LEDs or T5 fixture for SPS dominate tanks?

[bryanmc1988]

Just curious what people would choice for their higher end SPS tanks, Radion XR30 Gen4 or ATI 8xT5 HO fixture?

[orangereefer]

This is an ongoing debate. Best to look at peeps tanks to make that decision. I was t5 for a while but when the radion gen4 pros came out became a game changer. Welcome to stop by to check my led setup.
Mel

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[bryanmc1988]

I have the Gen4 also running on my 180g but have seen some amazing SPS colorations and more of the SPS keepers that I have seen are running T5's also. it got me thinking, is my radions really doing a good job? lol would like to make a decision asap as I did wanted to buy the aquaticlife's hybrid model to attached my radions too. That would then lead to are the hybrids even worth going for... lol

[orangereefer]

Alot of factors makes peeps tank look crazy. Lights is probably the one thing easiest to control. Water stability is key, flow, and water chemistry are probably as important if not more.

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[cboltsd]

I have the Gen4 also running on my 180g but have seen some amazing SPS colorations and more of the SPS keepers that I have seen are running T5's also. it got me thinking, is my radions really doing a good job? lol would like to make a decision asap as I did wanted to buy the aquaticlife's hybrid model to attached my radions too. That would then lead to are the hybrids even worth going for... lol

Just do the combo with the aquatic life fixture..I think you'll be happy with it. Cant go wrong with both worlds.

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[Drama D]

Mh t5 or led combo

[brandon0350]

Halide, t5s and a Reefbrite... Nothing can touch it

[crustaceon]

Color is one thing, health and growth rate is another. Some LEDs can do it all, while others give great color “pop” but miss some of those light frequencies that you may not notice, but the corals do. T5’s can cover a lot of those “in between” frequencies and tend to provide really good color & growth but not the cool shimmer of LEDs and not the crispness. Metal Halides are great too but still benefit from the addition of t5s. Now as far as appearance and overall coral “color” is concerned, this is why people add LEDs to their t5 and halide fixtures. LEDs can make coral absolutely glow and a lot of that is their ability to out “blue” other lighting options, leaving out all of those other frequencies that would cause those bright iridescent colors to “wash out”.

Then there’s cost and ease of use. T5s and halides are cheap to set up, but you will have to replace bulbs and ballasts every so often. Good LED fixtures are expensive and if you want good coverage on a long tank, you’ll need several of them. The LEDs seem to last for at least a few years, but odds are you’ll probably want to upgrade to even better LEDs, need more LEDs or in some cases, a fixture will just die on you. Halides can be expensive to use as they typically run 250 watts or higher per bulb on an sps tank not to mention bulbs need to be changed out like t5s. Now onto wattage: If you’re putting 300 watts of T5 light or 300 watts of LED light or 300 watts it halide light on your tank, you’re still using 300 watts of electricity. Also, strong LEDs can put out a fair amount of heat, not as much as halides, lol but maybe slightly less that t5’s with good ventilation. Either way there might not really be a cost savings at least between t5s and LEDs and having a slightly cooler running fixture may not justify paying a lot more money for.

T5s and Metal Halides have very well documented PAR levels, which makes it really easy to place your corals and know they’re getting enough light. Many LEDs are adjustable in intensity and coloration which means any documented PAR levels for a given fixture would have to be at a specific intensity and spectrum combination. Once you deviate from that, coral placement becomes trial and error unless you have access to a PAR meter. There are plenty of stories out there of “fried corals” due to the intensity of LEDs combined with unknown PAR levels.


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[CMD2213]

Just do the combo with the aquatic life fixture..I think you'll be happy with it. Cant go wrong with both worlds.

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hows the quality of the t5 fixture with g4 pro on that vs an ati fixture and xho

[bryanmc1988]

that was another issue is that I don't have a par meter and I'm playing guessing games with my G4. Corals are growing at a steady pace but some acros are losing their color from what they look like before placed in my tank. their not browning or bleaching but more of a lighter color then they did, than again the corals were under T5's before LEDs so it could just be an adjustment thing but idk.

anyone with a good reliable par meter I can used to setup these lights?

hows the quality of the t5 fixture with g4 pro on that vs an ati fixture and xho

from the reviews I see on BRS, the fixture has pros and cons.

pros:
* It works and for the price you can't complain.
* Looks good and not a DIY

Cons:
* Has two plugs for each pair of T5 bulbs
* If one bulb out of the pair goes out. they both go out.
* The rubber bulb holder will melt onto the bulb after a few months of use due to the T5 heat.


I wonder if the ballast can be reconfigured to run the bulbs individually instead of in a series. As for the dual plugs for each of the T5 pairs, I can rewire them to 1 plug.

[crustaceon]

These guys offer a rental. Money well spent IMO

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/reefing/Par-Meter


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[orangereefer]

What intensity u running on the radions? Also your tank maybe too clean. What's your nitrates and po4?

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[bryanmc1988]

What intensity u running on the radions? Also you tank maybe too clean. What's your nitrates and po4?

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I'm running the "Coral Lab" setting at 60% intensity and 85% brightness.

had Dino issues a few weeks ago cause my NO3 dropped to 0, got it all cleared out and Dino no more lol

NO3 is reading at 2-4ppm
PO4 is reading at 0.18ppm
Alk - 11.5 ( a bit high for my likings so I stop dosing till it drops to 8-10 dKH)
Mag - 1320ppm (a bit low, but dosed to get it to around 1350-1400)
Cal - 410ppm stabled (will try to raise it to 450, but haven't done so cause I wanted to make sure its truly stable)

parameters tested yesterday Dec. 19th, 2018


so what do you think about the Aquaticlife hybrid fixture? should I get one or is it a no go...?

[crustaceon]

I would suspect the alk level to be the culprit considering the low nitrate level. From what I understand it could be a calcification vs. uv-protecting pigmentation generation problem in having high dkh with lowish nutrients where extremes can cause burned tips, pastel colors, etc. I would bet dropping alk slowly to 9 with 5ppm nitrates would color those corals up nicely.


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[cboltsd]

hows the quality of the t5 fixture with g4 pro on that vs an ati fixture and xho

I run the ATI Hybrid 60 inch that has the LED clusters in the middle. Plus I use a 60 inch sbar. I'm pretty happy with it. I can adjust led cluster colors to whatever I want to see in the tank, plus the growth you get from T5s is great. Not as good as MH, but better than Led alone. I know a few guys that run the radion and aquatic life fixture and have great success. You get better color on acros with that option from what I hear. Either way, if you run both t5s and LEDs, your winning.

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