This thread has tanken an interesting turn. Personally, having used PC's, HQI MH, T5's, and LED's, it is hands down LED's. But, they are not for everyone. To the comment it is not 'natural', I have to laugh; shaving is not true to nature, but I shave (don't like hairy arm pits). Our yards are not 'natural', but rather we artistically design them for mood, color, line, ... (you get the point); yes, LED's do make colors pop and that is one of the things I love about it, it is more amazing to 'see' the colors our eyes can not 'see' in a truely natural spectrum. LED's help us see more than we could.
Growth, it is (to my understanding) true that corals grow better under 6,500 rather than 20,000. I remember reading way back that at GARF, they grew out their SPS corals under 6,500 and then put them under 14,000 or 20,000 to bring out the color. If you are a grower of SPS, you would not want LED's, I don't think the intent of the design was for growers. Growers should consider what Calfo and Fenner did, green houses. Eventually, that is my ultimate goal, natural light for growing corals. Oh well, I guess I need to win the lottery (hummmm, I guess I have to buy a ticket first lol ).
I have been able to reduce my costs by over 1,000 a year using my LED's. I don't buy replacement bulbs, I don't run a chiller (and I don't have airconditioning - only on the hottest days 105 +), and I use less electricity in the fixture. It is pure savings for me. I firure I will have paid for the fixture in about 2 more years.
Now, lets get to the bottom of this thread, why is there such a debate? It is not for everyone, but for many, it is the best they could hope for. I love mine and I will not debate it further. It becomes an argument, and I believe that for anyone to make a personal decision, they need to see all the pros and cons before making a personal decision. Continued argument is more of trying to brainwash rather than letting people make individual decisions.
I love mine and I will never go back.