d2mini's Epic Fantabulous New Reef Build

Yeah, I'm back to mh/t5 for a while to see how I like it. Have had only led on this tank but there's things I miss about my old mh/t5 setup. So we'll see how it goes. :)
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Wait. What? Aren't you the same person I had a conversation with who told me you were never going back?

Weren't you running the Pro as well? What made you go back?
 
Wait. What? Aren't you the same person I had a conversation with who told me you were never going back?
No idea what you're talking about, sir.

Weren't you running the Pro as well? What made you go back?
Yep.
Weird growth patterns, bald undersides of coral, slow growth, odd colors, dim looking, poor light coverage even with the wide angle lenses, ecosmart live unreliable, tired of fussing with all the adjustability...

What was it about the MH /T5 that you missed? Was it the monthly offering to the kilowatt gods?
The brightness, the light wrap around my coral, the correct colorations, the growth, the more natural shimmer and overall look.
I figured out the extra wattage and the leds were saving me about $100/year. Peanuts.
There is bulb costs, but this entire setup cost me $1k shipped. That replaced four pros.
And OMG the tank is BRIGHT now. The difference is huge.

It's gotta be the tan.
And then there is that. ;)
But i have a canopy so I don't benefit much from it. Darn.
 
Can we get a FTS with LED's and one with MH/T5 to compare colors, shimmer, etc.
It's one of those things that's a bit hard to show in pics, especially something like shimmer, but here is two similar and recent shots.
The first is the leds. You can see how much dimmer the tank is overall.
The second is the new setup of mh/t5.

20140112_1120057_200gReef-XL.jpg


20140227P2270180_200gReef.jpg


You live in Tx you can get a tan in December.
lol, normally yes. But not this winter! It's march and our trees were covered in ice yesterday! :eek:
 
I remember when i first got my Gen 1's and was perplexed by how dim the tank looked in comparison, even at 100%.
And then I proceeded to cook my coral like every other LED newbie.
My Pros were running at 60-65% with the wide angle lenses. Even less with the regular TIR lenses before that.
So strange.
 
I remember when i first got my Gen 1's and was perplexed by how dim the tank looked in comparison, even at 100%.
And then I proceeded to cook my coral like every other LED newbie.
My Pros were running at 60-65% with the wide angle lenses. Even less with the regular TIR lenses before that.
So strange.

I remember that, too. Are your corals doing better under the halides?
 
So are you also turning in your MP40's for the Jaebo WP-40?
lol, you mean the chinese things that i keep seeing failures on? No. ;)
In all seriousness, i run the mp's because of the lower profile. I don't make waves. And I can control them with my Profilux.

But I am looking at sea swirls lately. Thinking i might be able to get some different kind of flow in the tank and maybe cull down on my MP's.
I currently have two 60's on the ends (overkill) and two 40's on the back wall.
 
well i was thinking of going to leds till i read this now i might just upgrade to a 6 bulb t5ho or look around MH would MH be too much light for a 55 gal?
 
Plus you choose your wattage of MH based on your tank size.
I would do a nice combo fixture. 175w MH and 4 T5's.
The T5's would be your source of blue.
 
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