MH v LED

There are almost three years worth of detailed product reviews from myself and three other authors. Simply click on "reviews" in the navigation section to find them. Everything from canister filters to T-5 bulbs, and over half a dozen LED light reviews (some have videos!), it's all there, the good and the bad. You'll also notice no ads or sponsorship, because I refuse to accept anything of the sort to avoid bias (this and other info available under the "Review Info" link).

I have every fixture you listed except the vertex (this I dismantled and inspected, but they were not willing to ship it to the USA due to patent issues), but I like to use them for 3-6 months before writing down my experiences. Coral observation takes time! Check back in a few months for reviews, if you like.

Although my post had nothing to do with any particular brand of LED lighting, you mentioned Orphek, and I noticed that several of your posts praise Orphek's equipment, and now you seem to have done a 180 on your stance. Did you have a bad experience with their product?

Regardless, argumentative posts help no one, my friend (the adage "arguing on the internet..." comes to mind!). There is so much schilling and buying of opinions in this hobby that the finger pointing is slightly ridiculous (and understandably so, at this point) - another reason I refuse to accept sponsorship for my blog. Everything I post is from personal experience, it is up to the reader to draw from it what they will.

 

Mike getting free product is sponsorship. It makes you no better than the rest. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with it. The bigger issue is that in comparison to other blogs out there you have very little participation from your readers which usually what attracts paying sponsors. Companies pay to put up banner adds on a site to drive traffic toward their site. Not because they expect stellar reviews of their product.

So are you telling that you have an Aqua Illumination Sol fixture (which is by many regarded as one of the best LED fixtures on the market for nearly the last 2+ years) and you have not posted a review. Hmmmm.

You have a Maxpect, another one of the top selling LEd fixtures in the US and have not posted a review. These companies have shown that they are good product by letting their results do the talking. There are many of those LED users who have posted the "fruits of their success."

You took apart a Vertex, yet they won't ship one to the US? Where did you go to do that?

Bottom line is that I first was going by what I was told by the company. I now have done my due diligence and I found I was wrong in tanking their word at face value. I don't like deception. This isn't Emerald City, I'm not Dorthy and I don't have a fish named Toto!

You cal it argumentative I call it inquisitive. It seems that it's argumentative to you because there is no answer. Do I not have the right to question what I and others were told? I've seen your reviews. I just get the sense that the Orphek reviews are taken directly from their website. Almost as if you wrote the information on their website. Either that or the majority of your LED lighting education came from Orphek University.

 

My other problem is that both Orhek and yourself avoid answering direct questions. You two have preached about PUR and have never answered what is the spectral range of PUR? ***nm - ***nm. Also how you are coming to that conclusion. It's like you are saying, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" Why do I feel like I'm in Oz?

 

I for one have found skepticism to be an invaluable teacher. Nothing wrong with questioning at all.

 

Thanks to the mods for adding a stickie to this thread. This thread has a lot of good info in it and we hope to have more.

Here is some of what I have found on the topic of MH vs LED:

Most LED fixtures are not more efficient than halides with high quality reflectors.

LED does often produce more PUR than many halides in the 10K or lower Kelvin bulbs

Most of you 14 & 20K Metal halides are every bit the PUR monsters that LEDs are.

PAR is still a standard that we can use to measure light of Metal Halides, T5 and LED. Especially when comparing bulbs with similar spectrum.

The biggest thing I found was that hobbyist should not be concerned with PUR. For the most part it is a non issue.

The funniest thing I found was that the Iwasaki 6500K was the bulb that produced the most total PUR of any halide. We all know how popular that bulb is...

 

Have any of you ever heard of Sunbrite led systems? If so what are your thoughts my LFS is really trying to push this.

 

I have not seen their offerings in a couple years. I will see them at an upcoming event and I can try to report back here.

 

Gcarroll - I agree with a few of your points and dissagree with others. . . .see my responses in red.

 

like previously stated on the first page, there is no way to stop the arguing, people will always take sides with halides led's or t5's or what have you. they all have their place in the hobby and all have their pros and cons. id say they all are about equal in grow quality but in the case of t5's you need more bulbs. with the case of halides you need good reflectors and so on. im sure led's have their downfalls too but doesnt every lighting system? any type of light if you have enough of it can grow coral. even power compact.

 

Are you sure. The way I see it, some LED's are more efficient than halides. I would go further and say few are more efficient. Some of the higher end fixtures use more efficient LEDs but it is certainly few in comparison. Many companies are riding the generality wave using the statement that LED is more efficient when the fact is that they might not be using an led that is that efficient.

white LED produces anywhere from 4.5 to 150 lm/w (that is a large range)
white Metal Halide produces anywhere from 65 to 115 lm/w

Let's keep in mind that the most efficient LED used in a aquarium fixture is the Cree XP-G that produces 111 lm/watt.

The big difference that most hobbyist discount is just how important the reflector is on metal halides. LEDs put out all there light on one side. To get the maximum benefit of metal halide, optimal reflectors need to capture that light and beam it back in the tank.

Unfortunately, very few reflectors in our hobby are qualified to perform that task. For that reason owners of many metal halide as well as T5 fixtures never see the full potential of their lighting due to poor reflector design.