T5 or LED

[perezmk1982]

I am going into sps and lps corals and would like to know which light will give me better colors and growth? I have T5 and strips of LED. about 356 watts in total.
Parameters are; PH 8.4 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 calcium 450. I dose magnesium but haven't checked parameters...

 

[duke62]

Oh boy LMAO. Any light will work MH t5 or LEDs its your water chemistry that matters the most. Keep your ALK stable and get the BIGGEST skimmer you can afford. I went with a skimmer 3 times the recommended and my coral have never been so happy. I got the SRO 3000 rated for 300 gallons and i have a total of 110 gallons in my system

 

[sunny]

There is a guy asking for help to decide between Nikon and Canon. I was going to tell him you just started Word War III.

Now here is another guy who wants to start WW IV.

LOL.

It is really a personal preference. Initial investment is cheap with T5. LED are expensive upfront but pay for themselves. Growth is pretty my same. Colors?? That is a different story. Depends on what you like.

Good luck.

Sunny

 

[jaa1456]

My personal experience is nothing beats a MH/T5 combo. I have switched many lights over the same tanks, I get more growth and color out of the combo than anything else. I have AI sol blues on one tank, once I switched to them everything has slowed down in growth and even PE. They have been on for a year now. Even tried the Radions a few months ago, those are garbage and a waste of time. During the year I put my MH back on and saw growth again after 2 weeks. My other 2 tanks are running with T5's now. By the way my MH/T5 payed for itself. I was fragging 200-300 worth of corals every month from zoas to SPS. Now I'm lucky to get 50 bucks worth of frags a month. I was never in it to make money but I did have to trim my corals. The AI's will be for sale soon, I tried not to give up on them but they are the last resort and a fad if you ask me.

 

[RFADCT]

T5 or l.e.d

Acan

 

[MatthewScars]

Ai

spend all that hard earned money!!!!

 

[Imbarrie]

What sized tank do you have?
The best light out there that not even MH can come close to is the sun but we all have to make compromises.

You will be fine with MH, T5 or LED. But some options are better suited to the size tank you have.

 

[ecvernon]

My personal experience is nothing beats a MH/T5 combo. I have switched many lights over the same tanks, I get more growth and color out of the combo than anything else. I have AI sol blues on one tank, once I switched to them everything has slowed down in growth and even PE. They have been on for a year now. Even tried the Radions a few months ago, those are garbage and a waste of time. During the year I put my MH back on and saw growth again after 2 weeks. My other 2 tanks are running with T5's now. By the way my MH/T5 payed for itself. I was fragging 200-300 worth of corals every month from zoas to SPS. Now I'm lucky to get 50 bucks worth of frags a month. I was never in it to make money but I did have to trim my corals. The AI's will be for sale soon, I tried not to give up on them but they are the last resort and a fad if you ask me.

I had the same exact experience(except owning a radion)

 

[RFADCT]

Dimensions help. If deep go MH or ACAN A103 SERIES, otherwise L.E.D or T5 work. I read people say the L.E.D dont keep color but I have not had this issue with ACAN. The only time I saw a change in color for a few mnths in the begining when introduced was with green stylo and green birdsnest. But six mnths in and they brighten back up. Im not a fan of RADION, tried it and to quote in living color I HAAATED IT. Havent ried AI though. Brains stay green, Birds of paradise never looked better, blues stay blue, Superman monti is almost blinding. Pick your poison and CHOOSE WISELY.