Picture of our new 90g

[Ace25]

I started looking into LEDs and so far they seem the way to go. They are pricier, but they generate way less electricity, no heat, no changing bulbs (for years)..

I haven't had any luck selling my MH lighting either. Something that would easily sell for 600$ last year isn't gaining anyone's interest at less than half the price.

That is one aspect I am glad to say is finally becoming less and less true now. I am talking about LEDs being pricier than other methods. Sure, some per-made fixtures are super expensive, but my LED light I made was actually cheaper than the MH setup I bought 3 years ago and it puts out more than 2x the light, so as far as "retro" I think LEDs are the cheapest lighting method, but just slightly in terms of up front cost, but TONS of saving in electricity. It is actually a little shocking, even to me, to see how few LEDs are actually required to match the output of a MH bulb. 24 LEDs, 50/50 white/royal blue puts out more light than a 250w MH or 6 T5HOs.

I feel you on the selling of the MH.. I have 2 MH setups, a 400 and a 250 that no one wants. I even tried giving away the 400w locally and no one would even take it for free.

 

[leocom2000]

^^ halides are becoming less and less popular lately, with most people either using T5s or slowly moving into the whole LED realm.

Halides (imo) are great, however, they generate lots of electricity, and they need to be replaced often.

I really like T5s, but again, they should be changed even more often than MHs do.

I started looking into LEDs and so far they seem the way to go. They are pricier, but they generate way less electricity, no heat, no changing bulbs (for years)..

I haven't had any luck selling my MH lighting either. Something that would easily sell for 600$ last year isn't gaining anyone's interest at less than half the price.

I would not say "no heat", but probably less heat.

I don't think they suggested to replace MH. They meant to replace them with the higher Kelvin ones (more blue) or add more actinics. I think they saw the lights a little yellow. At lest it looked like in the picture.
You have a great healthy tank. I would not do anything but what you do already. The color is a personal preference and if the corals are OK then it is OK.

 

[leocom2000]

Ace beat me to it..

 

[Ace25]

Well.. not really.. I went off topic. You stayed on topic and I agree, if the OP is happy with their MH light and their corals are happy, no reason to replace it. I only replaced my MH when I got fed up with the high electricity bill and cost of replacement bulbs but it still works great.

 

[nynikki]

Well.. not really.. I went off topic. You stayed on topic and I agree, if the OP is happy with their MH light and their corals are happy, no reason to replace it. I only replaced my MH when I got fed up with the high electricity bill and cost of replacement bulbs but it still works great.

This is all good info for us and we appreciate it. Especially the bit about how many LEDs you used to replace one 250w MH. This much light is new to us, and without a canopy on this tank, it lights our living room quite a bit. Also being that we live in Phoenix, heat is not something that you want to add to the room you spend most of your time in. Add to that the cost we already have of keeping the house cool in summer and believe me, we want to consider replacing the lights! Just unfortunately, not right after Christmas, and after making this unplanned purchase of such a big aquarium. Sooner rather than later though. It is sad to hear that we won't be able to resell these MH fixtures though, but what can you do? Good to know in advance.

Thanks again!