Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
I am sure there are many reports of success in keeping reefs, but metal halides put A LOT of heat into the water. I didn't buy a chiller for the fun of it. The amount of metal halide I needed to light my coral raised the tank temperature up to +5 degrees. When keeping a house in the summer time at 78F that gave me a daytime tank temperature of 83 or better. Worse yet was the swing. So it was either heat the water at night and keep the tank at 83 or chill it. The LEDs eliminated the need for this. Just my experience and exhaustion from replacing expensive bulbs all the time.
'Nuff said on the subject...lots of options to light your tank. Just evaluate the long term costs of operating your reef. If you are successful, which everyone wants you to be, this thing might run for a long time.
'Nuff said on the subject...lots of options to light your tank. Just evaluate the long term costs of operating your reef. If you are successful, which everyone wants you to be, this thing might run for a long time.