how many went from led back to t5

[Samw]

I've been running a 36" 5-bulb T5HO fixture for about 3 years and have not been able to get the same success as I had before with my MH. It has been a disaster.

My T5-only trial is over. It'll be up for salel soon. I just received my 2 new Ecoxotic Panorama Marine fixtures and they look really nice and bright. I will add a 2-bulb T5HO fixture to complement the 2 new LED fixtures.

[Kwood]

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

[LoJack]

Originally Posted by waynemah

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.

[Doug]

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.....