led vs t12 vho's

[cbarkell]

so just out of curiosity which would be better for my tank i m mainly a fowlr but starting to collect some sps and soft coral <BR>i have both kinds of lighting!<BR>8 T12 VHO 110w Actinic, blue 454, two other white lights i'm not sure what they are<BR>190w of led lighting blue, purple, white<BR><BR>120 Gal<BR>40 gal sump<BR>canopy with open back w/two fans blowing in over the water<BR>asm g4 skimmer<BR>Rena filstar xp xl formerly the xp4 cannister<BR>140 lbs. live rock<BR>2-3 in crushed coral and argonite bed<BR>a 300w heater and a 250w heater in sump (Differnt sides)<BR>two via aqua 3600 return pumps from sump to Dt<BR>unfortunitly overstocked due to some bad advise from lfs and my bad no research guess i fell into the newbie catigory<BR>3 false clownfish<BR>2 dominoe damsels<BR>1 fuji blue devil damsel<BR>1 coral beauty angel<BR>1 royal gramma<BR>1 7" blue hippo tang<BR>1 4.5" blue jaw trigger<BR>1 texedo urchin<BR>2 pink urchins<BR>1 peppermint shrimp<BR>2 cleaner shrimp<BR>1 brittle star fish<BR>1 10" T. Maxima<BR>1 3" T. Crocea<BR>1 toadstool leather<BR>1 neon green candy cane coral<BR>I know i know but this is my first tank i now know you are not suppose to put predetory fish in a communal tank but all the occupants seem to be getting along just fine a few territorial disputes mainly from the dominow damsels toward each other! so back to my question which of the two lights would work best for my tank? Any other comments would be duelly noted thanx and have a great day<BR>

 

[TJL]

Having ran a successfull reeftank for 20+ years with VHO's made the switch to LED's (DIY) last Winter and could not be happier with that decision. Better light (PAR/PUR/Shimmer) 1/3 the watts and a fraction of the heat annnnd not $pending $100+ every 9-12 months on replacement lamps. I am 100% sold on LED lighting.

Cheers, Todd

 

[cbarkell]

cool thanx for the info would you go with more led's or is what i have enough???

 

[TJL]

I have a 60x24x20 125g DT in which there are 96 3w LED's in a mix of Whites, Blues, Greens and a Red. Will be adding 4 Violets soon. That being said only run them at approx 2watts each ( drivers tuned to 700ma and ramping 8%-75% with Apex) without using optics (shallow tank and better color blending) I have more than enough light for any coral or clams anywhere in tank.

Cheers, Todd

 

[cbarkell]

thanks again todd believe it or not you were a tromendous help