A. grandis
2500 Club Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2012
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People are already asking me why I'm so crazy about my T5s and why I never explain some of the points I make when I recommend them, so...
I'll tell you my point of view on LEDs in general. LEDs are spot lights, right? The fixtures have lots of bulbs with different spectrums to direct the light straight to a surface, distributed to obtain the overall spectrum our eyes can see, purples, reds, etc.... This type of illumination is very different then the ocean. There is a significant difference of light intensity through the aquarium, distributed by the LED fixture. One can measure PAR and see great variation only inches away from other measurements.
Because of it's nature, as a flat spot light, the placements of the organisms in the system could be a problem. IMO one shouldn't have to play such game, moving pieces of SPS corals or zoas on plugs around, to satisfy their needs. Sometimes it's like a gamble. It's a waste of time IMO and lots of stress! Reefing is supposed to be much easier than that! And can be! Trust me!
Besides, why spend so much money getting a fixture that will be underrated in a year? Why get a fixture for your system that will possibly need a T5 or a metal halide to complement to lit your system? That's what many people are doing today! They soon noticed that their LEDs weren't good enough to be the primary light for their reef systems.
Why will sellers try to convince you then? Marketing.
Just about every day there is a new LED fixture for sale. Why? Marketing!!!
The differences between newer fixtures simply can't change much the basic principals of LEDs.
LEDs release energy in form of photons (electroluminescence) through a small tiny area that needs an optical component (lens) and are different from other sources of light, like T5s, which uses chemical reactions or gas, and we use polished reflectors to intensify their abilities. Different principals will have different effects... That shows us how much efficient T5s are.
With metal halides we should care for the placement of organisms introduced in the system, but incredible easier and forgiven. By the way, IME Metal halides are the very best for any reef system!!! For zoas too!! I've always said that!! Best lights I've tried! Their uniformity is way better than any LED fixture, even being a "spot light". With a good reflector, MH bulbs will cover large areas with capable light radiation.
Because the heat is intense and the electricity gets kind of expensive with the metal halides, with the need of a chiller running in most cases, it's a lot easier to deal with the T5s, eliminating most of the heat, in comparison. But... if money isn't the problem... I would opt for MHs!
The T5s are the easiest of all lights! Not only for the plug&play, without the placement game of corals and zoas, but also because of the uniformity of the light emitted by the fixture. It's so easy to deal with that we can set and forget about it!!!
I thought I was going the right way when I decided to try LEDs for my 125gal system. I thought those "magic fixtures" would give me much less heat and I would pay less electricity. I was so wrong!! The only thing that I noticed significant difference was not spending $150.00 a year to replace the T5 bulbs. You know what? If I had to spend $300.00 more a year to change such bulbs today, it would be totally worthy. I had to proof to myself how wrong I was even trying those LEDs. So many people recommended the LEDs, so I tried... I'm glad I've never changed my 75gal zoa system's ATI T5s fixture for those LEDs though!
Now, if you and others really want to stay with those expensive LED fixtures and think you're gonna make in the long run. I can tell you could. You just have to stay focus, struggling and play the game. Keep in mind you have a high percentage of chances to loose many frags and that should be the norm when you deal with LEDs. Will you burn some frags? Yep. Will you burn your brain trying to figure out the best way to place a new plug? Unfortunately yep. What about those fancy computer programs with the LEDs with all those features? Will you get tired of that and not use 85% of the features? Yep. Why have them then? Well, that's what you'll have to tell me... Why?
One other thing I've noticed is the difference of the formation of the zoa colonies. The Metal halides and T5s allow them to grow in a very similar way they grow in the ocean. Polyps are spread through the rocks and show a natural look. With the LEDs my colonies were growing upwards and the shades were visible, showing a "flower pot" pattern quite unnatural and different than what we can find in the wild. They weren't healthy as my colonies under T5 bulbs. That's for sure!!
They tend to spread crazy and stop growing for some reason. Then they struggled and some colonies actually receded. There were absolutely no pathogens nor pests in my 125gal tank. There was no other issue going on but the change of T5s for LEDs.
If you have a T5 fixture, like the ATI for example, you'll never worry about light! You just need to get the right bulbs for your taste. That's because most of the bulbs are pretty safe doing it's job without any problem at all for a year...
The heat isn't that bad and the fixture has fans. They also have a hybrid system with T5s + LEDs for those who believe they really, really, really need those blue LEDs to pop! I don't. I think the space of the LEDs in that light fixture is better filled with a T5 bulb. But you still can place a strip of blue LEDs over the tank for that so wanted "pop", if you want.
If you want to achieve the best for your reef system: you'll feed, take care of the chemistry, quarantine the fish/inverts, etc... why not get the best light system? Yes, metal halides are the best! No doubt about that. T5s is the way to go if you want/need to save money, like me, but still want the best for the zoas...
Another thing... someone once told me that T5s are shop lights. I had to remind that person that most of the shops nowadays actually adopted LEDs! LEDs are the shop lights, then!
By the way... thanks Mr. Jeremy Gosnell for the nice article:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/are-leds-a-suitable-primary-light-source.42/
I used the article to express some of my thoughts too!!
I'll hope to see you guys talking about the subject and leaving your own point of view. I know there are probably people here that sold their LED fixtures to go back to T5s. Hope you guys could share your experiences as well. Or vice versa!
I do not sell, nor work for any T5 company!
Aloha,
Grandis.
I'll tell you my point of view on LEDs in general. LEDs are spot lights, right? The fixtures have lots of bulbs with different spectrums to direct the light straight to a surface, distributed to obtain the overall spectrum our eyes can see, purples, reds, etc.... This type of illumination is very different then the ocean. There is a significant difference of light intensity through the aquarium, distributed by the LED fixture. One can measure PAR and see great variation only inches away from other measurements.
Because of it's nature, as a flat spot light, the placements of the organisms in the system could be a problem. IMO one shouldn't have to play such game, moving pieces of SPS corals or zoas on plugs around, to satisfy their needs. Sometimes it's like a gamble. It's a waste of time IMO and lots of stress! Reefing is supposed to be much easier than that! And can be! Trust me!
Besides, why spend so much money getting a fixture that will be underrated in a year? Why get a fixture for your system that will possibly need a T5 or a metal halide to complement to lit your system? That's what many people are doing today! They soon noticed that their LEDs weren't good enough to be the primary light for their reef systems.
Why will sellers try to convince you then? Marketing.
Just about every day there is a new LED fixture for sale. Why? Marketing!!!
The differences between newer fixtures simply can't change much the basic principals of LEDs.
LEDs release energy in form of photons (electroluminescence) through a small tiny area that needs an optical component (lens) and are different from other sources of light, like T5s, which uses chemical reactions or gas, and we use polished reflectors to intensify their abilities. Different principals will have different effects... That shows us how much efficient T5s are.
With metal halides we should care for the placement of organisms introduced in the system, but incredible easier and forgiven. By the way, IME Metal halides are the very best for any reef system!!! For zoas too!! I've always said that!! Best lights I've tried! Their uniformity is way better than any LED fixture, even being a "spot light". With a good reflector, MH bulbs will cover large areas with capable light radiation.
Because the heat is intense and the electricity gets kind of expensive with the metal halides, with the need of a chiller running in most cases, it's a lot easier to deal with the T5s, eliminating most of the heat, in comparison. But... if money isn't the problem... I would opt for MHs!
The T5s are the easiest of all lights! Not only for the plug&play, without the placement game of corals and zoas, but also because of the uniformity of the light emitted by the fixture. It's so easy to deal with that we can set and forget about it!!!
I thought I was going the right way when I decided to try LEDs for my 125gal system. I thought those "magic fixtures" would give me much less heat and I would pay less electricity. I was so wrong!! The only thing that I noticed significant difference was not spending $150.00 a year to replace the T5 bulbs. You know what? If I had to spend $300.00 more a year to change such bulbs today, it would be totally worthy. I had to proof to myself how wrong I was even trying those LEDs. So many people recommended the LEDs, so I tried... I'm glad I've never changed my 75gal zoa system's ATI T5s fixture for those LEDs though!
Now, if you and others really want to stay with those expensive LED fixtures and think you're gonna make in the long run. I can tell you could. You just have to stay focus, struggling and play the game. Keep in mind you have a high percentage of chances to loose many frags and that should be the norm when you deal with LEDs. Will you burn some frags? Yep. Will you burn your brain trying to figure out the best way to place a new plug? Unfortunately yep. What about those fancy computer programs with the LEDs with all those features? Will you get tired of that and not use 85% of the features? Yep. Why have them then? Well, that's what you'll have to tell me... Why?
One other thing I've noticed is the difference of the formation of the zoa colonies. The Metal halides and T5s allow them to grow in a very similar way they grow in the ocean. Polyps are spread through the rocks and show a natural look. With the LEDs my colonies were growing upwards and the shades were visible, showing a "flower pot" pattern quite unnatural and different than what we can find in the wild. They weren't healthy as my colonies under T5 bulbs. That's for sure!!
They tend to spread crazy and stop growing for some reason. Then they struggled and some colonies actually receded. There were absolutely no pathogens nor pests in my 125gal tank. There was no other issue going on but the change of T5s for LEDs.
If you have a T5 fixture, like the ATI for example, you'll never worry about light! You just need to get the right bulbs for your taste. That's because most of the bulbs are pretty safe doing it's job without any problem at all for a year...
The heat isn't that bad and the fixture has fans. They also have a hybrid system with T5s + LEDs for those who believe they really, really, really need those blue LEDs to pop! I don't. I think the space of the LEDs in that light fixture is better filled with a T5 bulb. But you still can place a strip of blue LEDs over the tank for that so wanted "pop", if you want.
If you want to achieve the best for your reef system: you'll feed, take care of the chemistry, quarantine the fish/inverts, etc... why not get the best light system? Yes, metal halides are the best! No doubt about that. T5s is the way to go if you want/need to save money, like me, but still want the best for the zoas...
Another thing... someone once told me that T5s are shop lights. I had to remind that person that most of the shops nowadays actually adopted LEDs! LEDs are the shop lights, then!
By the way... thanks Mr. Jeremy Gosnell for the nice article:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/are-leds-a-suitable-primary-light-source.42/
I used the article to express some of my thoughts too!!
I'll hope to see you guys talking about the subject and leaving your own point of view. I know there are probably people here that sold their LED fixtures to go back to T5s. Hope you guys could share your experiences as well. Or vice versa!
I do not sell, nor work for any T5 company!
Aloha,
Grandis.
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