Leds vs metal halides for sps

[needmorecowbell]

I've read some articles and watched a few videos of coral growth and color with metal halides vs. LEDs. The most organized one was that of the YouTube poster mr saltwater tank. After comparing the results, it seemed the corals with leds looked more bland and generally less attractive then the metal halide covered tank's.

Could anyone explain why this is? I recently bought a 120w dimmable fixture that I love, but I'm hoping I won't be regretting it in the long run.

 

[Jlsardina]

Mh can simulate natural sunlight better. LEDs won't get the growth found with mh either. However- LEDs will keep the sps alive

 

[needmorecowbell]

If I DIY an led strip, would I get the best color out of the corals? If so, are there certain diodes I should use?

I want the best for my sps, but I already have a little too much light on the tank. Is there any small mh that could be used in combination with it?

Thank you!

 

[Jlsardina]

I have noticed a lot of the DIY are a lot better quality. However- I'm not an electrician so I can't really help with diodes, etc. I can say this though- which such high wattage it seems like many of these DIY LEDs bleach your soft corals out

 

[needmorecowbell]

My softies are fine so far, my acans have taken a toll though. The center of my red acan is now a greenish brown. I turned the light down and it's getting better though.

 

[Sniperhank]

I don't know about softies and sps...but my lps are doing great under my radions. My flowerpot budded off a buddy for me and the blue candy cane that was almost all dead or fully bleached has started to regain its color and swell up under the new lighting. Here in a couple of months once all of the projects on my tank are done and I'm no longer poor, the SPS will be arriving in my tank...again.

 

[Jlsardina]

Don't get me wrong. I love my Eco rays. My LPS bloom like crazy. However, I do have to keep all my euphillia at the bottom half of the tank.

 

[Sniperhank]

I have my torch halfway up, but my hammer is at the bottom under a ledge.

 

[ccCapt]

Mh can simulate natural sunlight better. LEDs won't get the growth found with mh either. However- LEDs will keep the sps alive

That is highly debatable. I used metal halides for well over 15 years and switched to LED's about 8 months ago. My SPS corals have not slowed in their growth at all.

 

[Crabs]

Im having much success with Radions as well. I use the natural light mode set at 55% intensity in a rather shallow corals tank. My lps torch, hammer and frogspawn r thriving. Branching nicely. My Sps, Birdsnest as well as the cabbage r growing beautifully. I have a couple leathers as well. I won't say they love all this light. But they don't appear to be suffering. Nor are they growing, which suits me fine

 

[needmorecowbell]

I'm don't think growth is a problem, but color. Thats why I'm thinking of increasing my color spectrum in hope that it will get the most color out of my sps.

 

[Crabs]

With my Radions I can adjust the color spectrum in artificial mode. But I get where ur cummin fm. I think ur corals have the color fm the available light. But for u to b able to see the colors u will have to adjust the lighting to view these colors. That's understandable. My lighting casts a bluish tint. It's not nearly as noticeable to the naked eye. But taking pictures is impossible because everything is so blue

 

[needmorecowbell]

Oh, I didn't know radions had that feature. I think what I'm going to do is get a 16" heat sink and attach 4 Uvs and the rest cyan red green and maybe 2 blues ( my light only has royal blue)

 

[ccCapt]

With my Radions I can adjust the color spectrum in artificial mode. But I get where ur cummin fm. I think ur corals have the color fm the available light. But for u to b able to see the colors u will have to adjust the lighting to view these colors. That's understandable. My lighting casts a bluish tint. It's not nearly as noticeable to the naked eye. But taking pictures is impossible because everything is so blue

That is a very good description of what happens when you are looking at the corals colors. They basically reflect the tanks light back at you. Take your most colorful coral outside under the sunlight and it will look like a different coral. Or look down at the corals from above and they will look different. It's all in how the available light reflects off them.

As far as the blue look when taking pics, if your camera has an adjustable white balance feature, set up a custom white balance. This is a trick I learned from Gary Parr (gparr.com) at a presentation he gave. Take a white styrofoam plate, put it in the tank at about a 45° angle and set your white balance to the plate. The camera will interpret the colors on the white plate as what white should look like and it will kill the overly blue look on your pics.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Thanks, I'll definitely use the plate trick next time.

So why do corals Fluoresce under actinics?

 

[Crabs]

I only have my IPhone and a rather inexpensive digital camera. The digital might have this feature but if not, I'm not sweating it. Thanks for the info though

 

[Schism]

Ive seen great results from both halides and leds. Comparing them isnt not simple. Leds can produce more wavelengths, normally why you will see increased color under leds. Many leds are not as powerful as a halide for example a 250w halide compared to a marineland reef capable fixture etc. halides come in standard wattages 150, 250, 400 etc. many leds either are way under these standards or way over. Producing different result obviously. Getting a model led that goes way over and has dimmable feature will allow you to get same growth rates if not better than halides. Leds are moving fast and there is no standard yet that is followed. A par meter will help you adjust. Im going to be doing a lot more with leds

 

[Sniperhank]

Like has been stated, comparing LEDs and MH is like comparing old school muscle cars and todays turbo charged rice burners. They are both cars and both can do some incredible things, just a different way of going about it. LEDs do what MH does without the heat. The tech is still advancing, but is doing so quickly with how cheap the price of pieces and equipment has been. MH will probably never go away and many will still continue to use them into the future even as LED tech continues to advance. Same as taking a 68 mustang out for a spin on warm summer days. It would be really neat to see some hybrid action out of these two technologies though to see if there can be a meeting for the best of both worlds. A lower watt MH to keep heat down backed up by some LEDs would def be an interesting trial for somewhere down the road.

 

[Crabs]

The reason I went with the LED's to begin with was because the heat issue. Not to mention the electric bill. In the summer when the Air is running, seems like a no brainer. The air and halides fighting each other. I'll admit, getting my money back on the initial cost of the Radions will take some time thru the savings in electric as well as bulb changes but I have no regrets. With all the available features as well as EcoTechs occasional program upgrades, seems these more expensive lights r the only way to go. I'm not saying Radions r the best. I know of at least 1 system that is equal if not better than what I have

 

[Sniperhank]

That reminds me to update my software. I've been wanting to fiddle with my lighting some too by moving it into artificial mode rather than natural.