How Powerful is T5 lighting really?

[D to the P]

I have had other people in the hobby tell me that t5 lighting is intense enough for sps corals. But I have heard others swear by halides. How powerful is T5 lighting?

[reefD]

t 5 lights are strong enough to grow acros for sure. but in a perfect situation and when corals are placed very close to surface of water. if your a experienced hobbiest...made the newbie mistakes already. then you can grow sps under t 5 or even pc's for that mater. its doable. but when you see those beautiful sps tanks you wont get that results. your sps will branch thin and may color shift to a less bright zooxanthellae. it wont look as nice as grown under halides...i mean color and branch thickness

[Travis L. Stevens]

reefD has it right. Just about any lighting will grow high-light corals, you just need to know what you're doing. On the other hand, both T-5's and Metal Halides will grow any high-light animals that you want. I've witnessed T5's that blow MH out of the water, and vice versa. In my opinion, metal halides penetrate deeper and are well suited for very tall tanks (think 36"+), but T5's seem to dwindle slightly at those depths. Once again, I've seen exceptions to this (see "pwhitby" and his 600g tank). In smaller, more managable tanks such as 150g or less, the heat issue of a metal halide has more of an impact on my decidsion. T5's run so much cooler and use less wattage, they take my vote almost every time.

[Travis L. Stevens]

Also, PM graveyardworm about T5's. He has PAR readouts for various T5 systems.

[D to the P]

yeah i went into the equipment forum and read some interesting things in his thread. thanks for your opinions and clearing this up

[RichConley]

Originally posted by reefD
t 5 lights are strong enough to grow acros for sure. but in a perfect situation and when corals are placed very close to surface of water. ... but when you see those beautiful sps tanks you wont get that results. your sps will branch thin and may color shift to a less bright zooxanthellae. it wont look as nice as grown under halides...i mean color and branch thickness

Yes, you can grow SPS under T5s. Yes, they can, and DO, look as good as those under MH. NO, you dont need to put them up at the top of the tank.


I switched from 2x250w Phoenix 14ks to a 6x54w T5 setup. Most of my corals needed to be moved DOWN. I've got millepora that I couldnt get any color from unless I put them 4" from the surface, now they're 12" down and colored up.


As to "thin branches", thin branches have absolutely NOTHING to do with light, and are indicative of low flow.

[SptfireXIV]

Originally posted by reefD
t 5 lights are strong enough to grow acros for sure. but in a perfect situation and when corals are placed very close to surface of water. if your a experienced hobbiest...made the newbie mistakes already. then you can grow sps under t 5 or even pc's for that mater. its doable. but when you see those beautiful sps tanks you wont get that results. your sps will branch thin and may color shift to a less bright zooxanthellae. it wont look as nice as grown under halides...i mean color and branch thickness

I think danano would disagree with you.

Edit: I also love how the people who dismiss T5s as inferior to MH are the same people who have obviously never tried T5.

[thor32766]

yes t5's are great, I have been blown away by their efficentcy.

[PrivateJoker64]

Originally posted by RichConley
Yes, you can grow SPS under T5s. Yes, they can, and DO, look as good as those under MH. NO, you dont need to put them up at the top of the tank.


I switched from 2x250w Phoenix 14ks to a 6x54w T5 setup. Most of my corals needed to be moved DOWN. I've got millepora that I couldnt get any color from unless I put them 4" from the surface, now they're 12" down and colored up.


As to "thin branches", thin branches have absolutely NOTHING to do with light, and are indicative of low flow.

I agree. I've had similar results.