Quote:
Originally Posted by Myka
I say go for 4x250w halides.
I think the LEDs are just too new to the market yet, and I personally would not drop the big bucks on them until they have been proven over a decent amount of time (5+ years?). Look at the PFO Solaris all they did was burn everyone's pocketbook, call me a bit leary after that one! The technology has been there for awhile, but time have given us better design. I still think they have a way to go. Besides, I think the price will drop significantly in the next 3 years.
I wouldn't DIY the LEDs either. That's not a backyard Joe DIY project, you need to know what you're doing with the soldering iron or you're just making yourself a big mess.
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I totally agree with Myka on the LED thing. It's all good to have novelties like lightning storms and cloud effects but in the end you are looking for useful light. Metal halides will give you the light you need at a fraction of the cost of LED. Lighting technology is changing so quickly that the poor guy paying thousands of dollars for the latest Vertex fixture is going to be left with something they are going to have to practically give away to get rid of when they want to upgrade because every new generation of fixture is going to offer more for less. Yes they are more energy efficient but look how much extra you have to pay up front, that's a heck of a lot of electric bills to make up the difference. LED is can be justified on a nano tank where the cost is not as insane and the benefit of less heat makes a huge difference, but on your tank heat certainly won't be an issue. Spare yourself the headache buddy, don't spend $4K to $5K on something that you'll be lucky to get a thousand bucks for a year from now.