Couple shots running mh/t5 vs Diy led
 

Just wanted to show a couple shots of my tank after switching to mh/t5 from a diy led setup.

The Diy led pics are a lot more purple, was probably a lot to do with my photo taking skills/editing. Regardless I find the mh/t5 far superior to MY diy led(72 cree rb, 24 cree cw, 24 high noon) Definitely not full spectrum by any stretch.

DiY led pic.
http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...5_edited-1.jpg

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...4_edited-1.jpg
http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...edited-1-2.jpg


And the MH/t5 after 3.5 months.

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...edited-1-1.jpg

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...7_edited-1.jpg

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...edited-1-1.jpg

Yes the halides look much better but your LED spectrum is much more limited. I too went through the same process but if you spend enough time and money on your DIY fixture you will get it to a point you're happy with but you have a long way to go, as in 5 more channels of color. Blue is an absolute must, then comes red and green (or cyan). After that you can decide if adding UV and yellow is worth while. It can get quite complicated and tedious which is why I find DIY these days less productive than just buying a decent fixture, these you can see running before you invest so you pick the one that best suits your taste, thus eliminating the trial and error that comes with DIY.

Interesting.. did you switch back simply for aesthetics or were you having problems with your LED fixture? What bulbs are you running ?

What kind/temp are the MH bulbs? And choice of T5 bulbs?

Technically speaking I agree but without being able to adjust the peaks the broad spectrum within the white LEDs the results are not as good. I find CWs in particular to wash color out and replacing some of the output from them with a RGB setup makes a significant difference. In the LED world as far as the terminology goes white doesn't mean full spectrum.

so when will we see your LED fixture up for sale :wink:

The mh bulbs are 15k eBay bulbs, 1 Fiji purple, 2 blue plus, blue special.

I switched to the mh/t5, because I had only ran the DIY led on the tank, and felt it was lacking color, and maybe a bit of growth. So far I am liking the my/t5 combo for both color and growth. I will probably run the mh until LEDs/plasma have run their course( don't really have the funds to be buying new stuff every 6 months). Once they get it some what figured out I will probably switch back.

Haha not sure if I will ever sell it. It was my first attempt at "electrical", and my soldering skills were something to be desired. I have a canopy so I can hide the mess it is.

I think they have figured it out. It's called a Mitras. :biggrin:

Touché.

My wallet isn't that deep though, and I'm sure in 6 months there will be a new "Mitras".

Nope, GHL isn't that type of company. 2+ years in development means very little to be desired. I think you meant ecotech with had 3 versions out within a year and they still haven't hit the nail square yet.

i certainly like the halide pics better but that tells us very little about how the two actually compare in person. sounds like you like the halides better though which is all that matters!

Some cameras seem to handle LEDs poorly as well. My DSLR takes pics just fine under my LEDs yet my iPhone makes the tank look crazy blue when in reality it's not like that.

Kien.....Are your running Mitras? Last time i saw your tank....it was Mh/t5's. :wink:

Nope. What gave you that impression? I am still running my MH+T5s :-)

As Brett said though, cameras can have a bitch of a time photographing LEDs. I've experienced this first hand (when I was tinkering with various LED units). Mind you, the LED pics you showed don't look terrible either. I'm sure they look a bit less purple/blue in person.

THe mitras fixture gives me light envy. I keep trying to figure out a way to justify the cost of switching from my radions...

I do find it tough getting the right color with the leds. I have a Canon T3i, which I'm sure would have no problems taking the pics if I were to practice with it more.

In person the tank looked fine IMO, it was just lacking color/pop. I also think the coral is growing a bit quicker with the mh/t5.

You are running Mitras right?

I wasn't taking a shot at GHL, all I was saying that in 6 months there will be a new product that is the must have/envy of the town kinda thing. Whether it be ecotech/ghl/AI or whom ever. I just personally think that LEDs have a long way to go yet.

Yes I do and perhaps but ultimately waiting around for technology to advance is like going backwards. Everything advances and better things always come out, if you wait for better things then you'll always be waiting.

Can't agree more :) But overall, mitras are a very very stable fixture as far as the specs go. Radios seems to change quit noticeably among their fixture upgrades and so as other brands but with mitras, there's so little to improve, its the near perfect fixture with today's technology and hence the four figure price point ;)

I'm not saying that there won't always be something new and exciting. I'm saying I'm not going to drop $1500-3000 every 6 months on lighting.

You will have to if you get radions...but not with mitras ;) Although I have a reputation of being an "LED-hated" (which I am not) but I really like mitras (just not the price lol)

I'm not sure anybody would and I don't understand your point. You know these fixtures don't expire right? You don't have to buy a new one every time one comes out.

He is just pointing out the temptation :razz:

My point is 1.5 years ago my DIY fixture was pretty decent. Today it still does the job, but is clearly lacking. They have come out with all sorts of LED colors/spectrums since.

I don't have the funds to be buying new **** every 6 months to a year because the technology has advanced, and what seemed good today, turns out to be lacking vital spectrums/colors/the list goes on, tomorrow. Its quite obvious,what was good 6-12 months ago have/has "flaws". So until the technology has stabalized I will hold off. I will stick to something that has been around longer then 4-5 years, while they smooth out the wrinkles.

Yes I realize fixtures don't expire, thanks for the heads up though. When said fixture turns out to be a dud in 6 months refer to the above paragraph.

You seem to have taken it personally when I asked about the Mitra.
I'm not sure why as I would love to have a couple over my tank, as you stated they have done there due diligence, and made probably the best unit to date.

I'm not talking anything personally but your logic puzzles me and I don't understand it. For example:

1. I think your fixture looked the same 1.5 years ago than it does today. Same deal with the halides, they would have looked the same 1.5 years ago as well. So comparably speaking there is no difference from now and then so if you liked the LED fixture back then what changed?
2. The concept of boycotting new technology based on the advancement of technology makes no sense. Kind of like saying don't buy a new car cause a new one will come out next year and ultimately be better...
3. And finally you seem to have given up on you DIY led project prematurely. I kind of think one the advantages of DIY fixtures is the ability to grow with it. Rather than given up on it due to the lack of spectrum perhaps a better and cheaper solution would have been to simply add what you were missing. Like I mentioned earlier.

My comments were originally based on having a DIY fixture myself and starting off with the basics and adding to it until I was satisfied. I didn't suggest you buy a Mitra, didn't even mention it until it was brought up.

Annnnnnd back on track......

I run both LEDs and Metal halides (on separate tanks). I love them both. I've been a long time advocate of MH and always will be. They just have this warmth to them that make the tank feel alive.

I DIY'd my LEDs back in January and went balls out with the full spectrum (RB, CW, R, G, Turq, UV) and it is freakin' AWESOME. When I make frags of SPS from my halide tank and put it in the LED tank I'm always blown away at how amazing the LEDs make things look. And now that I have them dialed in for the colour balance I like, my MH days may be numbered. That said, I can't say the same for other fixtures out there. This LED build was an experiment because every other LED fixture out there looks like **** to me (GHL is the best of the bunch but still didn't sell me). I spent a lot of time figuring out ways to get rid of all the things I didn't like about commercial fixtures (the dim tank look and colour separation/ "disco-ing" being my biggest pet peeves).

I think it may be a while before any manufacturer steals me away from MH but I can build myself some damn sweet LEDs!

i'd love to see a "balls out" spectral plot.

Why do I suddenly feel like I have entered a ford vs Chevy vs dodge conversation.

Everything is good, everything will do its job. And every company along with DIY has an upgrade path. There are ups and downs to every fixture.

As the standard bulbs are slowly becoming obsolete and the applications numerous for led lighting, everything is still moving at a fast pace. And we are paying premiums for research and delopment and supply and demand. As with everything in this world the one thing that might be worth waiting for is price drops.

Remember the days you couldn't find a large tv without a large price tag.

iphones suck. Buy android...

samsung sucks buy an iphone....:twised:

Steve, I will have to come over one day and look at your build. might be interesting.

Either way, tank looks great. keep up the good work!

I do find it tough getting the right color with the leds. I have a Canon T3i, which I'm sure would have no problems taking the pics if I were to practice with it more.

Interesting statement. Kinda like saying, I have great pans, can't understand why my meals aren't much better - Only kiddin :)

You need to shoot perpendicular to glass, on a tripod, high ISO (for faster shutter speed), and use a grey card (or something similar in shot) for manual white balance or an expodisc kind of device. You could also shoot raw and play with white balance if you have software to do so.
Cheers,
Harley
www.harleycrossphotography.com