MH v LED

+1 leds are an excellent choice and can be just as good, if not better, than any other light source. I think this is true for tanks of any dimensions. The problem, is with MHs you can more or less get away with simple formulas. You can (sort of) just say 1 bulb per x inches and y watts for z depth. Leds allow for much more customized configurations, but also, much more room for confusion. If you don't understand what you are doing, your setup may end up ill suited for your application and you'll think they are junk. They aren't junk though and neither are MHs or T-5s etc... They all have advantages, be it price, simplicity, efficiency etc..

 

Honestly... right now I don't think there are as many different colors to suit everyone as there are with MHs. (Lets not even talk about the endless possibilities of T5s) Even K ratings are not quite right and there are a ton of different bulbs for different likes that look different depending on what they are driven by. The only thing with LEDs it seems is blue and white and what ratio those come it. Good for blue... yet white is white and some folks like a warmer look.

T5s didn't replace MH and niether will LEDs. They will always have thier place... simply because of proven results. When you can get a LED fixture to put out the same intensity and color as a 400w SE Radium with a HQI ballast then we will be talking.

However.... the same with every other piece of eqipment in this hobby.... A crappy "budget" rendition of "new" technology will not beat a great rendition of old technology. A great rendition of "new" technology will beat both however you will pay through the nose for it..... so as always new technology drives prices of old technology down and a there will always be those that will take great old technology over higher priced good technology. MHs are not going anywhere for quite some time.

 

Powerman, I agree with your points. however, there are a few reasons this is different for leds IMO. The ballast, reflector, spectrum all make differences, but not by as large of a factor as leds. Using par for simplicity, if you have a 250W MH, your possible par values may range by 50% or more even, but the same watt leds could vary by latterly hundreds of percent. Simple X amount of Watts for X amount of lights works better for MHs; note I'm not saying it truly works though, but people can get away with simple formulas better.

Also, as to color spectrum, I am not sure I agree, with different leds, you can fine tune the color considerably. Take a high end fixture like a SOL which even allows quite a bit of variation without even changing out leds. There are numerous spectrum leds available, combining them in different ratios can produce as many or more color combinations as a MH. I think the issues with an led, is the light may not be as broad spectrum, and may be more peaked. This may or may not be an issue, right now people can only guess. Also, they are not very good at producing uv. Most people seem to think this isn't an issue for growth, but maybe coloration, but there is certainly some debate.

 

Perhaps... but MH have been around for quite some time... they have been growing things for quite some time. What you have now is proven products that you can choose from.... yes there have been plenty of ones that didn't work in the begining, but those have been weeded out and even though there are a lot of differences, the results have narrowed.

That is not a good thing for LEDs. Right now they are in their infancy and right now there are a lot of guinea pigs out there trying to figure out what works. Lots of variablility and volatility in what works best for our given application. Eventually the smoke will clear and the choices will narrow to what works for us and some range of choices just like MH. But the fact remains that right now for the early adopters there is a lot of risk in shelling out money on new tech.

There is still plenty of room for getting things right and some sort of consistency of how to get what color you want from LEDs and what kind of spectrum that will put out. Heck, they still put out new MH trying to get things how they want it.

And I'm not at all down on LEDS... tons of potential, will probably be the predominate light bought 5 years from now and will have lots of advantages.

However... yes the jury is still out. First... tons of folks talk about how long LEDs last... yet no one has had any long term and no data is out there on if their color shifts over time. Just about every light source does so it would be hard not imaging LEDS doing it to. So a LED will last 6 years.... what if it has a crappy out put after 3?

Also.... seems right now it is hard to decide as a consumer right now which direction to go. Get a fixture that has bulbs that can be changed out, or get big single led fixtures. Lots of folks do like to change colors, so what if I buy a fixture and want to change colors... sell it off buy another one....quite possibly not much cost saving with something that was supposed to last me 5-10 years.

And right now one difference between T5 and MH is that MH are a true point source even if their are 2 or 3 bulbs... T5 are an area of light that light everything and also grow coral in an unatural way. Many like MH for that reason alone.... so then do I buy a LED fixture that will basically do the same.... or will more powerful pendants come out with a good reflector that will be energy efficient like LEDS and T5s but be a true point source and look like MH?

Right now LEDs are in their infancy and there are still a lot of questions to be answered.

 

As far as spectral decay or spectrum shift over time - I am not entirely certain on the specifics but it's not a direct comparison to "bulb" to "LED" - the main reason LED's are projected to last longer is because there is no bulb, there are no moving parts, switches, fuses, or filaments in an LED - in the LED fixture there are switches/fuses/etc- but the diode itself differs greatly from MH bulbs in that there is no filament or gas needed so therefore much more stable and long lasting in terms of spectral output.

Again - I reiterate that I do not know of the exact numbers and details of LED spectral decay - tho MH spectral decay is well documented and accepted - I do not believe the same rate of decay applies to LEDs.

I can totally agree with your points that LED's are young and there are a lot of Guinea Pigs out there (myself included) - but heck - our life experiences would be quite a bit more dull without a few calculated risks here and there!!!

 

I think I mostly agree with these comments. IMO, leds have a lot of potential and are particularly well suited for diy'ers who are willing to experiment a bit. Leds have been around for a few years now and are starting to prove themselves, but certainly are not as well tested as MHs yet. I think they have potential though and can be a good option for people who understand the potential issues that may arise and how to optimize them for specific applications. I think it can be a little more fuzzy though for of the shelf units, but these are certainly improving considerably as well.

 

+1 - I believe we are all saying more or less the same thing in different ways.

No doubt - MH is tried and true with its very predictable performance.

LED has a TON of customization that is very well suited for DIY'ers and is gaining a legitimate foothold in this hobby.

 

I think we can all raise a glass to that. Lots of potentials and hey... we are a techy OCD type hobby and certainly nothing wrong with new toys.

 

Also it is important to point out that a quality MH bulb when coupled with a premium reflector such as a Sunlight Supply Lumenmax Elite can put more light into the tank than some LED fixtures running the same watage.

Although I am intruiged with LED, I seen very few SPS tanks that I consider great. To me, that is the biggest drawback. Although I do have high standards. As for LPS and softie tanks, Some of the colors that are brought out are insane.

 

That's good to hear, I was worried it was just me j/k