynemah (Post 862335)

Going from LED to T5 point form...

Heaters don't turn on nearly as much anymore, so my power consumption actually dropped. Hydras (570w) vs T5 (640w). Power supplies for the Hydras still pull energy when the light is off and I ran them for a much longer photoperiod.

I'm unable to change the temperature of my tank though, it's set at 27C during the day and 26C at night.

Tank is much brighter now and less dead spots. I should have purchased more LED's for my tank in the first place.

Shimmer is gone, to me this is a bonus as it gave me a headache before.

Bulb replacements are paid for with the additional growth. I'm planning on extending the bulb replacement time to 12 months.

Corals seem to look different... Some look better, some look worse. Mainly anything that has multi-color seems more pronounced, but greens look bland now.

PH somehow is in normal range now, this could be due to tank maturity but only happened after the switch. From 7.9-8.0 to 8.2-8.5.

Crazy difference in evaporation... It literally doubled. Not very happy about this, but enclosing the upper portion and having the fan run 24/7 seems to keep the humidity at bay.

No more confusing programming light cycles.

Bulb choices are borderline infinite. Luckily I'm happy with my first bulb choice based on many peoples experience.

No more epic Blue time, where the corals pop and everything looks from outer space... lol

Burnt myself a few times reaching in to save a frag... Once on the forehead ouch.

+1 for me

The biggest improvements getting away from LED for me were the lack of shadows in the tank from non point source lighting.

The disco ball effect is gone thankfully

Everything is easier to photograph in my tank without the LED oversaturation/underexposure effect on cameras

The look to the naked eye is so much more appealing now, crisp and even lighting.

I've noticed a few cons though as well.

Evaporation for sure, and tied to that temperature. Tank used to sit at 78 consistently, I'm up a whole degree with the T5's, but I also run an enclosed canopy.

But WHAT IF the grass really IS greener on the other side? Well, time to switch to solar tubes :twised: ... Ya, bet you didn't see that coming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwood (Post 862448)

But WHAT IF the grass really IS greener on the other side? Well, time to switch to solar tubes :twised: ... Ya, bet you didn't see that coming.

Haha, in Toronto? You'd need to put your solar tube on a track like they use in an observatory to keep it pointed directly at the sun all year!

Id still be coming in at under 100w. And dont even get me started on bulb changes... Do you know how hard it is to find quality replacement suns these days? sheesh, its hard out here for a pimp

Im starting to think "some" of the back to T5,s from led opinions are correct. Although I love my led fixture, as some have said, it seems my colours are lacking.

My blues are very nice and greens. Strawberry, purple and some mixed colour sps not so much and several are almost no colour. All my chalice, all kinds of colour are great at the tanks bottom. My blue crocea,s are not as deep anymore.

And in my case, I overfeed my tank. Using prodibio but still have some of that &@#$^**(( red carpet crap starting to grow.

So I found myself looking at 6 bulb Sunpowers today.....:lol:

Welcome back Doug! Maybe I should start a new thread about the MH ballasts I just bought -lol

I went from halide to led to halide t5 combo to led to led t5 combo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro (Post 894711)

Welcome back Doug! Maybe I should start a new thread about the MH ballasts I just bought -lol

:mrgreen:

Im another LED user who switched back to t5 about a year ago. Im actually considering using my ati sunpower on a frag tank im going to setup and going back to metal halide on my display. I have an old pfo m80 ballast so if i can find a used pfo se pendant i will be using a radium bulb. So if anyone knows anyone with a pfo pendant lying around...m:biggrin:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cblair (Post 894738)

So if anyone knows anyone with a pfo pendant lying around...m:biggrin:

I think I do. Let me check. Might not be PFO, but similar design that has wiring for PFO ballast.