# LED or T5 really need advice ..under 200



## sorrenson

I have 65 rimless cube 24 x 24 clowns , mushrooms soft coral, hammers etc

will be suspending the light

I am presently running a beamswork led bar , crap for angles so doesnt light up whole tank so it will be kijiji or lunar lights

Looking at either a 

Evergrow D2120 V2 Dimmable 120 Watt Full Spectrum LED Light 180 plus tax ( can import for 30 percent less but I would rather pay a few bucks more and let reef supplies deal with the chinese hassles 

Or something like a 4 x t5 tube plus lunar which I can land at around 125 or Used 4 x T5 s are everywhere so i could get a unit for 100 and spare bulbs for my 200 budget

Is this Evergrow LED any good or am I going to be staring at dimming LEDs in a year 

essentially for $200 do I go T5 or LED on a 65 cube 

Thanks


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## mmatt

I like my four bulb HOt5s. Running on a standard marineland 75gal. Light hits pretty much everywhere. Great for growth on everything I have in there so far except for a couple sps. Still good for sps just a slower growth rate I guess. I'm going to at a reefbrite blue strip to suppliment some more antic. The led will give a more colour depth and shimmer. Hoping it will help with sps growth as well.


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## sohal tang

*Kessil*

I would put a Kessil 350 WE over it....
I would buy the seperate $100 controller for it

GOLDEN!

Tim


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## sorrenson

Thats a 500 dollar solution on a 200 budget. too rich for me. (its a hobby)


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## altcharacter

The Evergrow is complete garbage and it'll last possible 6 months. Then you'll have to buy a new unit within a year to replace the one you just bought because "it was in my budget"

You could go with T5's and if you get 4 bulbs you're going to replace the bulbs every 6 months so within a year you will have spent $150-$200 just on bulbs and that doesn't include the fixture itself that will cost you $150-$250 so within a year or so you would have spent $300-$500 on a T5.

Or you could just spend the $400 on a Kessil A360WE and not have to worry about anything.

I have T5's and they are unreal with growth and penetration but the whole idea of spending $100 on bulbs every 6 months hits me in my nads every time!! Also the power consuption for a 4 bulb system is much higher than an LED.

Your choice


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## BIGSHOW

altcharacter said:


> The Evergrow is complete garbage and it'll last possible 6 months. Then you'll have to buy a new unit within a year to replace the one you just bought because "it was in my budget"
> 
> You could go with T5's and if you get 4 bulbs you're going to replace the bulbs every 6 months so within a year you will have spent $150-$200 just on bulbs and that doesn't include the fixture itself that will cost you $150-$250 so within a year or so you would have spent $300-$500 on a T5.
> 
> Or you could just spend the $400 on a Kessil A360WE and not have to worry about anything.
> 
> I have T5's and they are unreal with growth and penetration but the whole idea of spending $100 on bulbs every 6 months hits me in my nads every time!! Also the power consuption for a 4 bulb system is much higher than an LED.
> 
> Your choice


Well said!


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## fesso clown

Keep your eyes peeled for a used AI Sol or Radion. 
$200 might be a bit of a pipe dream but $250...

....Wait a minute, don't I have a G1 Radion for sale at $250.... I think I do


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## sig

I will get two linkable Aauqtic Life T5s and will spend $100 per year on the bulbs. Try to contact "Jiinx". she probably has 2 24" HO fixtures,

but

on the other side Dave is also right 

I personally hate LED and even having best of them was never happy.

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## Jiinx

sold it  

I was going to go LED but I ended up choosing MH plus T5 :S My husband called me a dinosaur.


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## wtac

IMHO/E, you cannot beat MH/T5 for color, growth and "visual brightness".

With LEDs, *at this time of the LED evolution*, the individual diode color spectrum is too narrow and there needs to be more diodes and of different "colors" to fill the spectral gap.

Customer support, quality control, quality assurance and heaven forbid, a decent profit margin, has a cost.


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## sig

Jiinx said:


> sold it
> 
> I was going to go LED but I ended up choosing MH plus T5 :S My husband called me a dinosaur.


MH ???  Is Jeff going to get second job, to keep you happy 

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## twobytwo

I'm in a similar boat... I'm setting up a 120g which I have 2x 30" MH/T5ho fixtures for already - however the bulbs probably should be swapped since I don't know their history/quality. I didn't really pay for the fixtures (came used with the tank) so I really don't have anything invested in them. 

Considering what it would cost me to replace 2x250w mh (not socket type) plus 8x 24" T5HO right off the bat... a few hundred dollars at least; so I'm looking at going LED. I have a slightly larger budget and am considering something well made, but not sure what direction to look... Ecotech and Aquatic Life look good. I like the Radions XR30pro but 2 @ $800 each (tank is 60" wide)... do I want to spend $1600? MAYBE... If they last 5 years or more - I think its a worthwhile investment. For me, long term, LED seems the best option when factored in over multiple years worth of electricity savings and ongoing expense.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, Could anyone recommend some good LED lighting systems for a 60" reef tank if budget WASN'T a factor?


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## altcharacter

You could always try a few used AI Sol Blue's. They're fairly inexpensive and work great. Also, you can find they used on the forums for a good price


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## Jiinx

Prior to deciding on MH/T5 I was considering Maxspect razors...

Or perhaps Kessils 

Greg, lol, poor husband  He puts up with a lot of my fish craziness. 
sarah


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## Bullet

Definitely can't go wrong with Kessils - that is all that I run now 
Brilliant 
But out of your budget area unless you can find used


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